A dark shadow lurks behind the bushes
Illuminated by a hint of moonlight.
He hides with such skill and stealth
So quiet you could hear a pin drop.
With alert ears and watchful eyes
He waits forever his dinner to arrive.
The silence is soon broken with a snap of a twig
A mouth-watering aroma indicates that prey is near.
With a flick of his ear and a twitch of his nose
His target is located and action begins.
One paw in front of the other
He readies himself for the pounce.
He propels himself into the air
Strong muscles rippling as he leaps forward.
Landing so softly and startling his prey
He sinks his teeth into the delicious body.
"At last," he purrs
"It is time to eat."
Night & Maus: Book Review
I just finished reading two incredible books over the summer, Night by Eli Wiesel and Maus by Art Spiegelman. Both books were extraordinary literary works that educated readers about the Holocaust and provided them with real experiences from survivors. I learned a lot from reading these books as it taught me important life lessons. I was able to understand this historic event in more depth by understanding the two different perspectives of both books.
Photo from the 1982 Bantam Books edition of Night
Night was a regular novel while Maus was a graphic novel. It was interesting to compare and contrast these two writing styles because they are very different from each other. One was written as a story and only used words while the other used images and drawings. Readers were able to learn how these styles were used and discover the different techniques involved in it. For instance, reading a graphic novel is different from a traditional novel because the pictures tell the story, not the words. The main role of the words in Maus are to capture dialogue and caption images. Meanwhile the words of Night tell the entire story.
These two books gave me a really vivid image of the Holocaust. They also provided me with the history of this life-changing event. Night was written by someone who personally lived through this devastating experience. The author explained the difficulties and hardships he faced while in the ghettos and concentration camps and how he managed to survive. On the other hand, Maus was written by the son of a Holocaust survivor. This book is not a primary source and therefore is not as detailed and reliable. However, it provided me with great insight about how the Holocaust affected future generations to come. Both books are exceptional sources in understanding the events that took place at this time. I also got a clear understanding of the authors’ emotions based on the descriptive words or facial expressions of the artwork.
Although both books are incredible literary works, I personally preferred reading Maus. This is because this was my first time reading a graphic novel and I found it really interesting. The characters were also established as anthropomorphic animals such as mice, pigs, and cats. This appealed to my interests because it was something I had never encountered in a book before and the symbolism was done very well. I would definitely recommend this book, along with Night, to my peers or any other readers interested in the topic.
My Perfect School Day
Ever since 4th grade, I loved to write and won my first writing contest and became a published writer! I want to share with you my poem about my school day which I submitted to Creative Communications.
My Very First Journalism Project
I always enjoyed writing since I was young; however, I didn’t know I was an aspiring self-published author until I discovered this family newsletter which I designed when I was only twelve years old!
Check out more…
https://www.figureskatingetc.com/miscell2/2013/7/17/my-very-first-journalism-project
https://www.figureskatingetc.com/miscell2/2019/4/17/one-big-lie
https://www.figureskatingetc.com/miscell2/2010/4/17/a-rabbit-that-got-covered-in-chocolate
One Big Lie
This story is dedicated to my dearest grandmother and grandfather who love reading all my stories and enjoy being my students when I play teacher. Thank you for all your love and support fand or encouraging me to always read and write.
ONE BIG LIE
(written 9 yrs old)
Chapter I
The New Pet
“Guess what?” Sara asked Claire and Ashley. “What?” they said in unison. The three girls were eating lunch at Boundfield Elementary. “I just got a new pet!” Sara answered joyfully. “Really? That’s totally awesome, Sara! What animal is it?” Ashley asked. “Oh, it’s a…umm…umm…a dog,” Sara replied. “It is? Now my dog can have another dog to play with. You know, Scruffles really needs a friend. He just mopes around all day,” Claire said. Scruffles is Claire’s one and only pet. He is a chocolate lab that loves the outdoors.
Sara nodded and said, “Sure.” Ashley asked, “What’s your dog’s name? What breed is it?” Sara replied, “It’s a..um…um…a golden retriever and we haven’t named it yet. We only got it yesterday.” Claire said, “You should have called us.” Sara said annoyingly, “I was really busy with my dog. I told you a lot of information already. So, stop bugging me and let’s change the subject.” Claire said in a surprise voice, “Really? You don’t want to talk about your new dog? When I got mine, I was really excited.” Sara said, “I do want to talk about it but there’s nothing more to tell.” Ashley and Claire glanced at each other in bewilderment. “Do you want to come over tomorrow after school with your new dog?” Claire asked Sara. “Well, I’m busy,” Sara said. “Oh, well,” Claire said in a disappointed tone. “I’m really looking forward to seeing your new dog. We all have pets now!” Claire pointed out to the girls. “Yes, we do. I don’t have a dog but I do have a cat and 2 hamsters,” Ashley said. Sara shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
Chapter II
Some Doubts
After school, Ashley went to Claire’s house. “Do you really think Sara has a dog? She’s always saying, ‘umm…umm,’ Ashley said. “At first, I thought it was true but the more I thought about it, the more I thought Sara was lying. What stuff would she be so busy with that she can’t come over and show off her new dog? Sara can always do her homework with us,” Claire replied. Ashley sighed and said, “I know you’re right Claire but why would Sara lie? We’re her best friends.” Claire thought for a moment and then said, “Maybe Sara wants to be like us so she doesn’t feel left out when we talk about our pets. Or Sara may just feel more comfortable saying lies. Some people are like that.” Ashley then said, “True, but we don’t know if Sara is really telling lies or telling the truth. We just think she’s lying. We don’t know for sure. We will never know unless we go to her house.” Claire joked, “If she ever lets us in her house!”
Claire joked more than Ashley did. Unlike Claire, Ashley used her spare time reading and writing. Claire used her spare time playing sports. Claire does enjoy writing but likes to write about plays or the outdoors. Ashley would write about anything. She would read books and include interesting facts in her stories.
Ashley smiled and suggested, “Let’s forget about this and do what we both love.” Ashley and Claire both love bike riding. The two girls ran outside and hopped onto their bikes. Scruffles snuck up behind them and barked, “Woof! Woof!” Claire laughed, “Oh, Scruffles!”
Ashley and Claire rode up a hill and around a tree. Scruffles ran and followed them. Ashley and Claire were having a great time. Soon, it was time for them to go home and have dinner with their families.
Chapter III
The Truth
The next day, Ashley and Claire hopped onto the bus. On the next stop, Sara came on and sat next to the girls. “Does your dog like the outdoors? Ashley asked Sara when she sat right down next to her. “Oh no!” Sara said. Claire sighed and looked into Sara’s eyes and asked, “Do you really have a dog?” Sara turned to the window because she didn’t want to talk about this subject anymore. She hesitantly replied, “Of course, I do but I don’t feel like taking him out today.” Ashley asked, “Oh, really? Why don’t you want to take him out today? Sara responded, “Umm…umm…because…” Claire cut Sara off and impatiently demanded that Sara tell the truth. Claire said, “If you really do have a dog, why won’t you show us?” Sara said, “I have my reasons.” Ashley asked impatiently, “Yeah, what are they? What are your reasons?” Sara sighed. “Maybe I don’t want to tell you,” she said. “ Maybe you don’t even have a dog,” Claire muttered hoping Sara wouldn’t hear. However, Sara did. “I do so have a dog but umm…umm...” Ashley said, “Stop it already! You know there’s nothing wrong with telling the truth. So why don’t you tell the truth for once?” Sara said, “Like I’m not telling the truth! That’s funny. I’m telling the truth. Now don’t get me wrong.” Claire said, “You know what? I know when you’re telling lies or not. You try to be like us with the pet thing but you can’t. You don’t have to lie to be like us. So come on. Tell the truth now!”
Sara blushed and admittedly said, “Fine! I don’t have a dog but I do have a gecko.” Then, Sara held up a picture of her new gecko. There in the middle of the photo was the cutest baby gecko Ashley and Claire had ever seen. That really surprised Sara. She was so worried that they would find out she had a baby gecko and would make fun of her. Sara really thought that her friends would say that geckos are not for girls but for boys. Ashley and Claire explained to Sara that they would always be good friends even though she didn’t have the same things that Ashley and Claire had. In fact, they told Sara that they think her baby gecko was the coolest thing ever! Sara was so happy and relieved. She couldn’t stop talking about her baby gecko to her friends on the bus. It really made the bus ride to school so enjoyable.
The End
Copyright: 2010
A Rabbit That Got Covered in Chocolate
A Rabbit That Got Covered in Chocolate
(written 9 yrs old)
Once there lived a rabbit family on Maple Hill Drive. They lived in a brown house. There was Mama Rabbit, Rita Rabbit, Papa Rabbit, and Robby Rabbit. Papa Rabbit was a fine artist. He painted all the Easter eggs. One day Rita and Robby were picking food from their garden. A chipmunk knocked Rita’s basket of vegetables to the ground! “Oh no!,” cried Rita. “ I was just trying to help.” Robby was on the other side of the garden and didn’t notice. But it was too late for Rita or Robby to pick anything up. Their mom was calling them for lunch. They ran into the house.
The next morning, Mama Rabbit woke up early. “Poor Rita,” she said. “She dropped all her vegetables when she was just trying to help out. I will make some hot chocolate and carrot cake. Maybe that will make her feel better.” But Rita woke up and smelled the chocolate. She ran out of bed and looked to see what the wonderful smell was. She climbed on a stool and didn’t know that that was the pot that had the hot chocolate inside. She pushed the pot, by mistake,and all the chocolate had spilled! When everyone woke up, they all saw Rita covered in chocolate! “Oh my,”cried Mama Rabbit. “What a great idea,” cried Papa Rabbit. “Why is that such a great idea?,” asked Robby. But Papa Rabbit was in a hurry and didn’t hear Robby’s call just as he started to carve a wooden rabbit. Then he made a mold and Mama Rabbit cooked more chocolate for Rita. When Papa Rabbit was done with the mold, Mama Rabbit put some chocolate in the mold to make their very own chocolate rabbit. Now the rabbit family is very happy – especially Rita because she was the chocolate rabbit! And the rabbit family started to make more chocolate rabbits and then sell them.
The End