The Ultimate Taco Cat: Stories of Everyday Magic

THE ULTIMATE

TACO CAT

STORIES OF EVERYDAY MAGIC .org

A writing and tutoring center for 6-18-year-olds, 826michigan inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

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writing from three tutoring labs

Written by students in 826michigan’s tutoring labs in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti

THE ULTIMATE TACO CAT: Stories of Everyday Magic

826michigan Staff Dr. Naimah Wade, Executive Director Ken Zahrt, Development Director Amy Sumerton, Program Director Catherine Calabro Cavin, Education Director Frances Martin, Program Manager Courtney Randolph, Community Engagement Manager Sheena Crenshaw, Program Manager Kati Shanks, Operations Manager Michael Swisher, Retail Coordinator Megan Gilson, Program Coordinator JosÊ Rivas, Program Coordinator Katelyn Durst, Volunteer Coordinator David Hutcheson, Family Engagement Associate Tenisha Taylor, Development and Events Associate Copyright Š 2019 by 826michigan and Blotch Books.

All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, the illustrators, and the authors.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to any people or events, real or imaginary, is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher, except for small excerpts for the purposes of review or scholarly study.

By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit: 826michigan.org

THE ULTIMATE TACO CAT:

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Stories of Everyday Magic

Writing from Three Tutoring Labs Written by students in 826michigan’s tutoring labs in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti

826michigan ann arbor, detroit, ypsilanti | june 2019

Dedicated to DJ Earth Park & the Aadvark Art Park, moments of magic from the microscopic to the enormous, and tacos and cats everywhere.

Also Published by 826michigan Deluxe: Tales from Two Tutoring Labs Feed Your Mac and Cheese To Your Pet Crocodile The Golden Nose 2.0 How To Use Your Nine Lives In the Clouds Over Ypsilanti Never Runs out of Battery Rare Air / Aire raro Shark Math Spinach Doughnut Zomb, the Formalist

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Introduction • vii Andy Han • 2 Joe Juarez • 3 Charlena Jackson • 5 Beverly J. M. • 6 Joselyn Contreras-Olarte • 7 Ofelia Ziegler • 8 Pete Westhead • 9 Ana Horden • 10 Ahmed Ayubbi • 11 Charis Vollmar • 13 Nate Gowen • 14 Brianna St. Aimie • 18 Josiah Atkinson • 19 Hanako McDonald • 20 Ogi Vassilev • 21 Camila Reyes-Herrera • 24 Precious Ward • 28 Tanyi Agbor-Baiyee • 30 Victor Lewis • 31 Kiera Tyson • 32 Kiara Alexander • 33 Anhar Kehala • 34 Kam Alexander • 35 Tom Arata • 36 Mayar Kehala • 38

Contents Aaron Logwood • 39 Gabriel Dixon • 42 Gabrielle Dixon • 43 Aaliah Jefferson • 45 David Honablue • 46 Brendan Mackie, Brookelynn Mackie, & Jaelyn McDuffie • 48 Jacob Smith • 49 Danicia Cabrera & Rafael Perez • 50 Christian Edwards • 51 Danicia Cabrera • 52 Jaylen Johnson • 54 Onii House • 56 Sizwe Honablue • 57 About 826michigan • 58 Acknowledgments • 61 826michigan’s Writing Core Values • 63 The 826 Stand • 64

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Introduction Madeeha Khan 826michigan High School Intern

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ello, Namaste, Shalom, Assalamualaikum, Ni hao, greetings everyone!

My name is Madeeha and I am a young intern at 826michigan who has grown up with the program. Starting in October 2012, when I was in the sixth grade, 826michigan began offering After-school Tutoring in Ypsilanti at Beezy’s Café, and I was in the very first group of attendees. This school year, the program transferred to the Michigan Avenue branch of the Ypsilanti District Library. In addition, today 826michigan has grown to offer After-school Tutoring in three spaces: our Liberty Street and Winder Street writing labs in Ann Arbor and Detroit, respectively, and at the Ypsilanti District Library. With its expansion, the core parts of our program—the magic, creativity, student voice, diversity, and community building—have stayed the same.

A lot has changed over my journey from sixth grade to graduating high school. But 826michigan remains the most magical place on Earth because it’s a place where imagination and creation take place within the realm of writing. This is made possible by the dedicated people who work at 826michigan to bring and develop a love for writing among students. Our student authors create magical stories through their own creativity and imagination.

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826michigan is a safe haven, a non-judgemental place for students (young and old) and their families. For example, our After-school Tutoring program offers school-aged people homework help with one-on-one attention. Tutors volunteer their time to mentor young students and tutor them in their preferred areas. With this being said, not all tutors are the same. Some are college students, some are retired, some are people who have jobs and still manage to tutor students. Also, our tutors come from different distances, some drive longer to get here than others. The tutors are magical by their own sense of being and their own spark of self, voice, and their own individuality as they teach. For example, a few years ago I met Janet, a retired electrical engineer who helped me gain confidence in math.

I had never enjoyed writing or given writing much importance. However, during my time here at 826, I grew my confidence as a writer and in my writing skills. I am grateful for the opportunities this program has given me to grow.

As an intern, I have had the privilege of seeing this institution grow as I have grown throughout the program as a young student in my academic career. I had the deep pleasure of meeting different people from different backgrounds with different cultures, ideals, and values. However 826 unites us all, both students and staff. 826 is a place that allows me to believe in myself, and the magic wand lies in the power of what we are able to do. With the belief and faith that anything is possible as the magic comes from what we are able to create for ourselves. 826michigan is a place that has given me so much, I am forever grateful for it all. It was my honor to serve you all, even if it was one day a week.

I, Madeeha Khan, would like to thank everyone who has been a part of my journey, who has seen me grow and become the person that I am today. They say that it takes a village to raise a child, and for me, 826 is my village. It is forever a place that I will call home.

Here’s a toast: to the staff, the students, the families, to all viii | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

the people and bonds that have been created, to the old and new, to the friendships and the trust, as well as the adventures made. Here is my offering to you: the stories that have been created, the secrets that are to be shared.

Madeeha Khan 826michigan High School Intern

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Ann Arbor After-school Tutoring

ANDY HAN

Age 9 Logan Elementary

Home is…

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hen I play games it makes me feel happy, because it makes me feel like I’m at home.

Playing with friends makes me feel like I’m at home because my friends are close by me.

When I’m playing games with my friend, it makes me feel like I’m home because playing games is as fun as being at my house. It is fun because it is very intense and it’s a shooter game.

My mom makes me feel like I’m at home because she is beautiful like my house.

An air conditioner makes me feel like I’m at school because that means it’s warm like my house.

Rice is like my house because my house is very

Solid!

It is solid because rice is very hard but so is my

House!

A house is solid means it is very hard because it is made out of bricks, metal, and wood, which is very hard!

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Age 13 Forsythe Middle

JOE JUAREZ

Stay Young, Stay Positive

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o people push you and call you names? Are there people who make fun of you because of what you’re interested in? That’s part of life. It’s not great and there are things you can do about it. Forget about your problems, go outside and walk around, try something new. Try spreading love and positivity. This is a magical power that everyone can use so the world could be a happier place. Never take in the bad comments, just keep driving to your goal. Your family and friends will be by your side to support you. A long life to live is worth living and you can do so many things outside in the world. Be nice to people and they’ll be nice to you.

I’ve had experiences with people who weren’t nice.

Bullies. I didn’t have many friends in fifth grade and once I went into sixth grade there were many people who I never saw before. Some looked normal at first but toward the end of the year people started being aggressive or name calling.

People would throw away my food or shove me down the hall. I started struggling with depression and anxiety. This kept going until eighth grade where I would go away from the bullies or laugh it off and play along without pushing or being aggressive. They started caring less and soon stopped bullying me.

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My dad would always tell me, “The bullies will always want you to look sad or be mad but if you try to look more happy or befriend them, they’ll avoid you more.”

After talking with trusted friends or family members about my struggles, I felt happier and actually felt like I belonged in this world. You too, all of you, belong in this world and you just have to be positive and try to throw your problems away.

You’ve got people who care about you and share love. Even if you don’t have a good relationship with your family, like me, you have friends to talk with. I realized my parents loved me so much when they took me to a therapist to help me with my problems. It felt like a more open world. This magic of spreading love is a power everyone has. Just remember: spread love, and stay positive.

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Age 12 Forsythe Middle

CHARLENA JACKSON

The Magic Was Passed on to Her

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here is a girl who went around town saving them with her magic. Everyone had this magic once before but lost it over time. This one special woman had it. Her name was Somer. When she was walking downtown, a man was making fun of a homeless woman, and she swooped in and used her magic. She said, “You’re being so mean to an innocent woman.” She took the homeless woman to her house and helped her start a new life. The homeless woman became a successful rich woman. The magic was passed on to her. It was kindness, so this proves all you need is a little kindness in your heart.

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BEVERLY J. M.

826michigan tutor

Untitled

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ou are trapped in quicksand and surrounded by rodents of unusual size. How do you escape?

Oh drat! How did I not see this oozy sand pit?! Not focusing, that’s how! Focus focus focus, my girl! Grrr . . .

OK, self-punishment is over—time to think about escaping this mess. FIrst, don’t wriggle—you’ll only go deeper. Instead, make yourself BIG and ANGULAR so you won’t sink fast. Flat feet, stretch out elbows, knees, legs.

Good. Uh-oh. Who are these visitors? ROUS! Dang it. Yup, they’ve spotted me. They’re sniffing. Coming closer. Think!

USE THEM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. If you tie their tails together they’ll get real mad at each other and two things will happen: 1) They won’t focus on you, and 2) their anger will create energy that you can use!

I did it. I tied their tails together and grabbed on to one of them and held on tight ’til they pulled apart. The energy was enough to pull me out of the quicksand, too. I tumbled off on the forest floor and ran away as they argued with each other. Yay!!

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JOSELYN CONTRERAS-OLARTE Age 11 Pattengill Elementary

You Will Not Want to Come Back

Breakfast:

Rotten eggs (so good!) $1.99

With sausage and ketchup and onion $10.99 Lunch:

Sandwich with sand! $11.99

Soup with hair and salt (with animal hair!) $1.99 Dinner:

Pizza and glue and paper clips and gummy worms!

$11.99

Spaghetti with hot chili salsa and dough (not cooked!)

$11.99 Dessert:

Mud pies!

Mayo donut!

Worms in brownies! (free) Goodbye!

Today’s special served at Unicorn University:

Lunch for today is pie of aliens with lima beans (they

move). If not, you can have water cake with screws.

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OFELIA ZIEGLER

Age 11 Forsythe Middle

The Pencil

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nce upon a time in the year 8000, there was a scientist who had a phone. All the information in the world was on it. “I AM SO POWERFUL,” he told people. “I know everything!”

And he did, until his phone broke. “Noooo,” he screamed for three days straight. You could hear him from the other side of the world!

“Be quiet!” people yelled at him.

“Noooooo!” he kept saying.

Then one kid came along. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I-I’m-I-I’m st-stu-pid, wahhh.”

“No, you’re not,” the boy said. “I can help you.”

“Noooo! You can’t!”

“Yes I can! I have a PENCIL!” “A what?”

“A pencil! You can write down everything you knew.”

“OK,” the scientist mumbled.

“OK then, what are you waiting for?”

It took them 8000 years to finish writing everything, but in that time you live to be 8,050 years old, so they lived happily ever after.

The end.

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826michigan tutor

PETE WESTHEAD

Do with It What You Will

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ix ingredients Behold, the magic of yeast Making the bread rise Words are funny things Traveling from here to there A ha! A haha!

Communication We exist miles apart Talk on a cell phone What is the magic?

Where does it originate?

Imagination

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ANA HORDEN

826michigan tutor

Not So Bitter

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think people who know how to make tea are practitioners of a certain type of magic.

I know a girl who can make a tea to cure anything. She knows what kind of tea is needed when you have a headache, when you need to sleep, or when you need to stay awake. She reaches into the cupboards, and scans over her tea jars, much like a witch scans over her herbs and potions. She selects them with care, and then goes to find the tools she needs. The tools that I would use to brew a burned, foul-tasting mess, she uses to brew something either sweet, tart, or a combination of the two. She knows how long to brew it in order to bring out all of the different flavors in the leaves.

She might add honey, or sugar cubes, or maybe even both. She claims it’s used to cover the bitterness of certain teas. I ask her why she puts the bitter teas in at all, and she gives an answer that doesn’t make much sense to my ears.

But that might just mean I don’t understand her words of sorcery. Maybe one day, I will.

She stirs it with an air of finality, declares it done.

When she carries it to you, she holds it with both hands, aware of its power.

And it tastes great.

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Age 10 Northside STEAM

AHMED AYUBBI

Escape of the Ultimate Taco Cat

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ne day a wizard was making a potion that spawned unicorns and dragons. He went to breakfast after mixing the potion, leaving it unattended while he was gone.

Later that day, an oracle stopped him as he was going to the kitchen downstairs and warned him not to use the potion.

The wizard didn’t listen and shoved the oracle out of the way.

He used the potion on a mouse. He then created the ultimate taco cat. The taco cat was scared, so he spun around and took off running out of the kitchen. The wizard chased him and demanded that he stay where he was. Then he asked himself where the unicorns and dragons were.

Suddenly, the cat answered, “They slipped out the back door and are gone!” The wizard was stunned that the cat had responded.

“What the heck are you saying?” demanded the wizard.

“I’m saying that they are gone, and—” Just then, the wizard collapsed to the floor, shell-shocked that he was having a conversation with a cat.

“Sir? Sir, are you alright?” the cat continued asking, unaware that the wizard was out and wouldn’t be able to respond. The cat ran to the wizard and proceeded to lick him all over, but wasn’t able to wake him up.

“This is bad, really bad!” the cat screamed, hearing Stories of Everyday Magic | 11

echoes throughout the room. “I guess it’s up to me to defend the world against the dragons. Wait, I forgot, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”

The cat proceeded to climb on the counter, and up to the cupboard. He gingerly opened the cupboard door.

“Let’s see what we have here.”

Quickly scanning the shelves, he discovered canned tuna.

“Jackpot!”

He scratched the can, which fell on the counter and bounced to the floor. The cat jumped down to the floor and began puncturing the can to see what it would take to open it.

“Too bad I don’t have opposable thumbs.” He used his teeth, and eventually got the tuna can open. He then ate quickly and hurried out the cat door (that was originally the dog’s, but he’s too stupid to know how to use it).

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826michigan tutor

CHARIS VOLLMAR

Sameness

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ameness is a dull world; All colour has fallen from perception.

It exists in greys and black and white, Plain as vanilla ice cream Creativity is more fruit salad Or a painting bursting with passion; Colour and flavor dripping to full And challenging the senses to react.

Pain with all the colours of the wind, Nature is teaming with diversity.

Samess is unbecoming, A spiral staircase leading down into shadow, Live a life full of paint; Shake off the grey color And walk in the sun.

Leave the shadows for another someone.

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NATE GOWEN

826michigan tutor

Team Terrific

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nce upon a time, there was a big house in the town of Huron, home to Michigan’s defenders that are out to save the world from ordinary criminals and wacky supervillains. The leader of Team Terrific was Fear Genie, a very friendly boy with terrifyingly strong genie powers. His secret identity was Rick Dares and he could switch between human and genie form at will. Plus, in his genie form, he could fly. He got his genie powers when his daddy locked him in his Aladdin-themed room, complete with a golden Sa’luk water fountain that gave anybody who drank its water permanent genie powers. He recruited Death Cloud (Bird Swan), an electrokinetic crimefighter resembling a cumulonimbus cloud who got his powers from an evil Pikachu; Dr. Destiny (no relation to the DC supervillain); [Tree Dee], a telekinetic heroic woman, Tree Dee is actually a man; Senior Power (Dex Smarts), a bald man with amazing super-strength and atmokinesis; Little Terror (a magnokinetic child with superspeed); Ray Force (a former supervillain with neon powers); Master Wind (a warrior with supersonic flight and energy projection); Dark Dude (a seemingly out-of-shape boy with shapeshifting powers that allow him to turn into any animal, even jungle animals and flying birds; he can even turn into prehistoric and mythical animals); Crazy Gamer (a 14 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

video gamer with the ability to summon any video game item or power-up). rick dares: OK, Terrific Team, here is the Terrific Code.

1. Always obey the leader.

2. It’s okay to go undercover at times.

3. Don’t worry about losing your powers, you’ll get them back.

4. While you’re undercover, it’s important not to get distracted by the cool toys in an evil lair.

5. Siding with the enemy is an automatic death sentence.

6. No posting musical videos about superpowers. crazy gamer: What? That’s the Terrific Code? rick dares: Looks like we got trouble: the Devil Swan has stolen the latest Superman Rebirth comic! crazy gamer: First of all, who’s the Devil Swan? (Ray Force is seen reading the latest Superman comic.) Ray Force?

Are you faking your redemption just to steal that comic? ray force: First of all, I gave up stealing comics years ago!

The Dark Swan planted the comic book on me! rick dares: What? You were framed?

(An evil laugh comes from Little Terror.) little terror: I made a deal with Devil Swan. I promised to help him steal the comic book, but I didn’t want to get into trouble with Rick for treason, so I framed the neonpowered guy. rick dares: What? Little Terror’s actually evil? No way!

(Checks the Vault of Midnight security system.) There’s the Devil Swan stealing the comic, but who’s the fuzzy guy next to him? I’m going to find out who’s secretly helping him, so I’ll zoom in on the fuzzy guy. What? The fuzzy guy’s bald? Senior Partner, how could you betray me for Devil Swan? senior partner: I was just going undercover to catch Devil Swan.

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rick dares: So if Little Terror’s innocent and Senior Partner was undercover, that means there’s no spies. dark dude: But Little Terror did an evil laugh! little terror: Just because I have an evil laugh doesn’t mean I’m evil. I’m very friendly, I was just working undercover like Senior Partner to catch the real traitor, Dark Dude!

He’s been working against us the entire time! dark dude: Actually, it turns out that my talking pet swan’s the Devil Swan! That evil laugh came from my swan. little terror: What? Your swan stole the latest Superman Rebirth comic and is wearing Captain Cold’s old parka?

How can a swan be cold-hearted? devil swan: Well, that parka also fits swans. You’ve never seen a cold-hearted cryokinetic swan before, have you?

I’m also wearing Captain Cold’s old parka so that Flash would think Captain Cold has reverted to crime! He hasn’t seen a cryokinetic crime lord swan before! flash: What? Captain Cold, you’re actually a cryokinetic swan using my archenemy’s parka to frame him? little terror: Sorry, Dark Dude, but we have to put your pet swan to sleep. dark dude: What? Nobody hurts my pet swan! ray force: Come on, Dark Dude, we’re just putting your cryokinetic swan to sleep. dark dude: Leave my swan alone or I’ll poison you with my Inland Taipan transformation! Senior Partner, admit it, your swan’s evil! Why don’t you use the Inland Taipan transformation’s poison on him! dark dude: First of all, I’m not supposed to poison my own pet swan or I’ll lose my powers. devil swan: Right! You see, Dark Dude’s been working for me the whole time! I was worried that Dark Dude would help you defeat me, so I turned him evil with the replicated Turn-Everything-Evil-Inator.

(Both Dark Dude and Devil Swan are euthanized because Dark Dude broke the Terrific Code.)

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senior partner: Looks like we got a potential new member; this tomboy could break the legs of any flying supervillain with a kick, plus she can fly, too! Meet the Gorgeous Glider!

(Rick Dares is playing Donkey Kong 64 and runs into a blue Klaptrap.) senior power: What? Seems your game’s glitched up. crazy gamer: Well, first of all, blue Klaptraps aren’t a glitch, they’re in the Nintendo Power Donkey Kong 64 Strategy Guide, along with the other weird-colored Klaptraps.

Here’s the Klaptraps section, featuring the regular Klaptrap and the purple Klaptrap. “Klaptrap (Blue): Cold-hearted cryokinetic Klaptraps that emit freeze gas and shatter when defeated.” There’s info on red, yellow, brown, pink, and gray Klaptraps as well, and info on weird Kritters, weird Zingers; look at this, there’s an enemy called the Bad Banana! “These speedy enemies are usually disguised as collectible bananas or Golden Bananas.”

The end.

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BRIANNA ST. AIMIE

Age 16 Michigan Connections Academy

Home is . . .

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hen I wake on the beach crashes. When the flying fish fly into home. When you hear the rooster crows in the morning to wake you up for school.

Home is where the rain falls and the rainbow comes out.

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Age 10 Slauson Middle

JOSIAH ATKINSON

Lima Bean Pie

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n a planet far from here there was a planet called Shnoople. On Planet Shnoople there was a race called the shnooplelians. Shnooplelians only ate lima beans. But there was a special type of lima bean grown one in every six million lima beans. This special type of lima bean exploded when cut open and mixed with other ingredients of pie. There was a normal shnooplelian named Blooby. He made some lima bean pie. There was a rumble, then another, then a great big BANG! All shnooplelians died, except those staying in Unicorn Academy. Unicorn Academy was invincible because the principal was a unicorn. His name was Human. Human could see the future and predicted this horrible situation.

Unicorn Academy’s official food was lima bean pie, but after that episode, they despised it. Lima bean pie was banned.

Unicorn Academy landed on Earth. Shnooplelians looked human so they weren’t noticed, and lived happily ever after.

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HANAKO MCDONALD

Age 9 Ann Arbor Open

A Messy Place to Be

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hirteen waffles on the ceiling Thirty-nine dragons on the ceiling.

A really great dog, dancing on someone’s missing toothpaste.

That’s my family all right!

A messy place to be.

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Age 13 Slauson Middle

OGI VASSILEV

Thinking About Green Technology from My School Bus

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ear Humanoid Beings of the Universe, OK, before I start, I want you to think—should we make green technology to prepare for a world with no oil, or make green technology after there is no oil? On March 11, 2019, I was reading an article about green energy technology and how we could transform the world into a much healthier one for my generation. Lately, I have been looking out of the window of my school bus at the world outside and seeing that our cars, trucks, and other vehicles are making our happy, blue world into a depressingly dark one. It scares me to think that I could encounter really bad catastrophes, live with unhealthy animals, or be breathing through a gas mask, knowing that the past generation did this to me and future generations.

I don’t believe it’s too late to change the vision of a depressing, dark world into a blue one. We could create new materials that are soft and cheap, but still really strong. We could create new plants, and maybe even new creatures! I know, it sounds like something that is too far into the future, but we’ve gone so far with using technology that, when you think about, it’s not an impossible dream.

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that I’ve thought of are: exoskeletons for people who don’t have certain limbs, robots that could work similarly to the Hulkbuster from Infinity, and other weird science fiction things. Anyway, as I was saying, we could use the sun’s energy to power the sonic thrusters in rockets and propel them to new galaxies, or even new parallel worlds. Worlds that have never had a single war. Worlds where there is always peace and dinosaurs never went extinct.

Like the Swedish sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, a climate change activist who inspired me to stand up for the environment, I will hopefully live on this planet for eightyfive years. It will be my parents and elders who will decide how my generation will live in the future. Finding out about Greta was a great moment because she motivated me to fully open my jar of thoughts. The first time I saw Greta was on screen while watching CNN 10 in school, and I felt like that typical superhero who discovers their superpower. I felt this way because I knew I wasn’t the only one with a desire to skip school and go in front of the White House to yell, “BUILD GREEN TECHNOLOGY NOW!” Anyway, back on track, let’s talk green technology. You know that cheesy Sprint Wifi ad with the giant robot telling you only the good things about Sprint? I’m not doing that.

What I am doing is telling both bad and good things about green technology. So, a bad thing about green technology is that it is too expensive. It uses so much money that maybe taxes will be raised and famine may start to occur in unexpected places, and that might cause some problems with the government. Also, the thing that most bugs me about renewable technology is the question of it just shutting down. What if all the technology shut down and we stopped having energy? We would have no fridge, no stove, and most of all, the car you drive to get that amazing bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos you wanted would not work.

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to lose when we are running out of oil? This means I won’t have gas to cook that secret recipe my mom’s been telling me about.

You know, let’s come back to the question from the beginning: should we make green technology and prepare before there is no oil, or make green technology after there is no oil? In the meantime, let’s think about how we’re gonna save future generations from the biggest villains, like famine, disease, loss of respect, global warming, polarization, and most of people’s ignorance to this fatal problem that might conclude the human race. So before you finish reading this and start playing on the Doodle Jump app, just think that one simple change in the industry could change the world.

Sincerely, The Future Generation

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CAMILA REYES-HERRERA

Age 8 Abbott Elementary

Story Collection

Avidog

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few days ago, when I woke up, I went to the kitchen and my mom was there with the radio playing “The Middle.” I took a peek through the gate, and there I saw my dog Sully. Sully is small and has light fur, big eyes, and a cute little nose. She also does not like getting flipped on her belly.

I saw her dancing. She was shaking her head and tail up, down, right, and left. Then, I went to the kitchen and turned off the radio. Then she saw me and stared at me. When she was staring at me, I felt like she was a little nervous because I was watching her. I also felt like she was mad because she kept on staring at me for a long time. I like to dance too, but not in front of people.

I opened the gate. Then, I picked up her blue ball and threw it. She went to get it, and when she came to me, I put my hand in front of her. She dropped the ball in my hand.

After this happened, I took a nap and I dreamed about Sully’s talent and that she would be a good Avidog. She could be an Avidog that lives in the mountains and protects people from avalanches.

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George Washington

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ne day, when I was at school, my teacher handed me a Scholastic News because we were picking partners and doing our work with each other. I chose my best friend Jasmine. When we opened the Scholastic News to the first page, we saw some facts about George Washington. We both read one, and I read that George Washington did not actually want to be president. He did it anyway, even though he did not want to. The next fact that Jasmine read was that he got really sick a lot. He had lots of diseases so that is how he died.

Halloween

I

t was the day of Halloween, and my teacher told me and my class that we could dress up as what we would be wearing on Halloween. After school, I put on my costume and went out trick-or-treating. Outside, it was very dark and the houses were spooky. Lots of people were dressed up in different costumes. I saw a man in a creepy clown costume.

He was wearing a hat that was all black, a red suit, and googly eyes on his glasses like a creepy, mad-scientist clown. I was on the sidewalk, and there were fog machines so I couldn’t see anything. It made me feel like someone was coming after me.

I like Halloween because I like getting the chance to dress up.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 25

YAST v v

Ypsilanti After-school Tutoring

PRECIOUS WARD

Age 9 Erickson Elementary

The Three Evil Pigs

O

nce upon a time, there was a wolf and he had no food and nowhere to live, and he was poor. So, he knocked on three little pigs’ house. They all lived in the same house because they were brothers and sisters. They said, “What do you want, you poor, ugly, old, stupid wolf?”

He said, “I just want a home.” Then the wolf said, “Y’all too savageness.”

The wolf ran outside. The pig tripped him, so he hurt his knee. His grandma came, and brought him home, and put a Band-Aid on his knee. She said, “Guess what? You’re living with me, and you’re going to a new school tomorrow.”

And then he went to school, but something worse happened.

The three little pigs were there!

When he got in the classroom, he was SHOCKED. He was like, “The three little pigs are here? Why does the world got to be terrible?”

And then, when he sat down, the three little pigs took his chair away, and pushed him, and kicked him, and beat him up.

The teacher said, “If y’all do that again, you’ll be in big trouble!”

But one day when he was outside playing with his new 28 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

buddies, friends, the three pigs said, “Good gracious! You look so ugly, you should not be here at this school.” He busted out crying, and they said, “Cry baby, cry baby.”

Then, the good wolf ’s friend came and said, “You should be nice pigs, not selfish, evil pigs.” And the pigs said, “You should mind your business.”

And then the teacher said, “Be nice.” And the pigs started acting nice, and they said, “OOOOOOK, teacher.”

Then the pigs said, “You are a nice, beautiful wolf.” But then, when the teacher turned around to solve a friend problem, the pigs started beating the wolf up. And then something worse happened . . . they pulled out a REAL SPIDER. It was a rainbow spider with two chocolate eyes. It had a chocolate body. It was a real, yummy spider. It had one hundred chocolate legs.

The wolf and his friend started running as fast as they could, like the Flash. The wolf said, “RUN! It’s a spider!” and everyone started going crazy, and the pigs started going crazy, too.

The pigs were still acting crazy. The teacher stopped and turned into an evil, big, bad gorilla, and everyone was screaming super loud. They went into the school and started telling everyone: “Get your backpacks! Everything you have—your broke phone, snacks, luggage!”

And then everybody said, “THE CHOCOLATE SPIDER IS GROWING!” The girl pig, named Sally, said, “Let’s take the chocolate home in case we get hungry.” And they all went into the three little pigs’ home, and they stayed there forever.

Forever. And then the grandma heard about it, and they came to the house and they were friends.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 29

TANYI AGBOR-BAIYEE

Age 10 Childs Elementary

He Said He is a Superhero

O

ne day there was a boy named Brady. He woke up in the middle of the night. In Ypsi, MI. He drank juice, what his parents told him not to drink. So he drank it, and it got him drowsy. So he put it in the trash quickly. He quickly got to his room, then he got to sleep. When he woke up, his mom and dad woke him up. They took him to the special therapist, or he calls himself a doctor. So he said he is a superhero, but now it was crazy. He started flying around the room. And then he passed out, and then he went into a coma for fortyfive days.

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VICTOR LEWIS

Age 8 Ypsilanti International Elementary

A Men’s Tale

A

lright, so it’s in a tower, and where do they live? In a knight’s field!

And there was a KING. A king of Spongy Town. It’s in the desert.

And what was the king’s name? SPONGEBOB! Who lives up under the sea. Um, he does have a castle. It’s a giant knight’s castle. It’s been frozen for two hundred years. That’s in the movie Frozen, though, not in this story.

And then one day, the king stepped up onto the royal throne, and before he knew it, a villain came. Dust Man was his name. Every time you punch him, pshhhh, there’s a hole in him! He will never die! Kind of like Spider-Man’s one villain—Sandman. He has a head, but it’s a dust head.

Their long ago story, back when Dust Man was a little Dust Dude was that there was this little dude name Sandman, and he was jealous of Dust Man. And he had a PG-13 TV— it’s the biggest TV in the world, a forty-inch. And he ate a hot dog. The hot dog started to go wild and try to eat something.

A villian and the heroes came to the rescue and saved people.

There was a princess, her name is Richella. The king and the princess married two hundred years later. And then they had five babies. Every night, the king gave the princess a magical banana, and when she ate it, she fell asleep.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 31

KIERA TYSON

Age 9 Lakewood Elementary

Untitled

“W

here’s my blanket?” I asked my mom as I walked into the room. Mom said, “Check your room.”

“I did, Mom.” I felt scared because it is my comfort blanket, and I sleep with it.

I love my blanket so much. Some reasons I love my blanket are the fluffyness, the size, and the silk.

About ten minutes later, my mom went downstairs to change the laundry. Then my mom came upstairs . . . with a big smile on her face and my blanket behind her back!

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Age 11 Fortis Academy

KIARA ALEXANDER

Light Blast

H

e was walking in an alley, and he was going to Walmart when a man bumped into him. The man injected him with some green stuff. He fell asleep. When he woke up, his hands were shining like the sun. He ran to a scientist.

A few hours later . . .

The scientist said, “If you wear these gloves and goggles, you won’t get blind and you won’t get anybody else blind.”

So he walked back home. Then he heard a lady screaming.

He ran to the lady and saw a guy trying to steal the lady’s purse. He took off his gloves and shined his hand at the man.

The man ran off and he ran to the lady to see if she is OK. The lady thanked him and asked why his hands glowed.

He put back on his gloves and said, “My hands glow because I got injected with something.” The lady said, “What is your name?” He said, “My name is . . . my name is . . . I don’t remember.” He ran off into the dark because he was feeling sad that he didn’t have a name.

He ran to a tall building and climbed to the top, and he thought, I have to give myself a name. He said, “My new hero name will be . . . Light Blast. My new name in public will be Lint.” From that day on, he has stopped a lot of crime and people have started to recognize Light Blast. The people gave Light Blast the key to the city. The end.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 33

ANHAR KEHALA

Age 9 Central Academy

Frisbee Frozen & California

Frisbee Frozen

E

lsa and Anna are playing frisbee. Then Anna got hit by the frisbee. Anna calls her mom and dad for help.

Anna was in danger. Then she called her grandma. But her family was out! The parents came back and took Anna to the hospital because the frisbee broke her nose. The doctors fix her nose with mint gum. The end.

California

W

hen I went to California, I went to a pool and I ate an ice-cream cone and it was yummy, so good. The really good dog came to play with me. I played tag with the dog. Cool, bro.

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Age 12 Fortis Academy

KAM ALEXANDER

Untitled

I

t was a normal day for Nate. But today, he felt very cold.

When the temperature was 80 degrees outside! It was weird, and this had never happened to him ’til today. “Wow, isn’t it cold today?” he asked a person walking by. “Cold! It’s summer! It’s 80 degrees and no one is wearing winter stuff but you!” When he heard that it was 80 degrees outside, he didn’t feel good. So he went to the hospital to see what was wrong with him. “Nothing. You’re fine,” the doctor said. Nate went home, confused and cold. To try to calm himself down, he made a glass of water. As soon as he put the water into the cup, it froze. Into a block of ice! What happened to the water? he asked himself.

Confused, he put down the cup and sat down. “If I try to drink water and it freezes, how do I drink water?” After thinking about it, he panicked. He got back into his car and headed back to the hospital.

“Ugh! Like I said the last time you came. Nothing is wrong with you.”

“OK then, doctor, explain this!” Nate grabbed a plastic cup and filled up the cup with water. It did the same thing as last time. It froze! “Woah, what is wrong with you?” the doctor asked.

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m here!”

Stories of Everyday Magic | 35

TOM ARATA

826michigan tutor

Magical Words of Power

I

t all started with breakfast, as I opened my morning Pop-Tart, l was shocked to see instead of my normal cherry with frosting a rainbow one with sprinkles. Not to let that stop me from enjoying breakfast, I took a bite and lo and behold, a rainbow shot out.

At the same time, a group of three lizards appeared at the kitchen window. They sang out together, “You must follow da rainbow to find da pot of gold.” Then the first lizard, who was dressed in robes stated, “Take my wand, for it will aid you on your mission.” The middle lizard rolled his eyes and said, “It’s not a mission but an advantura.” The last one said nothing, but pointed behind her. I looked out the window and saw a raft that was floating several feet off the ground.

I quickly grabbed my bug-out pack and headed out the door to investigate the raft. When I approached, there was a note tacked to the middle of it. I climbed up onto the raft to get a closer look at the note. The moment I did, the raft took off and was riding the rainbow. Making my way to the note, it read as follows: By climbing onto da raft you av mad a compact to finish this misadvantur and collect da pot of gold at da nd. Da three lizards.

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Getting roped into this wasn’t part of my plans today, but it looked like I had no choice. I had everything I needed to survive for about a week, so hopefully, it would be done before I ran out of food. Time passed, and on the evening of the third day we started to decline, the raft picking up speed, going faster and faster. All of a sudden it caught fire. I had no water and nothing in my bag could help. Taking stock of what else I had, I remembered the wand. Pulling it out, I said, ”Abracadabra,” but nothing happened! I tried several other magical words of power, but nothing was working. The raft was getting smaller as it burned away. I cried out, “Water, I need water!” and out from the tip shot a stream of water. I was saved! Just in time, I was down to my last log. The whole time this was happening, I didn’t notice how close the ground was getting and I could see the pot of gold! The raft slowed and came to a stop, then dropped to the ground. I had my pot of gold, but no way back, but that is a story for another day.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 37

MAYAR KEHALA

Age 11 Central Academy

Best and Worst Ice-Cream Flavors

Top ten best ice-cream flavors: 1. Strawberry 2. Peach 3. French Toast 4. Banana 5. Twix 6. Orange 7. Grape 8. Chocolate Caramel 9. Rainbow Cake 10. Blueberry Top ten worst ice-cream flavors: 1. Blood 2. Raw Egg 3. Muddy Sand 4. Wet Hair 5. Expired Milk 6. Spider Legs 7. Gym Socks (two years old) 8. Garbage Can 9. Rotten Strawberry 10. Pimple 38 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

Age 10 Ypsilanti International Elementary

AARON LOGWOOD

I Am a Dog

I

am a dog. I am naked. In some countries, I am a snack. I rival babies in cuteness, and have bathrooms everywhere.

Eeeevvveeerrrywwwhhheeerrre.

If you do not take care of me, you will go to jail. Like my cousin Big Hairy Man. P.S. Random people want to touch me and they speak a language called English.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 39

DAST Detroit After-school Tutoring

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GABRIEL DIXON

Age 8 University Prep Science & Math Elementary

The Life of Bruce Juice

H

i everybody, my name is Bruce Juice And my brother is Langston Hughes.

He made me a good person And inspired me to get a college degree And get a job writing.

If I have to go in the cold To meet Langston Hughes And join his journey I would go.

I did not know what to write So I called Langston So he could help me With what to write.

He tells me to look on The internet!!!

To find something Cool like CAPRI SUN!!!

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GABRIELLE DIXON

Age 11 University Prep Science & Math Middle

Baby Robot Elephant

T

here was a baby robot elephant who lived in Detroit in 3030. He had gray metal on his body and blue eyes.

He loved to eat nuts-and-bolts grass and gear fruit. One day, he was with his mom when he heard a laser. It hit an elephant behind them. He and his mother ran away from the creature who was shooting the lasers. Suddenly, the baby elephant tripped on a rock. He rolled down a steep hill into the jungle.

When the robot baby elephant could pick himself up, he realized his mother had left him. He heard some leaves rustling. From the leaves, he saw there was a ferret but it wasn’t a robot. The baby elephant thought all real animals were killed long ago. It squeaked with a high-pitched squeal.

A group of hunter bots came from the bushes.

The ferret turned into a motor bike. One of the hunter bots hopped on. It had a dark blue mask with a dark cloud swirling around it. Also they wore big suits with weapons at every side. The robot elephant ran away from the bots. He ran through the mechanical palm trees as the hunters chased him. The ferret motorbike hit a palm tree, and the hunter bot on it hopped off. The motorbike blew up into fire and fake fur. Lasers surrounded the baby elephant as he tried to dodge them. When he lost them, he sighed. He started Stories of Everyday Magic | 43

walking north because his mother always told him to walk north if he gets lost.

After hours and hours of walking, he found Detroit and his mother was in the field looking sad. He ran to her, trumpeting. His mother hugged him with her trunk and they lived happily ever after.

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Age 10 Detroit Edison Public School Academy

AALIAH JEFFERSON

Snow

W

hen dreams are gone I’m frozen in snow.

Snow is cold Snow, snow, snow.

It’s winter time and it’s snow more snow and even more snow.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 45

DAVID HONABLUE

Age 13 The Waldorf School

Robot Elephant & Octopus Man

Robot Elephant

O

ne day there was a scientist who was lonely, so instead of finding friends he just created a robot elephant. The elephant loved to eat nuts and bolts. One day the elephant was eating his nuts and bolts late at night when his nuts and bolts fell rolling down the hill he lived on, and the scientist was asleep so he couldn’t help him. So the elephant followed his dinner down the hill until they stopped. At the end of the chase, the elephant was happy it got its dinner, but it realized it was lost. The next day the scientist woke up to the elephant not there. So the scientist went to his big magnet gun and sucked the elephant back home.

Octopus Man

O

ne day a man named Jonathan was at the aquarium in Belle Isle. He saw an octopus and was like, “I want to do that.” So his mom made him an octopus mask and he wore a Superman costume under it, so people mistook him for a superhero. Criminals always attacked him. One day Jonathan was jumped by octopus-hating bloods and he 46 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

dropped his burrito. As Octopus Man picked his burrito up, he accidentally clotheslined 6ix9ine. 6ix9ine got up and was now furious. 6ix9ine tried to stab Octopus Man, but Octopus Man dropped his burrito again and 6ix9ine missed. 6ix9ine rushed at Octopus Man, but Octopus Man was bent over picking up his burrito wrapper after he missed the garbage can and 6ix9ine tripped over Octopus Man’s bent back.

6ix9ine hit his head and was dizzy and then police came and arrested him. Octopus Man became mayor and life in Detroit was never the same. FIN.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 47

BRENDAN MACKIE, BROOKELYNN MACKIE, & JAELYN MCDUFFIE OLD PEOPLE COOKIES

O

LD PEOPLE COOKIES THEY ARE LIKE OLD PEOPLE OLD PEOPLE COOKIES THEY SMELL LIKE OLD PEOPLE HOUSES OLD PEOPLE COOKIES THEY ARE STALE LIKE YOUR LIPS OLD PEOPLE COOKIES THEY ARE NEVER THERE OLD PEOPLE COOKIES THE TIN IS SO HARD TO OPEN IT MAKES THE CRUST FROM YOUR LIPS GO FLYING OFF OLD PEOPLE COOKIES WHERE THE HECK DO THEY COME FROM

Age: 11, 14, 11 UPrep Science & Math Elementary, UPrep Science & Math Middle, Detroit Edison Public School Academy 48 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

Age 14 Detroit Edison Public School Academy

JACOB SMITH

If I Could Talk To Animals

I

f I could talk to animals, it would be one of the craziest things that has ever happened to me. It would also be helpful because if I had a dog, I could just talk to it like it’s a real person/human. At first it would be extremely weird, but soon I would get used to it and have fun with it. If I was home alone, I would still have plenty of company talking to my talking dog and having fun. I’m pretty sure that if people had a choice, they would choose a dog to talk to. It is a man’s best friend.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 49

DANICIA CABRERA & RAFAEL PEREZ Cookie Dough

S

amuel the Snowman was looking for hot chocolate when . . . he went to the store to buy some cookies but then he ran into some other snowmen who bought all the cookies first.

“That’s it, I’m gonna open my own cookie shop!”

He decided to name his shop Cookie Dough. He needed to hire someone else to bake the cookies so he wouldn’t melt.

He decided a factory would be best. The menu included: • Chocolate Chip • Oreos • Peanut butter The shop was made of snow because this is Snowman Land, of course. Soon they ran out of ingredients because they had too many customers.

Age: 10, 7 Academy of the Americas 50 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

Age 12 Charlotte Mason

CHRISTIAN EDWARDS

For If Dreams Die

F

or if dreams die My last meal in my dream was an apple pie Maybe if I can make a dream If I can redeem my dream But you know what For if dreams die At least I won’t lie I could have made a pie I could have made a tie-dye Fortnite is my support Me and my friends Can make a fort But only if I can get a fork Maybe this isn’t a dream If I could fly like Superman And I try it I would fly For if dreams die

Stories of Everyday Magic | 51

DANICIA CABRERA

Age 10 Academy of the Americas

Easter Bunny

O

nce there was a BIG Easter bunny. He was as tall as a chair, well, he was not that big, well, the bunny’s name was Fluffy. Fluffy was a white bunny with bright red eyes. He was not really fluffy, that was his name, he was really skinny.

He had an owner named Ariana and she loved her bunny.

Every day after school she pet him.

One night while Ariana and her family were all asleep, Fluffy found the secret hiding place full of carrots and ate them all! When he was done, he got Ariana’s bunny slippers and chewed them into pieces. Then he went to bed.

The next morning the mom screamed when she walked into Ariana’s room to wake her up for school. Ariana woke up to her room a mess. She was so surprised to find her room a mess. She even thought there was a ghost in her house, but she knew that was a crazy idea. Then they heard a big, loud noise. It was not Fluffy. Everyone screamed . . . not the bunny . . . duh. Ariana’s mom called the school and said, “Ariana is not going to school!” They all gathered in the kitchen wondering what could have made the noise. “What is going on?” they said. The bunny came and looked scared, but he was not, he was happy!

Then they heard another noise. It sounded like it was 52 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

coming closer. The noise got closer every second. The noise suddenly stopped.

“AHHHH!!! A ghost!” They couldn’t believe there was a ghost in front of their eyes. Everyone started to run, but Ariana dropped Fluffy and her mom had her hand so she couldn’t grab Fluffy. Then the ghost went into Fluffy’s body.

They could not believe what had happened, a ghost was in Fluffy! He was being controlled by a ghost . . .

To be continued . . .

Or will it . . . ?

Stories of Everyday Magic | 53

JAYLEN JOHNSON

Age 14 Detroit Edison Public School Academy

Getting a New Game

O

nce upon a time, I was walking down the street and I saw a new video game in the store. It looked like a real cool game, and I wanted it. So I ran back home and told my mom I wanted the game. My mom asked, “How much does it cost, Jaylen?” I replied and said, “I’m not sure, let me find out.” I ran in my room and got on my phone and looked up the game. I was scrolling down the page of the game reading the information about it and then I saw the price $59.99.

When I found out the price I ran back in the living room and told my mom. She said, “OK,” so I went back upstairs. My mom said, “I will see.” I replied, “OK.” Then I went back in my room, thinking how I was going to get this game.

Then it came to my head, and I yelled, “I got it!” I went to my mom and said, “Mom, can we go to the store?” She said, “For what, Jaylen?” I said, “To get some snacks,” and she said, “OK, Jaylen.” So we went to the store and bought a lot of snacks and chips. Then we went back home and watched TV. Then after watching TV for a couple of hours, I got ready for school the next day and went to sleep.

When I woke up I got in the shower and got my clothes on and I brushed my teeth. Then I went in the kitchen and grabbed my lunch and all the bags of chips and put them in my bookbag. Then I was all ready for school. When I got to 54 | THE ULTIMATE TACOCAT

school I put all my chips in my locker and I went to class.

In a snap of a finger BOOM it was lunch time. When it was lunch, I asked people if they wanted some chips or other snacks.

A lot of people came up to me and yelled, “I want some snacks!”

I said, “OK! Chips are a $1!” There were about twenty people that bought snacks from me. They gave me the money, I gave them the chips. After about fifteen minutes lunch was over.

So I went back to class and after school I went home and counted the money. I got $20! So I went to my mom and asked, “Can I get $40? I’ll pay you back.”

My mom said, “Huh, OK,” and she gave me the $40.

I said, “Thanks, Mom,” and that weekend I went to Gamestop and got the new game. When I got home, I put the game in my system and started to play it that whole weekend.

For about a year I didn’t stop playing until I got a new game.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 55

ONII HOUSE

Age 8 Detroit Edison Public School Academy

The Secret Present

F

rom tutoring me and my daddy went to get toys and games! At the toy store, I ran into my teacher from tutoring class and she had her son with her. The tutoring teacher said, “Hey.” Then I said, “Hey,” and I ran into the toy section. I chose a bag of purple marbles, a special edition of Monopoly, a big stuffed squid with green eyes, and a secret present for my cousin. Then, I grabbed the game and the secret present, but decided the squid scared me. So I ran to my daddy and he paid. We left the store and went to my cousin’s house. We opened her secret present together. It was a tiny egg—a Hatchimal!! It was a fun day.

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Age 11 The Waldorf School

SIZWE HONABLUE

The Black Hole

I

’m approaching the black hole. Time is slowing down.

There is no light. I’m seeing the event horizon. On the other side, there was me staring at me. I had come into an alternate universe. The other me entered and said, “I’ve waited hundreds of years to see me.” The alternate me challenged me to a duel. Me with my space-suit was not ready for it, because if I got hit my space suit would pop!

Evil Sizwe tried to hit me with a laser but I dodged it. Evil Sizwe missed me but shot my cosmic disruptor! My cosmic disruptor allowed me to teleport across dimensions and now I got in the black hole! A black hole opened up and we were both being pulled in! I threw my cosmic disruptor at him and he was pulled in, transporting him to another universe.

I reported back to my time-space doctorate agency to see what happened to evil me. Evil Sizwe two years later was feeding an entity named the Hungry One. The Hungry One can never be full. Every two hundred years, the Hungry One finds a new feeder who’ll feed him for two hundred years.

After that two hundred years the feeder will be eaten.

Fin.

Stories of Everyday Magic | 57

826

michigan inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing.

Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members. We believe that with one-onone attention from caring adults, students improve their academic performance, develop a sense of belonging, and discover the unique value of their voices.

We also believe that the more fun a student has, and the more directly we speak to a student’s interests, the more we can help students find the fun in learning. That’s why our programs are more than just extra homework.

All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in their individual voice.

TUTORING We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school.

Tutoring is available for all subjects, for students ages 8-18. We offer free tutoring at three locations: at our Liberty Street Lab in Ann Arbor, at the Michigan Avenue Branch of the Ypsilanti District Library, and at our Winder Street Lab in Detroit’s Eastern Market.

WORKSHOPS We offer a number of free workshops taught by 58 |

professional artists, writers, and our talented volunteers.

From comic books to screenplays, bookmaking to radio, our wide variety of workshops are perfect for writers of all ages and interests.

IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS Our trained volunteers go into local public schools every day to support teachers with their classroom writing assignments. Based on the teacher’s curriculum, assignments range from writing tales to crafting fiveparagraph essays.

FIELD TRIPS We want to support teachers in getting their students excited about writing, while helping students be better able to express their ideas. We welcome teachers to bring their classes in for field trips during the school day. A group of volunteers, interns, and staff leads every field trip, whether we are solving mysteries, writing bedtime stories, or playing a life-sized poetry board game. Our most popular field trip is our Storytelling & Bookmaking workshop, which culminates in an original book for each student to take home.

OUR STORES Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair and the Detroit Robot Factory are one-stop shops for robots, robot owners, and enthusiasts alike. They are designed to inspire creativity and bring awareness of our programs to the community. Come visit LSRS&R at 115 East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor and the Detroit Robot Factory at 1351 Winder Street in Eastern Market in Detroit. All proceeds from our stores directly fund our free student programming. Onward robots!

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This publication would not have been possible without the magic and help of many, many people. A thousand-and-one thanks to each of them, our everyday magicians!

Program Volunteers: A2AST Em Liker Billie Ochberg Jim Ottaviani Lauren Kimmel Chris Engers Kelly Shaffer Haroune Ziad Naveen Jasti Jacob Tanner Madeline Tran Hannah Bower Rohitha Polasani Chloe Halprin Sarah Jang Scarlet Adams Henry Baxter Teanne Davis Anjana Krishnan Charis Vollmar Heather Bower Shibi Sanjeev Elizabeth Austin Kylie Lenninger

Sarah Restum Gabriella Lobliner Brooke Bilbrey Cat Vo Sophia Orbach Pete Westhead Michael Hutchinson Beverly Manko Marie High Carolyn Berge Claudine Margolis Chris Engers Jennifer Mayo Haroune Ziad Ann Duong Anu Nandi Micah Harris Chad Collins Andrea Steinke Kim Hawkins Emily Kacic Hannah Fischer Jessica Baker Ana Horden Jacqueline Cope Allison Stewart | 61

YAST Alyssa Jacobsen Kelly Shaffer Madison Keillor Rodney White Kyle Miller Safiyah Diallo Nicholas Cuevas Emily Eichold David Ansorge Linda Nguyen Mitchell Pepper Graham Dishman Melissa Hinken Sarah Miles Sean Bruursema Meredith Fulton Kiera Osborn Cat Vo Tom Arata Janet Goldwasser Keiko Kishida Allison Beach Rebecca Smith Kelly Shaffer Rodney White Gamze Evcimen Sean Bruursema Jordan Norberg Graham Dishman Mitchell Pepper Kiera Osborn

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DAST Kelsey Madary JaVaughn Perkins Genevieve Jones Trent Balogh James Davis James Mitchel R.A. Flynn Ralph Watson Jessica NuĂąez Katheryn Helton Hatt Merlino Zainab Zreik Kelly Tropey Mike Wenderski Ana Horden Cashawna Ramsey Philippa Kaye Aaron Spencer Kate Mules Program Interns Emma Barron, Tutoring Intern (Washtenaw County) Madeeha Khan, High School Intern Elijah Sparkman, Tutoring Intern (Detroit) Ypsilanti District Library Staff Joy Cichewicz Pat Mitchell Jenny Hannibal Kelly Scott Derek Humphrey

WRITING IS

A way to figure things out by ourselves

We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking)

A way to help us connect to our world

We study the writing we want to do so we can try it We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose

A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become

We work with a group of writers who help and support each other

A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world

www.826michigan.org

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826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards.

Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.

We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start.

And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.

by Gerald Richards, CEO

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THE ULTIMATE

TACO CAT

STORIES OF EVERYDAY MAGIC .org

A writing and tutoring center for 6-18-year-olds, 826michigan inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

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writing from three tutoring labs

Written by students in 826michigan’s tutoring labs in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti