<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Our
Stories
Children’s
Literature
Spring
2010
http://fvitali.tripod.com/childlitsp10/stories.htm
according to:
………..Authors………..
Audra
Allen
Eldadianan
Arzate
Daniel
Berryman
Ryan
Niehaus
Heather
Olguin
Samantha
Petree
Kristi
Raghavan
Meagan
Tracy
April
Zollinger
Thank you for the gift of you & your stories this semester.
May stories follow you wherever you go. May your
students also learn to appreciate the gift of stories-theirs and yours!
“The brain is a story-seeking, story
creating instrument.”
Frank Smith in To Think
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Rain Girl
by
Daniel Berryman
Sarah,
the young girl in the photo, has always disliked reading. She only saw books as
useful for keeping her hair dry when it rained. Sarah would rather watch a
scary movie or listen to her music than pick up some old book written by some
dead guy. On one of these days when a book could be used as an umbrella, Sarah
was at home, watching her favorite movie when the power went out. No one else
was home and she was too young to drive. So she wandered the house aimlessly
and eventually wandered into her Dad’s extensive library. He was a literature professor
but could not instill, or force, a love of reading in his daughter.
While in
his book exhibit, a red bow caught Sarah’s eye. She picked up the leather bound
book and saw that the ribbon had a tag with her name on it. Moving the tie, she
read the title, Murder in the Rou Morgue
by Edgar Allen Poe. She curiously opened the title page and a note from her
father fell out. It read, “Sarah, this is for the day you turn off the TV and
turn on your brain!, Love Dad.” Sarah was furious. “My
brain is on! “she thought; I’ll teach him.”
Sarah
devoured the book, reading and fuming about the note. She was enthralled. This
Poe guy was even scarier than Freddie Krueger! Before she knew it, she had read
the book from cover to cover. The lights flipped on and Sarah looked up to see
her Dad in the doorway. “Hooked yet?” Sarah’s Dad asked. “It’s ok,” she said
nonchalantly. In reality Sarah wished she had started years before. She spent
hours each week in their library and instead of using books to keep her hair
dry, she shielded them with her body when it rained.
___________________________________
Rain, Rain, Stay and
Play
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
Behind the green
wooden doors awaits the Italian Bistro where my family and friends will meet
for our Sunday dinner. Cheesecake and wine are on the menu.
After we have our
cheesecake and table wine we will be going to a park to play games and bocce
ball. At the park we will take a walk, too.
Our plans were
all destroyed when suddenly it started raining so hard we could not play or
walk. So we decided to sing and dance instead. The rain was warm and comforting
as we danced and laughed falling into the mud.
Papa came along
and yelled at us for getting muddy but we all chuckled and continued to splash
in the mud enjoying our time together.
What was supposed
to be a family outing turned into one of my fondest and most fun memories from
childhood. I will never forget the day we got our fine clothes muddy in that
afternoon rain shower. Although papa gave us a whooping, it was worth it!
___________________________________
Space Log
by April,
Audra, Eldadiana, Heather, Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
For the log: I leapt too hard and now I am hurdling into
space. If only the moon had sufficient gravity, then I would not be stuck in
this mass mess. Air gauge is full of oxygen so I will be okay for a while out
here in space, but how long? I could really use a sandwich right about now and
maybe some mint chocolate chip ice cream. Maybe I will stop by Baskin Robbins
after class for a huge sundae with hot fudge and nuts. I wonder if one day they
may serve ice cream in space? Maybe at the location of
the
This all sounds good, but it is still not in space. If I make
it back to Earth, I will enjoy every single thing. Hey, look, here comes
someone to rescue me. Maybe they have some pizza and ice cream on the ship
because I am starving. Those freeze dried packets of space food are looking
very appetizing. I’ll have some meatloaf, mashed potatoes and cake. Home, home,
here I come!
___________________________________
Stories in Stone
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
Are
those Native Americans or Cowboys?
Such
exquisite artwork on the walls! Pictograph
stone art is a beautiful visual representation
left
behind to tell stories of the past and to
provide
insight to history of the past and our people.
One of
these days, I hope to take my family to visit these
historical places that store this ancient artwork
left behind.
Riding out to Shiprock along the highway,
if you look closely you can see the etchings on the mesa walls but there is never
enough time to just stop to take a look.
Although we cannot meet these artists, I
can imagine what they would be like riding their horses to the mesa to tell the
story of an event. I am pleased to know that they have left the stories of
their life and times in their artwork so it can be shared with people from all
over. Stories of all kinds are a rich and lasting legacy.
___________________________________
Handling Ancient Artifacts
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather, Kristi, Meagan,
Ryan, Samantha
Native American art and sculpture passed
from hand to hand. Each hand it has touched, great wealth or tragedy followed.
Great kings and warriors have fallen while peasants took the sculpture and hid
if from the world for safe keeping.
It is a great honor to see such a
sculpture in person. People have died trying to retrieve this ancient artifact
that holds the possible answers to everything ever. To hold such a powerful
amulet in our own hands! This particular gray potent relic symbolizes freedom
of the eagle and strength of a bear. The person whose care it was in before
decided to place it into the care of a museum so that others could admire it.
The citizen who rescued this ancient sculpture donated it to the Great Ancient
Museum of Art and was never seen again.
___________________________________
The
Power of Little Beak
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
Oh, look, a bird! I am a little hungry.
“Here, birdie, come talk to me, I won’t hurt you…..much.” Mmmm, a tasty treat
is just what I need to make it through another day in this awful heat. I hope
its feathers won’t get stuck in my throat like that yellow finch’s did. Gag!
Does the birdie know what’s about to happen to him? It won’t be much of a
struggle.
Bird: “I should warn you, wolf, I am not to
be eaten!”
Wolf: “Whatever do you mean, birdie?”
Bird: “I can read your gaze like an open
beak. I have a beak that can tear you up like yesterday’s news.”
As the wolf stared at the crow, he felt an
uneasiness tingle in his tummy. The crow was going to show the wolf who was king of the animal planet, or at least that patch of
green place. Who would have thought that a little black bird could be such a
beast in the midst of the desert lands. That day, the
crow and his family feasted on wolf for their afternoon dinner. Never underestimate
the power of a little beak.
___________________________________
Countryside Summer Stories
by April, Audra, Eldadiana,
Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan,
Samantha
I am reminded of my summers as a
child spent
on my
grandparents’ farm outside
Chickens were pecking at the back
door and grandma would water the flowers as the animals ate. I cherish these
countryside living memories of my childhood and these are the stories I will
pass on to my children.
___________________________________
The Fishy Clown Race
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
The
colorful clown, riding a colorful bicycle
In a race with a pace I don’t know how it will
end.
Serious
he looks and parades for all to know:
“I will
win, I can smell it, better yet, I can taste it.”
I have
hooked fish for speed essential for downhill coasting.
Ducks in
a row, ready for the horn blast, take your positions.
BANG and we’re off!
My jockey
clown size gives me a lead but a bear of a cyclist pedals behind
Pedals
grinding and gnashing like the light in your eye
The bear
hits a pebble and is thrown for a loop disqualified and disgraced from the
race.
The fishy
clown wins another race as a pebble drops from his fishes’ eye socket.
The
colorful clown, riding a colorful bicycle
In a race with a pace that dazzles the
spectators.
Serious
he looks and parades for none to know:
“I will
win, I can smell it, better yet, I have arranged it.”
Antique
by April, Audra, Eldadiana, Heather,
Kristi, Meagan, Ryan, Samantha
What are those, some
kind of satellites? Perhaps some big antennae.
I can tell they are located in the desert. Are they devices for ants to be able
to hear better? They just have to walk up to one,
listen and they
can hear everything
going on around them within one mile radius. As the ants listened, they were
able to come up with a plan that would allow them to take over planet earth
when humans least expected it. “The Superbowl will be the perfect time for
invasion,” the queen schemed to her colony. They have a week before the big
day. All of the are frantically working to have
everything prepared. They are planning to invade every grocery store across the
nation and eat all the food, especially avocados. More avocados are sold during
the Superbowl, it is recorded in human statistics.
All was going according to the queen
ant’s plan. As the time approached for the massive ant invasions, the queen and
other ant queens could not work together. So instead of invading the grocery
stores, they invaded each others’ colonies. It was a mass anticide. After great death and tragedy, nature took its course and
one queen ant survived to rule the ants. From then on, each year the queen ant
memorialized the tragic event to teach future ants of what became of their
ancestors all because of not being able to work cooperatively. The day is
called Antique.