The Writers’ Room After-school Tutoring Chapbook Volume 1, Number 2 Winter 2012
Copyright © 2012 The KidSafe Writers’ Room The KidSafe Writers’ Room works with inner-city kids in East Vancouver to build lifelong literacy skills through creative writing projects (like this chapbook), tutoring and mentorships. Writers’ Room volunteer tutors provide one-on-one support so that each child receives the attention that he or she deserves. All of our programs are free for the children and families we serve. The Writers’ Room is a project of the KidSafe Project Society, and the Writers’ Room after-school tutoring program runs at Queen Alexandra Elementary in partnership with the Vancouver School Board’s Van Tech Community School Team and the York House School. Thank you to all of the fabulous Writers’ Room volunteers—including authors Alexandra Gill, Fiona Tinwei Lam and Deborah Willis, who lead writing workshops, and Writers’ Room communications intern Lucy Xie, who helped produce this chapbook. And thank you to the generous Writers’ Room donors, including Megan Abbott, Marily Mearns, Claudia Casper and Lindsay Mearns. The Writers’ Room could not exist without you. And thanks to KidSafe’s gold-level donors:
To read more amazing student writing, visit writersroom.weebly.com.
Table of Contents A Bad Sleep by Francis, Addy, AJ and Nico . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Way I See It by Selena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Princess Is Lost by Celest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 I Like Boy Stuff by Vincent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Spawn by Nirel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Family Life by Judy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Underwater Sleepover by Liza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SR from Breadland by Jason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Roses by Thu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Queen by Renil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I Like to Work by Angelo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 I Like to Eat Dinner by Kurtis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 What to Do When I Rescue Animals with Animal Control by Shirley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Clara’s Spell Book by Clara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 A Monster by Jaykwon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Late Season’s Greetings by Sebastian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Chicken Beaver Drumstick by Andrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The Boy at the End of My Bed by Jan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Weird Tarantula by Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 A Super Snowy Day by Liyah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Ode to the Moon by Angelo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 KidSafe—For Everyone by Nirel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Concrete Poetry by Francis, Ibtihal, Shirley, Liza, Judy, Thu and Steven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Hearing by Giao, Faris, AJ, Steven, Ryan and Mark . . . . . . . . 22 Seeing by Alex, Mark, Huynh, Robert, Mary, Ali and Kyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Tasting by Jalen, Jasmine, Gabby and Caleb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Touching by Steven and Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Marble Cheddar by Kimleen and Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Brie by Samuel, and Azayle and Vincent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Jalapeño Jack by Danny and Keyara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Illustrations by Jacky and Kimleen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 I Ate an Apple! by Ana and Felicia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 My Least Favourite Movie. . . Cinderella! by “Awesomeness” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 My Dream Outfit by “Waterylily” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Angery Birds by “Dasherbro” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Rainbow Weather Report and Wednesday Weather by “Ernesto Guevara” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Illustration by Maya, kindergarten
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
A Bad Sleep
By Francis, grade 1; Addy, grade 1; AJ, grade 1; Nico, kindergarten; and their tutor, Jen
You wake up one morning and there is a ghost at the end of your bed. You go to the haunted house. Nothing happens. The ghost doesn’t move. You look for ghost clues. You find footprints! They are zombie footprints! So you run fast through the haunted house. The zombie and the ghost follow you home because they are friends. The next night, they eat you for dinner.
The Way I See It By Selena, grade 4
The way I see it, butterflies are so beautiful. When I see them, they are the only things in my mind because of the beautiful colours. Blue, black, red, pink, yellow. They swirl around in my mind, and the way I see it, it’s just as it’s supposed to be.
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The Princess Is Lost By Celest, kindergarten
She saw something on the ground. It was a squirrel. The wind was blowing in her face. She was scared because it was dark. She started to cry. Her tears fell to the ground. She was crying because the squirrel was really mad. It grabbed her and pulled her. The end.
I Like Boy Stuff By Vincent, grade 1
I like boy stuff. I like dogs. I like you. I like Beyblades. I like my dad. I like Mom. I like PokĂŠmon. I like everyone. I like cats and dogs. I like Mother Earth. I like animals. I like being a grownup. I like work. I like everything. I like me!
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Spawn
Written and illustrated by Nirel, grade 4 Sir Punch Wood spawned in a forest and then he collected wood by punching it, and he found a little cave and he said, “I, Sir Punch Wood, will make shelter.” But first he needed to make those logs into wood, then make wood planks. But he did not use all of it to create sticks. Then he made a work bench. To be continued in Episode 1: Coal, Stone, More Wood, Sticks and More Crafting.
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Family Life By Judy, grade 2 Chapter 1 Bring me some pop and this time make it real. Make art for me, wind. But wait, don’t leave me all alone. Nooooo, why me? Wait, give me squeezed lemonade. No. Hey, that was not nice. Can you be nice a little bit please? But the kids are playing in my closet and they are playing in my dress. Oh no, now they are under my bed again. Oh brother. Chapter 2 Oh no, they are playing in my toilet and they are on the sofa watching TV and eating baby food. I am going to take them outside to play so they will let me make dinner for my husband. We are eating pizza and bubble tea. Honey, I am home and I am hungry. Ok, wait. Ok. Mom, buy me some sushi while I take a hot bath. Ok, said mom. I am going shopping at Metrotown for pizza, bubble tea and sushi. Take care of the babies for me. Bye. And make it with coffee powder. No, you guys drink it with real fruit. No, says the sister and dad. Then no bubble tea, then. No, not that, please no. Fine, says sister and dad. 8
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Underwater Sleepover By Liza, grade 1 A fish and a shark went swimming a billion years ago in the ice because the fish likes cold. Then a shark came! And the fish swam away fast. Then she went to say hi to the shark. The shark said, “You can have a sleepover.” Then it was night and they went to bed. In the morning, it was time for the fish to go home.
SR from Breadland
By Jason, grade 3
Hello, my name is SR. I live in a place called Breadland. This place is famous because it’s bread. My favourite thing to do is eat bread. My personal recipe for happiness goes like this: Bread bread cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake.
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The Roses
Written and illustrated by Thu, grade 2 The roses are beautiful and the roses smell nice and they are colourful and the air is relaxful. It needs water and sunlight and seeds and air, and it has seeds and roots and leaves and flowers.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
The Queen
Written and illustrated by Renil, grade 1 In the computer, I was doing something. I was doing a message to the queen in the castle.
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I Like to Work By Angelo, grade 1 I like to work. I like to watch TV and play Nintendo 3DS. I like to read my book, Batman. I need to write. I can play with my toys. I like to skate fast. I like to go to the Philippines. I like snow.
I Like to Eat Dinner By Kurtis, grade 1 I like to eat dinner. I like TV. I like to play with Angelo.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
What to Do When I Rescue Animals with Animal Control By Shirley, grade 3
1. First, I will save a dolphin. 2. Second, I will save a bird. 3. Third, I will save a bunny. 4. Fourth, I will save a fish. 5. Fifth, I will save a puppy.
Clara’s Spell Book By Clara, kindergarten 1. Frog: Say “frog” and it turns them into a girl frog. 2. Cat: Wave your wand. 3. Lipstick: Wave your wand and say, “Be my valentine.” 4. Happy Face: Wave your wand and smile. 13
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A Monster
By Jaykwon, grade 1 You wake up one morning and there is a monster at the end of your bed. You run out your door. Your mom hears all the noise and comes running. You say, “There is a monster.” Your mom believes you. Both of you look under your bed. The monster still doesn’t move, so you go outside.
Late Season’s Greetings By Sebastian, grade 3
A mouse saw a present and opened it! Santa stole a star and put it on his tree. A tree was in a stocking. Someone threw a candy cane and hit the bell and holly came out and Santa stole $100 because he is jealous. Merry Christmas.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Chicken Beaver Drumstick
Written and Illustrated by Andrew, grade 4
One day a chicken beaver drumstick was walking into a temperate forest when something exploded and the chicken beaver drumstick turned into fried chicken.
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The Boy at the End of My Bed By Jan, grade 1
You wake up one morning and there is a boy at the end of your bed. You scream, “Mom! Help!” Nothing happens. The boy doesn’t move. You invite him to play. The boy still doesn’t move, so you go downstairs and have breakfast.
The Weird Tarantula By Williams, grade 4 You wake up one morning and there is a tarantula at the end of your bed. You hit it with a baseball bat. Your cat hears all the noise and comes running. You say, “Meow.” Your cat believes you. Both of you celebrate.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
A Super Snowy Day By Liyah, grade 1
The seahorse is swimming for food; the polar bear is visiting the seahorse. They saw the kitty, and they said, “Ah!” Then they saw a cute butterfly and said, “Aw.” It was super snowy. Then the polar bear tried to cover the cat and the butterfly with fur to protect them. Then they saw a snow princess. With the princess, they saw the computer. After that, it was night time so they all went back home.
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Simile Poetry: From a Workshop with Fiona Tinwei Lam, Poet
Ode to the Moon By Angelo, grade 1
The moon is cool and the moon looks like games. The moon looks like TV. I love the moon. The moon is awesome.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Concrete Poetry
KidSafe—For Everyone By Nirel, grade 4
Like to smile. Well you are not doing well, son. Keep it up, dragon men. Let’s get them now. Fart, fail, random. Nice work. Nerd, wrong way. Nice mice. Aaaah. Nice work. Share. Helping. KidSafe—for everyone. Amazing. Writers’ Room.
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Concrete Poetry
The face of a monster. The monster makes a mess and Monster don’t clean it. —Francis, grade 1 I love my family. I love my friends. I love my city. —Ibtihal, grade 1
yellow bird yellow bird we all scream yellow birds —Shirley, grade 3
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I like the rain. It looks like a diamond, and beautiful are shiny diamonds. The End. —Liza, grade 1
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
I like strawberry candy but it gives you cavities. —Judy, grade 2
My socks are stinky. I wear my stinky socks. —Thu, grade 2
I am a fish that lives in the sea and I am a small fish and my name is Goldfish. —Steven, grade 3
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Four Senses
Hearing I heard beans in a jar shaking.
I heard peanuts. It sounded like a bad guy
It sounded like a drum. It reminded me of
crossing the red line. It reminded me of an
butterflies. —Giao, kindergarten
alarm. —AJ, grade 1
I heard beans.
I heard a crazy sound.
It sounded very loud.
It sounded like a bell.
It reminded me of Santa
It reminded me of the
Claus. —Faris, grade 1
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bell in the church. —Steven, grade 3
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
I heard a ring. It sounded like oh. It reminded me of water. —Ryan, kindergarten
I heard a glass squeak. It sounded like my squeaking tooth. It reminded me of a squeaking noise in my house. —Mark, grade 3
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Four Senses
Seeing I saw a star and a diamond. It looked like jelly, shooting space stars and a diamond inside the clouds. It reminded me of stars and clouds. —Alex, grade 2
I saw something that looks like an elf hat. It looked like a blue diamond. It reminded me of Timmy’s mom with a diamond ring she got from animals. —Huynh, grade 4
I saw a sand dollar.
I saw a blue diamond.
It looked like a half-
It looked like the inside
moon with skull leaves. It reminded me of the beach. It lives under water. —Mark, grade 3 24
of water. It reminded me of a shooting star. —Robert, grade 2
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
I saw something like a diamond. It looked like a wizard’s hat. It reminded me of a gold
I saw a pencil. It looked like wood. It reminded me of a tree. —Kyle, grade 4
earring or necklace. —Mary, grade 5
I saw a diamond. It looked like the sky. It reminded me of sitting in the sky. —Ali, grade 3
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Four Senses
Tasting I tasted a gummy worm.
I tasted a gummy worm.
It tasted sweet.
It tasted like spice.
It reminded me of
It reminded me of
everyone in the city.
sprinkles.
—Jalen, grade 3
—Gabby, kindergarten
I tasted a gummy worm.
I tasted a cookie.
It tasted like limes and
It tasted sweet.
cotton candy. It reminded me of the terrarium. —Jasmine, grade 3
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It reminded me of when I was at the library. —Caleb, grade 1
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Touching I touched a cactus. It felt like a porcupine. It reminded me of the plant of my grandma. —Steven, grade 3
I touched a cactus. It felt like a sharp spear touching you. It reminded me of a booby trap in the movies. —Mark, grade 3
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Cheese Tasting
Marble Cheddar It looks like a cow, but different colours. It feels wet and smooth, a little. It smells like cheese. It sounds like nothing (cheese don’t talk). It tastes like milk, a little. It reminds me of a cow. —Kimleen, grade 5
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It looks like the best candy in the world. It feels smooth. It smells like spaghetti. It sounds like the smooth wind. It tastes like gum. It reminds me of the best gum. —Jeremiah, grade 2
The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Brie It looks gross.
It looks white and awful.
It feels gross.
It feels wet and soft.
It smells like a skunk.
It smells like cauliflower.
It sounds squishy.
It sounds like nothing.
It tastes awful! Gross!
It tastes bad.
It reminds me of Diary of
—Azayle and Vincent,
a Wimpy Kid. —Samuel, grade 5
grade 1
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Cheese Tasting
Jalapeño Jack It looks white. It feels sticky. It smells like butter. It tastes delicious. I ate some cheese. —Danny, grade 2
Roquefort It looks blue and white. It feels hard. It smells like a skunk. It tastes like bad milk. It reminds me of cat litter. —Keyara, grade 4
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Imaginary Cheeses
Illustration by Jacky, kindergarten
Illustration by Kimleen, grade 5 31
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Food Writing: From a Workshop with Alexandra Gill, Restaurant Critic for the Globe and Mail
I Ate an Apple! It looked like a heart. It felt smooth. It smelled like a rainbow. It sounded like a nice cracking sound. It tasted like sushi. It reminded me of my dog, my house, candy, worms. —Ana, grade 4 It looked like a circle. It felt good and nice. It smelled delicious. It sounded like nothing. It tasted very very very very very very good. —Felicia, grade 3
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
The Wednesday/Thursday Crew Blog With the help of Writers’ Room tutors, a team of grade 6 and 7 students have created the Wednesday/Thursday Crew blog, where they share their thoughts on everything from video games to clothing, and use pen names to protect their identities. Check out more of their peer-edited posts at thewednesdaythursdaycrew.wordpress.com.
My Least-favourite Movie. . . Cinderella! By “Awesomeness,” grade 6
Since Cinderella is my least-favourite movie, I don’t know much about it, so I am going to tell you all I know and all I hate about it. . . Cinderella talks in a high voice and wears a pink dress every single day, which is weird. She is always dancing and singing. She has blonde hair and I think she is not smart because princesses don’t go to school—they live in castles. What I hate about Cinderella is that she wears pink, she marries a man, she sings, dances, wears glass slippers, she lives in a spooky castle, and the worst, the absolute worst, is that the movie is girly.
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The Wednesday/Thursday Crew Blog
My Dream Outfit By “Waterlily,” grade 6
If I could create a dream outfit that I would never get, well, it would have cute high-top shoes and black, cute skinny jeans with rhinestones on the back and front pockets. The t-shirt would be bright yellow with a pic of Winnie the Pooh. My hair would be up, with a ponytail and bangs to the side, and I would have a diamond-encrusted hair clip shaped like a Winnie the Pooh honey pot. And that would be my dream outfit.
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The KidSafe Writers’ Room Chapbook | Winter 2012
Angry Birds
By “Dasherbro,” grade 6 This is a game where you slide your fingers with multi-coloured birds, attempting to retrieve eggs that have been taken by hungry pigs. Each level has pigs inside a different built-up shelter. Also, they stand on platforms with a house, especially without shelter. Some shelter can be strong or weak, depending on the level. Birds’ Abilities Red birds: They are normal birds that don’t have any special moves. They can only be fired like a normal bird. Blue birds: They are small birds that can be launched, and when you tap a blue bird, it becomes three. Yellow birds: They are triangular, fast, swift birds that will blast across the screen. They can break platforms quicker than all the birds. Black birds: They are big birds that look similar to the white birds. When the bird hits a platform, it will begin to explode. White birds: They are big birds that look similar to the black birds. While they are in the air, you tap the bird and it will pop out an egg. 35
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The Wednesday/Thursday Crew Blog
Rainbow Weather Report By “Ernesto Guevara,” grade 7 February 23, 2012 It was cool that it was hailing and then it stopped really quickly after that. And then it got sunny after that and a rainbow popped up. A rainbow is a bunch of colours that comes when the sun shines on the rain. After a while it disappears into nothing.
Wednesday Weather By “Ernesto Guevara,” grade 7
March 1, 2012 When I woke up, I saw snow everywhere. Then it started to slowly melt throughout the day. Then, after that, it started to become sunny. Yay! It was 4 degrees today.
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