December 11, 2008
Read My Story!
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One lonely, solemn day I was sitting on my front porch waiting for a miracle. My dog had run away and she was my very best friend. I would be devastated if anything had happened to her. I just wished she would come back and everything would be good again, but wishes never come true. My mom looked for her all day yesterday and I know she tried her best. My dog’s name is Cookie and she has never run away before. I wonder what could have made her want to run away. Maybe I was ignoring her? Maybe I forgot to feed her? These were all possibilities, but which one was true. I wish I could have a clue about where she went. She has been lost for 1 ½ days and I am getting more worried every minute. The next day when I woke up, I noticed a note on my bedside that read:
Dear owner,
This is a note for you that will help your wish come true.
To find your best friend follow this clue:
Your friend is outside in something that is blue.
It is about 1 mile north from the world’s best view.
From: Unknown
After I read that note I immediately thought who could have left it. The person who left it would have to know where Cookie is. All these thoughts were rushing in my mind. I knew I would think of the answer to the biggest mystery I had ever faced if I could get a good nap. That afternoon before I took a nap, I showed my mom the note left on my bedside that morning. Maybe she could think of the answer while I was. My teacher always says that two minds work better than one. I bet with her help this would be snap.
After my 45min nap I asked my mom if she thought of anyone who could have left it. I also was looking for the answer to the riddle. The riddle was so confusing. Your friend is in something blue. It is about one mile north from the world’s best view. What do they mean when they said “It is about one mile from the world’s best view?” Anyway, I went to ask my mom if she had any clue after I showed it to her about 1 hour ago. She was sitting on the couch looking at the note. It seemed as if her eyes were glued to the paper. When I called her name, she jumped as if I was a big scary monster about to eat her. When she did that, it made me jump to the reaction of my words. Get it? O.K, back to the real problem. Do you even understand the riddle, mom? Yes, after I thought about it, I have some suggestions. Since we live in Pennsylvania, and we have the Appalachian Mountains nearby, maybe they are talking about the view from the top of the mountain. It made sense to me but how could Cookie get that far away? Since she is so little, it would be almost impossible for her to get to that distance in only 1 ½ days. It was still a good idea. The rest of the night my mom and I thought of the best possibilities and discussed the ideas that we both had. At this rate it would not take too long to find out where she went.
The next morning my mom came to a decision. She said that next week we would travel to the places where Cookie might be. When she told me that, I knew she really cared. It might take a long time to travel to all these places in 1 day. We came up with, altogether, 8 places where she might be. It might take us about 2 days to travel to all those places. Of course the places where we were going to travel to had to match the description in the poem. All of the things my mom and I thought of that were blue and were about 1 mile north from the best view. I was feeling confident about the places we thought of. The week passed so quickly that it seemed that just an hour ago my mom told me that we were going on this trip. I was an only child so it would be easy to travel to all of these places. My mom was holding the note in one hand and a map in the other. We were about to get in the car and head off to our first destination. I would be away from my house for at least 2 days. While we left our neighborhood, I started thinking some negative thoughts. What if in the end we never find Cookie? What if we found her dead on the road that we were traveling on? What if a stranger finds her and puts her in the kennel? I knew that we would have a 50-50 chance that we would find her. Also a 50-50 chance that we would not find her. I was shaking as my mother looked at her map and at the road at the same time. “Here we are,” my mom said. Our first destination was a waterfall. This was a good guess but it was not good enough. Unfortunately, we were wrong. I was trying to get all those negative thoughts out of my head, but it seemed almost impossible. Mom, do you think we’ll ever find Cookie? “I hope so,” she said. She is a strong dog and I believe that she could survive. Off to our second destination. “O.K.” I said. Our second thought was a Grocery Store. I know this sounds weird, but I was willing to do anything to get Cookie back. My mom told me to wait in the car and she would look around the store. About 5 minutes later, she came back to the car with a sad look on her face. “Any luck?” I asked. “I’m afraid not, honey,” she answered back. “I can’t believe it,” I said to myself. I immediately started losing hope. “Honey,” my mom said. “I wish I could bring her back but I can’t and I’m really sorry. “That’s okay,” I said disappointedly.
“Let’s get going,” my mom said. I started looking out the window remembering the last time I saw Cookie. I shed a few tears. I never knew I would have to go through two deaths in my family. You might be asking, “Who is the other person who died in your family?” I really don’t like to talk about it but it will probably make me feel better. It was my dad. He died of cancer when I was 7 years old. He was an awesome father. I litterly cried for 10 hours straight. Even though that was 4 years ago, I will always have a place for him in my heart. As I was looking out the window, I noticed a sign on one of the poles. I told my mom to stop the car. I got out and read the sign carefully. It read:
FOUND DOG
I have found a lost dog. She has a small body with a spot on one of her eyes. Her main color is golden brown. One of her eyes is blue and the left one is green. If this is your lost dog, please come to my house so you can claim her.
7342 Mootown Dr. 44177
Home 555-7398
Cell 440-896-0058
I automatically told my mom the address and we were off! I think the man was describing Cookie! When we found the house, I knocked on the doorknob rapidly. It turns out that the house was blue and it was about 1 mile north from the Appalachian Mountains. An old man answered the door. “Hi,” I said. “I am here to claim the dog that you found.” I showed him the flier that I found on our way to our third destination. Oh yes, he whistled and there came Cookie! Cookie! Cookie! I thought I would never see you again! “Thank you so much, I don’t know how I could thank you.” “No problem,” he said. “You are the nicest man on the face of the Earth!!!” I said. “You are the true MIRACLE!”
I woke up and was very confused. I walked down the stairs and found my mom. “Mom, how long was I asleep?” “You were asleep for about 11 hours,” she answered. I had this crazy dream. It was about Cookie. Is she still lost? “What are you talking about, sweetie? Cookie is right here.” Cookie came running to say hello to me. Cookie? When did she come back, mom? She was never lost. Oh, I had a dream that she was lost and we were looking for her. Well, she is here and I promise she will never run away again. As I got dressed I looked out my window and saw a blue house about 1 mile away from the world’s best view.
November 22, 2008
Parent Book Reviews, Quotes About Reading, Read My Story!
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I love my grandfather. I bet you I could say it 10 times fast. Him and I have a lot in common. We live right next door, so we know a lot about each other! In the summer he always has his pool with water in it, that is in the summertime. If we went in the pool at any other season, we’d probably be frozen like icicles. Every time I go over to his house, he always has something waiting for me. On bad weather days we like to play Wii inside. He always beats me at Wii Baseball! We both pulled our muscles playing it, one time! I have never seen a coffee cup in his hand once! As long as I come back, he always buys Oreos for me. It’s neat having a grandpa who cares about you next door. He’s the only guy who I know that operates a tractor, owns a business, and loves to collect cars! Him and my dad always talk about things including what to get to help my grandpa’s business. They both know that I like to see them work, so on some days that we get off school I go with them both to their working shop. I always see my grandpa and his sister, the front desk manager, arguing about the computer that they both need help with. It’s neat living around a family that has a lot of people that work at the same place! Now back to my grandfather. My grandfather and me have a lot in common! We laugh at the same jokes, think about how lucky we are to both have each other as a neighbor, and to have a plasma screen TV with blue ray. I laugh all the time when my grandpa can’t figure out how to work the DVD player. You hit this button, grandpa’s I always say. I’m always helping him, and he’s always helping me. He always encourages me to do my best at school, home, and almost anywhere I can go. I can remember a lot of times when he needed help. He always likes to hear my stories about how I’m doing, and what I learned that is new. We always talk about how a Smart Board works. He really is fascinated about the technology, these days. I always am so sad to leave his house at the end of the day, but then I think t! o myself that we are so lucky to have each other, and that the next day I can go back over to his house to tell him more about what I learning the same day. I can’t wait right now to go over to his house! On my birthday he gives me a lot of stuff! For my birthday, one time, he gave me a TV for my room. I was so happy! I kept on saying YES! to myself. I said it so loud, I bet Canada heard it. What to you think about your grandparents? I hope this inspired you to make stories, as well. If you have a favorite grandpa, grandma, or anyone else, why don’t you write them a letter on how you much you enjoy them to be a part of your family.
November 23, 2007
Read My Story!
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I could hear my heart beating faster and faster. The lights were flickering on and off. I was speechless as soon as I felt breathing on the back of my neck. Someone was whispering my name. The thunder crashed together and I could smell the rotten pumpkins on the porch. The house had black windows with spiders and cobwebs. The torn gutters were as slimy as a slug. There were broken windows.It was Halloween night. I could hear witches laughing, ghosts moaning, and goblins screeching. I walked up to the big white door. The door flung open. As soon as I walked, in the door shut. I got so terrified, I tried to open it, but it was locked. I ran up the wooden stairs, but behind me I could hear a witch’s chuckle. I ran upstairs and went into a big dark room. I tried to find the light switch, but instead I found a bright candle. The candle was lit, so I used that for my light. The room smelled like moldy sweaty socks. In the middle of the room there was a round blue table with a big black cauldron that had a bubbly green stew in it. This was no ordinary stew, it looked like a witch’s potion to me. The door to the room opened, and there stood a witch. She had green skin, slimy hands, big warts, and a huge nose. “Oh look what I have here” said the witch. I froze in sight. My mouth was wide open. The witch grabbed my hand and took me to the blue table that had the black cauldron on it. She poured the bubbly green potion in it and tried to dump it on me, but I ran downstairs as fast as I could. With some kind of spell, the witch locked all the windows and doors. I ran into a room that had a huge table with dead flowers in the middle. I looked and there was a white string hanging from under the huge table. As terrified as I was, I pulled the string. The next thing I knew, I was in a whole different room. “The white string I pulled must have been a secret passage way” I said. The room was a small old room. It smelled like moldy food. As long as I was away from that evil witch, I was fine. I looked right next to me and there was a red striped book. On the cover it said “Reverse”. I opened the book and read it I read:To return or to make a witch disappear, all you have to do is say this spell: REVErSe. I was so excited. I closed the red striped book and set it back down. I noticed right next to me there also was a white string. I pulled it and it led me back to the room with the huge table. I ran back up the steps. The room was still in the room with the cauldron. I ran up to her and said “Reverse”. The witch disappeared and I ran out of the house. Every Halloween I’ve been going up to the house and ringing the doorbell, but nobody ever answer!
November 21, 2007
Read My Story!
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Jump higher so you can leap to the bar, said Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith was 14 year old Sara Millmorn’s gymnastics teacher. Perfect! You got it. Oh look! There’s your mom.
See you in a week Mrs. Smith, said Sara. That night, Sara laid down in bed and thought about the gymnastics competition in two weeks. We have to win Sara thought to herself. Soon she fell fast asleep. The next morning Sara got up and got ready for another hard day at school. A day with mean bullies, girls that think their popular, and of course, mean teachers. Her bus came at around 7:15. As soon as she got to school, Sara ran into her best friend Katie Ronalds. “Hey Katie” said Sara. Together they walked into History class. 5 hours past and the bus came to pick them up. Soon Sara was home. That night as she walked into her room and looked out her window, she thought about the gymnastics competition. She really wanted to win. She soon fell asleep. That night, she dreamed of her at her gymnastics competition, she was on the beam and everyone was staring at her. She was so frightened. As soon as it was her turn, she had to do her routine. She was doing great until she got to her back tuck. When she was about to jump, she fell and embarrassed herself in front of the whole audience. She got herself up and ran out of the competition. The next morning when Sara finally woke up from that terrible dream of hers, she went to gymnastics. Mrs. Smith was at the front door as soon as she got there. “Hi Mrs. Smith” said Sara. Mrs. Smith did not look happy. “ Sara I need to talk to you,” “Okay” said Sara Mrs. Smith and Sara sat down and talked. “Sara I was at home cooking last night, and the phone rang. It was the University of Gymnastics in California. They wanted to know if I would like to be a teacher there”. “ Oh that’s great”! said Sara. “But, wouldn’t that mean that you wouldn’t be working here anymore? Yes, I’m sorry Sara but I took the offer and I can not work here anymore” said Mrs. Smith. “Oh but who will be my teacher? asked Sara. “Mrs. Reed is a wonderful teacher and has great experience” said Mrs. Smith.” She is your new teacher. And now that you have a new teacher , you can go practice. I have to go now , but I’ll send you postcards. Bye Bye” Sara ran into the gym and started class. Soon class was over, and she went straight home. The next few days, were boring and dull. It seemed that since Mrs. Smith wasn’t there, her life was just a lot different. It was Saturday November 18th, the day of the gymnastics competition. Sara got out of bed and went to go get a good breakast. At 1:30 pm, Sara’s mom drove her to the competition. As soon as she got there, she changed and started to warm up. This was it, the time of her life. She wanted to get a really good score. She was ready. She walked into the big room, sat with her team and waited for the competition to start. At 3:00 the show started. She was the 12th person to go up. Her friends were performing, and soon it got up to the 11th person to go up. She was next she could do it. She thought of the terrible dream she had about the competition. She started to get really nervous. “Will the 12th person please come up now? the judges said. Her coach, Mrs. Reed looked at Sara and asked if she was ready. Sara told Mrs. Reed about the dream and Mrs. Reed said that she will be fine. She told Sara that all she had to do was believe and go out there and do her best. Will the 12th person please come up now?, the judges asked a second time. Sara stood up, took a deep breath, and walked into the gym. Mrs. Reed stopped her to say “remember believe”. Sara gave Mrs. Reed a little smile and walked up to the beam. She started her routine and just kept on saying Believe in her head. She finished her routine and looked at the judges. They all decided to give her a 10.The judges announced that and Sara ended up getting the silver award. Sara smiled and ran back to the bench. Right behind her was Mrs. Smith. Sara ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. “Great job’ Mrs. Smith said. “ How did you do that” asked Mrs. Smith. Sara gave Mrs. Reed a little smile and said all I did was Believe!!!!! The end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!