Our Stories

Children’s Literature 

Spring 2010

https://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!            Frances

 

“The brain is a story-seeking, story creating instrument.”

Frank Smith in To Think

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 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.

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  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!

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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 US flag on the moon there could be a General Space Store that serves goodies to space explorers. Oh, boy, a pizza really sounds good, too. The meat lover’s pizza covered in every type of meat they have.

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!

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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.

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 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.

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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.

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 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 Monticello,

Utah. I think the sunsets were so liquid colors dancing across the sky. The mountains could be seen from anywhere as towering giants. There was an old church and in that church, old memories were born. I remember going to that church with my parents. Things always seemed a little odd. Maybe it was the jibberish. I remember one time the entire congregation was speaking in tongue while I sat silently waiting. Waiting because I had something to look forward to after church; going back to grandma’s house for a potluck. We would load up and eat our best meals in our Sunday best clothes. After lunch the children were allowed to go outside and play in the spring air.

 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.

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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.”

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 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.