I'm Named after San Francisco by San, age 8

My name is San Ngoc. San means Saint in Spanish. Ngoc is my middle name and Ngoc means pearl. My mom named me San because I was born in San Francisco right after she moved here from Vietnam. She named me after the city. I don’t like my name because it is too short. My Vietnamese nickname is Tit. Tit means “I close my eyes and laugh.” My mom named me Tit because whenever I laugh it looks like I close my eyes, but I am not closing my eyes. I like my Vietnamese nickname because you have to raise your voice at the end of the word when you say it. It sounds strong to me when you raise your voice at the end of the word.

Ezra Lux by Ezra Lux, age 8

Ezra is my name. It means “strong” in Hebrew. When my parents chose my name the way it worked was my mom and dad each wrote a list of names and whatever names were on both lists would be in consideration for my name, but the only name on both lists was Ezra. My mom wanted to name me Lazlo or Fenris and my dad did not because Fenris is a mythological creature that brought on the apocalypse and he said that wasn’t a kid’s name. I like my name because it’s very unusual and it has a “z” in it. Lux is my last name. My parents didn’t like their own last names (Carter or Hantman) but they did like Lux. My dad found Lux in a Latin dictionary and Lux is Latin for light.

The Robots' Revenge by Kenny, age 10

Bumpy and Jumpy went for a walk in the rainforest. Bumpy was a yellow dog with electrical powers. Jumpy was a blue dog with a magic bag. In front of them was a hole covered with leaves, but they didn’t see the hole. They stepped on the pile of leaves and fell down like flies running out of energy. Luckily Jumpy had two balloons already blown up. But the balloons were too small to carry them out of the hole. POP! The balloons popped because a leaf dragon dropped some sharp leaves into the hole. Then they fell down.

‘’Ahhhhhhhh!’’ cried Jumpy.

“Wee!’’ barked Bumpy. CRASH!

“Ouch!’’ said Jumpy.

“Boy that was fun!” said Bumpy. “Can we do this again?”

“Never!’’ cried Jumpy. ‘’How about this, if you help me I will give you my Gameboy. But you have to come too.’’

“Okay,’’ said Bumpy.

So they tried to use vines, a jump rope, and a metal ladder from Jumpy’s magic bag. A bear came out of a cave in top of the mountain. The bear bit and bit the vines until they broke. Next, they tried the jump rope but a baby leaf dragon thought the jump rope was food. So it used its sharp teeth to chew it. When it was done, the jump rope broke. Last, they tried the metal ladder. “I hope this works,’’ said Jumpy hopefully. When they put the ladder up, animals came from the trees and attacked the ladder. Some thought it was food, so they bit it. But the ladder was so hard that some of them broke their teeth. “Hooray!’’ said Jumpy.

“Let’s continue on our walk,’’ said Bumpy. When they got to a plain they saw two tents. When they looked inside the first tent, no one was there. Next they looked inside in the second one and went in. Bubble was in there with a cat. The cat’s name was Sharpy. It was yellow. It also had sharp claws.

“Meow (hi),’’ said Sharpy.

“RUN AWAY!!!” screamed Jumpy. His scream almost exploded the whole forest.

“I thought that dogs (or puppies) are not afraid of cats (or kittens),” said Bumpy. Jumpy said nothing. Suddenly the tent was in the sky. There were two robots holding the tent. The two robots shook the tent. That made Bumpy fall down on the ground. Suddenly two robot bosses showed up.

“Thank you for screaming Jumpy,’’ Laughed one boss.

“Look what you have done Jumpy,’’ said Bubble.

“RETREAT!’’ screamed Jumpy.

Instead Bubble pushed a button. The tents turned into tanks. Bumpy, Bubble, and Sharpy went into the first tank. Jumpy went into the second tank. The bosses called their robot army. Their army was made out of robots and with wheels for legs. Bubble threw a bomb and it hit a robot. BOOM! Five robots were destroyed. They looked liked a flat cars. But there were still more robots.

“This is going to be a complicated battle,’’ said Bubble.

About the Author

Hi my name is Kenny, I am ten years old. I’m going to into fifth grade. My favorite TV shows is Yug-i-oh, 5D, Pokemon, Sonic, Kirby and Bakugan. I’m also the author of Bumpy’s Day, Bumpy and the Icebird, and My Mom. This is my fourth published book.

Names by Ivy, age 11

My American Name

Hi my name is Ivy. I was born in 1998 in San Francisco. My name is really special to me because it means a “climbing vine plant” and I love plants. My mom named me Ivy because it’s easy to say and she sometimes has a hard time saying long English words.

My Chinese Name

My Chinese name is Jing Fang and it means “beauty.” My grandpa chose this name for me because he really likes the meaning. I like both of my names because together they mean “beautiful plant,” and they make me imagine myself as a grown-up. When I grow up I want to be a pharmacist because they can cure peoples’ sickness and I just learned that some drugs are made from plants.

Writing by Don, age 11

The Swirl Up
By Don

If oil were monsters,
Then radiation would be Bigfoot,
If monkeys were kids,
Then lions would be clowns.
If cars were cartoons,
Then go karts would be movies.
If yogurt were markers,
Then ice cream would be crayons.
If tennis balls were brains,
Then golf clubs would be ears.
If snakes were cupcakes,
Then tigers would be popsicles.
And I would eat them
and they would
taste
like frozen fury.


My American Name

My American name is Don Duy. "Don" means “great chief.” My dad named me that for no reason but it was a great name for me. I like my name because it was the name of a king of Viet Nam. My mom told me that.

My Vietnamese Name

My Vietnamese name is also Don Duy. It means “responsible dragon.” My dad named me this too. He chose this name because I’m like a warm hearted animal or creature who helps citizens or villagers. That would be a good day dream if that had really happened. My parents don’t get along so I don’t see my dad that much even though he named me. I miss my dad and sometimes I feel like one person alone.

My Name by Anna, age 11

My American Name

Hi my name is Anna. I found out that my name means “joyful and merciful.” A nurse from San Francisco General Hospital named me. My parents liked the name because it was easy to remember. I like my name because it is a palindrome.

My Chinese Name

My chinese name is Fong Mei Na. My grandpa named me. The character for Fong is similar to the character for horse. My great-great grandfather’s last name used to be the character that means horse (ma). He worked for the governor and he was about to get killed so he moved to a far-away place and added two lines to the character for his name and it became the name Fong. This way he changed his identity and this is why I am a Fong. Mei means “have a good life” and “pretty.” Na means “have good things.” So my name means good things and good life and pretty. I was given this name because my grandpa wanted me to have a good life and things. I think I have a good life, but just a little bit because sometimes bad things happen to me.

The Stars that Blind Us by Tiana & Ivy, both age 11

This "cycle story" by Tiana and Ivy is the first in a series by Room 2 kids inspired by the Argentinian folktale "The Sun and the Snow."


Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
We are not heartless.
The fog is heartless,
That blocks us.

Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blinds us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless,
The blowdrier is heartless,
that blows me away.

Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The blackout is heartless
that turns me off.

Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The wiring is heartless
that causes the blackout.

Wiring that causes the blackout,
Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The humans are heartless
who plug in too many things.

Humans who plug in too many things,
Wiring that causes the blackout,
Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
We are not heartless.
The stars are heartless
That blind us.

About the Authors

Hi my name is Tiana. I’m 11 years old and I live in San Franisico. I live with my three sisters, Mom, Dad, and my grandma. I like to ice skate on the weekends with my friends. I want to be good at art someday. When I grow up I want to be a lawyer. The thing that confuses me most is long words like narcisistic and photosynthesis. I wish that one day everyone in the world would get along with each other and never fight. The first book I wrote was When I Was Lost, second was I Hate My Life You, third was Hua Ying Mei, and I also wrote many poems.

Hi my name is Ivy. I am 11 years old and I live in San Francisco. I live with my Mom, Dad, Brother, my grandma, and grandpa. I like to play on my computer and read books at home. I want to be good at math when I get older. When I grow up I want to be Pharmacist. It confuses me when people ask a lot of questions like: How do your parents pay the rent? I wish that everybody were rich an lived a happy life and didn’t have to break in into peoples’ property. I am also the author of My Family, Yu Kun Yu, and many poems.