Issue 7 January 2012
cover art by Rosemarie Gillen A publication of Silver Pen, Incorporated
The Silver Pen Writers’ Association Presents a Silver Pen, Incorporated Publication
Kids'Magination Magazine Director and Publisher: Sue Babcock Fiction Editor: Kellee Kranendonk Cover Art: Rosemarie Gillen Kids’Magination Magazine is a publication of Silver Pen, Incorporation, which is a non-profit organization focused on quality writing and reading. Kids’Magination Learning Center is a division of Silver Pen dedicated to children who are eager to write stories about the fantastic flights of their imaginations. Copyright ©2011. All reights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information contact sue@silverpen.org All stories herein have been compiled by Silver Pen, Incorporated under Kids’Magination Magazine. These are works of fiction. All characters and events protrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are fictitiously used.
www.kidsmagination.com
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Contents Contents
The Birthday Box with Leopard Postage Stamp
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written by Abigail Charles illustrated by Rosemarie Gillen
Radio 7 written byLois Greene Stone illustrated by Sue Babcock
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Fiction The Birthday Box with Leopard Postage Stamp written by Abigail Charles
illustrated by Rosemarie Gillen
On just another dreary Tuesday afternoon, a brown paper package arrived at the Meadowberry household. It was tiny, smaller than a deck of playing cards. The package was addressed to Henry. Henry had never seen before stamps with twin leopard cubs with golden eyes. “Open it,” his mother said. “It’s from your Uncle Frank. Must be an early birthday gift.” The package was stamped FRAGILE so Henry knew to open it gently. He peeled away the tape and stringy slowly and the brown paper fell to the floor. A slender wooden box was inside. It said “Zooks Great Magnifier.” “More surprises? That Uncle Frank is always up to something,” his mother said. Henry opened the box. It squeaked a little. He groaned. “It’s just a magnifying glass,” Henry held it up for his mother to see. The smallest magnifying glass he’d ever seen. With an engraved silver handle with a “Z”. A small piece of paper fluttered to the floor, landing on one of Henry’s sneakers. “What’s that?” his mother asked. Henry picked it up. “Operating instructions for Zooks Greatest Magnifier.” “Well at least Uncle Frank remembered your birthday. Try to enjoy his present. He did pick it out especially for you,” his mother reminded him. “Do Page 1
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you want waffles or pancakes?” “Pancakes please,” Henry responded. Henry could see his mother flipping pancakes in funny shapes. He went back to looking at the tiny instruction book. Who would send a kid a magnifying glass for a birthday gift? Henry opened the instruction book. Congratulations on owning your fine Zooks Greatest Magnifier. Use it gently and with care. Always remember to follow the rules.
1.
Request before you magnify.
2.
Magnify items one at a time.
3.
Hold upright to magnify, tip upside down to shrink.
4.
Always keep magnifier in its box when not in use.
“This is worse than Great Aunt Gertie’s handmade socks,” he muttered. “Your pancakes are ready,” his mother said. Could he use the magnifier on his pancakes? What would he see? Henry pulled out the magnifier. “Pancakes, can I magnify you?” Henry asked. He felt very silly doing this. Not surprisingly, the pancakes didn’t say a thing. The pancakes seemed to wiggle. In the blink of an eye, his pancakes grew to three times their original size. Henry dropped the magnifier on the table in surprise. “This is much different from Great Aunt Gertie’s socks.” He ate a few bites of his super large pancakes but Henry was thinking about all of the exciting things he could magnify. His toy cars and trucks! The dog! His older brother too. Well maybe not his older brother after all. Some things should stay their regular size. Henry looked at his toys. Where should he start? The rules said to magnify one at a time so he must be choosy. Henry saw his favorite teddy bear sitting in the corner. “Theo, can I magnify you?” Henry asked. He tipped the magnifier upside down. The teddy bear didn’t say a thing but Henry didn’t expect the bear to. And just like the pancakes, the bear wriggled for a moment and then Page 3
shrank to three times its regular size. Henry picked up the teddy bear in the palm of his hand. Once a bear who was so large it sat in the corner of his room, he now could hold it with a single hand. Uncle Frank’s birthday present was the most interesting one he’d ever seen. “Happy birthday little brother,” John said. “What a great bear. Is that one of your birthday gifts?” “Sort of. Uncle Frank sent me this,” Henry said, holding up the magnifier. “It makes things larger or smaller than they really are.” “Well I hope you’ll like my present after something that exciting,” John said. He held out `a gift wrapped box. “This is something I know you’ll like.” Henry opened it. He smiled wide as he pulled the wrapping paper away to show a new baseball mitt. “This is great. Will you teach me how to catch and throw?” Henry asked. John laughed. “Sure. Let me get my mitt and we can practice now,” John said. Henry put the magnifier down on the table and went outside to play catch with his brother. They played catch until the sun was ready to set. “Dinnertime!” his mother called. Henry put his mitt down. But his magnifier was no where to be found. He looked and looked but couldn’t find it anywhere. Not with any of his toys or in any room of the house. Much to his surprise, Theo the bear had also returned to regular size. “I can’t find my magnifier,” Henry said as he came down the stairs. “Did you follow the instructions?” his mother asked as she set the salad on the table. “I know Uncle Frank is very particular about instructions.” Henry sat in his chair. “Well, almost,” he said. He thought for a minute. His stomach churned as he remembered what the instruction book had said. “Oh, no.” He looked up at his mother. “I was supposed to keep it in its box. Maybe it’s gone for good.” “Don’t worry, Henry,” his mother comforted him. “It may still turn up.” Page 4
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For the next four days Henry kept looking. Then, while he was eating breakfast, the mail arrived. A note came with twin leopard cubs with golden eyes on the postage stamps. It was a thick cream colored note written in bright green pen. It said: Dear Henry, Your Zook’s magnifier has arrived at our factory. Perhaps you did not follow the instructions to always keep it in the box? It will be returned to you if you follow these instructions exactly. 1. Turn around three times. 2. Look high then look low. 3. Look under your bed pillow. 4. Remember to follow the rules. Sincerely yours, Mr. Zooks Henry dashed upstairs and reached for his pillow. Then he looked at the letter again. “I must follow these instructions,” he said. He took a deep breath and turned around three times. With the room spinning ever so slightly, he looked up at the ceiling, then down at the floor and picked up his pillow. He smiled. There, nestled in the folds of his sheet was his magnifier. THE END AUTHOR BIO: Abigail Charles writes fiction and poetry for children. Her stories have appeared in Stories for Children and Guardian Angel Kids. She lives on the East Coast with a very spoiled cat named Sammy (he helps with the typing sometimes). ILLUSTRATOR BIO: Rosemarie Gillen is a professional Children’s Book Illustrator who has won several awards for her illustration work. She enjoys working with authors, taking inspiration from their work and making their stories come to life. She believes in a wonderful partnership between author and illustrator who work together to create something special a child will want to read over and over. Visit her website at www.rosemariegillen.com Page 6
Historical Fiction Radio written byLois Greene Stone illustrated by Sue Babcock
“Turn down the radio!” Lisa yelled. “I‟m trying to do homework.” “Sure, sure,” Beverly came to the doorway of her sister‟s room. “That‟ll be the day.” Beverly continued standing there hoping to annoy her younger sister. Feeling very grown for her eleven years, she liked being bossy to nine year old Lisa. “Go away. Please go away.” Lisa was showing annoyance. “Bad enough I had to spend a lot of time with you during the war air raid drills and blackouts, and we still have to listen to President Truman giving his speeches and that‟s so boring, but this is 1948 and the war has been over and I had enough time with you annoying me.” “I know something you don‟t know.” Beverly recited the words as if she were singing them. And then she moved away from the threshold. “You always know something I don‟t know.” Lisa muttered. Aloud she called, “Okay, so what is it this time?” „Pictures.” Beverly walked into the room and sat on Lisa‟s bed. The chenille spread caused white lint to form on her navy blue pleated shirt. “Like a radio show, only pictures.” Page 7
Lisa shrugged. “Moving pictures, like a movie, but here right in the house. Our house. Other peoples‟ houses.” Beverly was excited. “It‟s called television.” “Uh, huh.” Lisa thought this was another wild story to make her believe something that wasn‟t true and when Lisa repeated it was humiliated. But she knew there was such a thing as a television, but only one person in the whole school had it and that person lived right up the street. And she bragged how expensive it was so no one else was going to have that for years and years. “No. It‟s true. And it‟s huge. It‟s a whole seven inches big.” Beverly continued. “It‟s a DuMont. Just that name sounds romantic.” “Easier to pronounce than Stromberg-Carlson, our radio thing in the living room. I know the name from dusting around all those letters when it‟s my turn to dust the living room.” Page 8
“Got to have a ton of tubes inside to make that thing work. I‟ve learned a little about our radio tubes. Don‟t know what‟ll be shoved around in the living room for this as we have to be able to sit and see it and not just hear it.” Beverly played the big-sister larger now. “I‟d rather go to the movies than sit around the living room staring at something smaller than my school‟s ruler.” Lisa pretended to not care, but inside was getting excited. “Well you won‟t say that once it‟s here. Imagine. And I heard Mom worrying out loud about expensive. Really expensive. Bet all the relatives will not just come for her Sunday meals but now to watch television. The girl up the street already has one, but it‟s only a tiny-tiny 3-inches. Ours will be huge!” Beverly began to giggle. She got up from the bed, looked at her skirt covered with the bedspread‟s chenille‟s linty threads and then laughed out loud. “Get lost. I have school work to do.” Lisa pretended to work in her open composition book. After Beverly left, Lisa closed the door and sat on her bed and began talking to her radio. “I like you. You bring me music and stories and are like company. I won‟t desert you for something like a television where I‟ll sit with tons of relatives, and I‟ll be the one on the floor, and just look and listen to something I don‟t even care about.” She touched the Bakelite case that housed her private radio. “Radio. I already saw the girl up the street‟s thing. All there was was a blob, and her mom said it was a Test Pattern and that was the only stuff I could see all day. There‟d be a program on later but only a few hours a day. Gee. I can turn you on anytime and do that in private. I wonder if anyone will really like television. Ever.” AUTHOR BIO: Lois Greene Stone, writer and poet, has been syndicated worldwide. Poetry and personal essays have been included in hard & softcover book anthologies. Collections of her personal items/ photos/ memorabilia are in major museums including twelve different divisions of The Smithsonian. ILLUSTRATOR BIO: Sue Babcock is the Director of Kids’Magination, the managing editor for Liquid Imagination (www.liquid-imagination.com), and the fiction editor for Silver Blade (www.silverblade.net).
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