Standing on a stretch of glossy rocks lumps of mussel shells adorned with seaweed advance forward into my grasp. Murky greens color the water in shady reflections, the thought of wind and shadows combined. There is no divider for sky and sea they are intertwined like ivy leaves around each other. For what is not related, in this cool, salty, boundary-less place where the deep comes alive from bottomless water Wujun Ke,13Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November/December 2006
Not Ready
There, sitting on my bed, was my mom, my hero, and she was sobbing “Mommy, nooo! Don’t make me go!” I clutched the leg of my highly embarrassed mother as she tried to calm my fears. It was my first day of preschool and I was terrified. I began to cry even harder when my mom attempted to pry me off of her leg. She told me that she’d be back very soon and that my teacher was extremely nice, but I held fast. I was unconvinced. The other little children stared at me with wide eyes as they witnessed the scene I was making. It wasn’t pretty. My face was stained with tears and they continued to stream down my reddened cheeks. After a great deal of coaxing, encouraging, and bribing, though, I too was sitting in a little plastic chair inside a room that I was sure to be tortured in. The entire afternoon I refused to fingerpaint, eat a snack, or sing the alphabet. * * * As I sat at the kitchen table a smile spread over my lips and I had to laugh at the old memory. It was hard to believe that the little four-year-old girl had once been me. But deep inside that was really how I felt, unwilling to leave my mother and detach myself from the familiar lifestyle I had lived for so long. I didn’t want to take the next step. I knew that I had to, though. It was only another turn on the winding road of life. Making my way to my bedroom, the room I had loved for so long, I let out a heavy sigh. When I reached the doorway I was taken aback. There, sitting on my bed, was my mom, my hero, and she was sobbing. I slowly crept to her side and tried to com-fort her trembling form but soon found myself weeping as well. We cried together for a while, and it was my mom who gathered herself first. She smiled at me, squeezing me close. I returned her smile through my tears, glancing over at my packed bags and large bundles. I thought about college. What would it be like? I dismissed the thought, all that I wanted now was the comfort of my mother’s arms. Aubrey Lawrence, 12Hinckley, Ohio Marsha Trego, 13Ford City, Pennsylvania
Ingrid and the Wolf
Ingrid and the Wolf, by Andre Alods; Tundra Books: Toronto, zoos; $8.95 When I first looked at the book cover, I imagined how uneventful it would be. But I guess the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” is true. As soon as I read the first page, I felt like there was some invisible glue that held it to my hands. I just couldn’t put it down. There were two things that drew me to this book. One was the courage that an eleven-year-old girl named Ingrid showed. The second one was the never-broken promise that was made to Gabor (a special wolf) even after Countess Liliane (Ingrid’s grandmother) forbade her to ever go down to the labyrinth (the place where Gabor lived) again. I am very impressed. Who knew a girl just eleven years old could have such a strong soul? Sometimes I think of her as a saint. I would really want to be friends with her if she was a real person. In the real world, I think keeping promises all the time is very hard, but I also believe that it is important. I can really understand the pressure that was put on Ingrid when she found out that she might have to break her promise with Gabor. Ingrid is like a role model for me. I will try to keep my promises to people under all circumstances. As much as I love this book and wish for it to go on and on, never ending, I have my fears as well. I feel sorry for Gabor, who will die now that he is out of the labyrinth, a place where he was born to never age a single day I hope with all my heart that if this book continues, some magic would work on Gabor and he would never become old and die, living as long as Ingrid lived, being her companion forever. When I first read about Gabor, my thoughts wandered to the time when I saw a video about a dog named Lassie. It risked its own life seeking revenge on the person that had killed its owner. Now that I think of it, Lassie and Gabor aren’t all that different. Both have a lot of faith and are always putting others ahead of themselves. I dream about having trusted companions like them every day I imagine that it will be a collie dog, like Lassie. But the only pet that my mom allows so far is my guinea pig, Rusty. This book not only includes tons of adventures but also many unsolved mysteries and… well, just plain mysterious things! For example, there is a pale green book that can turn to salt and a mysterious servant named Laszlo who can only talk when you hit him every two hours. Though, if not for these tragedies (and mysteries), the book would be only half as exciting and adventurous. I mean, who would want to listen to a story that was of a girl that lived in a normal family, who went to visit her grandma, a countess, whom she had never seen before. At her grandma’s house, she met a nice wolf. There, they became good friends and had a happy life together ever since. Do you think that the book would have been this boring? No! Ingrid and the Wolf is actually a story that just about spellbinds you, as Andre Alexis has changed the dull bones of this book into the most vivid scene anyone could create in one’s mind. Boyu Huang, 9Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
