A RUINED WEB By JC, Tran, Anna, Leslie, Anvivi, Helen, Misu, Timothy, Jack & Nhi, ages 9 & 10

THE FIRST TIME I SAW HER By Tran, JC & Anna, age 10 and Helen, age 9

THE FIRST TIME I SAW HER By Tran, Helen, Jessica C. & Anna L.

She was sitting on her preschool cot,

sobbing.

It was like the time I went to the

Hello Kitty store in Japantown

and picked up a stuffed

bunny and petted its soft ears,

lulling myself into

wonderland.

And like when I grabbed all those

puffy stickers,

the glittery musical notes,

hearts,

stars,

pink,

silver,

blue,

all of that shimmer in between

my fingers,

peeling the shapes off of the

slippery plastic

and sticking them on my wall

and Mom saying,

the landlord will be mad

but

who

cares?

MASQUERADE By Jack, Nhi, Tony, Misu, Tran & Alan

Masquerade

By Jack, Nhi, Tony, Misu, Tran & Alan

Sheep-shaped 

clouds

blossom

balloons

and

blanket

helicopters.

Sun rays 

burn my shoulder.

The moon glows 

in a San Francisco sky,

alone.

The city 

drowns

the stars

in light.

ON POINT By Tran, age 10

On Point

Tando

plié

trampoline jumps

sashay

polka

Stomach,

Flat as a pancake

Legs,

Stiff as boards

Relevé

one foot,
two heels,

a pear,

upside-down.

THE LADY OF THE SHADOWS By Jessica C. & Tran, both age 10

MY STROLLER By Tran, age 9

Gleaming

in the sun,

Heart shaped 

spots dot

its nylon seat,

Blue 

as the Saigon

sky,

Its pillow 

puffed 

like a 

cloud,

lulling

me to sleep.

The wheels 

squeak as they

roll.

I had to 

leave it 

behind.

I did not get a new 

one

in America.

CABBAGE LOOPERS: A Scientific Comic Book by Jessica C., Anvivi, Tran & Sharlene

Download a copy of this comic book here!

POP! Poetry by JC & Tran

Love this title? Download the comic book here!

TALL GIRL By Tran, Jessica C., Jessie, Wendy & Alex, ages 9-11

Tall Girl hops over kitten.

Kitten purrs.

Tall Girl twirls

around the playground.

Teacher screams,

“Watch out for the wall.”

Tall Girl gallops to the library.

The donkeys here kick 

books off shelves.

Tall Girl’s ear tears into 

four furry bits that hear:

1. Screaming

2. Stomping

3. Shuffling pages

4. Silence. Shh!

Tall Girl reads about how to

regrow sadness. She wants to be alone.

Inspired by Anne Waldman's poem "Fast Speaking Woman."

Watch Room 2 perform a Readers' Theater adaptation of the poem here:

BLACK POLKA DOTS By Tran, age 8

Teddy Bear

Soft with a strawberry smell and stiff arms that bend.

When I press its plastic belly button,

it says, “Chow” in a little girl’s voice.

When I hug it

I remember my grandma

because when I hug her

she makes a pig noise.

Chow means oink in Vietnamese.

Wedding

When my grandma found a boyfriend

my mom bought me a fancy dress to wear to the wedding.

It was white and covered with daisies.

I was three years old.

My job in the wedding was to walk behind my grandma

and throw flowers on the floor.

The flowers were plastic because

people in Vietnam don’t want to pick real daisies.

They worry that the daisies will disappear.

Before the wedding I practiced at home with my mom

so I knew what to do.

I didn’t cry or walk in the wrong direction.

I felt embarrassed when everyone

watched me.

Coffee

My mom put

a cup of mocha

on the table.

My brother pushed it and spilled it on

his head, shirt and hand.

The drink was warm,

not hot.

My brother got all wet and smelled

like coffee.

My mom saw him laughing and wet and

she said, “Go take a bath!”

He asked my dad to give him a bath.

And he did.

When I walked into the bathroom,

I said, “Why did you take bath?”

“Long story.”

“Tell me.”

“I thought the cup

was a cow because it has black polka

dots.”

He was interested in cows.

He said, “Sorry,” to Mom.

He does not remember.

But I do.

About the Author

Hi! My name is Tran. I am eight years old and I was born on August 10, 2004 in Saigon. Now I live in San Francisco with my mom, dad, brothers, and sisters. I’m good at knitting. When I grow up I want to be a doctor because I like helping people. Black Polka Dots is my first published book. If I were a bird I would be a robin because I like red.

THE STOLEN DIAMOND By Tran & Anna, both age 8

Trees whooshed in the wind. Snowflakes floated onto their branches. A diamond shined in the dirt. It had the power of invisibility. The ogre wanted it because he always wanted to be invisible and steal things like jewelry. But two strong guards stood in front of the diamond. The guards had big muscles like a bull.

The ogre stepped into the Halloween store. A boy in a ghost costume popped up from the floor. The ogre gasped and jumped. “You scared me!” he said, running to the register.

“Hey,” the boy said. “Nice costume. What’s your name?” 

“Please,” the ogre said. “This is not a costume.” 

The boy started crying and called for his mom. 

“Please, stop crying,” the ogre said, staring the boy in the eye. “I’m sorry for yelling.” 

The boy wiped his tears with a tissue from his pocket then he threw it in the trash. The ogre walked to the trashcan and dumped the trash on the floor. He found the boy’s tissue stuffed inside a coffee cup. He put the tissue in his pocket. The worker stared at the trash and then at the ogre. 

“Can I help you?” she said. 

He said, “Do you have a security guard costume?” 

“You’re already wearing a an ogre costume!” the worker said.

“This is not a costume, Dumbo!” the ogre said. “I am an ogre.” 

“Check aisle 3.”

On the way to the forest the ogre found a spot and put on the costume. He went to the guards and said, “Let me guard the diamond.” They said, “Ok, but don’t let anybody steal the diamond, especially the ogre.”

The ogre touched cage and it gave him. an electrical shock. He found the controller and pushed a red button. The cage opened. He grabbed the diamond then he heard beep beep beep and ran away. The guards heard the beep beep beep so they ran back and saw the diamond missing.

They looked all around the woods. They found a cabin and looked through the window saw something shiny on the floor. It was the diamond! They knocked on the door. The ogre looked through the door hole and mumbled to himself, “Oh no.” The guards pushed through the door. The ogre’s hand gripped the diamond. He ran past the guards and trudged through the snow as fast as he could. The guards chased him up a tree and he jumped down into the snow. The guards jumped down too and handcuffed the ogre and brought him to jail. They put him in the strongest cage. The next day they checked on him and saw that he was dead. They opened the cage and the ogre jumped up and said, “So long suckers!” The ogre was only playing dead.

The ogre went to the diamond’s cage and touched it and it gave him another electrical shock. He found the controller under a table behind the cage. Then he pressed the red button and the cage opened up. He saw the guards coming so he snatched the diamond and left.

The ogre went back to the halloween store. He walked to the register and said, “I want to return this costume because I am done with it.”

The worker said, “You already wore it so you can not return it.”

The ogre was about to yell but he stopped himself. On the way out he saw the little boy in the ghost costume who scared him the last time he was in the store. The boy lifted the sheet from his head. Scabs were peeling from his face. It looked painful. The ogre walked to the boy and asked, “Are you still sad?”

The boy said, “I have no friends.” The ogre said, “What a coincidence. I am trying to make friends.”

About the Authors

Hi, my name is Anna. I’m eight years old. I live in San Francisco with my mom, dad, grand- ma and grandpa. I was born on September 30, 2004 in China. I like to play foursquare with my BFF Tran. I’m good at being funny to everybody. When I grow up I want to be a doctor who treats grown-ups. If I was a food I would be sushi because it is delicious. The scari- est thing is a dream a have a lot where I am locked inside Trad- er Joe’s by myself. If I had a superpower it would be the power to stop people from teasing. I hate when people say “Anna Banana.” My family comes from Toisan and I wish I lived there forever because I don’t think they have teasing there. I speak Chinese at home. My favorite authors are Eric Carle and Dr.Seuss because they make great books. Also, I am my other other favorite. I’m also the author of China and Other Poems. This is my second published book.

Hi! My name is Tran. I’m eight years old. I live in San Francisco with my brothers, sisters, mom, and dad. I want to be good at typing fast. When I grow up I want to be a pediatrician and I want to be a famous artist. If I had a super-power it would be to run fast. My mom and dad were born in Saigon, Vietnam. I want to live in Vietnam because I miss my family. I speak Vietnamese at home. My favorite Room 2 au- thors are Jessica C. and Anna because they are great friends to have. My other favorite authors are J.R.R.Tolkein and Cornelia Funke. My favorite books are The Thief Lord and The Hobbit. My favorite weather is in summer because it doesn’t rain in the summer here. The scariest time in my life was when I got locked in a dark bathroom. I am also the author of Black Polka Dots. This is my second published book.