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I have found the key to the treasure . . . Continue reading “The key to the treasure”

The Renaissance Learning report from the Washington Post gives the results below. I am sadly out of touch with today’s youth and have read very few of these popular. Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Hardy Boys, Black Stallion, My Friend Flicka — those musty old books I read.

YES — I read it.
NO — I haven’t read it.
MAYBE — I don’t remember.

First grade

1. Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss YES
2. The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss NO
3. Are You My Mother? P.D. Eastman MAYBE
4. Hop on Pop, Dr. Seuss YES
5. Biscuit, Alyssa Capucilli NO

Second grade

1. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff YES
2. Green Eggs and Ham YES
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle NO
4. If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Numeroff NO
5. If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Numeroff NO

Third grade

1. Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White YES
2. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Judi Barrett NO
3. Officer Buckle and Gloria, Peggy Rathmann NO
4. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Jon Scieszka NO
5. Dogzilla, Dav Pilkey NO, but it sounds like a fun book.

Fourth grade

1. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume NO, not even one of her books, although I’ve heard great things about them.
2. Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan NO
3. Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo NO
4. Charlotte’s Web
5. Stone Fox, John Gardiner NO

Fifth grade

1. Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson NO
2. Hatchet, Gary Paulsen NO
3. Holes, Louis Sachar NO
4. The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth Speare NO
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling YES

Sixth grade

1. Hatchet
2. Bridge to Terabithia
3. Holes
4. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry NO
5. The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket NO

Seventh grade

1. The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton YES
2. Holes
3. The Giver, Lowry NO
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling MAYBE

Eighth grade

1. The Outsiders
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. The Giver
4. Holes
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling NO

Ninth-12th grade

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee YES
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck NO
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
5. *A Child Called ‘It,’ * Dave Pelzer NO

This report of my death was an exaggeration.

The Herald Standard - News - Obituaries
Sandra K. Williams, 57, of Mount Holly Springs, passed away Sunday, April 27, 2008, at . . .

But then, I’m not 57 and I don’t live in Mount Holly Springs, either.

This passage is from the very first draft of the very first chapter I wrote. Both chapter and excerpt have since been rewritten several times. I don’t have the patience now to list all the things wrong with this version. Maybe later. Copyright 2001 by me. (Because, you know, someone might steal my words.)

She waited forever.

She waited, holding her breath, closing her eyes, and melting against the tree trunk, while the first man searched the bank near her hiding place. She could hear his rough muttering and smell his sweat. When she was sure he was gone she finally took a shallow breath, frozen in position and not daring to move.

She was still waiting, eyes closed, when the man and woman approached. “. . . donkey turd,” the woman said with disgust. “Probably walked right by the kid.” They searched more carefully than the first man; Jazlin could hear underbrush snapping and the whish of lifted branches. In front of the tree shielding Jazlin they paused, and Jazlin sensed the darkness of their presence. She felt her heartbeat slow to match the rhythm of her protecting tree. A long flat sharp blade sluggishly pierced the overhanging branches, wiping the trunk and nicking Jazlin’s arm. “Nothing there,” the man said, his voice now dragging. Jazlin heard the strangers poke lazily through other trees as they ambled away.

She continued to wait long after the strangers had left and the squirrels and doves returned. She sat, back to tree, and silently thanked the Kenirnal just like Daddy had taught her, thanked the Kenirnal first for life, then for hope, and finally for love. She named all ten Kenflati, in order, and thanked them for their protection. And she begged them to send Daddy back to her. At intervals she slept. One time she woke, ashamed that she’d soiled her pants like a toddler.

She waited, huddled against the tree, through two nights. Her stomach ached from its constant grumblings, and her parched mouth was teased by the rippling of the stream just out of her reach. Stay here, Daddy had commanded. Daddy’s never coming back, she thought. Hot tears scalded her face and splashed onto her tunic. Daddy’s gone. She sobbed and wailed her despair, crying for Daddy and home and food and water.

When her tears had subsided to bone-shaking sniffles, she crawled stiffly from the sheltering branches.

April 18, 2008

This morning the cans were butted up to the curb, honest.