YOUNG WORDSMITHS 3rd issue 2023

YOUNG WORDSMITHS

Young Wordsmiths is the online magazine of Lekha Writing Center. It is dedicated to publishing writing BY and FOR children.

FOUNDER: JYOTI YELAGALAWADI

Text Copyright by Lekha students as noted in the Lekha Anthologies published by Lekha Publishers LLC.

Material in this magazine are drawn from student writings’ from Lekha Anthologies published over the years as well as from current student writings’ from Lekha Writing Center classes and camps.

Images Used are Copyright Free and Royalty Free. Shutterstock images have been used in this issue.

Fonts Used: Segoe Print

Dear friends of Lekha,

It’s a new year

A time of hope and a time of change

New backpacks, new books, new shoes

Maybe make new friends too?

Time to make friends

Time to be a friend

Time to share and understand

Let’s start the new year

With fresh thoughts

Which bring us all together

One family, one people.

Write4Joy!!!

Love, Jyoti Yelagalawadi. Founder of Lekha Ink, Corp.

YOUNG WORDSMITHS is a quarterly magazine.

ONLINE ISSN: 2691-7912

Vol 6. No 3

Price: $2.99

EDITOR: Radhika Rajesh Raikar

If you love to write and love telling stories, then please send your submissions to the following email address: submissions@lekhaink.com

6

Thinking ….Page 7

Roses and Thorns …Page 8-9

Trouble Fish

Halloween Poem

10

11

Skies, Sea and Sun …Page 12

Earth

13

The dog and the girl ...Page 14-15

The strange rescue of Ivy …Page 16-25

Volleyball …Page 26-27

Word Games ...Page 28-29

The mouse and the curse ...Page 30-35

Why the elephant has a long trunk ...Page 36-37

Let’s save trees ....Page 38-39

ROSES AND THORNS

SCRIPT OF AN ELEPHANT

WRITTEN BY ARIANNA ZHAO, AGE 11, 2023

9/13/2023

Today my teacher said our homework was to pick an experience and write about “roses” and “thorns”. I chose to write about “roses’ and “thorns”.

ROSES

• I get to write with my favorite green pencil!

• I get to write with my second favorite blue pencil.

• My mom was happy to see me actually doing homework instead of playing.

• My teacher was happy to see me write the date on the top!

THORNS

• My green pencil has broken…

• When I sneezed my blue pencil flew across the room and some water landed on this paper.

• My brother was sad to see me doing homework instead of playing with him.

• My teacher was unhappy because I did not write my name on top.

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED

BY RADHIKA JHAVERI, AGE 11, 2022

Bubble fish

Went swish swish swish

Looking for trouble

And found his evil double

He made an unkind wish that his evil double would become someone's dish

He was a little selfish

Bubble fish

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY CELESTE MAGOS AGE 11, 2022

I like Halloween because I like dressing up, putting on fake blood, going out with my friends and eating candy !!

SKIES, SEA AND SUN FREE VERSE

WRITTEN BY ARIA LELE, AGE 12, 2023

Flowers long ago

Birth of flowers

Unlike any

You see

Before the moon fell Birds roamed the seven skies

Just where the sky meets the sea

Birds work together

Along with the sea

Hanging keys

For all to see

Along with the house

House of all

Birds of all kinds

In the house

The house of all

Working together

the skies, sea, and sun.

EARTH FREE VERSE

WRITTEN BY SAHAJ SHAH, AGE 13, 2023

Earth is a very peculiar thing

Sometimes ghastly and cold

Sometimes bright and scorching

other times gentle and warm

Earth really is peculiar thing

It shows us the stars and the cosmos

It shows us the clouds and the pure blue sky

It also shows us the vastness of infinity

Earth is quite a peculiar thing

The change of day and night

Of winter and summer

Or a tree

Maybe even grass?

From scorched

To frosted

To shriveled

To falling off

Or flying away

But in the end undying

And beautiful no matter what Why?

Because…

Earth is a peculiar thing.

THE DOG AND THE GIRL WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY EMMY, AGE 9, 2022

FRONT COVER BACK COVER

It was a Saturday morning. The sky outside was brightening gradually.

Eliza lay in bed stiff from the night. Her alarm went off and woke her up with a start. Laying in bed she managed to pull down the covers and silence the alarm but had trouble taking hold of her crutches.

Eliza was born without a leg and had no friends because of that. Her only wish was to have a real friend. She just needed someone that did not make fun of her missing leg.

Eliza was in the mood to go to the park. It was such a beautiful day!

When she headed downstairs it took her longer then usual. Her leg hurt more.

Once she got to the park she noticed something moving under the picnic table. She slowly hopped towards it. Under the table was a dog. Eliza gasped, shocked to see a dog. She walked cautiously around the table not wanting to make any sudden movement. She almost fell when she saw the dog. It had only three legs!

The dog slowly came out from under the table and licked Eliza’s hand. She smiled and felt comforted by the dog. It sat down next to her and they felt comfortable sitting in each other’s company.

They were both going through the same pain and they felt they could understand each other. Together they watched the sun go down. They were happy to have found each other and found a real friend.

THES STRANGE RESCUE OF IVY WRITTEN

AND

ILLUSTRATED

BY NATALIE GOMEZ AND CELESTE MAGOS, 2022

Once there was a scientist who stumbled upon a mysterious planet. Not only did the scientist see this new world but he also saw a bright glow coming from the planet. He thought it was a type of creature, so he sent astronauts to bring it to earth.

This creature’s name is Ivy, an alien but she isn’t ordinary. She has wings, horns and can glow. She is nice, energetic and loves to hang out with her two friends, Amber and Moon.

Amber and Moon are Ivy’s friends. They’ve known each other for a long time. They both love being with Ivy as well. Both of them are super considerate, and also have horns and wings.

Ivy and her friends were on the planet when they saw a rocket ship starting to land. They saw astronauts come out of the spaceship and the three of them went to hide behind a rock.

While Amber and Moon were already hiding, Ivy was still running away. Then the astronauts grabbed and injected her with a sleeping potion and put her inside the space ship.

When the astronauts went back to earth, they carried Ivy out and returned to the science lab.

Once they got her body on the operating table, the scientist started inspecting her. While he was getting ready to cut her up, Ivy woke up and pretended to be asleep because she saw her friends and was thinking they would save her.

While the scientist was getting ready for the procedure, Amber and Moon ran behind him and injected him with the potion that will make him go to sleep and forget everything.

After Ivy and her friends got out of the lab, they were confused about where they were. But, they were still happy that all of them were back together. Later on they found their way back by retracing their steps. They got home together.

A few months later, Ivy, Amber and Moon were sitting on the couch watching the news on TV and the news reporter showed a picture of an alien entering a science lab on earth wearing a lab coat.

Ivy realized that the alien looked like her brother.

INFORMATIVE ESSAY

WRITTEN BY DENNY XU, AGE 9, 2013

Do you think volleyball is fun? I do. I became interested in volleyball because my brother is the best player I’ve seen. I wanted to be like him. I remember in 2008 when he hit a ball thirty feet, and it was powerful moment. A huge crowd cheered and his team won, 12-3. I was shouting at top of my lungs.

One of my favorite moves is called a spike. That’s when someone bumps you the ball, you jump and while in the air position your arms like a bow and arrow, and then hit the volleyball over the net. I like to hit the ball about two to three feet from the net.

Another important part of volleyball is the serve. There are two types of serving; one is the underhand and the other is a jump serve. The jump serve is more of a challenge because you have to jump and hit the ball upward. On the other hand, it’s easier to serve underhanded. All you need to do is make your hand flat, low and steady. Then you move one of your legs forward a step before hitting the volleyball with your fist.

A significant move in volleyball is called a set. That’s when you use your arms and push the ball up in the air. You should push the ball up with your arms at the same time or else it will go in another direction. Bumping is another basic move; all you have to do is lock your arms together and use your legs to push the ball up.

Volleyball is a great and fun sport to play. You can learn a lot of shots and moves, and it helps build teamwork and confidence. I’ve been playing volleyball for five years. I play on a team called the Blue Bullets. Volleyball is a amazing sport which helped me build up confidence.

THE MOUSE AND THE CURSE SHAPE BOOK STORY

WRITTEN BY EMMA WU, AGE 9, 2022

Tiny is a mouse. He loves pranks and jokes. He loves cheese, but he hates bullies and it just so happens that there are two bullies at his school. Their names are Tom and Busy. Tom is a cat and Busy is a beaver. They are known throughout the school as the Trouble Duo. They are in 5th grade and love taking kindergartener’s lunch money. But, their #1 favorite

...student to pick on is Tiny. Tiny hates it when Busy and Tom bully him especially Tom because he chases Tiny all the time. The kindergarteners are too scared to stop the Trouble Duo. So it was up to Tiny to stop the two trouble makers. Tiny worked on a plan for days. He decided to put the plan to work the next time the boys attempt to bully him.

Two days later during lunch, Busy was walking slowly towards Tiny’s table. When Busy got to Tiny’s table he flipped over Tiny’s lunch tray. Mashed potatoes, carrots, and gravy flew everywhere. Most of it landed on Tiny.

Now it was action time. Tiny ran away pretending to cry. But, as he was running, he dropped a piece of paper that looked as if it was...

...ripped out of a book. The piece of paper said: “Bullies that bully little kids are to be cursed when they turn 11. However, they can prevent the curse by not bullying anymore for their life.”

Now, it just so happens that Busy’s birthday is in 2 weeks and Tom’s birthday was in 4 days. Busy was panicking !

He ran across the cafeteria to tell Tom about the curse. The next morning, the two were seen on their knees praying not to be cursed. They even said that they would never bully again and they told the truth. Tiny’s plan was a success. There were no more bullies in the history of the school.

THE END.

I LIKE THIS INTERESTING

WHY THE ELEPHANT HAS A LONG TRUNK WRITTEN BY ISHAN

RAO, AGE 8, 2014

One day, there was an elephant. He had a small trunk. It was as small as you can imagine. When the elephant was going to drink some water, he accidentally tripped on a rock and fell on a crocodile.

The crocodile couldn’t bear the elephant’s weight and died. The crocodile’s mother and father couldn’t bear the news and started crying. They cried so much in their grief that their tears formed into a small lake.

The crocodile’s mother set up a trap for the elephant. This was all being watched by the giraffe, who felt sorry for the elephant. The elephant, however, had no idea what the trap was for. So the elephant walked along the riverbank with the giraffe. While he was walking along, he got stuck in the honey trap that the crocodiles had laid for him.

The crocodiles were waiting for this chance. They started to tug at the elephant’s trunk.

The giraffe was trying to get the elephant out of the trap, so he started pulling the elephant’s tail. The trunk became longer by the minute and at last, the crocodiles let go. The elephant was free, but now the elephant had a long trunk which had been stretched out by the crocodiles.

That’s how the elephant got a long trunk.

LET’S SAVE TREES PERSUASIVE ESSAY

WRITTEN BY ESHA JUNANKAR, AGE 11, 2015

Have you ever imagined the world without trees? Trees are an important part of the world. Think about it. If we didn’t have trees we wouldn’t have clean air and we would have problems with the environment. Trees give us oxygen and help us breathe. Trees give people shade when we are hot. Trees prevent mudslides and erosion because the roots hold the dirt down.

Trees take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. We shouldn’t cut down trees because that means that there will be less oxygen for us to breathe. However, we still have to cut down some trees, since trees have many uses like making wood and paper products. So we just have to make sure we don’t cut down more than we can plant.

Trees also give people shade when we are hot. Suppose we cut down all the trees. In the summer, we wouldn’t have any shade to sit under. People have air conditioners, but even then personally I think we should try to use natural shade.

If we didn’t have any trees we also would have many more mudslides. Mudslides are mud and dirt rolling down the hills because of rain. Mudslides can damage property and destroy homes. Trees have roots and hold down the dirt, preventing damage to people’s property.

Trees are a very important part of our environment. If we don’t conserve trees we will face dealing with more mudslides, having less clean air, and having less shade. When we cut down a tree, we should plant a new one every time. If we kept that going we could have a great improvement in our environment.