FINAL DESTINY By Manuel & Andrew, both age 10

It coughed. Lungs and a heart oozed from its lips and gums. Its leg shook in the mud. It spread its arm across the ground and slurped blood from its gums. Its eyes swirled around and around. Kids yelled for help while zombies chomped  their moms and dads.

Jack and James spun their monster truck in circles. They slid across the track. James slammed on the brakes. Everyone in the stands was looking at three dead people. The dead people woke up and bit the police and they turned into zombies too. James took the wheel. Jack crawled onto the bed of the truck and shot at the zombies. A humongous one with a hanging eyeball stared at them. Jack shot him but nothing happened. 

James drove onto a highway full of monster trucks. Zombies limped across the cement. They ran them over in their truck.

“Pull over here,” James said. “A police station. Maybe they have weapons.”

Jack stopped the truck. A cop ran out of the building. James rolled down his window and the cop handed him six bombs. “Hurry, there’s one at the beach.”

The zombie moaned at the shore. Jack threw the bombs out the truck’s window. An explosion filled the sky with blood. Black clouds hovered in the air. Blood spattered the sand. Red waves wiggled through the ocean.

About the Authors

Hi my name is Manuel Morales. I am ten years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom, dad and three sisters. I like to do math because I feel happy when I understand it. I am good at sports. I want to be good at the science of automotive engineering. When I grow up I want to build cars. If I were weather I would be snow so kids could play with me. My favorite book is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it is funny. This is my third published book. I am also the author of The Race and When I Got Hurt.      

      

Hi my name is Andrew. I’m ten years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom, three sisters, my brother and my cat and dog, and on Fridays, my dad.  My favorite book is the The Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it has funny chapters. If I were weather I would be a tornado so I could blow away houses. I am famous in my class for agreeing with everyone. This is my sixth published book. I am also the author of The Ice Monster’s Anger, John and Snake, Lion Hunt, My Dog Poncho and Time to Die.

THINGS I LEFT BEHIND Poetry by Jessica C., age 7

Things I Left Behind

My hippo.

Its belly-button is soft.

Its nose is black plastic.

Its chest holds a green heart

And when I squeeze it, it squeaks.

Umbrella

Sky blue.

There are eggs and flowers

printed all over it.

I spin it in the rain.

The sprinkles drip on it

And land on the grass.

At home I get into

the bathtub

and  shake the umbrella

and the rain falls off.

Teddy Bear

I didn’t name it.

It’s brown and furry.

Its eyes are black.

When I look into its eyes

I see only black.

                                                          

About the Author

Hi, my name is Jessica C. I am seven years old. I live with my mom and dad in San Francisco. I am good at drawing. I want to be a botanist when I grow up. My favorite book is When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne because it has lots of poems. If I were part of a plant I would be a petal because it’s soft. I was born in China but I moved to San Francisco when I was three. I speak Chinese at home with my family.

TUBLEBOAR'S BOOK OF SPELLS By Jimmy, age 8

Dark clouds flowed through the sky. Lightning struck a tree in the castle garden.

“My book is missing,” Tubleboard said.

“Your Book of Spells?” Agdor said. Vines snaked over his shoulder.

Fez and Hugh hid behind a nearby tree. “If we can find that book,” Fez said, “We can be heroes.” 

  “Okay,” Hugh whispered.

The boys left their hiding place and approached the men.

“Can we fight?” Hugh and Fez said.

“No,” said Tubleboar.

“Please.”   

Tubleboar’s eyes twitched. A red jacket hung from his shoulders. His blue boots kicked at rocks. Tubleboar removed a wand from his cloak and wiggled it. It flew into the air and dropped to the ground. Dust sprinkled over the dirt. The specks smashed together and blew in a whirlwind. A figure appeared in the middle of it. Flames whooshed from his spine. Sparks landed at his feet. Hugh and Fez jogged away from the monster. They swung their palms through the air and two bolts of lightning zigzagged through the sky. Then a centaur jumped in front of them. Red stars sparkled on the monster’s robe. He took out a wand and wove it through the air. A dragon flew over Fez’s head. A centaur rode on the dragon’s back. “Raft of doom!” he yelled.

An army of centaurs galloped toward the boys, swinging their swords back and forth. Hugh and Fez picked up two huge rocks to protect themselves from the attack. The centaurs’ blades spattered acid in the boys’ eyes and they fell to the ground. One of the centaurs zapped the air, and fog spread all around. He dashed like lighting to where the boys lay on the ground and choked them with his bare hands then threw them in the air. Fez and Hugh fell to the ground again and hid behind  rocks. The centaur waved his palm and put his hands together and a fireball appeared above his head and grew bigger and bigger, paralyzing Fez and Hugh. The centaur chained up the boys’ sprained legs. “You will be meeting Fumbletorch,” he said, and dragged the boys all the way to his kingdom. He locked them up in a cage in the dungeon. A man walked up to the bars wearing a red cloak. 

Hugh said, “I think that is Fumbletorch.”

“You will taste my rain of terror,” Fumbletorch said, and dragged the boys out of their cage. He pulled them into the hall. Hugh twisted his leg and spun around. The centaur let go of the chains. Hugh got up and kicked the centaur down. He hit the ground with a thump. The boys took his armor off and hurried into it. They dragged him to a chamber and locked him up.  

The boys found a piece of paper in Fumbletorch’s pocket. They opened it. It was the centaurs’ attack plans. Hugh and Fez pointed their wands at the wall. A portal opened up in the brick and they jumped into it.

At their fort they showed Tubleboar the centaurs’ plans. 

“You have shown your worth,” he said. “You can fight. Return to the centaurs’ kingdom,” Tubleboar said. “Use your portal. Report to Agdor.”

  The boys appeared behind a tree growing over the Centaur castle wall. Fez peeked around the tree’s trunk, spying on the centaurs protecting the wall. They ran around the kingdom with their wands. A black-robed wizard crawled over to Fez and said, “I am Agdor. A rocket is going to blast from behind those trees.” 

Moments later meteors dove through the sky. Centaur brains and guts scattered over the boys’ legs.

“Attack!” shouted the centaurs. 

Fez, Hugh, and the wizards ran toward the centaur castle and threw spears over its wall. They heard yelling coming from the other side. Fez and Hugh climbed the wall. They got to the top and jumped down. They ran through the castle door. No one was there. Fez and Hugh dashed through the castle. They tried the doors but the centaurs blocked the way. The guardians of Fumbletorch yelled, “Intruders!” Centaurs spun their wands, and twisters appeared mid-air and smashed the castle gates open. 

Centaurs shot fireballs at Fez and Hugh. Fez spun his wand. The fireballs reflected back at the centaurs. Hugh opened a portal. “Get in!” The boys jumped in. They emerged at a beach. A book floated into Fez’s hands. The boys opened it. It was Tubleboar’s Book of Spells. Fez flipped to a spell called For the Riddance of Centaurs. “That’s the page, now say the spell.”

Centauros, ire. 

Relinquere hoc terra post. 

Tu olim caelo exulat. 

Sanguinem fluent in inferno  

Centaurs fell to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere. The kingdom walls broke, the castle crashed to the ground. 

About the Author

Hi! My name is Jimmy. I am eight years old. I am turning nine this month. I live with my mom, dad and sister. I like to play basketball, volleyball and dodge ball with my friends. I am good at playing dodge ball. I would like to be good at social studies and science one day. If I were weather I would pick rain so I could soak people’s clothes. I would like to be famous for making a time machine so I could travel back in time. If could have any super power it would be flying so I wouldn’t have to take the bus. I want to go to the year 2024 so I could see how I will look when I am thirty years old. My family is from China and Vietnam. I have been to Vietnam but never China. I would like to go there to see the Great Wall. I speak Cantonese and English at home. This is my first published book.  

SAD PROMISE, Poetry by Jessica G., age 9

Aunts’  Story 

We gave Jessica a little 

encouraging pat 

before ice-skating. 

It didn’t hurt 

but we’re not going to tell you where we patted her. 

She wobbled onto the ice. 

The skaters in the center of the rink twirled like parasols 

but Jessica stood at the edge 

and held onto a nail. 

She fell down two times and she really wanted to take off her gloves.

When it was time to leave she let go of the nail and slid to the door. 

She came to us.

She sat down on the bench 

and ate chips 

and drank 7up.

Pets

Sasa is my Aunt’s dog. 

When she sleeps 

her fur is her blanket. 

Sarah is a fish I won on May Game Day. 

I threw a ping-pong ball into the cup where she swam.

Oops, Bon-Bon, Chan, Nancy Drew, Fireland, and Moon are fishes my dad bought from the store. 

They march around the tank like they are in a parade. 

Junior was my crayfish. He died and my dad threw him in the trash.

We bought two new ones. Girls. I could tell because of the light color under their tales. 

Then one day the big one ate the small one. 

This is what David told me.

Now the big crayfish is making friends with David’s pet turtle.

I can tell because the two creatures look at each other all night and day. I peeked. 

The weirdest part is that I don’t even know the names of these pets.

When the turtle shuts his eyes it looks like he’s smiling.

Now all of my pets are dead.

A sad promise.

Bacon Smell Soup

My grandma’s soup is the best! 

No one else knows how to make the soup. 

I call it Bacon Smell Soup. 

She learned to make it 

from God. 

One day when she was practicing her English 

she heard a man’s voice in her head. 

The voice told her the ingredients. 

She never 

ever 

writes down the recipe

and she still knows how to make it 

after 33 years.

Bike Crash   

Last month 

the 8X bus 

hit 

my Gong-gong. 

He was riding his bike through Chinatown. 

He fell down on his head. 

The bus diver was shocked. 

The ambulance siren wailed. 

The hospital has his bike. 

His bruise is gone now. 

My mom gave him a new bike for his birthday.

I think he deserves it.

When he rides, his tires whirl like pinwheels.

The Almost-Gift

My dad almost brought me a Monster High Doll. 

He brought it to the cashier 

but I said, “Don’t buy it!” 

even though 

I wanted it. 

From inside her box,

her eyes stared at me.

I felt like her mind was controlling me.

I didn’t want to waste my dad’s money on a toy. 

I wanted him to use his money for tools and food and shelter. 

My dad was not smiling. 

I knew he was sad because of his lips.  

They hung down like a banana.

In the middle of the store,

a remote control car spun around on a table.

The sign next to it said,

Play it or you’ll be sorry.

David grabbed the lever.

The car squealed

and crashed.

About the Author

Hi I am Jessica. I live with my mom, dad, brother, and sister. I love to knit! When I grow up I want to be famous for fashion design. My dresses will be knitted out of colorful yarn. You know that I am really good at yelling? I want to be good at drawing anime. My favorite book is Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. I wonder if vampires are real. The saddest part of in my life is that I am going to get old and die. If I could chose a super power I would choose to stop time the year before I was born so David wouldn’t have me to bug. All of my family went to awesome places like China, Great America, and Reno. But not me. I really want to go to China. I speak English and Cantonese at home. I am also the author of In My Bakery and The Lost Voice.