The Spice by Bernice, age 10

Stay Now by Ivy, age 9 & Bernice, age 10

The Boy Who Turned into a Cell Phone by Chelzea, age 9

On a dark, cloudy night, my mom left me at the park with my grandma. I saw a boy who I knew. His name was Anthony. He was bouncing a basketball. I hid behind a car because I thought he might hit me for spying on him. My grandma went to the store and bought some drinks. After she bought the juice she saw me hiding and she hid behind a tree.

Anthony turned around and saw my feet. I saw a witch behind him. She had squiggly snakes as hair. She was wearing a black cape and she had a mole on her nose and face.

“Anthony,” said the witch, “You took my magic!”

“What magic?”

“The magic I kept in my arms.”

The witch waved her hands around and said, “You will turn into a cell phone.”

Anthony’s hands became buttons, his legs became the speaker and his face turned into the caller ID screen. I covered my ears because he made a really loud sound.

I knew Anthony’s weakness was music because he hated music. Whenever he heard it, he would throw up. So I sang a song about Anthony and his sister. I sang, Aow aow aow aow. The curse was broken and we became good friends.

About the Author

Hi, My name is Chelzea. I am nine years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom and dad. I like to sing and bake cakes and cookies. I want to be good at art. When I grow up, I want to be a Rock Star. This year I want to memorize the timetables. I am scared of tigers. I wonder about cats. Why do they scratch us sometimes and sometimes don’t?

Full of Stars by Michelle W., age 10

Full of Stars

Go inside this body
and see the blood run
See its heart beating
like a car on a bumpy road
Maybe the brain is watching you
Maybe the lungs are full of stars

The Time I Went to the Hospital by Holly, age 8

When I went to play racing with my friend, I bumped my hand on the wall and it got twisted. It felt shivering cold and it felt like there was electricity in my veins. There was a new teacher. His name was Robert and he helped me go inside, then he gave me an icepack to put on my hand. I saw my dad coming to pick me up. So I told him that I needed to go to the hospital because I broke my arm.

“Next time be careful and don’t break your arm again!” he said, rubbing my back. “You are such a monkey!” My dad’s face was pale and his eyes were looking at me quietly. He looked very sad.

“I am so sorry,” I said. “Next time I won’t break my arm again.”

“Ok,” he said. So we went to the hospital. My dad said the hospital was called the “White Hospital” because the building is white. We went upstairs and took a number out of a red machine. The hospital smelled like old flowers and I heard birds chirping and people talking. I saw bottles of red medicine.


They called my number and we got to see the doctor. She checked my hand and gave me a sticker. It was a High School Musical sticker. I thought the doctor would give me a shot, but that didn’t happen. The doctor’s name was Dr. Tran and she spoke Vietnamese. She asked my dad in Vietnamese how my arm got broken.

She took an x-ray, then looked at my skeleton and saw my broken arm. She said, “We need to put a cast on her arm.”

I had to wait a long time before the doctor called my name again. Finally she called me, then she wrapped a roll of gauze around my arm. She got out a long metal thing. It was a splint. She put it on top of my arm and wrapped more gauze around the splint and my arm. The doctor told us to come back the next day so she could put the plaster on.


When we left the hospital, we saw a bagel store so I asked my dad, “Can you buy two bagels, one for me and one for you?”

He said, “Ok.”

We got bagels then picked up my brother from his school and drove to my mom’s work to tell her about the hospital. Her work is at Stonestown Mall.

After we talked to my mom, I went to go see videogames, then my dad said, “Let’s go home.” So my dad drove me home with my brother. At home I played some of my brother’s games. Then I put a pillow under my hand so I would feel comfortable. I fell asleep.

The next day was Thursday. I went back to the hospital and they gave me another x-ray. It was so painful because the doctor was moving my hand a lot. After she looked at the x-ray, she put on the plaster. When she was done, I couldn’t put my arm close to me because the plaster would stick on my clothes while I waited for it to dry.

I went back to the doctor many weeks later. She took out a machine to cut the plaster. It sounded like snoring when you sleep.

About the Author

Holly is eight years old and she has a brother. Her brother is eleven years old. Holly is good at dodge ball. She loves sports so much! Holly is also good at math and helping other classmates. Her favorite game is tag. This is her first published story.

Three Stories by Alina, age 8

The Brown Monster

I was scared of a brown monster. Its head was a drilling thing. I screamed, “Help! Someone help!” No one came to help. But a green monster killed the brown monter. I ran to my mom’s room. She was scared too, but my dad did not wake up.

The Penguin

I saw a penguin with three circles on its belly. The penguin was blue. But I liked it. Other penguins were black and regular. I went and touched the blue one. It was cold and furry. My mom touched it and she said it felt soft. I said, “I love penguins” after my mom touched it. A little bit later we went home. We were all talking about those penguins. I said, “The blue one was cute.”

The Dream

I saw a dog. It was barking at me. I went closer to it, and the dog licked my hand. I liked it but I was scared because I saw a huge bear behind the dog and it was white. Its eyes looked cold. There were all kinds of animals there. They looked like robots. They were a little bit shiny and they moved slowly.

About the Author

I am eight years old. I am in third grade. My name is Alina. I wonder about animals like wolves and dogs. Why are they sometimes nice and sometimes mean? I am afraid of spiders. They are spooky. I am good at kickball and two-square too sometimes.

Random and Sparrow by Nathan, age 9

The leader teases Sparrow and hits him in the stomach. That’s why Sparrow wants to get payback. They live in a desert full of scorpions.

The leader says to Random, “Be my slave and if you don’t, then I will say you must die!” The leader is half human, half monster.

Sparrow and Random are brothers, but not anymore because Random betrayed Sparrow. Random betrayed Sparrow by working for the leader. Random thought Sparrow didn’t work hard enough to escape from being the leader’s slave.

Sparrow has green eyes and Random has red eyes and they wear different kinds of clothes.

Sparrow kills Random. He uses a magic sword. His magic sword has light powers and sun energy. Random’s body has meat inside and his face is red and wrinkled and his mouth is open.

The leader sees that Random is dead. The leader can close his eyes and see all over the place. He saw Sparrow kill Random. So the leader sends out his ten best spies to start attacking Sparrow. The spies are called Longoatsters. They wear capes over their muscular shoulders. When they walk in the woods they see Sparrow hiding behind some rocks. Sparrow doesn’t know what to do.

Powerful weapons come out of the Longoatsers’ bodies. The weapons look like metal orbs. When the Longoatsters rub their hands on them, the orbs get bigger and bigger. When the orbs are big, they throw them. When Sparrow sees it, it reminds him of a robot. It smells like toxic chemicals that can poison you to death. It tastes like nothing, nothing at all because it is clean.

The Longoatsters don’t know that Sparrow has a strong and powerful sword. When the sword swings, it shoots out light. Sparrow shines it at the Longoatsters’ eyes. They die because the light has poison in it.

About the Author

Nathan is nine years old. He lives in San Francisco with his mom, dad, sister, grandma and grandpa. He is good at writing about violence and playing war. Nightmares about zombies with red eyes that glow in the dark scare him.

Attack of the Ninjas by Yong, age 10

Jo’s dad was a scientist. He studied time travel and helped Jo build a time portal. The time portal was shaped like a dragon. It was in a museum and someone put a magic spell on the portal. Jo used it to unleash ninjas that cut off someone’s head and robots that loved to kill people.

The ninjas were off to town They built weapons and cannons and battleships. The ninjas were too quick to be seen. They used the cannons to shoot the army and used the battleships to destroy the navy. The ninjas were killing everybody.

The Commander said to the governor, “The ninjas are destroying everything.

“Send in the soldiers and the air force,” said the governor.

“You search west and you search north and we will search south and east,” said the Commander. The air force searched the whole city.

The general said, “I am going to end the battle now!” The general built atomic missiles.

“What are you going to do?” said the commander.

“I am going to bomb my city,” said the general. “Tell everybody to evacuate, well almost everybody, some people are already killed.”

“Five, four, three, two, one, launch,” said the commander.

A soldier said, “Do you think we forgot anything?”

“No,” said the commander. But they did. The general was sleeping on the floor. He woke up in the command center flying up in the sky. He realized he was dead. Jo and his dad were too. They were laughing at the general.

“Curse you!” he yelled. He saw the ninjas in the place he went to after he died.

About the Author

Hi, my name is Yong. This is my third published book. I am also the author of My Face Is Made out of Gold and Yong and the Dragon. It is very fun to play videogames like PSP PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I am ten years old. I live with my mom and dad and cousin and grandpa in San Francisco.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun By Trang, Tiana, Ivy & Anna

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Don’t tell us girls bore you
because we just wanna have fun
Don’t tell us to put a middle-sized white rat in our teacher’s shirt
because we will get in trouble
Don’t tell us to shave our heads bald
because we will be called weirdos
Don’t tell us to smoke
because cancer can kill us
Don’t tell us we’re ugly
because you are bizarre
Don’t tell us to play football
because the ball will land on our stomachs
Tell us you want to race us
because we’ll win

Bathtub By Jennifer, age 9

Bathtub
By Jennifer

Don’t tell me to give you a sponge bath
because I don’t know you.
Don’t tell me to rob my father
because he has cameras everywhere.
Don’t tell me to kiss my mom’ s nephew
because he has bad breath.
Don’t tell me to wake up at six in the morning
because I’m still wearing a facial mask.
Don’t tell me to do drugs
because they’re going to give me lead poison.
Don’t tell me to be a vegetarian
because I love meat and meat loves me.
Tell me to fill your bathtub with venom
because I want to.

Making Friends By Vic, age 10

Making Friends
By Vic

Making friends is like making energy with a sponge
like going to war with no weapon
like making paper airplanes with no paper
like finding a room in a big school with no room numbers
Making friends is like playing with a yoyo

MUNI Moments: An Occasional Series

During one of our class discussions about where to look for writing ideas, the topic of MUNI came up. MUNI is the bus system here in San Francisco. We rely on it for class field trips. Sometimes MUNI gets you where you want to go pretty fast, sometimes it doesn't. But either way, it's ripe with writing possibilities. Below are Room 2's first three "MUNI Moments" stories, all by Kimberly, age 9.


By Kimberly
MUNI Disaster

We were riding the number nine bus to my uncle’s house. I was sitting on my dad’s lap because I was 4 or 5. I felt like throwing up and I did. I cried and cried, and I kept on throwing up. I accidentally threw up on my dad’s shoe. Everybody on the bus stared at me, except the bus driver. He was focused on driving the bus. When I got off the bus I stopped throwing up. When I arrived at my uncle’s house he said, “good morning.” My uncle and aunt were all dressed up and I don’t know why. My sister and I said good morning to them. Later I learned it was my grandpa’s birthday and they were going to a restaurant.

The Bloody Man

My dad, sister and I rode the number one bus for a long time. We were on our way to Chinese School. When the bus arrived in Chinatown, we saw a man getting on the bus. He was a senior citizen. He tripped on the stairs, and tumbled down to the ground. People surrounded him but said nothing. A woman saw his head was bleeding. He walked up the street instead of riding the MUNI. My sister said, “It creeped me out.”

I said, “It didn’t creep me out” because I enjoy watching violent stuff like wrestling on TV. After Chinese school we saw blood on the sidewalk on the way back to the bus stop.

Busted

My dad and I were riding on the number one bus. My sister didn’t come because she was in summer school. We were going to the park. At the stop close to the Chinatown park a homeless man got on the bus. He didn’t pay the bus fare and took a seat. The driver told him to get off the bus but the homeless man said nothing and didn’t get off the bus. The bus driver called the cops and stopped the bus and made everyone wait until they came. The police arrested the homeless man. I was scared because I was four or five and I had a feeling I would be arrested in the future.

My sister thinks that MUNI should have a rule that says if you have money you should pay, but if you don’t have money you should get to ride for free. I think if you don’t have money you should walk. Too bad.



About the Author

My name is Kimberly. I am nine years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom, dad, sister, uncle and grandma. I like to watch WWE Smackdown on TV. I am good at art and I want to be an artist when I grow up. Someday I want to be good at four-square. My goal this year is to watch wrestling every weekend. I am a tomboy and I wonder why my sister is not. My biggest fear is knives. If I could have any super hero power I would choose the power to control all the wrestlers on TV. This is my first published book.

The Aliens 2: Robomom's Revenge by Sharon & Christie

Chapter 1

“Umm, I’ll take a lemon sherbet,” Jasmine said, looking at the menu.

“Me too,” said Ariel.

“I’d like a rainbow sherbet with a cherry on top,” said Nicky, licking his lips.

“Great. Nice choice,” said their waitress. She wrote down their order and walked away. She wore a nametag that said “Rachel.”

“Doesn’t she sound familiar,” Nicky whispered. “Almost like Robomom.”

“I know,” Jasmine said. “Maybe someone turned her back on.”

“Yeah,” said Ariel. “We should have burnt her up or something.”

“But why was she turned on so quickly?” Nicky said. “We left her just a few minutes ago.”

“I don’t know,” said Jasmine. “We’ll have to find out.”


Chapter 2

Nicky thought about the recurring dream he had about a huge bat chasing him. He shuddered, but before Ariel could ask him what was wrong, Rachel walked back to the kids’ table, holding a tray with three bowls of sherbet.

“Here’s your order,” she said, glaring at Nicky, her eyes needles of anger.

“Thank you,” said Nicky, ignoring her. The kids ate silently. Nicky realized that he forgot to bring money.

When they finished, Rachel walked back to their table. “Do you want anymore?” she asked.

“No,” Jasmine said.

“OK,” Rachel said. “That will be $3.75.”

“Um, we don’t have any money,” said Nicky sheepishly.

“How dare you!” Rachel bellowed furiously. Customers from other tables were beginning to stare.

“Run!” yelled Nicky as the twins pushed the table towards Rachel.

“Don’t let them escape!” yelled Rachel. Three bloodhounds blocked the doorway.

“Trapped!” Jasmine said.

“No we’re not!” Nicky yelled, turning away from the doorway.

The kids ran as fast as they could, with Rachel close behind them. The customers clapped. They thought the commotion was some kind of public performance art.

“Stop clapping you fools,” yelled Nicky, throwing a banana peel at a bald man’s head.

“Hey,” the man yelled, wiping his forehead with a napkin.

“What a weirdo,” Ariel laughed.

“I agree,” said Jasmine.

“Why are you talking about that?” said Nicky frantically. “We’re on the run from Rachel, also known as ROBOMOM!”

“You’re right!” Ariel said. “I forgot.”

“Well you shouldn’t have,” Nicky said. “How can you forget about our dangerous situation?”

Ariel started to reply, but she was interrupted by a crash. Rachel had taken a vase out of her pocket (now she looked much thinner), and thrown it at the three kids.

“Oh man! I missed those bratty kids!”

“AAAHHH,” the kids screamed. “Somebody help us! Don’t just stand there staring!” The kids smashed a window with a chair, making a big hole in the glass.

“Come on,” Nicky yelled, jumping out the window. The twins ran after him.

“Come back here!” Rachel screeched. “I’m not done with you guys!”

“Help us!” the kids screamed, as Rachel followed close behind.

“She’s really fast,” Nicky said. “We need to go faster.”

“Hey look,” said Jasmine. “There’s a house over there.”

The twins ran to the house and knocked on the door. As an infant, Nicky had always been told to stay away from strangers, but he suspiciously followed them anyways. The door opened and a girl stood there wearing a purple skirt and a blue t-shirt with Hawaii Rules printed on it in green. “Can I help you?” the girl asked.

“Oh my god,” whispered Ariel. “Isn’t that Matilda?”

“I think so,” whispered Jasmine. “This is the place where the ship landed.”

“Um, excuse me,” said Ariel. “But can you let us hide in here? We’re being chased by an evil machine called Robomom. At least, that’s what we think. She’s chasing us for no reason.”

The girl thought for a long time. Finally she said, “Fine, but I warn you, try to be quiet, my mom is sleeping and if she sees you guys, well, she’ll get really mad. By the way, I’m Matilda.” She let the kids inside.

This house is very small, Nicky thought. The living room had a blue couch and a small TV. Sitting on the table was a purple vase with a single daffodil in it. The wallpaper was coming off and the walls had long wide cracks in them. There was only one small bedroom and one bathroom. The kitchen looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a century. The T.V was on and a reporter was talking about a robbery at Bobby Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor.

“Wow this place is a dump,” whispered Nicky.

“This is the weirdest house ever!” whispered Ariel.

“Not as weird as our house,” whispered Jasmine.

“True,” Ariel whispered back.

“What are you whispering about?” asked Matilda.

“Uhhhhhh, about how nice your house is compared to ours?” Jasmine said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah,” Ariel and Nicky said nodding their heads. As soon as they stopped nodding, they heard a loud ringing. “What was that” asked Nicky.

“Oh, that’s just the phone.” Matilda said. “I’ll answer it.” She picked up the phone and walked into the kitchen.

As soon as Matilda was out of earshot, Nicky said. “I didn’t even notice the phone. By the way, nice save Jasmine.”

Ariel and Jasmine nodded, then Ariel screamed: “Nicky! Behind you! Knife! Matilda!”

Nicky turned around and saw Matilda holding a knife above his head. “Ahh!” Nicky screamed. “Runnn!”

Chapter 3

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” bellowed a large a woman who appeared from the doorway to their right.

“Ugh,” Matilda said, “Uh, we’re writing a play involving my friends Andy, Katie, and Kelly,” Matilda began to sweat. “Right?” She glared at Nicky.

“Right,” Nicky said frantically, the twins glaring at him.

“This better be safe,” Matilda’s mom said. “We can’t afford to be sued, especially after that incident.”

“Blah blah blah!” Matilda said, lowering the knife.

“Shut your mouth,” Matilda’s mom said. “Besides, what play is this?”

“Uhh, a school play,” Nicky said. “Matilda is going to pretend to kill me."

“You may rehearse in here, but be quiet,” Matilda’s mom said, walking back to her bedroom.

Matilda cornered Nicky and the twins.

“Run,” Nicky yelled, seizing three wooden sticks resting against the cracked walls. He threw two of them to the twins and they caught the sticks expertly.

“Let’s fight back!” said Nicky swinging the stick over Matilda’s head.

“Stop,” Matilda yelled, dropping the knife. “Hear me out.”

Nicky froze, his stick was an inch away from Matilda’s head.

“Don’t listen to her!” Ariel said, swinging her stick out toward Matilda.

“Stop!” Jasmine said. She held on to her sister’s arm. Ariel halted.

“Tell us your story,” Nicky said, dropping his stick, Ariel’s stick took its place next to Matilda’s head.

“Well,” Matilda said. “I was walking down the street one day when a shiny-headed woman kidnapped me and put me in a big, orange backpack. She locked the zippers together so I couldn’t escape. I managed to open the backpack a bit so I could breath. She took me to an old gray house. She tied me to a chair and told me that she was my real mom.”

Matilda shuddered so hard that Nicky thought her brain would shoot through her ears.

“I didn’t believe her so I made her prove it and she did,” said Matilda. “I am a robot.”

Ariel snorted, “Yeah right. That is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard!”

“It’s true,” Matilda said.

“Prove it,” said Ariel.

“Fine I will.” She led them to the attic that she called her room.



Chapter 4

Ariel lowered her stick. Matilda's room was small. Pink wallpaper covered the walls and posters of ponies were tacked up on the closet door. An open bag of Lays potato chips and a lamp shaped like a cat sat on a desk in the corner. Next to the desk was a bed with floral print blankets and star-shaped pillows. It looked like a honeymoon suite. Something caught Nicky's eye. It was sticking out from behind one of the posters. He removed the poster, revealing a series of buttons. “Ooh! What does this button do?” Nicky asked, pressing the button. The walls started shaking. The walls turned over, revealing another room.Tons of bottles sat patiently on a metal shelf, while a metal bed with straps around it slept. There lay a sink and used gloves next to a pair of tweezers. It was a huge laboratory.

“What's this all about?” Ariel said, her eyes opened wide.

“This is my real room,” Matilda said. “That one was just so that my other mom wouldn't worry.”

“Well, let's see the evidence,” Ariel said.

Matilda led them to an old computer sitting on a small desk in a dark, dusty corner. They were both covered in cobwebs. Matilda turned it on and pushed some buttons. She opened the desk and took out a minidisk. She inserted the disk and waited. Five minutes later, a document appeared on the screen. Matilda clicked on it, revealing a bunch of other documents. Matilda clicked on the one that said “Unlimited Proof.” Rows of documents appeared. Matilda clicked the one that read “My Mother."

“Observe,” said Matilda. A box appeared and she clicked the “play” button. On the screen Matilda was walking down a street, then Robomom put her in a large bright orange backpack, locked it and carried it into an old broken down gray house. Matilda squirmed and tried to break free. Robomom dropped it and pushed it around until Matilda stopped kicking. She took Matilda out and tied her to a chair.

“Young one,” she said dramatically. “I am your real mother.”

“Yeah right,” Matilda said.

“Yeah. I am,” the woman said, not detecting the sarcasm in Matilda's voice.

“Prove it,” Matilda said.

The woman took a screwdriver from her pocket and unscrewed Matilda's stomach. Matilda looked inside her stomach and gasped at the tangle of screws and wires.

“Are you are a robot?” Matilda asked. The woman nodded. The screen went blank.

“One question,” Nicky said. “Who was taping this video?”

“My mom is a robo-fanatic,” Matilda said. “She has cameras all over her house and I stole this footage for some reason, maybe to remind me how much I hate her.”

“She told me to kill you,” Matilda said. “I don't want to kill you. From now on, I'm on your side, if you believe me of course.”

“One moment,” Nicky said.

Nicky and the twins huddled in the corner to discuss the situation. Finally, they broke up. “Okay,” Nicky said. “You're in.”



Chapter 5

Matilda handed out some walkie-talkies shaped like cell phones. “It's so that if we get caught, then they won't be suspicious,” Matilda said.

“Why would walkie-talkies be suspicious,” Nicky asked. “And why not just use cell phones?”

“They might think we’re up to something,” Matilda replied. “And cell phones not only cost too much, but they take too long to dial.”

“Okay, then how do you talk into them?” Nicky asked.

“Just press 1 as you talk,” Matilda said.

“Cool,” said Jasmine.

“First we need a plan,” Ariel said.

“I have one,” Matilda said. “Jasmine, hold on to a screwdriver and we'll lead you to Robomom. I'll lure Robomom out and when I say NOW, Nicky and Ariel will tie her up and tape her mouth. When we finish, you come out and unscrew all the screws you see and we will get on my jet and drop the pieces around the world.”

“Yes!” Jasmine said. “I get to kill her.”

“Hey, no fair! I want to kill her too!” Ariel whined.

“Too bad, too sad!” Jasmine said.

“Let's get to work,” Nicky said.

“Robomom lives in an old gray house,” Matilda said.

“We know,” Ariel said. “We used to live with her.”

“Then you know what it's like to rub her feet,” Matilda said. All four kids shuddered.

“Let's go,” Nicky said. The kids ran to the front of the lab and pushed the red button.

Matilda hung the picture in front of the buttons. “Mom, we're going outside!” Matilda yelled.

Matilda's mom grunted. The kids ran outside.

“First we must get the props,” Jasmine said.

“Let's go,” Matilda said, pulling out a small coin purse.

At the store, the kids bought a rope, a screwdriver, and a roll of tape. They walked back to Matilda's house.

“Where's the jet?” Ariel asked.

“Behind the house,” Matilda said. They walked behind the house.

“Whoa!” Nicky said. “I can't believe your mom didn't notice that!”

“She doesn't go outside,” Matilda said. “I do the shopping and stuff.” They climbed into the jet. “3, 2, 1 blastoff,” Matilda said. The ship blasted silently into the air.

“I thought jets were loud,” said Ariel.

“I kind of fiddled with it so it's quiet now,” Matilda said. When the ship landed, Matilda pushed a button before she got off.

“What did you do?” Nicky gaped, seeing not a jet but a few trees.

“The camoflauge system works, doesn't it?' Matilda said

“Let's go,” Ariel said. They walked to the old gray house.

“Hide!” Matilda said. She knocked on the door. Robomom came out of the house. “Hey mom, I killed those brats like you told me to, so can you play with me? You promised you would,” Matilda said.

“Oh, all right, Robomom said. She limped out into the yard.

“Why are you limping?” Matilda said.

“One of those brats managed to unscrew an important screw in my leg,” Robomom said.

“Now!” Matilda yelled. Nicky and Ariel jumped out and tied up Robomom.

“What's this?” Robomom asked.

“Sorry mom,” Matilda said, taping her Robomom’s mouth.

Jasmine came out and unscrewed Robomom's head. Matilda cut the ropes with a pocketknife. Jasmine unscrewed every screw she could find. Matilda took out a garbage bag and shoved all the pieces into the bag. Pulling the bag behind them, the kids ran into the trees. Matilda turned the trees back into a jet and took off.

About the Authors

Sharon is ten years old. This is her third published book. She is also the author of Travel pictures and The Aliens. She enjoys playing four square with her best friend Christie.

Christie is ten years old. This is her fourth published book. She is also the author of Like a Maze, Like a Cherry on top, and The Aliens. She enjoys playing four square with her best friend Sharon.

The Iceman By Don, age 9

Joe and his brothers Nick and Chip were in boat to Iceland. When they landed, they put the boat in a safe place. A sign said DANGER: ICEMAN, but they didn’t care. While they slept, they heard a sound.

“What was that?” said Joe.

“I don’t know,” said Chip.

Joe checked the boat and he saw the Iceman and he escaped. Now only one Nick and Chip were left. They heard another sound. Then someone shook the ice outside. It was the Iceman. He was twenty feet tall. He was stinky from eating scarecrows and he was covered in ice.

Nick and Chip ran into a dead end. They had some bombs left over from the war against the Germans and some other weapons too. They tried to kill the Iceman but he was too quick. He came up in back of them. He picked them up and Chip escaped, but he grabbed Nick and gobbled his heart out and ate his brain. Nick’s leftovers looked like a hotdog in a bun with ketchup. When he got chewed up it sounded like crunching potato chips. The Iceman ate Chip last and Chip transformed into the Iceman after he got eaten because his heart was the same size as the Iceman’s. Chip turned white and he grew white fur everywhere on his body and he was mad.

About the Author

My name is Don. I have a Playstation 2. I am nine years old. I live with my mom in San Francisco. I have been to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Vietnam. The Iceman is my first published book.

Wolves By Anna, age 9

There was a happy town and the people there never fought. Then one day a pack of wolves came to the town. When the wolves came, people in the town of Happiness started a food fight with brown bananas. The wolves crossed out “Happiness” and wrote “Wolf Town.” Each day more wolves came and the people started turning into wolves but only on the inside, so the other people still thought Happiness was the same. But later, when people got to Happiness and saw that the sign said WOLFTOWN, they started growing fur all over their bodies. When they read the sign the words became lasers that hit the people and this made them turn into wolves. More and more people came to see the town because they saw it on the news. People everywhere were talking about it.

One day a boy went to the town with his friends. They said, “Shouldn’t we be heading back home?”

“No,” said the boy as he picked his nose.

So they went through the gate to the town and everything was silent. They heard a howl. They were shivering. It was like a ghost town. Nobody talked. They only howled. A bunch of wolves surrounded them and the Wolf Governor came. He was the meanest wolf, that’s why all the other wolves voted for him.

“Why are you in my town?” the Wolf Governor said, stomping his feet. His voice was like a helicopter hovering over the boy’s head.

The kids were scared, but the boy said, “We are looking around, and why are you in costumes?”

“We are not wearing costumes,” said the Wolf Governor. “We are real talking wolves.” The wolves showed their teeth and claws as if they were about to have a feast.

The boy’s friends were tugging him because they wanted to go.

The boy said, “We heard that people who come here never leave.”

“They don’t because we have a laser that turns people into wolves. We wolves rock!”

“No you don’t,” said the boy, twitching his eye. He made his voice louder. “Humans rock! Humans have fingers and wolves don’t.”

“Wolves have paws. You humans disgust me. It’s time to eat our meal.”

The boy’s friends were tugging on him to turn around and go back home.

“No, I want to stay,” the boy said.

The wolves attacked the boy’s friends and put them in jail. It made them think of an old haunted house.
They were screaming, “Help!”

“We’ll keep your friends in jail unless you sacrifice yourself by letting us eat you instead.”

“He looks juicy and plump,” said one of the wolves.

“No! I do not want to get eaten,” the boy said.

“So you do not want to save your friends?”

“I do want to save my friends. How about a deal? I’ll let you eat my parents because they wanted to throw me out in the woods.”

The Wolf Governor thought about when he was a little wolf. His parents didn’t take very good care of him when he was a baby. He had to find his own food and his parents left him when they became billionaires. He had to raise himself so he really disliked parents.

“Ok we’ll eat your parents and let your friends out.”

“I’ll bring them here so you can feast on them, but let my friends out.”

“Ok, bring your parents tomorrow, then we’ll let your friends out. Now go back home so you can get ready for tomorrow.”

“Ok,” said the boy.

He went back home and went to sleep. The next morning the boy took his mom and dad to Wolftown. When they got there, the boy had some food so his parents could eat because they skipped breakfast. They played a thinking game and waited until night and the boy didn’t tell his parents that they would be eaten. When it was night, the boy’s parents told him it was time to go home, but he said no. They agreed to stay and did some exploring while the boy talked to the wolves.

The wolves came out and told the boy, “Are you ready to surrender your parents?”

“Yes. I am ready to let you eat my parents.”

“Good. Tell them that they will be eaten alive.”

“No, they will be scared, so instead I’ll say goodbye to them.”

The boy found his parents. “Good bye,” he said.

“Why are you saying goodbye?” said his parents.

“Because you are going to be eaten by wolves.” The boy got nervous so he told the truth.

“What? You want us to be dead?”

“I let them eat you so they would free my friends.”

“Well, they have to catch us first.” The boy’s parents ran as fast as they could. They ran out of Wolftown. The wolves didn’t catch them because they were too full from eating another boy.

“Now the deal is off,” said the Wolf Governor.

“You can’t keep my friends hostage.”

“Yes we can.”

“Let them go! Eat my parents! They went that way!” The boy pointed towards the gate to Wolftown.

The wolves followed the parents’ scent then they found them behind a tree. They snuck up behind the tree and caught the parents. The wolves built a fire and tied the parents to a pole and roasted them. When the parents were done cooking, the wolves ate them.

About the Author

Hi! My name is Anna. I am nine years old. I was born on October 12, 1998. This is my first published book. I was born in San Francisco then I moved to Sacramento, then I moved back again. I live with my mom. I like to draw. I’m good at reading and I want to be better at math. When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian. I’m different from other kids because I was in a car accident. My biggest fear is falling off a cliff.

Curses: Three True Stories By Jason, age 9

Bloody Head

One sunny day at school, I was on the bench because it was the base in the game tag. I told my friend to not baby-sit, but he did not care. So when he turned his head, I scooted a little further away from him. I remembered I was on the edge of the bench and I fell and didn’t feel that much pain from the damage. Then many people stared at me and I felt my head with my hand and looked at my hand, blood was all over my hand. My head was bleeding! Something so strong did not make me cry! The blood was drying fast. I ran as quickly as possible to the principal’s office and when I arrived, the principal called my dad and when my dad arrived at the principal’s office, the ambulance was already there. And the hospital was a whole other story.


First Time To A Funeral

Two years after my head damage was over, I went to Oregon to visit my cousins. When I saw them, they were crying. I asked what happened and they answered me by saying I didn’t want to know. They lead me to a funeral home. I saw a dusty coffin and asked if I could open it. I opened it and my grandpa was laying in it. I put my soft, little index finger near his nose and no air came out. All summer I had to spend three hours each day praying, sitting and eating in a room and when I came out of the room, I would have to stretch because my back would hurt. I was tired of it so I asked why my grandpa died and they said that he was overweight and he got cancer and he died.

Nightmare Mystery

Long ago, I was at home with no supervision. I was hungry and called my parents and try to find them and they were not in the house. I was worried. I was only 3 years old. Luckily, my mom’s restaurant was beside my house. I wobbled liked a penguin to the restaurant. Unfortunately, my mom was not there. I knew it was a dream, so I closed my eyes tight and nothing happened. Whenever I do that I wake up from my deep slumber, but this time it did not work. Maybe I needed more sleep but I am not sure. I came out of the store and I saw my parents. I was happy. But then I did not remember if this was true or false.

About the Author

My name is Jason and I am nine years old. I live in an apartment with my mom, dad, sister and grandma. I like to draw, play four-square, plant seeds and play videogames. I am good at art, math, reading, spelling, chess and history. I want to be a scientist when I grow up. I am different from other kids because I am cursed. My biggest fear is bugs and I wonder why cats have nine lives.

Six True Stories By Catherine, age 8

Mom

My mom always does my hair. Sometimes she does ponytails, sometimes she does French braids. Every day my mom cooks healthy food for me like soup or broccoli. She helps me with my homework every day. She picks me up from school when my dad is in El Salvador.

Dad

On holidays my dad always takes care of me and I like this. On holidays my dad takes my mom to work and I stay with him. We go buy McDonalds. We eat it at home together then I watch TV. My dad always goes to El Salvador to visit his grandmother but I don’t because there are mosquitoes there and I don’t like the cheese from there and I am afraid that there will be wars there.

Watermelon

When I was seven I was sick once. My parents were eating watermelon and I really wanted some, but they said no. They said the watermelon was cold and it would make me sicker. We were in the kitchen and it was night.

A Halloween Shot

On Halloween I got a shot. First the doctor checked me, then he came back with a tray with all the stuff he needed. He gave me the shot but I didn’t cry. It was the first time I got a shot and didn’t cry. It hurt but I didn’t cry.

Baseball

One time I played baseball with my cousins and my uncle I was the pitcher. I pitched, my uncle hit the ball and it hit my nose. I started crying and we stopped playing.

Elbow

A very long time ago my uncle played baseball. He was the pitcher. When he hit the ball, he ran to one of the bases then the ball hit his elbow. It was almost the end of the game. My family said, “Are you ok?” and he said, “yes.”

About the Author

Hi, my name is Catherine. I am eight years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom and dad. I have a really nice grandma who helps me when I’m hurt and takes me to church. I like to play soccer, baseball and basketball. I want to be good at volleyball. I want to be a teacher when I grow up. My biggest fear is scary rides.