How the Puppy Got its Bark by Julia
Long ago there was a puppy that did not have a bark. There were dogs that were chasing a puppy. The puppy called the Spirit and asked ‘’Can I have something to get the dogs to stop chasing me?’’
The spirit gave the puppy a water bottle. The puppy asked’’ what is this for?’’
The spirit said’’ it’s for if the dogs chase you, you spray them.’’
The dog chased the puppy again. The spray bottle didn’t work. The puppy called the spirit. The puppy said, “The bottle didn’t work.”
The spirit gave the puppy a book. The spirit said, “If the dog comes near you you hit it.”
The next day the dogs pursued the puppy again. The puppy hit dog with the book but all that did was make the dog madder. the puppy called the spirit. “It did not work.”
The spirit gave him a desk. “The desk is you get chased again you drop it on them.” The dog attacked the puppy. The puppy threw the desk at the dog. But he missed. The puppy called the spirit.
The puppy called the spirit. “It does did not work.”
The spirit gave him a bark.
The dog chased him again the puppy barked. It scared the dogs away. That is how the puppy got its bark.
Julia, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)Why Iguanas Change Color, by Sam
Long long ago, there was an iguana that was bright purple with bright blue polka dots .One he was looking for food and he found Fly and Mosquito and he tried to catch them but they flew into a forest. He tried to catch them but they saw him and flew away. He went to the animal spirits. He asked the animal spirits if he could change color but they said no.
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Okay fine.”
“Yea.”
“But you have to do something.”
“What do I have to do?”
“You have to blend in.”
So he did. The animal spirits saw him and he was trying so hard then they just let him blend in.
Sam, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)How Turtle Got His Shell, by Jordan
Long ago there was turtle that had no shell, he was unhappy. He said to himself “ I don’t like that I don’t have something on my back because when it is sunny out I get a sunburn. When it is snowing out I get a cold. ” But then he met people.
The people and the turtle were doing a jigsaw puzzle. Turtle didn’t know that it was a picture of ripped up ball. When they finished the puzzle turtle took a walk and saw mud.
He said, “Mud might give me a shell.’’ So he patted it on his back and he started to walk. It slid right off.
Then he tried a rock but he said’’ Too heavy’’.
But then he tried sticks but they gave him scratches so he said’’ No way’’.
Then he walked back and saw the jigsaw puzzle.
And he said’’ Hey can you guys help me glue the jigsaw puzzle to my back’’? And they said’’ Yes’’ and Turtle had a shell.
Jordan, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)Why Pandas are Black and White by Rebecca R.
Long ago in a little town in China the pandas were all black till the day the panda got lost. Panda did not know where to go so he just kept moving forward. Two days later there was a blizzard . Panda was trapped.
Then he found a hole It belonged to a polar bear, Panda went inside.
Panda asked if he could spend the night.
Polar bear said ‘’yes .’’
Panda came out a few days later and when he did he was half white!
So Panda decided to go to the Snow Spirit.It took a long time to get there because the Snow Spirit lived on top of a mountain.Finally Panda found his way. Panda said he wanted to be all black again but the Snow Spirit said no. Then panda realized that other animals made fun of him, so this might be a good thing. When panda got back everybody liked his color and so did he. That’s why pandas are black and white.
Rebecca R., pourquoi folktales | Comments (3)Why Grasshopper Hops By Joseph
Long time ago there was a Snake that teased animals that he was good at everything when he was not. Then Grassrunner came. Grassrunner was the fastest runner. He said he will Snake. And then snake said he will race Grassrunner.
Their race track was at the edge of the forest to the end of the forest.They were going to run. But Grassrunner knew a shortcut. When the race started Grassrunner took the shortcut and Snake took the right way.Soon Grassrunner won and beat Snake.
“Good job Grassrunner”! said Bear.
“You’re so fast”! said Deer.
Animals were admiring Grassrunner.
Snake was very angry. But Snake didn’t know how Grassrunner won. So he put fire on Grassrunner’s feet because he was angry that Grassrunner won.The burn hurt so much he started to hop.
Snake kept bothering animals and being now mean to them because he was still mad at Grassrunner. Now on to this day Grasrunner’s name changed to Grasshopper because he hops. He hops because the burn still hurts.
Joseph, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)Why Bunnies Have Short Tails By Caroline-
Long Ago, bunnies used to have long tails. Bunny was very happy with his long tail. He could do so much with it. There was also a very selfish Coyote “I can do anything!” said Coyote.” And I want to race Bunny!” he said. So, he went to him and said” I challenge you to a race!”
“Sure” said Bunny.
So the race began. “I will beat you!” said Coyote in a position. The race ended and Bunny won!
“This is an outrage!” said Coyote. “You Won’t run anymore when I eat you!” he shouted when he chased him.
Bunny thought he lost him but then he jumped out from behind a rock and… “Ouch!” Bunny cried. Coyote bit some of his tail but then escaped to his burrow.
“Grandma!” cried Bunny “My tail its, its gone!”
“What did you…Bunny, what happened to your tail!?!” said Grandma.
“Coyote bit it off!” said Bunny.
“Wait” said Grandma. “There is still a little part!” She cried for joy.
“Really?” said Bunny. “Yea! cried Bunny. And that is why bunnies have short tails.
Caroline, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)How Tadpoles Turned Into Frogs
Long, long ago, There was a tadpole living in a pond. Tadpole had a bad cold and went to his friend for advice. And him friend said, “Try swimming really fast.”
So he did. But it didn’t work!! So he swam all the way to his other friend, Tim the tadpole. Tim said, “Try swimming in circles.”
But that made him feel even worse. Then Tim had a good plan .It was “to go up to the spirits and tell them about your cold.”
Tadpole said, “Why don’t you go I’m too much of a chicken.”
“Oh” said, Tim. “Well I’m afraid I’ll break my fins. And anyway, I’m not the one with the cold you are.”
Tadpole said, “but..but…Fine.”
When he got up to the underwater spirit he asked to get rid of his cold. And that’s what the underwater spirit did. But also…..he made all the other tadpoles turn into frogs.
How the Sky Turned Blue by Hollyann
Long, long ago when the earth was young the sky was just plain white. All the people in the village were upset that the sky because they wanted it like the sun - colorful. Because everyone liked the sun better than the sky.
So all the people in the village decided to vote on a color for the sky to turn .They picked blue.
The sky said, “ The only way I will turn blue is if you say I am better than sun.”
The people said, “but we love the sun so much.”
Finally the people agreed and they said, “ The sky is better than the sun.”
All the people were so happy that the sky was blue. So they cheered and danced for the sky .Now when somebody says they like the sun better than the sky the sky rains and rains. When somebody says they like the sky better than the sun it becomes a beautiful day.
HollyAnn, pourquoi folktales | Comments (3)Why Coyotes Howl at Night by Thomas
Long long ago there was a coyote that lived in the forest with his friends Lion and Cheetah. Coyote was a great singer and every one loved to here him sing. He was very full of himself.
Then one day he was having a feast on a cow .Then out of nowhere he got a bone stuck in his throat and couldn’t get it out. First Tox pulled, then Rabbit pulled Foxes head and Fox said, “Hey get off my head!”
“No. I am trying to help a friend here.”
“But then coyote said, “Let me try to sing”.
So coyote tried to sing. He was horrible. And from now on that is why coyotes howl at night.
TJ, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)How Elephants Got So Big by Krishi
Long long ago, in a forest there was a elephant and a tiger . The elephants were small and tiny. The tigers were mean to the elephant. They were teased by the tiger and the elephant cried.
The tiger said, “ You elephant are small and tiny.”
The elephant said,“No we’re not. Maybe we will be bigger one day.”
One elephant had a big appetite. So he ate a lot. He was as big as a giraffe. All of the elephants did it, and they got so big. The tiger did not tease the elephants anymore. That is how elephant got so big.
Krishi, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)How We Got the Sun by Tarek
Long ago, before we had the sun, men, women, and animals were always mean and cranky since they had no light. Parents always yelled at their kids.
“Get some fire wood so we can make light!” said First Man.
“Go away!” said Second Man to snake.
They couldn’t hunt for food since they couldn’t see the animals. They knew that if they were nice and not mean they would be rewarded, but they were too mad to try. Soon they tried to be nice to each other. Every time they were nice to each other the sun would get bigger. Every time they were mean, the sun would get smaller.
Soon the sun was big enough to light up the whole village. Then parents never yelled at their children again.
“Can you get some fire wood?” said First Man.
“Ok” said his son.
Now people were never mad,cranky and never yelled. And that’s how people got the sun.
Tarek, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)Why fish live under water by Ryan
Long long ago, in the forest, fish were tired of getting teased by bigger animals like bears and tigers. All day fish would get pushed around and made fun of. The fish were getting angry. So they started to hide from the bigger animals but they knew they couldn’t hide there their whole lives.
One day the animals in the forest noticed that the fish were gone and they wondered where they went. So they went looking for the fish. A couple hours later a tiger found a fish and started chasing him.
“Please do not eat me” yelled Fish “I am just a young fish”.
“Why wouldn’t I eat you you’re the tastiest fish in the forest!” Tiger yelled back.
“No I’m not, if you eat me you will die! I’m the saltiest fish ever!” screamed Fish.
“I don’t care I will still eat you even if I die”. Said Tiger.
The fish was trapped in a corner and when the fish was walking backwards he fell into a pond. He got mad for a second but then he said “Hey this isn’t so bad it’s wonderful”. He said, “All of the fish of the forest come join me. Come out of hiding”.
So all the fish came out of hiding and joined him.They couldn’t believe that they could breathe underwater. One of them said “now we don’t have to worry about tiger’s and bigger animals”. They were so happy.
Now all the fish in the forest lived underwater and don’t have to suffer from getting eaten from bigger and mean animals. Not one fish got eaten ever again by the animals. The fish were so happy and joyful from the water, because it just felt cool and relaxed with out the big animals.
Ryan, pourquoi folktales | Comment (1)Why Monkeys Love Bananas by Sonali
Long ago, in the rainforest there were lots of animals and most of them were monkeys. These monkeys were very weak and slow. They were very tired of being weak.
One day all the monkeys got together to think of a plan of to get stronger. This is what they were thinking,
Monkey number 1 said,” We should eat bark to make us strong.’’
”No” said monkey number 2.
Monkey number 3 said, “We should swing on vines.”
”Ok.” said monkey number 1.
”But we should lift heavy animals.” chimed monkey number 8.
The next day they swung on vines to work out their muscles, but they ended up hurting themselves. They had to stay in bed for three days.
When the monkeys were able to walk they got together again to think of a plan. They were thinking and thinking, until one monkey named Swiss Cheese said to go to wise owl named Wizard. He was monkey number 8.
When monkey got to Wizard, the monkey started explaining how they are tired of being weak. When the monkey was finished telling his story to the owl, Wzard just sighed.
Then the monkey asked Wizard “Can you help up?”
Wizard said “Yes”
Wizard gave monkey 900 seeds to grow and he said to monkey, “Tell your monkey friends to eat the fruit that grows on these trees.
When Swiss cheese returned, the monkeys were really mad because monkey only brought seeds. After when monkey explained what owl had said about the fruit and after all the monkeys were calm. They planted the seeds. 1 month later, the trees had fruit which was ready to eat. When each monkey tasted the fruit, the monkeys were extremely happy. When they ate the fruit more often they got stronger and healthier. They named the fruit bananas. That’s why whenever you feed bananas to a monkey they will eat it up before you know it. That’s why monkeys love bananas.
Sonali, pourquoi folktales | Comments (2)Why the moon has a face By: Paul
A long time ago there was a wise old owl who lived among the people of a nice, small village. He is the one who enlightens and gives advice to the people. But, there was a problem. A MONSTER! He lived in a cave deep in the woods, where no one will ever go.
The monster always stomps into the village to take/steal the food and goods he can get. If he wasn’t satisfied, someone is taken as a sacrifice and gets gobbled up whole and dies.
The monster drools blood. His ribs show and his bones click and clack as he walks. He has black teeth. BIG black teeth. He is a real monster. The villagers couldn’t take it any more. There was a famine!
They got owl. Something had to be done. Owl flew to the end of the woods were no one dares step foot. The monster’s secret cave! He went in and saw something big and ugly. The MONSTER!!! They fought and kicked and punched.
“You have to share!” said Owl.
“Fly away bird!” shouted Monster.
That’s when Owl got a plan. He picked up Monster and flew into the air and with all his might he threw Monster to the moon. All the villagers thanked him.
A couple years later Owl died. Everyone rememberd Owls bravery. And some say, that on a dark night like the one Owl and Monster fought, you can see Monster’s face glaring down at you from the moon.
THE END
Paul, pourquoi folktales | Comments (2)Why Owls sleep in the day by Jay
Long ago, every animal slept in the night but only one, owls. It all happened when Owl’s kids always asked him for food every morning.
“Father, can you get us food?” The three owls asked.
“Okay but only a bit.” Owl said.
“The three owls said, thank you!” Owl always had to race with other animals for food.
“Out of the way I have a family to feed!” Owl said.
“Think about others too!” Another owl said.
“Don’t forget about me!” Owl said.
Owl was so tired that he slept through the whole morning and woke up in the evening. Then he was hungry. He searched everywhere and saw a ton of mice. Hmm Owl said, Maybe I can stay awake for the rest of the night and sleep in the day. So that what Owl did. And now that’s why owls sleep in the day.
Jay, pourquoi folktales | Comments (2)Why Elephants are so big by Christina
Long ago in Africa a small elephant was walking through the woods. The elephant was small as a dog. Then the small elephant saw a group of animals. He wanted to know what the group of animals were saying. He was very curious. When he joined the group everyone started looking at him. Then suddenly they started laughing at him. Then the elephant started running away in an unhappy way.
Then he went to the people for help to get medicine and he knew they had medicine. He sneaked in at night, and stole the medicine before any of the people noticed. He started drinking the medicine everyday. He got bigger and bigger and even bigger. Then the big elephant wanted to stop.
Then the elephant went to the group of animals and said “I am big and no one could tease me again.”
The group of animals said “What are you going to do about it?”
Then the elephant said “I will squish you if you don’t run away.” Everyone started running away. The elephant started going happily down the woods. Now no one could tease him again. And that’s how elephants got so big.
Christina, pourquoi folktales | Comments (2)How birds got their wings by Hannah
A long time ago in the forest there was a bird in a hollow tree looking up at the sky saying to himself, “I wish I could go in the sky. Later on, other animals would say,” come down Bird we want to play with you. He would not answer. He would just look up at the sky. All Bird wanted was wings to fly in the sky.
One day Bird came down to find food and he ran into his friends Owl, Squirrel and Bunny. They asked Bird to play but he just said, “no thank you.”
They said, “We are taking you to the spirit of the forest”, so then they walked together.
They came to the forest spirit and bird said “Spirit king may I have some wings?’’
Spirit king said “Yes but first you must help your friends with what they need.”
Bird agreed to this.
Bird walked away and went to owl.
Bird said, “Hi Owl is there anything you need?”
Owl said ,“Yes I need to find a quiet place.”
Bird said, “I will take you to a quiet place where there are a bunch of trees.”
Owl was so happy and thanked Bird.
Then Bird went to Bunny and asked “if she wanted anything.” Bunny said, “I would like to take a walk around town. Bird did that and then Bird gathered a bunch of acorns and Squirrel was happy.
Then Bird went to the forest spirit and told him everything Bird did and the Bird felt his side start puffing and he had wings. Bird flew off into the sky and everybody clapped. This is how birds got their wings.
Hannah, pourquoi folktales | Comments (4)How Rabbits Got Their White Color By Mary
Long long ago, there was a pink rabbit in the forest all happy. He was happy because he likes the way he is. But one thing about him he doesn’t like is that he’s pink and can’t blend in with other things. But he still likes how he is.
Then it’s winter. Winter is Rabbit’s favorite season. So it snows and Rabbit is playing in the snow. Then he starts sinking in the snow. Then he starts sinking more. Then he disappears in the snow.
Rabbit came out of the snow two days later all white and freezing. He thought that the white things on him was snow so he tried to shake it off but he couldn’t. Then he thought he should go to the Evil Snow Spirit. So he did.
When Rabbit was walking to the Evil Snow Spirit he was sooo mad. Finally he got to the Evil Snow Spirit.
Then Rabbit says “Can you change me back to pink?”
“No. You have to stay white.” The Evil Snow Spirit says.
“Ok. I guess I probably could stay white. And I can hide in the snow so that’s good.” Rabbit says.
Then Rabbit just stays white all happy and lives like that to this day.
Mary, pourquoi folktales | Comments (2)How Zebras Got Their Stripes, by Dilan
Long ago, Zebra was walking along when he realized that he did not like the color he was. He thought white was to plain and blank. The color he really wanted to be was black. Black was so dark and exiting. So Zebra thought of a way to turn black. Then he thought of it! Maybe he could find the fire all the other animals in the jungle were always talking about. Maybe it had magical powers, and would turn him black. So Zebra set out to find fire.
Zebra was walking along when he slipped on mud and hit his head on a tree. A lot of acorns fell from the tree, and Squirrel jumped down from one of the branches.
“Be more careful,” Squirrel yelled “Those took me all day to collect!”
“Sorry,” replied Zebra “I’ll be more careful.”
Zebra started to walk again. After walking for a few more miles, Zebra saw a branch with fire on it.
“I found it!” Zebra thought.
Zebra picked up the branch and wondered if the fire would do something to make him black. While he was pacing around trying to figure out how the fire would turn him black, he tripped over a tree root and dropped the firestick. The flames touched him as they fell and he was set on fire.
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh” yelled Zebra.
He ran around trying to put out the fire. Then he saw a sparkling lake. He ran towards it and jumped in. When he got out he saw that the fire had burned him giving him black stripes. Zebra thought he looked better with black and white than he would with only black, so he went home satisfied. That is how Zebras got their stripes.
Dilan, pourquoi folktales | Comments (5)Why Volcanoes Explode, by Kevin
Long ago, a lava spirit named Lava Spirit moved into a volcano. He really liked the place until he met the Mean Spirits.
The Mean Spirits were bold, nasty and cruel. The Mean Spirits walked over to Lava Sprit and started making fun of him.
“I heard you are new to this place,” said one of the Spirits.
Lava Spirit just kept on walking.
“Why don’t you just leave?” said another.
Lava Sprit Didn’t say any thing and kept on walking.
“GO HOME!’’ Screamed another.
This made Lava Sprit really angry so angry that he exploded. Lava went flying out of the volcano. There was damage everywhere and rocks damaged the valleys. Smoke was everywhere. It was terrible and dreadful.
And that is why volcanoes explode.
Kevin, pourquoi folktales | Comments (3)Why Ostriches Have Big Eggs, by Rebecca M.
A long time ago in the jungle there lived an Ostrich with really tiny eggs. She liked it that way because she could protect them very easily.
The next day Ostriches friend Toucan came to her and said, “My eggs got a lot smaller over night, I have no idea what happened!” The day after Owl said that his eggs got smaller too. Ostrich said to herself, “I need to do something about this.”
When night came again Ostrich decided to stay awake to see what was happening to her friend’s eggs. All of a sudden there was a flash of light and then, Zap Bing Boom! A magic evil spirit came down and said “Shrinky Dinky Doo!” And Robbins eggs shrunk!
The next day Ostrich gathered her friends and told them what she had seen. Ostrich said, “Guys guess what was shrinking your eggs!”
“What , What ?” yelped Toucan.
“I saw a flash of light come down and it said Shrinky, Dinky, Doo and Robin’s eggs shrunk!” said Ostrich. “Are you sure your not lying?” said Owl.
“Yes I’m sure I pinky swear!” said Ostrich.
“Ok so what are you going to do about it?” said Toucan.
“I don’t know yet.” Said Ostrich.
When night fell again Ostrich fell asleep and started SLEEP WALKING!!!! That’s when the magic evil spirit did his thing, but this time he said “Jumbo Grow Big.”
The next day when Ostrich awoke she saw her eggs ,they were enormous! Ostrich was really upset but there was nothing she could do about it. She thought to herself,” I’m not going to pout, I’m going to accept a change in my life.” And to this day Ostriches have good attitudes even though their eggs are really big.
The End
Rebecca M., pourquoi folktales | Comments (5)The Missing; Book One; FOUND By: Margaret Peter Haddix
In the book, there are 3 main characters. There names are Katharine, Chip, and Jonah. This book is about a kid Jonah knowing that he is adopted. His sister and his friend try to help him. They try to find a list . Trying to find the list is important, because it tells you something that is very importent in the book. It is exciting, because they almost get caught while they are trying to get something. They succeed in finding the list . This book is a great book. I think you should read this book.
I loved this book because there are a lot of twists and turns in the book. I think you will love it too, because you will love all of the characters. You will have goose bumps while you are reading it. I hope you will like the book as much as I did.
Book Reviews | Comment (0)Skinny Bones by Barbara Park
The book I read is called Skinny Bones. The book is about two boys named Alex and T.J. Stoner. T.J. Stoner is a kid who likes baseball and who brags to everyone saying he is the best, although he is good at baseball. Alex is a kid that is a little leaguer who gets mad when T.J. brags. So when Alex gets mad he tells lies saying he’s the better at pitching then T.J., but he’s lying.
I loved the book because it got me interested when Alex made up a lie saying he was better then T.J. in pitching. But Alex was lying to get T.J. mad. So Alex didn’t know that T.J. knew how to pitch, so T.J. said ok lets have a pitching competition. But since Alex lied, and he didn’t know how to pitch, he tried to lie out of the competition, but he couldn’t. That’s what got me interested because Alex said he was going to practice and I didn’t know if Alex was going to win!
Book Reviews | Comment (0)Mallory on Board
This book is about a girl named Mallory. She does not want her best friends’ dad to get married because they will move. But she has to let him. And they get married on a cruise. Mallory is now mad. But she loves being on the cruise. And she has a lot on her mind.
I loved this book because a lot of adventures happen on the cruise. And it’s kind of a mystery because you don’t find out if they get married until the end of the story. I just loved that book!!
Book Reviews | Comment (0)Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about a kid named Greg who has one friend. Greg thinks he’s cool. But he isn’t at all. He has a brother named Roderick that’s his older brother. And Greg is a D student in school. He failed gym. At his house he got a three wheeler and Rowley, his friend, went down a hill with it and Greg threw a ball at him. And he broke his friend’s arm. In school Greg’s friend got a lot of girls so Greg broke his OWN arm.
The thing I loved was that he was so funny. I also love that he’s an idiot. I also think it’s funny, and it’s the number1 New York’s Times best seller.
Book Reviews | Comment (0)