Winter Birch trees so brown and white Glowing in the moonlight Shaking trees In the howling breeze The tall trees Have falling leaves There is a bird’s nest Where it will rest It is so tall So do not fall Sleds sliding the snow Santa comes with a ho Frozen ice starts melting into water As it gets hotter The ski Was near the tree From the top of the tree You can see the sea The beautiful stream Is like a dream Frozen toes Are standing in the winter snows The snowman so tall He may fall The horse trudging through the snow Farmers do not need the hoe While bears go into hibernation The beautiful carnation blooms Santa’s hat Fell on a cat Rudolph’s nose Lit a hose That is how winter goes * * * Spring In the months of spring flowers bloom No more cold winter doom The melted ice turns into water Because it got hotter Blossoming trees In the cool breeze No more ice and snow So farmers need their hoe Birds are back Don’t say ack No more heavy rain for flowers Only April showers Baby animals are born Some have horns While bears wake from hibernation The beautiful carnation has bloomed Growing leaves On trees You need to use a hose Even when the spring wind blows That is how spring goes * * * Summer In the season of summer There is almost no bummer It is bright and sunny It is nice and funny Whisper in others’ ears Summer is here The holidays make everyone happy Don’t be snappy The summer breeze goes here and there It does not give a blast of air On July 4 it is Independence Day So watch the beautiful fireworks and say hey The leaves Stay on trees Everything is ripe People type Watch the beautiful sunset As you eat baguette Water the seeds with a hose And put the fertilizer that I chose This is how summer goes * * * Autumn Falling leaves In the howling breeze Trees are so tall Leaves still fall Birds flying south Turkey in your mouth Cold weather here and there Running and jumping mare Yellow, red, and orange falling leaves While the farmer heaves Piles of leaves on the road Being a heavy load Everyone is jumping Nobody is bumping Thanksgiving and Halloween are there Families having fun here and there The harvest is coming Farmers are humming The icy wind blows Mighty fine big boughs That is how autumn goes Vidhat Kartik, 9Saratoga, CA Avery Multer, 12Chicago, IL
February 2019
Dancing in the Rain (A Novella)
Dear Reader, Hi! My name is Harper Miller, and I want to be an author when I grow up. I live with my very old dog, Oscar, my Mom and Dad, and my little brother, Theo (with me in the picture above), who is three years younger than me. I started my book on May 11, 2017, when I was 10 and finished on November 27, 2017, and now I am 11. I worked a lot on this book, and I want to say thank you to my Mom and Dad, who helped make this possible. Also, thank you to my editor (and close friend), Mackenzie. You might wonder why I wrote about a girl going through a drought. Here is my answer. I wrote this book to show that a child can make a difference in the world, even when things might be looking pretty bad. Writing this book was one of the many highlights of my life so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Sincerely, Harper This book is dedicated to my little brother Theo, for encouraging me to try. Chapter 1: The Beginning “Canadian Beach” by Tessa Papastergiou, 11 I let the curtains wrap me in their warm embrace. I was watching the rain. I mean, who wasn’t? The time was around midnight, and I was shivering from the air conditioning that was cranked up all the way. It was late June, and I would turn 12 this summer. Next year, I would be going into the big sixth grade. First year of middle school. All of a sudden I felt the urge I had been having these last few hot, rainy nights. Not bothering to pull on my raincoat or rain boots, I ran straight out of the curtains and burst out the front door. I ran out into the front yard. I let the cool rain melt down my body, and let the hot, misted air mix with it. I collapsed, and let all my worries, pain, and grief be washed away. And then, the joy came. I leapt up and jumped for joy. I let myself forget the things that had been on my mind for the last couple of days. I danced, and danced, and danced until the sun began to rise just the slightest bit. Then I crept back inside, and back up the stairs. I stepped into my bedroom, and I stood there shivering, until my senses jolted back to me, and I crept back into my bed. The next morning when I walked down the steps and into the kitchen, the first thing I heard was, “Ayita, were you dancing again!? I can tell because your hair and nightgown are soaked, and you are covered in mud!” “Papa, you know I like to dance. My name means first to dance,” I replied in my best-little-girl-in-the-world voice. My father sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Ayita?” he said softly. “Please go take a shower and wash your nightgown.” “Okay Papa,” I said, equally softly. I turned around and headed back upstairs. An hour later, I was back downstairs. I walked back into the kitchen, and sat down at the table. A bowl of cold gray mush sat at my spot. A little note was slipped underneath it. It read: “I have decided to work in my study for the rest of the day, so please leave after breakfast and don’t return until dinner time. Don’t get into any trouble or you’re grounded.” I sighed, picked up the bowl of gray mush, carried it over to the sink, and dumped it out. Next, I got down one of my mother’s old cookbooks and began to flip through it. Just a few minutes later, I had decided on a good breakfast meal. Soon, I had a hot, steaming bowl of apple-cinnamon oatmeal. Just 10 minutes later, I was walking down the sidewalk all the way on the other side of town. I was heading to what was (in my opinion) the best place ever. When I reached my little hideaway, I began to have some fun. The place I liked to hang out was a big clearing of grass that was set back from the road and hidden by a thick blanket of trees. There was even a swimming hole. But what I liked the most was the big, wire fence that surrounded the place. It was not made of barbed wire, so it was safe to climb up. It made me feel as though it was just my place. It made me feel like home. Chapter 2: I Go to a Forbidden Restaurant If someone were to go to my secret place right now, they would see a girl in jean shorts and a tank top, and that girl would have dark skin and long, straight, black hair. She would have bright-green eyes, just like her mother. That girl would be me. I thought about this for a moment, and then jumped up and raced over to the basket that I had brought along. I had already devoured my picnic lunch, and I was now looking for my kite. When I pulled out the kite, I felt a pang of sadness go through my body, because as I looked at the kite, a rush of memories flooded my mind. And I saw in my mind a little scene playing out. I saw a little girl sitting on the floor of our kitchen. Sitting next to her was a young woman who looked exactly like me. We were decorating a bright-red kite, and on the kite we had written my name in multicolor sparkle glue and markers. I knew that little girl was me, and that young woman was my mother. I sighed, picked up the kite, and began to unspool the thread. When the kite was as spread out as it could be, I began to run. As I walked home, I
Canadian Beach
iPad Tessa Papastergiou, 11Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
