Little Buddies by Writers' Exchange

This book was created by Ms. Tam’s and Mr. Larson’s grade 1 and grade 6/7 class, respectively, at Strathcona Elementary School in the winter of 2019. The Writers’ Exchange gets inner-city kids excited about reading, writing and their own potential through mentoring and creative projects like this chapbook. All Writers’ Exchange programs are free for the children and families we serve, so we could not exist without the support of amazing donors, including Social Venture Partners Vancouver, BOCCI, Marily Mearns, the Waterbury Foundation, Megan Abbott, Linda Louis, Bernard MacLeod, the City of Vancouver, the Grayross Foundation held at the Vancouver Foundation, Sasamat Foundation, TELUS, Judy Gale, Richard and Suzanne Cole, Nancy and Ted Maitland, John and Nina Cassils, Jim Fletcher, Lindsay Mearns, Scott Shaw, Premium Brand Foods, the Edith Lando Charitable Foundation, the Wolrige Foundation, the Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund, Steve Munford and CLICK (Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids Society). Thank you. #207–877 E HASTINGS ST VANCOUVER, BC V6A 3Y1 VANCOUVERWE.COM

We are honoured to be able to provide safe, fun and welcoming programs for kids and their families on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish) and sel̓ íl̓ witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As uninvited guests on this land we are grateful to be able to enjoy this beautiful place and we are committed to building relationships and learning about ongoing traditional ways of life from our Indigenous friends.

Writers’ Exchange Mentors: Aaron, Diana, Jacqueline, Jo, Samantha, Stacey and Wendy Design and layout: Elizabeth Ellis Creative lead: Jennifer MacLeod

These kind organizations support Writers’ Exchange in-school projects: THE WOLRIGE FOUNDATION

VAN TEL/SAFEWAY CREDIT UNION LEGACY FUND

generously donated the printing of this chapbook.

A B O UT TH I S B OOK We are kids in grades 1, 6 and 7, and for the first time at the Writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Exchange, we teamed up to write stories. We each worked with our buddies to come up with an idea, write a great story, and make illustrations for our stories. The little kids mostly came up with the ideas, and the big kids mostly did the writing, but sometimes we swapped and helped out the other way. This book is made up of all the stories and drawings we made with our buddies! We hope you enjoy our book.

CONTENTS 1

The Little Bunny Life!

Minecraft World

BY TR I STAN AND I S S AC

The Ring

BY SH AE AND MAR LOW

The Race Car

The Journey of the Green Apples

The Great Food Fight

Juliet and the Lion

The Cats That Found Atticus

Piggie and Gerald’s Mystery Solved

The Blueberry Farm

BY JES S E, DOR I S AND S H I R LEY

What’s in the Crate

BY JENNI F ER AND SH ER R Y

The Camping Trip

BY NATH ANI EL AND MYLES

Three Little Kitties

Buzz Lightyear and the Pumpkin Patch Clown

Don’t Enter Fuji Forest

LOL Dolls

Winter’s Dream

The Lollipop Boy

Ruby’s Birthday

BY NI KI, K AR R I E AND JOELYNN

BY JENNY AND ATLI N BY ALEX AND W YAT T BY K YS ON AND DER EK BY MAR CELL A AND ALI YAH BY G AVI N AND AT TI CUS BY KELLY AND R I LEY

BY JER EMY, CEDER AND YUSUF

BY JENNI F ER AND DAYDON BY LOGAN AND A.A. BY A A LI YAH, MOON AND PAY TON BY TONY, TR I STAN AND WI NTER BY TONY AND AMELI O BY V EECO, SAMANTH A AND NI COLE

TH E L I T TLE B U N NY LIFE! BY NI KI, K A RR IE A ND J O ELYNN

T HE B E G I N N I N G

Once upon a time, five bunnies were deciding what they wanted to be when they grew up. Joelynn the bunny wanted to be a spy, Niki the bunny wanted to be a candy seller, Karrie the bunny wanted to be a house builder, Moon the bunny wanted to be a dancer and Derek the bunny wanted to be a Lego builder. CHAPTER 1: TH E SP Y

Joelynn the bunny wanted to be a spy, but didn’t know how to start! She tried to learn stuff like gymnastics to help her move faster, and she wore darker colours to look more hidden, but it didn’t work. Joelynn kept trying and trying, but she still wasn’t becoming a spy.

CHAPTER 2: STO RE F U L L O F C A N DY

“Ooh, I love sour gummies! I should make a candy store. I’m going to make a candy stand!” said Niki the bunny. So Niki the bunny made a candy store, but no one bought her candy. She kept trying but her candy store still didn’t work. So, she gave up. CHAPTER 3: A H O U S E F O R BU N N I E S

Karrie the bunny wanted to build a house, so she tried and tried to build a house. But it didn’t work. She tried all day and night, but it still didn’t work well. She wanted to give up soon. CHAPTER 4: TH E ME E T-U P

All the bunnies knew each other, so they decided to meet up and help each other. They all told each other their goals. “I want to be a spy,” said Joelynn. “I want to be a candy seller,” said Niki. “I want to build a house,” said Karrie. So, they all decided to help each other do what they wanted. All the bunnies did help each other. They were happy that they could do all the stuff they wanted to do. They all accomplished their goals, and they lived a happy ending.

MI N E CRA F T WO R LD

BY TRI STA N A ND IS S AC SATU R DAY, F E B 23, 2019

It was a perfect day to play Minecraft, so Issac asked his friends to come play with him at his house. His friends agreed to go, but only if they could have delicious snacks. Later that afternoon, Amelio, Daydon and Myles showed up with a box of chicken nuggets, fries and apple slices. “Hi guys. Thanks for coming,” said Issac. Quickly Issac set up the computers. Each of his friends went to a computer and logged in to Minecraft, but, all of a sudden, three large rats appeared on the floor and ran into the kitchen. “What was that?” asked Amelio. Amelio was terrified of rats and began to shiver with fear.

Issac said, “What do you mean? I love rats.” Amelio said, “Did you see them? They’re big.” Amelio was right. They did look scary because they looked big. Issac took Amelio outside and Daydon and Myles followed them. When they all got outside, Issac was shocked to see that the world was all blocky. “Is it me? Or did the world turn into Minecraft?” asked Daydon. They all explored the neighbourbood with smiles on their faces. They also walked downtown and saw people as villagers, and cars that were blocky—and buildings, too. Several hours later, Issac asked his friends to stay over for a sleepover. His friends agreed. At the end of the evening they all fell asleep. In the morning, everything was normal. No more blocky houses or cars. “Weird,” said Issac.

TH E R I N G

BY S HA E A N D MA R LOW

The ring that’s always around the outside crowed. The cage, oh, I just hate. We’re used for their money bait. I’ll run and run from the Idomnus Rex! I’m furious,’K, and I’m here to say that this velociraptor can’t live this way! I’ll run through the forest as fast as can be—oh, I hope no one will see me! The cold of the wind again on my face, oh it feels so great. I’m out, I’m away from that mess. I’ll go save the others and make the ringmasters ’fess. The forest shouldn’t be used that way. I’ll go back and save the day. I go day and night to help the others and stop this fight. I’ve brought back two fighting squirrels and some fighting hawks. We will all work together and save the day. I will fight the Idomnus Rex and fix this mess. We fight and fight till the death. I win, I win, I saved the day! Oh, I hope it stays this way. This velociraptor saved the day! The forest is back to normal. Animals now can play. The forest is great again.

TH E R AC E C A R BY J E N N Y A N D ATLIN

My name is McTrunk and I’m a race car. To get ready for a race I drink milk and eat crackers. My mom also makes me cupcakes. I wait in the living room, then my mom brings me to the park for the race. Once, as I was waiting for my turn to race, I saw a boy with purple shoes. My friend told me that he was the fastest boy in my school. I had to race him in one hour. My mom told me, “It’s okay! You can do it!” I felt better and started to warm up. I saw that the boy was eating pizza instead of training. I thought, “I got this.” One hour later, the race was starting. They were counting, then—BANG— the gun went off and the race started. The boy with the purple shoes was really fast in the beginning but he got tired very quickly. I kept running. The warmups I did were worth it. He was behind me, and I felt like he would catch up any minute. I used all the energy I saved and zoomed across the track! I won first place. I’m no longer scared! I did great.

TH E JOU RN E Y O F TH E G R E E N A P P L ES BY A L E X A N D W YAT T

Once upon a time a thousand and one green apples were being transported from the Okanagan to Vancouver by train. There were three apples that stood out—their names were KFC, Rotten and Orange. They were a lot greener than the rest. No matter how many times you dropped them they would never be bruised, except for Rotten. It had been three long days since the train left the farm. The sun was beaming down on the train, but the apples had air conditioning to keep them cool. When they got to the midway point, the train stopped because a bridge had suddenly collapsed. So KFC, Rotten and Orange had to find a way to get to Vancouver. They sent an SOS, but nobody came for hours. They were stranded. “Wait,” shouted Orange. “I see a plane.” But by the time the plane came most of the apples had gone bad because the train was delayed too long. The rescue people gathered the few apples that hadn’t gone bad and took them to Vancouver—and KFC, Rotten and Orange were among them. There were just enough apples for one class at Strathcona, and that class was Division 18. A kid named Wyatt got to eat KFC, which was the best apple, but since there was a miscalculation, there were actually two more apples left. Wyatt gave the apples to his mom and dad.

TH E G R E AT F OO D FIGHT BY K Y S O N A N D D ER EK

One sad day at school, the bell had just rung for lunch. I was hungry, but I remembered they were serving salad and broccoli for lunch that day. I got a plate of salad with broccoli on top. I tasted it and it tasted like poop. I tried to get out of there so I could go get noodles. I went into the air vent but the principal spotted me and sent broccoli ninjas and salad cops after me. They broke the vent and I fell out onto my butt. I was surrounded and I had to fight. The broccoli ninjas threw broccoli at me, but I dodged it and threw my shoe at them. The salad cops tried shocking me but a shadow person saved me and threw me into a noodle shop. After I finished my noodles I went back to school and got a time out. Thirty minutes later I got out of the time out and the bell rang for the end of school. I was at the park when I heard footsteps and I looked behind me. I saw a man with noodly hair, wet feet and a T-shirt. It was a noodle man . . . and I ate him.

JUL I E T A N D T H E LIO N BY M A RC E L L A A ND A LIYA H

It is nighttime at the Vancouver Zoo and Marcella, Aliyah, Juliet and Mom are playing tag. Juliet falls in the lion ditch, but no one sees. She can’t make any noise or the lion will wake up. She gets out her phone and calls the others for help. As the phone is ringing she trips and drops the phone in the drain. Marcella, Aliyah and Mom hear their phones ring and answer it, but there is no one there. Juliet’s phone is dead. Marcella, Aliyah and Mom are on the other side of the zoo. They look for Juliet. She cries and the lion wakes up! Juliet tries to climb up the wall. The others hear her from the giraffe area. They search for a rope. They find a rope in the engineering room and throw it over the wall. Juliet climbs up the rope and hops over the wall. Everyone asks Juliet if she’s OK. She says she’s fine. The lion comes over to the wall to talk, and says he wants to be friends.

TH E CAT S T H AT FOUN D AT TI C U S BY GAV I N A N D AT TIC U S NOVE M B E R 20, 2018

Atticus was a happy kid who lived with his parents and two cats. One bad day, he went missing. His parents said that a small pair of hands had pulled Atticus down under the couch. JANUA RY 5, 2019

Atticusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents worried day and night. They did everything they could to get their precious little boy back. One day, while his parents were out putting up posters, their cats, Pete and Tulip, clawed at the old worn-out couch. As they got deeper into the couch, they smelled something similar to burning wood at a campfire.

Soon, they saw that there was a smoky, cloudy atmosphere within the old rotten couch. Interested, the cats decided to jump into the clouds. They fell right through the clouds and fell for what seemed like forever. As the cats were falling, they braced for impact. However, they fell through the ground, into a dark pool of sludge. Amazingly, they could breathe and swim in this sludge. The cats swam around for a bit, then they saw a shoe that belonged to Atticus. They swam up to the shoe and heard a noise in the sludge. Thinking it was Atticus, they acted quickly. They followed the noise until they found Atticus. He was delighted to see his cats. The cats led Atticus to the surface, but instead of the smell of burning wood and dark clouds, there was more sludge. They decided to keep swimming until they hit something soft, like a couch. They pushed out and there they were, back home. As they climbed out of the couch, the door started to unlock. It was Atticusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents. They rushed to hug their little boy. Instead of the dark, dreadful environment they had been living in, now it was a bright, happy house full of giggles and laughter.

PIGG IE A N D GE R A LD’S MYST E RY S O LV E D BY KE L LY A N D R ILEY

Once upon a time a lot of cats took over a farm. It was very weird. Piggie and Gerald were there at the time, and they loved mysteries. They wanted to know why the cats stayed at the farm. The farm was in the middle of a lot of grass. Piggie and Gerald went on a trip to find the mysterious place. It took 10 minutes to get there. Piggie and Gerald were told that the cats were coloured bright red! They wanted to find out who owned this weird cat farm, but what they saw was shocking, and all the stuff they heard was true! They went onto the farm, and saw that there were so many red cats. They saw a strange man, too. He said, “What are you doing here?” and Piggie asked, “Why so many cats?” The man said that he loved cats and had been collecting them. Gerald asked, “Why are they all red?” The man said, “They are special.” Their mystery was solved—the man just loved cats. The next day, Piggie and Gerald told everyone what they learned. Everyone lived happily ever after.

TH E BLU E B E R RY FA R M BY J E S S E, D O RIS A ND S HIR LEY

Once upon a time there was a bunny and a dog. The dog loved the bunny, but the bunny didn’t like the dog. The dog showed off to the bunny every day. But the bunny thought the dog was not cool. The dog tried barking at a squirrel to show how tough he was. The bunny said, “I can do that, too! bark bark.” The dog asked the LOL dolls for help. The LOL dolls told the dog to go on a hike. The dog agreed to it. T HE N E X T DAY. . .

It was hot outside. The dog and the bunny wanted something cold and fresh to eat. Suddenly, they saw a blueberry bush. They ran toward it, but there was only one blueberry bush. The bunny and the dog were very sad. Then the bunny said, “We can share the blueberries!” The dog agreed. “Sure! I’d love to share with you!” he said. The bunny smiled. After a few minutes, all the blueberries were gone! Suddenly, the bunny said, “I like you.” The dog said, “I like you, too!” They both smiled and started to head back home. A few days later, the bunny and the dog created their own blueberry farm. They lived happily every after!

WH AT’S I N TH E CR ATE BY J E N N I F E R A ND S HER R Y

It was a dark day. The clouds slowly moved along and the wind angrily blew. The mood of the day was the same mood our main character, Danny Juke, was feeling. Danny had thought it was going to be a fun day—hanging out with family, having a barbeque and stargazing— only to find out what his parents had really meant. Apparently “family camping trip” meant ALL of the family. Even his distant relatives. Who has a step-cousin’s half-related brother’s uncle’s distant cousin at a camping trip?! How do they even confirm that he’s family?

The news also meant that Julia was coming. Danny groaned at the thought. Who is Julia, you may ask? She was only the most know-it-all and meanest— Suddenly, his mother interrupted his thoughts. “She’s your cousin, dearie,” Danny’s mom said. “Honestly, she’s a joy. Why do you hate her?” his dad added, without looking away from the road. “You only say that because she makes you rice,” said Danny. “So what? I love rice!” Danny got upset. This would be a long day. L ATER

“It’s your fault! This weird bird is following us because of you! Stop feeding it!” Julia yelled at Danny. How did they get to this moment? Well, it started when Danny came back to camp in time for dinner and got stuck with gathering twigs for the campfire. And guess who he got stuck working with . . . Julia Holmes. So, they were fighting when Danny tripped over a small crate. The crate had a lock on it and Danny and Julia got curious. But before they could try to open it, Danny spotted a sparkling parrot in the woods. He went to it and fed it crackers, and named it Molly. Molly the parrot flew further into the woods and Danny chased her, carrying the crate. Julia ran after him, shouting, “Hey! Wait up!” Soon, they were lost. “Why did I run?” Danny complained. “Now I’m lost. Julia, how do we get back?”

“I don’t know!” Julia growled. Molly the parrot just said, “Curio . . . sity.” Julia angrily kicked a tree and mumbled, “We don’t even know what’s in the box.” “You mean the crate,” Danny reminded her. “Whatever!” Julia huffed. So, what was in the crate? Julia touched, it looking for any clues that would give them an answer. They both went quiet. Then Danny glanced at the parrot and gasped. The sparkly parrot was not sparkly anymore! They could suddenly see that the thing that had been sparkling on the parrot had been a key hanging around the parrot’s neck. Danny nudged Julia, and they took the key off the parrot and unlocked the crate. They opened it and . . . Danny woke up and yawned. He was in his room. Suddenly, Julia burst in. “Wake up, sleepyhead!” she yelled. “Why are you here?!” Danny said. Julia frowned, “I just wanted you to check this out.” She took out a crate, and Danny groaned—“Oh, no . . .” “I fell over this outside,” said Julia. “Hey! There’s a lock! It’s in the shape of a parrot?!” Danny sighed and shrugged. “Oh well . . . here we go again!”

TH E CA M PI N G TR IP! BY NAT HA N I E L A ND MYLES

One happy day there was a boy named Myles and his friend, who was named Atticus. They had gone with Owen from Jurassic Park on a camping trip to New Zealand, where they were going to see Jaws do a flip over three red hoops. Owen said, “Be careful. There’s a clown on the loose!” and Myles said, “Okay.” Myles asked Owen if they were at the aquarium and Owen said, “No, we are setting up camp, silly.” ONE H O UR L ATE R . . .

They ate, and Myles said to Owen, “Mmm, dinner was good.” A few moments later he spotted a clown in the forest. Myles and Atticus grabbed their Nerf guns and chased the clown into the sewers. There were three sewers: Sewer one had water that was red from apples. Sewer two had nothing but footprints. Sewer three had dodge balls. Myles heard sirens coming from sewer one. He and Atticus hid behind a tree. “What should we do now?” asked Myles. Atticus replied, “Let’s leave.” At that moment, Atticus started crying of joyment because they realized that it wasn’t apples in the sewer, it was three red hoops, and sharks were jumping through them. They had finally seen what they came for.

TH R E E LI T TLE K I T TIES BY J E R E MY, C ED ER A ND YU S UF

Once upon a time a boy named Ceder was walking through the woods. He walked deep into the woods and came across a cabin. Ceder stopped and said, “Oh wow, a cabin! In the middle of the woods.” It started to snow and Ceder started to panic! It got colder and colder. “I should run into the cabin. It’s getting too cold!” said Ceder. He peeked through the window and saw three kittens eating dinner. L ATER, AT 10 P.M.

“It’s so cold!” said Ceder. “Oh, they are all upstairs sleeping!” Ceder ran into the cabin. “Oh my gosh, there is leftover dinner,” he said. Ceder started to feel very beaten up. He became very tired and went to the couch. Then he fell asleep. L ATER TH AT N I G H T

Ceder woke up and saw three kittens looking at him. One of the kittens said, “Why are you in our house, and why did you eat our food?” Ceder pulled out a blueberry pie and gave it to the kittens. He said, “I’m sorry, I hope you can forgive me.” The kittens did forgive him, so Ceder said, “Do you guys want to go sledding with me?” And they all become best friends and play knights.

BUZZ LIGHTYE AR AND THE PUMPKIN PATCH CLOWN BY J E N N I F E R A ND DAYD O N

Legend says, if you chant, “Buzz Lightyear is bad” on a full moon on Halloween night . . . he’ll come ALIVE! Brown eyes flashed through the plastic screen that trapped Buzz in the case. He used his head, and ripped his way out. Buzz Lightyear realized from the pumpkin decorations that it was Halloween! And outside the building was a scary clown scaring kids! He took off and flew to the clown. They had an epic battle. Finally, Buzz Lightyear grabbed the clown and tore its mask off to reveal . . . Woody! “Woody?!” said Buzz. Woody said, angrily, “I was jealous of how everyone is with you, man! Then this guy in the sewer took my hat and pulled me into the circus.” Buzz Lightyear said, “Don’t worry! I’ll solve this!” He found the other clown in the sewer and fought it. He won. Everyone lived happily ever after.

DON'T EN TE R FUJ I F OR E S T BY LO G A N A N D A.A.

This story begins in the land of Japan, specifically at the base of Mount Fuji. There lies the Sea of Trees. Nobody dared to go there, but one day two travellers were eager to venture into the mysterious forest. Their names were Bailey and Chloe. They both loved nature and stunts. They had experienced close-call situations before, so this wouldn’t be their first. DAY ON E

Chloe and Bailey entered the forest with enough supplies to last one week. But what they didn’t bring was a flashlight. They quickly regretted that mistake, because the trees were so big that even in daylight it looked like dusk—barely any light could pierce the thick leaves. The two girls walked and walked for hours on end. At the end of the day they were tired, so they decided to set up camp. As they were setting up camp, they heard a noise . . . How do Chloe and Bailey escape the forest? To be continued . . .

LOL DOLLS

BY A A L I YA H, MO O N A ND PAY TO N Two weeks ago my family and I went on an amazing journey to Playland. We have been to Playland many times, but this time it was special because my sister and I saved my mom from being lost forever. My mother loves the Wild Boar roller coaster. Without telling us, she walked away from our group. The roller coaster was far away and on the other side of the park. My father walked in the other direction to have a can of pop. Soon, Jasmine and I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find my mother. There were so many people it was hard to find her. There were also so many puppies and kittens in the park. People were dressed in Halloween costumes and some were riding horses! I could not see my mother. But, all of a sudden, my Aunt Rysa appeared. She told me to go to the Wild Boar roller coaster. As we got to the roller coaster, I spotted my momâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yellow jacket. Thank goodness we found her.

WIN T E R’S DR E A M BY TON Y, T R I STA N A ND WINTER

It was Friday, and Winter asked his friends over for a sleepover. Soon the door opened and his friends came in. Everyone watched TV, ate snacks and had pillow fights. When it was near midnight, it was time for bed. “Goodnight,” Winter’s mom said. Midnight struck and all were asleep, but something happened while they slept. “W-what happened? W-where am I?” Winter said. He had no idea how he got where he was. Luckily, his friends were close. He found them under a dead tree, scared and confused. “What happened?” asked Myles as he went up to Winter. “This looks scary,” said Sherry. “I don’t feel safe,” said Atticus. Winter needed to find an exit so they could leave this scary place. So, they walked for a while, but soon they came upon three big, scary dinosaurs, who were looking down at Winter and his friends. “Ahhh!” shouted all of Winter’s friends. But Winter was not scared. In fact, he had an idea. He sang a song that he had learned at school— the Dinosaur Stomp song. His friends sang along with him. The scary dinosaurs turned into nice dinosaurs and let Winter and his friends through.

Next, Winter entered into a world that was blocky. “Is this Minecraft?” asked Myles. “It looks like it,” said Sherry. All of a sudden, big bananas and meatballs were blocking their way. In the background, they could see Herobrine from Minecraft using his magic to control the food. Winter’s friends screamed again as the food came closer. But Winter had another song to get rid of the food. He sang the Banana Banana Meatball song first. His friends joined, too, and sang along. The food became nice and chased Herobrine away. “We did it,” said Atticus as they moved along. “There’s our way out. On top of that mountain.” All of a sudden fire spread out everywhere. They saw Simba and his friends from the Lion King, and evil hyenas were attacking them. “It’s like in the movie,” Sherry said. “We need to get to the exit,” said Winter. Winter and his friends went up, avoiding all the falling rocks and hyenas. When they got to the top, they could see that Simba was about to fall. Quickly, they sang the Lion King song. The song helped make Simba strong so he could defeat Scar. Then the movie ended like in the real movie, but this time Winter and his friends had saved the day. Everyone in the kingdom was happy. But the door to exit was about to fade. Quickly, Winter, Myles, Sherry and Atticus jumped into the portal. Then it was morning and everyone was confused. “Wow, that was crazy,” said Sherry. In the end, everyone got dressed and went home for a lovely Saturday.

TH E LO LLI P OP B OY BY TON Y A N D A MELIO

A lollipop boy was walking down a long, dark dirt path. He was holding a mug filled with iced tea. *Bushes rustle . . .* The lollipop boy nervously looked around. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hello?â&#x20AC;? he asked. After a long silent wait, the lollipop boy felt uneasy and quickly walked faster down the road. He stopped around 20 metres down the path and nervously continued to glance around. He heard a few twigs snap, and swung his face to where the noise had come from. A shadow loomed out of the dense trees, and the lollipop boy startled at it. He froze as a hand, which appeared to be made out of spaghetti, moved toward him.

At that moment, his legs decided that they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to stay, so he fled down the road. Halfway down, the lollipop boy tripped over a big root and fell on his head, knocking himself out. Moments later, the lollipop boy woke up to the smell of burning pine needles. He sat up and stared at the fire. He saw a gigantic spaghetti monster with big meatball eyes leaning over the fire. The lollipop boy gasped, covering his mouth with both his hands to hold in a scream. He quickly got up and ran deep into the forest. He could see the bodies of wolves running alongside him. The boy counted around eight of them while he continued to run. He quickly vaulted over a dead tree and lost his balance as he came down. The wolves took this as an opportunity to pounce, and did so. Eight wolves came jumping over at him. Suddenly, the spaghetti monster came swinging on a rope out of the forest, and grabbed the lollipop boy by the arm. They swung back to the safety of the campfire. The boy and his new friend sat around the campfire, chatting through the night . . .

RUBY 'S B I R T H DAY

BY V E ECO, SA MA NTHA A ND NICOLE I wonder what type of cake I’ll get

Okay, Mom

Yay, it’s my birthday!

It’s your birthday . . . go get ready!

My friends will enjoy my party

Which dress should I wear? They are both so nice

I hope my party goes well

Ruby, hurry, it’s time to go

Off we go to find my cake

Much better— looks like everything is going well

Okay, I’ll be down soon

Which cake should I get? . . . Wait! No carrot cake! Mom, my birthday is ruined!

Ruby did not find her carrot cake that she wanted. She cried and cried until they went home.

Ruby and her mom went home, not knowing what was coming their way

Happy birthday!

Surprise!

Everyone surprised Ruby with a cake

AUTOGRAPHS

As an author of a Writers’ Exchange book, you are invited to sign up for FREE after-school and summer programs at the Writers’ Exchange home base at 207–877 East Hastings Street. We run programs for kids in grades 1 to 12. Ask your teacher for a signup sheet, go to vancouverWE.com or call Jennifer at 604-428-8228 for more information.