Literacy For Life - Lunch With Jaqueline Guest - Runners Up

(Grassroots Pages 10 and 11)

Fun with GrandpappyMy grandpappy is my hero. He is tall, wears glasses and he has more hair on his arms than on his head!
When he comes to visit we play boats together. The sofa is our big fishing boat and the carpet is the ocean. It is a beautiful blue boat with a shiny brown wheel for steering.
We hold our fishing rods over our boat and wait patiently for our catch. We have to watch for my little sister who pretends to be a shark!
When we finally catch a fish (which are really slippers!) we carefully haul it into the boat and wrap it up to keep it fresh. When we are hungry we clean it, cook it and eat it….mmm delicious! Then we head for home.
Before we get off our boat we make sure there are no dangerous animals like crocodiles or sharks around! We have lots of fun on our sea voyage adventures!
I love my grandpappy. He is funny when we play games together, taking me to imaginary far away places, like the time when we went on a very dangerous adventure out on the stormy seas but I knew I would be ok because he keeps me safe.
Our adventures take their toll on grandpappy though. It is not long before he is snoring, fast asleep on our blue fishing boat…most probably dreaming of our next big adventure!
Written by Phoebe Harrop (8) and Mom Stephanie Harrop


The Thumb Family PicnicMr. and Mrs. Thumb and their sons Ryan and Michael are very tiny and are the size of our thumb.  They live in a tiny village called Small-town in a house which is no bigger than a shoebox.
It was a lovely sunny Saturday and Mrs. Thumb suggested a picnic. They all got into their tiny car made out of a walnut shell and drove to the river.
The first thing they saw was a large spiderweb.  “Climb up it boys and have some fun” said Mr. Thumb. The boys climbed up and down and round and round, up and down and round and round until they were quite dizzy.
On the path by the river they saw Sam Snake slithering and slipping by. Sam told the boys  to climb onto his head  and he would coil himself up really tall and make a giant slide. The boys slid from Sam Snake's  head all the way down to his tail. It was great fun.
“Picnic time” said Mrs. Thumb. They ate tiny tuna sandwiches  and tiny blueberries.
Suddenly they heard “ribbit, ribbit, ribbit” and there was Fred Frog. Ryan and Michael hopped onto his back and went for a ride on the river. Flop, hop, flip, flop, hop they went. Ryan and Michael laughed so hard they fell off with a big splash.
“Time to go” said Mr. Thumb so they climbed into their walnut shell car and drove home. What a wonderful day!!
Written by Ryan and Granny


The Cats Go Crazy
It was a full blue moon when the cats went out to play. One cat was a cool tabby cat named Chloe; the other was a wild cat with long black hair. His name was Prince Charming and it was this very crazy night that these two cats decided to get married.
They hunted for the church and found it, but could not find the Minister to marry them. It was a catastrophe. It was so catastrophic that they just began to dance. Then when no one was looking, Prince Charming dipped his lady Chloe for a whole twenty-five seconds. After the dip they decided to go out for a Sushi Dinner. For some reason, they could not figure out why, the cook was hissing at them and so they decided to go home.
At home it was quite a surprise to see them in the garbage can. As dawn came the cats found their room and they had a five minute cat-nap. When they awoke they put the Christmas tree up and it was the middle of summer.
A week later they went to the church and ran into the Minister. He asked what they were doing dressed up so fancy. Chloe and Prince Charming replied, “We are going to marry”. The Minister said, “Why didn't you call me, I would be happy to marry you”. And so it was settled and they were married that very day.

Written by Melissa Esparo (7).



The Kernal Who Was Afraid to Pop
There once was a young kernel named Pip, the smallest kernel in the popcorn machine. Around him was grownup popcorn, including his own dad, Pop. It was a popping party. Pop saw that Pip was hanging on to the side, frowning. “Pip, why are you frowning?” “I am afraid.” “Why do you say that, Pip?” “I don't know what it feels like.” Just then, a crowd of new popcorn jumped in front of Pop. “Pop! I need your help!” Pip yelled. “Maybe we can help,” the new popcorn replied. Pip thought for a moment. “What does butter feel like?” “Mmmmm,” replied a fat, fluffy piece. “Melty.” “Marvelous,” said another, particularly buttery piece. Pip spotted a mature piece of popcorn in the crowd, white with salt. “Could you tell me, sir, what salt feels like?” “At first it's prickly,” said the gentleman. “But you get used to it.” “Why don't you jump in?” “I don't know,” Pip mumbled, watching the last few kernels frolicked in the heat. He yelled to them, “what does it feel like to be hot?” “It feels funny,” said a shiny kernel playing tag on the bottom. Suddenly, he exploded into a white cloud. “Does it hurt to pop?” The last two kernels burst into white puffs. “Wish we could do that again,” they said to him. “Found you,” Pop said. “Still hanging on? Why don't we go together?” “OK.” The two dropped to the bottom. Pip bloomed into the biggest piece of popcorn in the bowl.
Written by May (12), Ezra (14), Elise (12) and parents Bill Bunn, Linda Bunn