Fiction
The kingdom of Raja Bhaskarendra was administered by governors, who had many powers in their own provinces. The office of the governor passed from father to son, as did the crown of the king himself. One of these governors was Raja Dhaval. His son Venky was the pride and joy of his life. One fateful [...]
Fiction
Darren Milar sighed as he walked into the schoolyard. All around him kids were laughing, running, and playing. The sound of tetherball chains as they clinked against their metal poles rang out as Darren passed. When kids started school again, they were sometimes nervous, excited, or a little sad. But that was nothing compared to [...]
Fiction
"Aunt Carol, what's that?" I asked as I carefully examined her plate. It was a stormy evening outside, but inside Ponzio's it felt warm and fuzzy. She whispered into my soft ear, "Chicken pot pie." It was magical, it was sensational, it was as delicate as a butterfly's wing. She spooned me a lump of [...]
Fiction
The water. It used to be tranquil. A calm, yet dynamic giant, nourishing the life within. Sometimes its surface churned, purging the muddy banks of debris and stirring up the sediment on the bottom. Other times it was as still as a hot day in August. At these times the mud would settle to the [...]
Fiction
The sun rose as usual that morning, but no one saw it. There was no shortage of watchers; the two fishermen on Bell Island were up mending their nets, watching the horizon for the glow that would tell them it was time to set out, and the beady-eyed gulls were watching in their wary way [...]
Fiction
Shannon took a deep breath and then opened the door. Tiny brass bells that hung on the inside tinkled merrily until she closed the door behind her and ran her hand swiftly through almost completely brown hair. She let her breath out, and then inhaled the smells of the Animal Rescue Thrift Store she was [...]
Fiction
It was a beautiful afternoon in August; it was slightly breezy and there wasn't a cloud in the baby-blue sky. School started in two weeks and the kids in my neighborhood were going all out, trying to squeeze all the fun they could into those last precious hours in the park. The kids in sixth [...]
Poems
Fog wisping through the Douglas firs Rain dripping from the wind-whipped boughs Crisp and cold fresh autumn air The smell of spruce and dampened earth. An ocean vista filled with fog Like a misty edge of the world Only the ceaseless distant roar Betrays the presence of the waves. Fog increases the distances Close Sitka [...]
Poems
There might be no Neverland, No heaven, no after. Only cold Earth. There might be nothing— Yet isn't that something? So pretend today will last forever. And fly now, soar, Gravity only exists If you believe in it. Fly with sunbeams Tangled in your glowing hair And fly with moonbeams Softening your face And fly [...]
Book Reviews
Days of Jubilee by Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack; Scholastic Press: New York, 2003; $18.95 The Declaration of Independence says that all men are created equal, with certain unalienable rights, which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At one point in American history, that wasn't true for millions of African-Americans in bondage [...]
Book Reviews
Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Book One: The Capture
Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book One: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky; Scholastic Inc.: New York, 2003; $4.99 I was excited when I opened the book Guardians of Ga'Hoole, The Capture, by Kathryn Lasky. I could tell it would be a good book once I read the cover. Initially, it appealed to my love of animals and [...]
