Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl’s name was Betty. Betty was pretty stubborn. Betty would say: “I, myself, only believe in facts.” She said she did not have this so-called “imagination.”
When Betty was younger, her grandfather told her the story of the floating town. Betty did not believe this story. She said it was impossible.
Her grandfather asked her, “Do you have an imagination?”
She replied, stubbornly, “No. I do not, and I never will.”
Long after this conversation, her grandfather passed away. She started to think, could this story be true? Betty started to search for the floating town that her grandfather told her about in the story. She tried to use facts and research to get her to the town, but it did not get her anywhere. She tried to imagine herself there and, to her surprise, she found her way there. She got to the town and started an amazing community. The population was 501, but it was quite the vacation spot. In the town you could ride ostriches, which is strange because ostriches are flightless.
Once Betty found the floating town, she tried to make it very welcoming and magical. She made many farms for ostriches. The ostriches always had a safe place to live. Since the town was floating, Betty would send down invitations in clouds. The clouds would act like envelopes. In the letters it would say: Look up at the town in the sky. If you would like to move here, an ostrich will come down and pick you up. The whole town knew the story of Betty, since she was the founder. Betty and the townspeople wanted to create their own holidays. They would celebrate the usual holidays, but they would include their own in the calendars. Every night she could hear her grandfather telling her, “I knew you would find your way.”
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by Sarah Kokernot, 826CHI
Students use illustrations as entry points to write stories about friendship from a new perspective.
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Ms. Lowe’s Fourth Grade Class at Roberto Clemente Learning Academy in Detroit, Michigan
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A monkey named Chesley saves the animals of the forest from an evil Master!
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An "I A From" poem. English and Spanish versions included.
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A letter from the author to the author on appreciating both the unconventional and conventional parts of oneself.
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A (mostly) love letter to a kiwi with delicious imagery.