Things Shaped Like Blobs by the Kids in Room 2

Things that Make My Me Cringe by Ivy, age 10

Thing That Confuse Me by Tiana, age 10

Things that Make My Lungs Close up by Nathan, age 9

Things I Dream About by Andy, age 9

More Poetry Inspired by The Pillow Book

More Poetry Inspired by The Pillow Book

Poetry inspired by The Pillow Book

We got the idea for these poems from The Pillow Book by Japanese poet Sei Shonagon. Historians believe Shonagon wrote the book between the years 1001 and 1010. It includes her observations, diary entries and poems, including many that are simply lists like the poems below by Room 2 kids.

Future Wars 2: The Aliens' Revenge by Nathan & Edmund, both age 9

On Captain Nathan and Sergeant Edmund's last adventure their worst enemies were the aliens, but their missile car saved them. Now it is time for revenge.


At a temple far away, the alien king talked to his kingdom. The alien king was named Lulu. “Noooeerr,” yelled king Lulu. “Half our troops have been defeated. We must make our secret weapon.”

The aliens climbed into their mothership. “Next stop, Earth,” said Dr. Brains.

Back at the base, the town had a celebration because they won the war. “The aliens are back”! yelled Captain Nathan.

“Ha Ha Ha” yelled Dr. Brains, leader of the aliens. He was named Brains because his forehead was shaped like a spiky brain. “Behold, the mighty giant robot Dr. Brains. Now I will rule the world. Ha ha ha.”

“I don’t think so,” yelled Sergeant Edmund.

“That’s what you think,” said Dr. Brains. The robot shot its lasers.

“Aaaah!” yelled Captain Nathan. “O.K. now throw some pie at the robot.” The pie covered the robot’s windows.

“I can’t see,” said Dr. Brains.

“What do we do now?” said sergeant Edmund.

“Scream?” answered a soldier.

“Good idea,” said another soldier. “Aaaaaah.”

The others didn’t join him.

“You got to be joking,” said Captain Nathan. “Get me the Ultra Water Canon.” Captain Nathan pressed FIRE. KA-BOOM went the cannon. Water splashed everywhere. “I forgot that thing was three thousand years old.”

Electricity sparked all over the robot. “Uh oh,” said Dr. Brains. The robot exploded. “Noooooooooo!”

“Well that’s the end of that,” said a soldier.

“No, no it’s not the end,” yelled Dr. Brains. “There will be a Future Wars Three.” Then he looked up.

(Note : There will be a Future Wars 3 if you want one)

About the Authors

Hi, my name is Nathan. I live in San Francisco. I’m also the author of Random & Sparrow, My Dad, and Future Wars. I feel like I have one thousand brothers. I never get any fun. I don’t know how the dinosaurs got here. I still have bad dreams but I don’t get up and scream. I stay fast asleep.

Hi, my name is Edmund. This is my second published book. I’m also the author of Future Wars. I like to watch TV and play with my Wii. My biggest fear is bugs.

You Die by the Kids in Room 2

Here's another Exquisite Corpse story.


You die. Your body fills with air and you grow wings and fly into a purple sky like a pigeon. Your hair fidgets like shredded snakeskin. You look like a piece of chicken. You look like a twenty dollar bill because your feathers are green now. You become a monster with ugly cooks holding knives and spoons growing out of your ribs. You become a cheese-eating chimpanzee. You fly ten feet away. You turn around. You rush to center of the Earth and you hurry up talking. You mess up a pile of books. You better clean it up or you will have black teeth. You bust into dust. But you should stop because you can play at lunchtime.

Numbers by Sarah, age 8

I have five fingers on my hand
Three of them are touching a dog
Two of them are holding a small piece of paper that says everybody’s name.

I have twenty people in my family.
None of them wear glasses.
Two of them are old, so old they have wrinkles.
Nineteen speak Chinese.
Six speak English.
Altogether we have one hundred million hairs on our heads.

I know two secrets about someone in my class.
One of them is about his nickname.
The other is about how he likes the Power Rangers

There are fifty states in the United States.
I have been to two of them, California and Nevada.
California has a lot of people.
Nevada has a lot of casinos.

There are ten ghost-fearing monsters in my house.
Two of them are sick.
Five of them are in my closet.
Three of them are under my bed.

In space there one hundred yellow stars,
One thousand yellow stars,
One hundred thousand yellow stars,
Millions, billions, trillions, zillions
I do not know for sure.

About the Author

Hi! My name is Sarah. I am 8 years old. I live in Richmond, CA. I like to play with my rabbits. I am good at playing the piano. Some day I will be a good musician. When I grow up I want to be a doctor. If I were an animal, I would be a dog because they can do tricks. I feel special when my friends play with me. My biggest fear is getting bitten by wild animals. I wonder why people eat animals. Why don’t they just eat fruit instead?

Q&A Part One by the Kids in Room 2

Here's another exquisite corpse poem we wrote together as a class. It was like playing Madlibs, except every line was blank.




How old is Mother Nature?
As old as scary houses that jump on foolish computers.
Why invent things?
Because restless cardboard oozes poisonous snacks.
Why is there anger?
Because tense opinions blackmail ominous books.
Why don’t animals laugh?
Because fluffy adoption thinks adorable chicks peck lickety-split.
Who were the first people on Earth?
Uncontrollable detectives who scaled frantic rocks.
Why do mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears?
Because freaky wagons play on ultimate coins.
Is there a God?
Obvious remedies scurry over changeable locks.

The Swimming Contest by Mimi, Age 9

Snowball felt nervous. The lake looked fresh and clean. It smelled like ice-cream. It tasted like cotton candy. The water was hot.

“Go!” screamed the judge. Snowball dove in as fast as she could.

She didn’t want Abby to catch up to her because Snowball remembered that Abby was bragging that she got more trophies than her and now Abby wanted the swimming one. Abby had teased her, “Ha ha, you didn’t get any trophies!” and she walked away.

Bubbles dove in next. They both tried to make Abby dove slower. Snowball made bubbles on Abby’s face.

Bubbles got stuck because Abby kicked her feet really fast in front of Bubbles so Bubbles couldn’t go. Abby stuck her tongue out when she looked back. Abby kept doing it until she bumped her head on a rock. That made her dizzy and Snowball passed her along with Bubbles. They had only 10 more minutes to get to the finish line.

Abby caught up to Snowball and Bubbles tried to slow her down by making bubbles on Abby’s face. Snowball and Bubbles almost got to the finish line. But Abby caught up and now all three girls were swimming side by side. The finish line was of front of them. Abby pushed Snowball aside and Snowball pushed her back.

“The winner is Snowball!” screamed the judge.

“Yay!” said Snowball. Snowball received a trophy that had a number “1” on it.

“Good game!” said Bubbles. They shook hands. Abby made a grouchy face at Snowball.

“No fair!” said Abby. Snowball and Bubbles walked away.

“Let’s go!” said Snowball.

“Ok” said Bubbles. They both went back to their tents and continued to play Legos.

About the Author

Hi! My name is Mimi. My birthday is August 5, 1999. I live in an apartment with my mom, dad, and sister. I like to play computer games and watch TV. I am good at art. I want to be good at grammar and math. I want to work at a Build-A-Bear workshop when I grow up. I would be a rabbit if I were an animal because rabbits are cute and cuddly. My biggest fear is poisonous insects. I wonder if there are other planets that don’t have good oxygen but are still here in our solar system.

Family & Friends by Tiana, Lisa & Ivy

We took almost a month to make all of these creatures out of felt. We used patterns from a book called The Cute Book.

It Was Her Destiny by Chelzea, age 9

My mom's name is Kyra Esquivel and she was born in Jalisco, Mexico on March 10, 1972. My mom had to clean the house when she was a kid. She lived on the countryside. My mom’s transportation was walking and it still is. She played tons of games like racing, monkey bars, ball and jumprope. My mom has five siblings she has three sisters and two brothers. She ate whatever her mom gave her to eat. My mom went to a public school like me.

My mom came to San Fransico in 1998 because her destiny was to come here. Her first day here was at Fisherman's Wharf. One of the things she misses the most about Mexico is her family.

My mom's hobbies are listening to music and exercising. She loves to sing like me. My mom's job is cleaning hotel rooms. She doesn't like anything about her job. If my mom could have any super power it would be super speed because she could finish anything in one second.

About the Author

Hi, my name is Chelzea. I am 9 years old. I live with my mom and dad. I am good at singing and baking cakes and cookies. One day I want to get better at reading. When I grow up I want to be a rock star. If I were an animal, I would want to be a puppy because they are soft and cute. My biggest fear is getting eaten by a lion. I wonder about ghosts. Why are they so mean? The hardest part of this project was asking my mom questions in Spanish. The most interesting thing I learned about my mom was that when she was a kid her family was poor and she couldn’t go to school. I think it is unfair that I can go to school and she couldn’t because she had to pay for her school and I go to school for free.

It Will Always Begin with Someone and a Pie by the kids in room 2

This story is a Surrealist style Exquisite Corpse story. Every student wrote a sentence on a piece of paper (the only rule was don't use the verb "to be") then we put the papers up on the board. We discussed the best way to arrange them and how to revise. The art here was done the same way. One student drew the head, then folded the paper over. The next student drew the middle of the creature's body without seeing its head then folded the paper over again. The last student drew the bottom of the body without seeing the head or the middle. When the creature was drawn, another student colored it in and cut it out.



It will always begin with someone and a pie. The someone will be an astronaut and the astronaut will turn into a pie and the pie will turn into an astronaut. On Saturn, the astronaut will jump thirteen feet high. Her shadow will creep all night, knowing it will not be caught. Since the astronaut is a pie, her smooth hair will not need shampoo. It will flow through the air. It will brush across my face. It will float in a green sky with the clouds. Her rocket will brake so she won't come home. Her body will fill with water soon. She will grow lady legs and she will put on a brown shirt with pictures of tiny pies on it.

When I Grow Up by Lisa, age 8

Now I am a girl and I want to be free. I am the youngest and my sisters boss me around. When I grow up I will be a woman. When I am a woman I will be free because I will do whatever I want. I will have my own bed with golden pillows. After that I will be a grandma. When I am a grandma, I will walk slowly and I will have to work in a factory making clothes and I will be tired. I will have one vase of flowers for decoration and two cups, one for me, and one in case I have a guest.

Why? by Lisa, age 8

Go flush the toilet. Don’t pick your nose or it will get worse. Don’t touch that or something will happen to you. Don’t jump down the cliff. Why? Because you’ll die. Don’t touch that. Why? Because you might get hurt. Don’t play around while you’re in the streets. Why? Because there might be an accident. No there won’t. Don’t play with bees. Why? Because they will sting you. I don’t trust you. Don’t touch that needle or you’ll get AIDS. This is how you have good manners at a restaurant. 1. Don’t pick your nose. 2. Don’t eat with your hands. 3. Don’t play with food. 4. Don’t run.

My Mom By Don, Age 10

My mom’s name is Thuy Le. She was born in Vietnam on January 3, 1970. She lived in Saigon, Danang, Hue and Hanoi. During the war, she went underground with her family. Her father dug a hole for them to hide in. He dug it with his bare hands. It was dark and there were slimy worms and bugs there, and poisonous spiders that don't make webs. Her family was scared and nervous.

When my mom was a kid, she used a bicycle for transportation when. She played a lot of different games like jump rope and dominoes. She has five siblings. Her favorite food was noodle soup, rice and veggies. She went to school.

She came to San Francisco on June 9, 1996. She got married and her husband really wanted to move here. San Francisco felt like a second home to her and she wanted to go back to Vietnam. She missed all her friends and family and restaurants with pho. Her favorite part of her first day here was watching cars go over the Golden gate bridge. The bridge was the thing that surprised her most about San Francisco too because it is so big and the word golden was interesting to her.

My mom likes to cook food for me. Cooking is her hobby because it tastes so good and it makes her family happy!

My mom is a manicurist. She likes getting paid from her boss, but the bad thing about her job is when clients cancel appointments. She was nervous on her first day of work. The day felt so long and she couldn't wait to get home.

If she could have any superpower, she would choose super flexibility. Why? Because she would be able to help people fast.

About the Author

My name is Don. I’m ten years old. This is my fourth published story. I am also the author of The Iceman, The Boy Who Brought Back Winter, Bus Stop Fight and many poems. The hardest thing about this project was asking my mom questions and writing her answers down in my journal. All the translating was hard. The most interesting thing I learned is how my mom’s dad dug a hole with his bare hands for his family to hide in. I also learned my mom wanted to have fun in her new country but she also misses her family in her old country. My mom taught me that crying will not make me brave or make me get any friends.

The Future by Angela, age 9

Now I am a girl but when I grow up I will be single and I will be a woman. I will have eight balloons because I will have a party and I will invite eight people. I will have eight slices of pizza, eight Wiis and eight videogames because people will be to impatient to wait their turn, eight small rocks for slingshooting, eight plates, eight bowls, eight spoons, eight forks, eight pairs of chopsticks, eight cups and eight laptops so everyone can go to Barbie.com and look at Barbie jumping up and down and watch her say, “Hey, my friend Teresa and I are making a new movie!” When I grow older I will be a grandma even though I will never have kids. I will have glasses and I will have white hair and I will be lazy.

Teeth by Stanley, age 9

Now I am a girl, but when I grow up I will get new teeth. The teeth will be black and they will have flower stickers on them. The teeth will give me magic powers. I will fly to the sky. I will be like Superman. When I’m in the sky I will do the Teletubby dance then I will do the Barney dance. Everyone will say, “You are super cool!” When I fall out of the sky I will be a big, red, digital clock.

A List of Things You Should Do, A List of Things You Should Not Do, by Edmund, age 8

Flush your enemies or else you have to (write your consequence here). Pick your nose. Write your self-consequence if you want a consequence. Put your socks in your mouth because that’s your punishment. Break your own glasses. If you don’t have any, then you have to (write your consequence here). Throw a little bomb in the toilet. Eat your boogers. Break a violin. Carry a brick for trouble. Let a lion bite your super-smelly feet. I’m sorry, if you get in trouble for doing what I say. If this happens then tell the teacher. P.S. I don’t care. P.P.S. I’m not sorry.

Follow My Rules By Jennifer, age 10

Shut up, or I’ll shut you up. Stop texting, or you’ll pay the phonebill. Wash your hands in the chalkdust because I love it. Smell my feet. I washed them with soap. I love the color green. the color green makes me pretty. Give me four dollars please. I want to save up. The clock won’t be squeaky if don’t put barbeque sauce on it. Truly. Wash the floor. It’s sticky with tacky glue. Get off, it’s my turn. Let me play. Yurky is a weird word. Don’t be racist because that is horrible. Give me the remote. Please. I’m the boss here. Run faster! Slower! Just run faster please. I love that channel! Don’t change it or else I will pour hot brownie fudge with sprinkles on you. Don’t take something that is not yours. Don’t pick somebody else’s nose. Don’t steal from a bank or else you will go to jail. Always stand up straight or you will look weird when you are an adult. Don’t hold a knife or you will hurt yourself.

Snakes Are Warm by Stanley, age 9

Don’t punch the wall. Put tape on the floor, don’t punch the toad. Fly. Don’t fly. Don’t show your underwear. Don’t eat bugs or pull down your friend beccause you will cry. Go to jail or run an inch. Punch a piano and make music. Punch people’s teeth or slam your head on the toilet seat. Put a live snake in your shoe and see if it’s warm.

A+ in Math by Tiana, age 10

Don’t play with the knife or you’ll get hurt, Don’t kick the ball over the fence or you can’t play any more, don’t hit people or you’ll feel guilty, Do your homework or get 50 lines of “I will do my homework everyday,” Flush the toilet or you’ll stink the room, Don’t cry or I will not play with you, Don’t call me a name because my real name is Tiana, Don’t day dream in the middle of the streets or you’ll get run over, Do what you’re supposed to do and you’ll be ok, Don’t pick on people or you’ll have no friends, be nice to others and you’ll have lots of friends, don’t drink beer while driving a car or you’ll get in to an accident, don’t land on the sun or you’ll become dust, Study hard and you’ll get an A, But I’m not good at math, Yes you are, Try hard, I’ll never get an A, You will.

The Future Machine by Angela, age 9

The future machine always works, but today it works really badly. When Gummy presses the transport button the machine puts her in the past. The past is ugly. It smells like garbage, sounds like ghosts howling, and the foods tastes like tissues. The future feels rough, and it looks like a thousand grocery stores. There are only grocery stores, not a tree or plants to make oxygen, so Gummy brings her oxygen mask. She builds a Future Gun out of things she finds on the ground in the past. She presses the red button on the Future Gun, guess what? She transports back to where she was.

She keeps on trying to go to the future, but the machine keeps on going to the past. “I think this machine needs a rest,” she says. “I’ll just write some haikus while I wait.” Monsters eat dummy, the dummy is so ugly, I play ball outside. “I don’t think it is a real haiku,” she says. “I am not specific because I don’t know how to be specific.”

Instead of writing another haiku, Gummy tries the future machine again. She hopes this is the last time this machine will go to the past. “Ah!” she yells. She knows all this noise disturbs her parents while they are watching TV. But the future machine continues not to work!

Gummy uses the screwdriver to hit the future machine as hard as she can. “Take that future maniac!” she yells. She drinks some orange juice because she is tired. She is so sweaty that she almost cries. She does not give up so she goes back to the machine. She kicks the machine to try to make it work. She presses the transport button again. This time it works but the Future Machine is wrecked because she kicked it and hit it with a screwdriver.

The future machine has five grocery stores, smells like fresh air from the sky, tastes like mango, sounds like birds chirping, and it feels like the soft fur of a kitten.

Gummy wishes to go inside the machine again but her parents say no because of dinner. At night she wants to sneak to the Future Machine. She can’t because her parents always watch her. But if she ever does, her mission will be accomplished.
Every other day Gummy’s parents are not tired so they watch her. But not today. Today they are tired, so Gummy sneaks to the Future Machine and she goes to the future and her mission is accomplished.

This is what she sees in the future: Her parents are yawning, her mom is sitting on the toilet, snoring, and saying, “I like boo boo” after each snore. Then she wakes up and drops newspaper into the toilet. Her dad is crazy. He goes to his friend’s house with a hammer and breaks their window and yells, “Yay!”

His friend says, “What are you doing?”

“Breaking your window,” Gummy’s dad says.

“Why?”

“Because you are my friend.”

Gummy sees them argue. Then she writes a letter. It says:

Dear Mom and Dad,
I do not know what is wrong with you today. Dad, you used a hammer to hit your friend’s window, and Mom, you put newspaper in the toilet. I don’t want to see any of that again.
Bye,
Gummy

PS: I hate you.

Gummy just waits for the candy that she ordered to come. It is the future so it should be here by now. But her deliveries don’t come because the delivery man is mad. His face is red. Gummy goes back into the Future Machine to eat pie. The pie tastes like tomato. “Bye bye, Future Machine,” she says.

Gummy goes back to her house to eat an apple. Then she goes to a candy shop inside the Future Machine. The shop smells like cotton candy, the walls taste like chocolate. She also goes to a grocery store to buy a banana and another apple. She jumps out of the Future Machine and eats her food. “How come the fruits taste bad and the candies taste good?” she says. “Maybe I should ask the person who sells the fruit why it tastes bad.”

At night Gummy doesn’t sleep because she sneaks up to the Future Machine again. She says, “I’m going to live in the machine forever!”

About the author

Hi! My name is Angela. I am nine years old. I live in an apartment with my mom, dad, brother and my uncle who sleeps next to Barbie. I like science, playing games on the computer, and animals. When I grow up I want to be an artist. If I were an animal, I would be a bunny so I could escape from people with my stinkiness. I am scared of cockroaches. I wonder about puppies. Why do they keep on yapping around?

To Anthony by Giang, age 8

To Anthony

Sorry I kicked the ball at your face
I was mad because the ball hit me
When it hit me, it felt like a block of ice
coming out of nowhere
I heard you laugh at me
so I kicked the ball
I wasn’t kicking it at you,
but somehow it hit you

From Giang

To My Turtles by Anthony, age 8

To My Turtles

I’m sorry that Ivy and I did not feed you
I am also sorry that I dropped you in the tank
I am sorry that I did not stop my dad from shaking the tank
I’m sorry that I kept tapping the glass
I’m sorry that I did not feel your shell
I know you like it when I feel your shell

From Anthony

Puppy Death by Trang, age 11

Puppy Death

This is just to say
I’m sorry Little Bootie, Rosey, Whity, Stella,
Flora, Bloom and Flor,
because my uncle killed you
My sister’s kids saw what happened,
they said he hit all of you with a knife
They tried to stop him,
they pulled on his leg,
but he hit them with his hand
When I heard you were dead
I cried

From Trang

Goshi & the Three Dragons by Jason, age 9 & Yong, age 11

Chapter 1
The Secret

Long ago, three dragon eggs were scattered all over the world, one in the North, one in the Southeast and one in the Southwest. The numbers two, five and six were written on the eggs. If someone ever gathered them, a peaceful dragon called Genron would grant a wish to that person and the wish would come true. But every time the wish was granted, negative energy was restored in the eggs. If three wishes were granted, the eggs would be full of negative energy and they would release this energy and form a dragon that was pure evil. It would throw the Dragon Eggs and destroy everything. It had no name, only a nickname, The Smoke Dragon. This secret was hidden in a book that was in the library.

Chapter 2
The Magic Training Academy

Goshi went to the public library and found only one book about the secret of the eggs. He just wanted to be granted a wish. He didn’t care about the Smoke Dragon. He read it and he rushed back home. He packed up fast because he wanted to go and find the eggs. The next day, he went to the magic Training Academy and trained for five years. When he was sixteen, he had money to travel by plane with his book. When he landed, he was in the north in the continent of North America. When he went to California, he went to a stream in the mountain region. He felt like something was waiting for him.

Chapter 3
Hi Fatty!

The stream was polluted! It was about one hundred percent toxic. Whatever was in it would die in a few minutes. A chubby dragon broke out of its prison. It was about four feet tall. It had the power to pollute landforms, bodies of water and the air. The dragon was called Haze Genron.

Chapter 4
The First Battle

Goshi attacked the creature. It cried and turned red. It stopped and attacked back. Goshi blasted his lightning bolt effect. He summoned it by opening his palm and releasing a lighting bolt. It looked like a long zigzag. When the lightning hit Haze Genron, it fell onto a plain and the force left a big crack in the ground. A humongous jellyfish came out of the crack and drained all the energy from far away and blasted all that power at Goshi. It simply shifted its tentacles and a hurricane was made. Goshi blocked its power by creating his own hurricane. The hurricane was like a large knife or blade targeting the jellyfish. The destruction was so big that it cut the head off of the Jellyfish. But then its body disappeared and a meteor was targeting Goshi. He dived into the polluted water! He was so weak that he almost died. Something at the bottom healed him somehow. He was alive! He could swim so he came out of the lake and saw something round heading his way. It was Dragon Egg Number Two. He was happy. His next adventure was waiting for him.

Chapter 5
Hi Midget

The next dragon was Rage Genron. It was as short as a baby. It was just two feet tall. It introduced itself. It had the power of electricity. Sometimes when it was fully charged it grew so big that it couldn’t move.

Chapter 6
The Second Battle

Rage Genron grew because before Goshi got there, it charged up. Rage shocked Goshi and Goshi got really weak. Rage never stopped shocking him so Goshi fainted. Suddenly it began to rain hard. Rage was going nuts! Explosions were happening all over his body. A few hours later he was in a coffin. People thought he was dead, but he broke free. A kid stared at him. He said, “How did you do that?”
“You got to eat green vegetables. That’s what my momma once said.”
“Can you teach me how to do those moves?”
“Ok,” said Goshi. “I will teach you advanced moves.”

Chapter 7
Hi Ugly


The kid learned how to do advanced moves fast. The next dragon had a disguise and could turn into an ugly princess. It had the power to control water and wind and it could control whatever it liked but it had to use lots of energy. Its name was Onoshi Genran.

Chapter 8
The Third Battle

Onoshi Genran tried to punch Goshi. Goshi used his fire power by doing something with his fingers. Onnoshi started to dance. It never stopped. These moves caused a hurricane of spikes. In a few minutes Goshi would die. Luckily, the kid popped out of a bush and used one of the rarest powers, the Ancient Dragon Blast, by opening his mouth and releasing a dragon that came out and sliced up Onoshi. Onoshi died, but it fell into a lake and the water restored its energy. It turned into a four-foot tall gecko and attacked the kid. Goshi killed it with a kung-fu move.

Chapter 9
Wish Release

All three eggs were now united and a dragon came out. It was peaceful. It said, “I will grant you a wish.”
Goshi and the kid said, “We wish all the negative energy was gone forever!”

About the Authors

Hi! My name is Jason and I am nine years old. I live with my mom, dad, grandma and sister. This is my second published book. I am also the author of Curses. I like to watch TV, play videogames and play on the laptop. I am good at school, kickball and finding lost objects. I want to be good at building towers. I want to be a pharmacist when I grow up because they don’t have to go to college as long as doctors do. If I could be any animal I would be snake because snakes can slither fast and they can inject poison. My biggest fear is bugs.

Hi! My name is Yong. I am eleven years old and I live with my dad and mom. I like to videogames like the Olympic game on my laptop. I am good at building with Legos because I can make Homer and Harry Potter. When I grow up I want to be a baseball player and a very good scientist. If I could be any animal, I would be a tiger because they are very strong. I am also the author of My Face Is Made out of Gold, Yong and the Dragon and Attack of the Ninjas.

To Momo & From Momo, by Lisa, age 8 & Tiana, age 10

To Momo

I am sorry that my mom held you by the neck
and put you in the bathroom,
I know my mom didn’t like you because you made trouble,
like when you pooed in the living room
When we came back from China you were a grown-up
and you didn’t make trouble anymore,
But after one week we had to give you away
because the building manger didn’t let us keep you
I wish I could see you again
Please forgive my mom.

From Tiana & Lisa




From Momo

I will forgive your mom for holding me by the neck
When she held me this way
her hands felt all sticky
I will also forgive you
for giving me away
After you visited me one day,
I ran away
I wish I didn’t do that
so I could see you again
I am in a new family now
When they hear me purr,
they always pet me
And every time I smell fresh fish
I hiss

Written for Momo by Lisa

To My Rabbit by Sarah, age 8

To My Rabbit

I’m sorry that it was so hot
that you died
I wish you didn’t die
I had to take you to the hospital
so they could burn you up
I was so sad I felt like crying
But then, in my head,
I could see you when you
were two months old
You were so cute
I will remember
how you used to shake
when you were scared

From Sarah

A Smoke of Sadness By Don, age 10

To My Dad
A Smoke of Sadness

I’m sorry you can’t live with me
I never noticed that you
lied to my mom
about smoking and gambling
But I still remember you
You took me to the playground
I would like a father who cares and never lies
But I still had a lot of fun with you
I hear your voice in my mind
even though I don’t see you

From Don

Future Wars by Edmund, age 8 & Nathan, age 9

One hundred years in the future...

The Aliens used their scanner to scan Earth to see if there were real living people on the planet.

“The aliens are heading towards the satellite, use the super searchlight,” Captain Nathan said. He heard DJ music and found out that his soldiers were dancing like ballerinas.

“Stop dancing, you nincompoops!” yelled Captain Nathan. “Get started!”

“Get started on what?” said one of the troops.

“Did you even hear me?” Captain Nathan grabbed a pie from a table. “Eat pie troops!” He threw the pie and it hit one of the soldiers and slipped down his face.

“Oh,” said one of the troops. “Now I remember. Use the super searchlight.” All the troops ran to the searchlight.


“I don’t see an alien,” said Sergeant Edmund.

A minute later, a bell rang in the town. It meant the aliens were coming. They came parachuting down.

“Quickly, eat your hotdogs,” ordered Captain Nathan. The troops ate all their hotdogs then burped really loud. This made the parachutes pop. Spaceships zoomed through the sky.

“Hurry to the space pick-up!” said Captain Nathan. The pick-up threw rockets at the alien spaceships, but the spaceships made it to the ground.

“Charge!” said a glowing alien.

“AAAHHH!” said Captain Nathan.

One minute later, the soldiers yelled, “AAAHHH!”


“Stop!” yelled Captain Nathan. “We’re at the gun shack. Get your guns and hurry back.” The soldiers got their weapons.

“Charge!” yelled Captain Nathan.

“Stop!” yelled Sergeant Edmund. “Who built the gun shack so far away?”

“Well,” said a soldier, “if the gun shack was so—“

“Can you shoot the aliens already!” interrupted Captain Nathan.

The troops’ missile car dashed passed them. It shot its missiles at the aliens. KABOOM! The aliens were dead.

“That was a quick battle,” said one of the troops.

But it was just the beginning.

About the Authors

Hi, my name is Edmund. I’m eight years old. This is my first published book. I like to play games on the computer and watch TV. I also have a humongous collection of Hotwheels. My friends call me the Origami Master because I do lots of origami. One day, I invented a new paper plane. It flew over our balcony! It’s called the Megahawk. If I were an animal I would a saber-toothed tiger because they are furious and I am furious.

My name is Nathan. I am nine years old. I live with my dad, mom and my sister. I like to play videogames. When I grow up I want to be a videogame creator. If I could be an animal I would be a rabbit because they are cute and cuddly. Some day I want to be good at ring tossing. I used to be afraid of zombies because I had dreams about them, but not anymore. Now I have dreams about making friends with computers and I laugh when I sleep. I am also the author of Random and Sparrow and About my Dad.

The Magic Silkworm by Trang, age 10 & Anna, age 9

One day, princess Jenny found a silkworm under a mulberry tree. She thought it was cute and thought it would make a great pet. She picked it up carefully without dropping it and went back to her castle. She didn’t know that the silkworm was magical!
“I’ll put you in a container,” Jenny said, putting the silkworm into a pickle jar. Then she went to sleep. When she was sleeping the silkworm quickly spun silk and made a gown. When Jenny woke up she saw a beautiful gown made out of the silkworm’s cocoon. It shimmered in the light. When the king and queen saw the gown they were amazed.


“Who made this glamorous gown?” the queen said, smiling.

“I don’t know, mother,” said Jenny.

Out of nowhere, the Silkworm Prince appeared and said, “I made it out of my silk.” The Silkworm Prince closed his eyes while he was talking.

“How?” said the King.

“Well I am a silkworm,” said the Prince.

The parents laughed and laughed until they had cramps. The King and Queen did not believe the Silkworm Prince. “He’s dumb,” said the King.

“And he’s useless too,” said the Queen.

“But I am a silkworm!” said the prince.

“I trust you!” said Jenny.

“What?” said the Queen.

“I really love the Silkworm Prince,” said Jenny, “and I think I am going to have two baby girls soon.”

“Who is the father?” The King said.

“The Silkworm Prince!” said Jenny.

“YOU ARE GROUNDED JENNY!” the Queen said. “I mean it! Nothing will change my mind!”

“Noo!” Jenny yelled.

The queen was annoyed.

“I think you’re right, my love,” said the King.

While Jenny’s parents were talking, she left with the Silkworm Prince by tiptoeing out. The silkworm Prince took Jenny to a magical castle and this is where the babies were born. Only people who believed in magic could see it. People who didn’t believe in magic just walked passed it.

The King and Queen noticed Princess Jenny was gone! The king told the bravest knights to find his little girl, but the queen just panicked. The Queen said, “Where’s my baby?”

The knights looked far and near but Jenny was nowhere to be found. Rocky, one of the knight’s sons, believed in magic and other fairytales. He found Jenny in the castle.

“There you are,” said Rocky “You should go home.”

“No way! I don’t want to!” said Jenny. “My Parents are mean and cruel to the Prince and they don’t believe he is a prince!"

“Did you say a silkworm was a prince?” said Rocky.

“Do you have a problem with that?” said Jenny.

“Oh my god lady! Are you nuts?” said Rocky.

“How dare you say that to your future QUEEN,” said Jenny. “You are an insult!”

“How dare you say that to me, you you ... you ...you girly girl,” said Rocky.

Rocky kept on jabbering while Jenny slipped away and locked the door. The Silkworm Prince was right outside and was about to knock on the door. Jenny and the Prince went outside and put wheels under the castle then linked it to their car. When they were about to go, twenty guards show up and surround them. “Halt or else!” said one of the guards. Princess Jenny and the Silkworm Prince were shocked that they got caught. They thought there were no guards. Then the queen came out with the king from behind the guards. The queen took Jenny’s arm tightly and walked her back to their castle and locked Jenny in her room. The king grabbed the Silkworm and put him in the dungeon, leaving the two baby girls crying in the car.

“I will never see my Silkie again,” said Jenny, wiping a tear from her eye.

The Silkworm Prince walked back and forth in the dungeon, saying, “When will I get out of here so I can save my Honeybunch and destroy the king and queen?”

Jenny found a sharp piece of metal and scraped cement off the brick wall in her room. “I hope I’m not too late,” she said, wondering if her babies were dead. She scraped and scraped and made some bricks come loose then she pushed them out and escaped. Jenny found her babies still crying and fed them milk. She crept into her parents’ room and took ten bags of gold and the key to the dungeon and some clothes and lots of food. Jenny let the Silkworm Prince out of the dungeon and they went to the city and bought a house.

“Let’s get married,” said the Silkworm Prince.

“Ok,” Jenny said. “Let’s have a huge cake!”

About the Authors

Hi, my name is Trang. I am also the author of Fox and Bear and My Grandma Lives in Canada. I like Littlest Pet Shop, Sailor Moon, Winx Club and ice-skating. I like Halloween because I get candy and I like Christmas because I get presents.

Hi, my name is Anna. This is my second published book. I am also the author of Wolves. I am nine and a half years old. My favorite subject in school is math. I am good at reading. When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian. My biggest fear is a hundred needles going into my arm. I wonder if dead people can ever come back to life.

Trouble in Horseland by Madeline & Elaine, both age 11

Boom! Crash! A bolt of whitish-yellow light zapped the Earth. It looked like a lightning bolt, but bigger. Sarah and Amy started to float in the air. They saw a golden horse and hopped on to it.
“Hi!” said Sarah.

“Hi!” said The Golden horse. “What are your names? My name is Golden.”

“I’m Sarah,” said Sarah. “And this is Amy. She doesn’t speak that much, so I’ll speak for her.”

“Hey! Who said I don’t speak so often?” said Amy.

“Well, you don’t.”

“Wait a minute I don’t.”

“Stop arguing!” said Golden. “All this arguing is going to my head. And I need is to take you two to Horseland, which is on a cloud so you can beat the mean wizard, Kevin. He has puffy orange eyebrows and has an evil laugh. His teeth stick out and he does a little finger thing with his fingers. Kevin tried to kill our leader Red Ruby. Kevin raised his sword and cut Red Ruby’s back. Then he sprinkled sleeping powder on me. I fainted before she defeated him so I don’t know what happened. But no one likes to talk about it because he killed over half the horses and burnt our houses. We took two decades to rebuild the houses and three decades to restore the horses lives.”

“Why us?” said Sarah.

“Because you are the chosen ones,” said Golden.

“But why are we the chosen ones?” said Sarah.

“Because you floated up here from Earth,” said Golden. “Long ago a really nice witch put a spell on Earth. She said two humans would come and destroy the evil wizard with a sword. The sword would be magical to humans, and only humans. There’s a special shelf in Ruby’s cave. On it is the magical sword, a shield that the people can summon up, and a pink and blue magic flower. The last time the sword was sent out, it didn’t work because it was in my friend, Silver’s hoof. Don’t let Kevin get his hands on the sword. He will destroy every human being on Horseland and Earth. He will take over the world. He’s an evil mastermind. The Ruler is afraid the horses will steal the sword. She thinks they cannot always be trusted. Red Ruby the Ruler will drop the sword when the time is right. And then we can go up to Kevin and stab him.”

“Ok,” Sarah and Amy both said.

“Jinx,” both of them yelled.

“I jinxed you,” said Sarah.

“No I jinxed you,” said Amy.

“Cut that out you two,” said another horse who just showed up.

“Hi! Silver,” said Golden, turning to Sarah and Amy. “This was the friend I was talking about.”

“Hi! Golden,” said Silver. “One of you, get on to my back.”

“Alright,” said Amy.

They raced off to Horseland and saw the wizard Kevin standing under the sign that said WELCOME TO HORSELAND. He was looking into his crystal ball.

Kevin turned around and waved his wand into the air and he said, “ria niht ot ni meht hsinaV.”

The girls and the horses jumped behind the tree.

“Em hctac t’nac uoy,” Kevin said.

“Yes we can,” Golden said.

“t’nac uoy on,” said Kevin.

“Yes we can,” said Silver. Sarah and Amy hopped on to Silver and Sarah hopped on to Golden.

“Tuo emoc llab erif gib,” said Kevin. The four friends caught a big shield that fell out of the sky. The shield had a picture of Red Ruby, the ruler of Horseland on it. They used it to block the fireball that Kevin sent out.

“Stesut u onop se.” Silver knew a little of Kevin’s language.

The magic flower dropped a few seeds on some dirt in Horseland. It grew and grew. It popped right in front of Sarah. She grabbed it and handed it to Amy. Amy ripped a petal off and put it on top of Silver. The flower’s magic made Silver fly faster. She put one on Golden too. A sword fell from the sky.

Sarah caught it. “Go up to Kevin,” she bellowed to the horses, “so I can destroy him with the magical wand.”

Kevin heard her and said, “Em ot emoc drows cigam drows cigam!”

The magic in the wand hit Golden. Golden and Sarah dropped down to the ground. Luckily, Amy had one petal left so she ripped it off and dropped it. Before Golden fell to her death, the petal landed in her mouth and she ate it. The magic saved her life.

Meanwhile, above Horseland Kevin said, “Eid ll’ouy drows eht tuothiw.”

Just then Sarah and Golden floated back up.

“You will pay for this,” said Golden. “You’re selfish, You tried to kill us.” She flew up to Kevin and tried to stab him.

“Nwod gniog er’voy?” said Kevin. He reached for the sword and Golden ducked. Sarah quickly stabbed him.

Red Ruby thanked Sarah and Amy and gave them the magic items. Kevin sank down to Earth. He made a big splash in the Pacific Ocean. He wasn’t dead. The sun made the ocean sparkle and it restored Kevin’s life but his magic was gone.
“I need to go home for dinner now and Amy does too,” said Sarah.

“You can come here whenever you want. Just yell the words, Golden, Silver, Red Ruby, Horseland, we’re coming,” said Golden and Silver.

“And take these,” said Golden.

“What are they?” said Sarah.

“They are special pills that make you fly,” said Golden.

About the Authors

Hi! My name is Madeline! This is my fourth published book. I’m also the author of Things I don’t Believe in Anymore, Sorry and I Hate My Life with you. My favorite animals are penguins. I live with my mom, dad, and sister in San Francisco. I want to travel to different places. I like collecting Little Pet Shop toys.

Hi! My name is Elaine. My favorite animals are tigers. This is my first published book.

Attack of the ipod & the Happy, Tiny Mom by Linda, age 8

A scientist made an experiment with dust. She got the dust under her couch at home. She was trying to make dust that could control electronic things. She took a rocket to Mars and collected green slime that contained dead bugs. She came back to Earth and mixed the slime with the dust from under her couch. The slimy dust started to puff up and flew out an open window and landed on somebody’s ipod.

The ipod began to walk, talk and wack people with its earphones, and torture people. It went to a blue house. The ipod knocked on the door and the owner came out.

The owner said, “Hello?”

The ipod wacked the owner with its earphones. The owner’s face was bloody and it looked like a tiger had scratched him. The ipod went to each neighborhood and wacked everybody in the city. But the ipod didn’t wack a girl named Emily because Emily wasn’t an ordinary girl. She was a super hero named Water Wave. When she was little, Emily got shot by a spray of green, slimy water. She felt something strange. Then she got super powers. She could control water and water animals.

Emily heard a wack!! It was the ipod monster. It was in Emily’s neighborhood. After school Emily heard the wack again. It was still coming from Emily’s neighborhood. She ran home as fast as she could. When Emily got home, she was breathing hard. Emily stopped breathing for a moment. Emily’s parents were gone!! She looked all over the house. Emily heard the wack again. She heard a scream. She heard her mom yelling, “HELP!!”

Emily turned blue and grew scales. Now she was Water Wave. Water Wave saw the ipod take away her mom. “What are you doing with my mom?” Water Wave said. “Mom!!”

“I will experiment on you with my invention, the Shrink Ray,” said the ipod. The ipod found his shrink ray in the middle of town. “Yes,” he said in a deep, dark voice. The ipod went to the Shrink Ray and shrunk Emily’s mom.

Emily’s mom screamed, “Help me!” in a high, squeaky voice.

Water Wave was hiding under a fire hydrant, so she busted it open with her fist. Then a burst of water flew through the air and shot the ipod down to the ground. The ipod exploded in the air and never came back ever. The evil spirit never took over the ipod again.


Emily’s mom saw a tiny man on a leaf in the forest. “Hello?” the tiny mom said.

“Mommy?” said the tiny man.

“What?” said the tiny mom.

“Are you my mommy?”

“No.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a mom, but not your mom.”

“Do you want to come over for dinner?”

“Sure.”

“Here’s some sauce that I found on the sand,” said Emily’s mom. “You can put it in the chicken that fell from the sky.”

“Uh ok.”

The tiny mom got stuck in the chicken while she tried to pour sauce on it. “Ahhhhhhhh! I’m stuck in the chicken!”

“What?” said the tiny man.

“Help me!”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not tall enough!”

“Climb then!”

“Ok.” So the man found a piece of string and climbed up the chicken then threw it to Emily’s mom. “Hold on to this!”

“Ok!” The woman grabbed onto the string and climbed out. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The man and the woman ate the chicken and fell asleep and fell in love and got married.


About the Author

Hi, my name is Linda. I am eight and a half years old. I live with my mom, dad, two sisters and a brother. I like to draw and read. This is my first published book. I am scared of bugs and I share a room with my brother. His name is Leslie and he’s sixteen. He takes up a lot of space. My cousins are Ivy, Anthony, Evan, Kevin, and Jackie.

Spymaster's Death by Kimberly & Holly, both age 9

Stink and Ink were running to the Spy Master’s house. The twins were excited to see him because he helped them get rid of their horrible parents. Stink tripped “Ouch,” he said.

Ink helped Stink up then Ink fell down. “Ouch,” Ink said.

They laughed at each other as they got up. They didn’t watch where they were going and slipped and fell again.

“That hurts like running into a pole,” said Ink.

They both got up and dusted themselves off. They were almost at the Spy Master’s house. They saw a banana peel. They decided to jump over it. Instead they landed on it and slipped. They landed on their butts.

“Ouch,” said the pair again.

They got up and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. They saw the window and climbed through it. They found a note on the table.

Dear Stink and Ink,

I know that you climbed through the window. That’s O.K. because it’s Ink’s house now. I am suffocating from lung cancer. So in my Will I am leaving Ink my house and everything I own. Now Ink, you better share the trillion dollars with Stink. The money is on the floor. Please visit me in the hospital. You need to visit me because if you don’t I will haunt you forever, curse you, take back the money, and when you sleep I will give you nightmares.

Sincerely,
The Spy Master


The twins ran as fast as they could to the hospital, rode the elevator up to floor five hundred and five, ran through the wall and ended up in a forest, where many freaky one-eyed monsters lived. The monsters wanted to eat Stink and Ink so they blasted out lasers through their eyes. Stink and Ink grabbed two shields that fell from the sky. The lasers hit the shields and blasted right back into the monsters’ eyes. Their eyes exploded and the monsters died.

“Great,” Stink said. “We just killed twenty monsters that tried to eat us. Now we have to find the way out of this horrible world.”

“Just shut up and go find the way out,” said Ink

“No I have to find the way out and you follow, so you follow me.

“Let me think about that. No! No! No! No! I find a way out and you will follow.”

“Fine be that way, I’ll just find the way out by myself.”

“Fine! Fine! Fine! I’ll follow.”

“Great, I know a short-cut that can never fail and I found it.”

They ran through a forest for thirty minutes. Stink found some sleeping monsters hogging some arrows. Stink and Ink grabbed the arrows and threw them at the monsters’ eyes. Stink and Ink needed to enter a magical vortex to bring them back to Earth or else they would stay in this place forever. A voice spoke over them.

“I will kill you, and you too, I swear,” shouted the Monster King.

The Monster King had five eyes so he shot five lasers at a time. Ink and Stink found five magical spheres and they had five seconds before the spheres blew up. Five, four, three, two, one. The spheres landed in the Monster King’s eye and blew up. The Monster King blew over the mountains, off of the Earth and landed on another planet a hundred trillion miles away, called La! La! Land!

“If we run,” said Stink, “we can get back faster to visit the Spy Master before he dies.”

“I know,” said Ink.

They saw the magical vortex that could bring them back to Earth. They knew about the vortex because the Spy Master had mentioned it before. The vortex was a circle. The vortex shrunk a little bit every minute. When it was half-way gone, they quickly jumped in it and appeared in the Spy Master’s hospital room.


“We got your message,” Ink said. “So here we are.”

“I’m glad you came,” The Spy Master said. “I’ve got something to say. I’m going to die any minute now.”

“Noooooooo!” Stink said.

The heart monitor made a loud beep and the red zigzagging line straightened out.

After the Spy Master was buried, Stink and Ink visited his grave every year. Ink lived in the Spy Master’s house. Every time the twins met, they talked about how great the Spy Master was to them. Even though he left them that threatening note, they still forgave him because he helped Stink and Ink get rid of their horrible parents.

About the Authors

Hi! My name is Holly. I am nine years old. I like to read, write and play. I am good at drawing and running. If I were an animal I would be a cheetah because I can run fast. I really want to be good at kicking someday. When I grow up I want to be an artist. One thing about me that makes me different from other kids is that I like to share.

Hi! My name is Kimberly. I am nine years old and I live in San Francisco with my mom, dad and sister. I like to play Blackjack and I’m good at math. I want to be an artist when I grow up. If I could be any animal, I would be an alligator because alligators have sharp teeth and they eat meat and I love meat! I’m different from other girls because I hang out with boys.

Hua Ying Mei by Tiana, age 10

My mom’s name is Hua Ying Mei. She was born in China on October 10, 1961. When she was a child her family was poor because they had no money. Her parents were really nice because they took care of her and gave her clothes and food. She lived in a city called Toi San. My mom had to walk for transportation because she didn’t have a car or a bike. When she was small she played jump rope with her friends. She had two brothers and two sisters. She ate rice, vegetables, fish and meat. She went to a school with a big field filled with a lot of flowers.

My mom came to San Francisco on January 21, 1991. Hua Ying Mei thought that when she got here it would be fun. She also came here to get more money. Now she is having fun and she has more money. Her first day in San Francisco, she thought the place was beautiful because there were lots of trees and people were nice to her.

My mom’s hobby is sewing clothes for me and my sisters like shirts and jackets. When she was little she sewed too, so she's used to it. Her job is working in a sewing factory. She hates sewing the edges of the clothes together. She likes sewing the middle parts together.

About the Author

Hi my name is Tiana. My mom teaches me to speak and write Chinese. The hardest part of this project was asking my mom follow-up questions because I kept forgetting. The most interesting part of this project was learning about my mom. I turned ten this year. My favorite hobby is ice-skating. This is my third published story. The first story I wrote was "When I was Lost," and my other was "I Hate My Life with You."

My Grandma, Suxiang Chen by Stanley, age 9

My grandma’s name is Suxiang Chen. She was born in 1945 in China. She has four sisters and one brother. When she was young she just worked. She did not play games. She had to feed animals and sell things to get money. She went to school, but only for first grade. Her mom had to sell a warm jacket to get money to pay for the school. She ate rice and soup, but only a little bit. Sometimes there was no food. Her family had to grow rice and my grandma worked in the rice paddy when she was little.

My grandma came to San Francisco on October 15, 2003 to live with my family. She came so she could have a better life. Her fist day in San Francisco she went to a Chinese restaurant. Her first day here was exciting!

My grandma likes to look at pictures of China in books. They help her remember China. Sometimes I look at them with her and I see the places my grandma took me when I was little.

About the Author

My name is Stanley. I like math and science. I also like doing papier mache. I chew on my sleeves. I don’t know why. I like to play kickball. I am also the author of "The FF 200," "Monst Bump" and “The Number Nine Bus.”