I can capture a bird’s flight, a mountain’s splendor, a tiger’s roar. My pen marks the crisp white paper like footprints on a snowy trail. My dreams are alive, and leaping like sparks in my hands. To dream is to speak a thousand words and never speak at all. In my dreams, I fly like […]
The Ghost Children
Everyone said it was haunted, but we never listened We always loved going to that old house on the hill. Everyone said it was haunted, but we never listened. Michael, Emma, and me, Summer. Why did we always go there? I guess we were interested. We didn’t believe in ghosts. Not then. Now we know […]
Camp Conflict
To my amazement, Chris just set up the pieces and started playing! My name is Jake. I have brown hair and green eyes, and I’m eleven years old, but most importantly, I’ve always wanted to go to summer camp. Every year I beg my parents to let me go, but they always insist that it’s […]
My Life with the Lincolns
My Life with the Lincolns, by Gayle Brandeis; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2010; $16.99 Wilhelmina Edelman has three goals for the summer: to get through age twelve without dying, to keep her mom from becoming insane and going to a “nuthouse,” and to stop her dad from getting shot. As you might know, […]
My Dog
I look at him My dog Head on tiny white paws, Breathing heavily. He looks back at me His eyes sad As if to say, “Come to me,” So I do. Then I Stroke his head quietly And he closes his eyes, His breathing deep Raspy And tired. He is small, sick, and old But […]
Remembering
INTRODUCTION The important people in my story are my grandparents. They have greatly impacted my life. My grandfather and I were very close and he taught me many things. He loved writing, music, and trains, the same as I do. He died November 8, 2011, on my brother’s birthday. One of the last times I […]
Otherworld Chronicles: The Invisible Tower
Otherworld Chronicles: The Invisible Tower, by Nils Johnson-Shelton; HarperCollins: New York, 2012; $16.99 Nils Johnson-Shelton’s The Invisible Tower brings the legend of King Arthur and his sorcerer, Merlin, into the modern world through fantasy adventure. This book has all the connections necessary to keep the interest of its readers: video games, dragon slaying, acts of […]
Katie’s League
“This is no place for a girl,” he said. “Go home and play with your dollies” I stood in my backyard, wearing the clothes that I hid from my mama. A T-shirt and jeans, with a baseball cap atop my head. Boy, would Mama scream if she saw me wearing this. But I hate itchy […]
The Scarlet King
Now, Cocky was a big, kingly rooster It was an icy cold morning. I struggled to wake from the blissful sleep I had enjoyed all night. I stretched luxuriously and half smiled, but then, glancing at my clock, I abruptly jumped up into the frigid air our clumsy black woodstove was desperately trying to warm. […]
I See Only Beauty
Liquid glass shatters on the sidewalk from the angry sky Scattering all the pedestrians like ants They hurry home to the comfort Of their TV dinners and their television sets While I walk the streets— A garbage bag as my raincoat, my heart light I find Picasso in a puddle And stories in the sky […]
Finding Keeper
“A loss, no matter the size, hurts” It was late October on the verge of November and the sky had lost all of its brightness, taking on the stark, ink-black tone of night. On and on it stretched, broken only by occasional clusters of stars. It was cold, too. A cold that seeped all the […]
An Indescribable Feeling
The finest time to go fishing is at dusk. A hazy fog is settling over the lake, and the sun sits perched just above the crown of the tree line, casting a multitude of soft colors. I prepare myself, sliding slowly into the canoe, balancing myself and making sure not to fall into the crisp […]
