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Young writers in action: The Dragon of Wellok

THE DRAGON OF WELLOK

by Jacqueline, 10, VIC

A dragon with wings of burning fire like a stormy shadow, when it flaps its wings of steamy smoke. It has eyes of darkness where you can hear whispers and voices when you look at him. The body of terror as scaly as a lizard. When you seek him in the forest, careful, you might bump into him. With his powerful sense of hearing, even the quietest step you will be heard. Smelling the blood that dribbles on the ground, he can hunt you down as similar as a hound. People stay inside and are hidden when he comes to your village. Everything changed when you came along to the woods and went into his dark nightmarish cave, as he waits to burn and cook the meal … which is you! You didn’t know that you were wounded and cried with shivers up your spine. He comes and gives you a nice fire to warm you up and licks your wound like a dog. You have no idea who he is and what he is doing but, you curl in a bundle and sleep on his large belly. When you do, his heart changes and became a father of light to you, never knowing he is the Dragon of Wellok. By this time, you never think this dreadful beast is only trying to find a child to take care of.

What I have written is what the village people think of him. The fire wings were true but only to keep him warm in winter.

So that’s the tale of the Dragon of Wellok.

This is Jacqueline’s second piece of descriptive writing posted to Alphabet Soup — you can read ‘The Forest’, in an earlier post.

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Top ten reasons to attend a book launch

If you’ve never been to a book launch, add it to your ‘To Do’ list now!

In no particular order, here are our top ten reasons to go along to a book launch:

  1. MEETING THE TALENT. Meet the author and illustrator.
  2. NEW BOOKS. Buy your own copy AND READ IT while it’s hot off the press.
  3. BOOK SIGNINGS — get the book signed by the author or illustrator (or both!).
  4. INSTANT FAME! While the author or illustrator is signing your book is the perfect time to take a photo. Get in the photo too. Famous!
  5. THE DOOR PRIZE. Not every book launch offers a door prize, but some do! You could win stuff just by turning up.
  6. TALENT SPOTTING. Keep your eyes open for other authors and illustrators in the crowd. While you’re waiting to have your book signed you might even chat to one standing in the queue in front of you. More photos!
  7. IMPRESS YOUR TEACHER. You can impress everyone by talking about the book launch during ‘News’ in class the next day. (The new book makes a good prop, especially if you had it signed. And of course, everyone will admire photos of you with VIP authors and illustrators.)
  8. HANDY TIPS. The book creators will usually talk about where their ideas came from. That could be handy for your own writing or illustrating. (Plus you’ll learn what to put in a Book Launch Speech for when you are launching your own book someday.)
  9. MORE NEW BOOKS. Buy another copy. And another one. Ask the author or illustrator to sign it  “To [your friend’s name]”. Birthday presents sorted!
  10. BOOK LAUNCH CAKE. Quite often there’s cake. Who doesn’t like cake?

Keen to go to your first book launch? Good news! There are book launches happening all over the country. Check out the BOOKISH EVENTS tab on our blog for news of upcoming book launches near you.

 

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Top Reads (February 2015)

The year is galloping by, and here we are at the end of February already. The good news is that there are still ten months of 2015 to go, and you can get a lot of reading done in ten months!

In today’s post, our Top Reads Team — who are all Australian kids, no grownups allowed! — share the best books they read this month.

Get thee to a library! (Or a bookshop, or check with your friends to see what’s on their shelves at home …)

 

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The Top Reads team recommends good books every month. They’ll be back at the end of March with more booky goodness.

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Young Writers in Action: Grassy Land

GRASSY LAND

by Michelle, 8, India

Oh one day,
I went to,
A land so grassy,
It was named as grassy land.

It was a beautiful and natural place,
Indeed Mum, it is wonderful,
Oh, I think I stamped on something,
And it was a message.

Please do not cut trees,
Then I walked and walked,
I stamped on something,
And it was an another message.

Grow green plants,
And I understood that while I walked,
I will get more messages,
After reading 12 messages,
I understood we must save Nature.

While I went back home,
I thought what did it all mean,
So many years passed,
And I began to grow,
And as I grew up to be a business man,
I kept the messages in mind,
And I had a change in my heart,
I could live happily ever after.

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Young writers in action: The Forest

Today Jacqueline shares her writing with us — a creative piece, describing in detail what a forest looks like to a vision-impaired person. 

THE FOREST
by Jacqueline, 10, VIC

The green trees are brightly coloured and show the path that never ends. Scrubs in the soil are waiting to get bigger to protect the insects from the rain. Moss grows on the trees and spreads till they are all covered. The path is brown, soft and smooth like a bed. We’ll never know where it ends if a log stops the way. A stump well-cut by the hunters is dead, but it will grow just the same. Clovers are spreading and one of them might be the lucky one. Animals are hiding among the forest trees not knowing when to come out. Leaves are impatient for autumn to arrive, so they can fall on the ground. The bark is crumbling off the trees and twigs are snapping whilst you step on it.

Seeds are in the soil waiting until the water wakes them and start to grow up. The flowers are blooming to make colours shine in your eyes. Birds in the trees watching you as you go by. They sing a pretty song to make you smile. Bushes are growing fruit and berries that are juicy and ripe. Little trees are weak, but will grow like the others and live forever.

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Young writers in action: There are aliens in my backyard!

THERE ARE ALIENS IN MY BACKYARD!
by Shristuti Srirapu, 8, India
 

…..It was a stormy night. Ralph was doing his homework. He was writing an essay on UFOs.

…..“Ralph! Go to bed. It is already 10:30. You can finish your essay tomorrow” screamed his mum.

…..Ralph changed into his pjs, brushed his teeth and climbed into his comfy bed. Ralph was just drifting off to sleep when an unfamiliar buzzing noise rang through his ears. Ralph looked outside the window. He could not believe his eyes. He was seeing a UFO along with an UWP (Unidentified Wierd People a.k.a aliens). He pinched himself. “Ouch,” he thought.

…..The aliens were purple with four legs, one eye and no ears and a small antenna.

…..“What are they doing?” Ralph thought. He squinted. They were playing in his play structure. Finally they left. Ralph fell back into his sleep.

…..“Ugh, morning already?” Suddenly he remembered about the aliens.

…..“MUM, Mum, Mum, Mum, Mum!” he called running down the stairs. “Last night I saw the aliens,” he said.

…..“Honey, I think you are imagining things. Maybe you got stressed about your essay and started imagining about aliens,” said his mum.

…..“I was not imagining things. They were purple with one eye and four legs and a little antenna and they were playing in our play structure and, and, and, and … ” His voice trailed off.

…..“Hmmmmmmmm,” sighed Ralph’s mum. “Anyway, eat your breakfast or you are going to be late for school,” his mother told him.

…..At school all Ralph could think was aliens, aliens, aliens.

 

…..That night the same thing happened. The aliens got out of their spaceship, played in his playstructure and left.

…..“Tuesday, that means PHYSICAL EDUCATION,” thought Ralph waking up. The ALIENS!!! They had come last night.

…..“MUM, Mum, Mum, Mum!” Ralph called running down. “The aliens came again, the aliens came again!”

…..“Honey I better take you to a doctor. You finished that yesterday,” said his mum.

…..“I DONT NEED TO GO TO A DOCTOR!” shouted Ralph.

…..“Anyway, eat up” said his mum.

…..That night Ralph heard a buzz but something heavy dropped on the ground. He looked outside the window. He only saw some paper. No aliens, no spaceship. Ralph slipped into his slippers and tiptoed downstairs and out of the door. There stood some paper and something else.

…..“I will see what the paper says and then I will look at the gadget,” thought Ralph.

…..He picked up the paper and read.

…..Dear, we do not know your name. We found a bigger play structure and would like to play in that. We would not be coming back. Anyway we left you a present.

…..Ralph picked up the gadget. It was a small spaceship. He liked it.

…..“I finally have proof but I do not want anyone looking for them. They will be hunting and searching for them. I won’t show anybody,” he thought.

 

…..The next day he got up.

…..“G’morning, Mum,” he said.

…..“Ralph you did not see any aliens?” asked his mum.

…..“Nope,” Ralph replied.

…..“Get ready, your bus will almost be there,” said his mum.

 

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TOP READS team 2015 (no adults allowed!)

Sometimes — when you can’t decide what to read next — a friend can recommend just the sort of book you’ve been looking for. Our TOP READS TEAM is a group of keen readers who stop by each month to recommend a favourite read for the month, and they’re all kids like you! Today we are very excited to be introducing the 2015 team.

INTRODUCING:

Matilda, 9, WA
Matilda has been writing book reviews for Alphabet Soup since 2011. When she’s not reading, she likes hula-hooping, drawing portraits and writing poems. Her favourite books at the moment are the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling.

Jake, 7, VIC
Jake likes reading adventure stories, and playing or watching video games.

Celine, 12, WA
Celine has been a regular reviewer for Alphabet Soup’s magazine and blog since she was 6. Her favourite pastimes include writing stories, poetry and book reviews, but she will always make time for playing the violin and jogging with her dog.

Tess, 9, WA
Tess’s favourite things to do are reading and gymnastics. She is currently enjoying learning to sail. Her favourite book series are Harry Potter and Little House on the Prairie.

Céití, 5, WA
Céití loves playing with her new puppy. She also enjoys writing all sorts of words and reading all sorts of stories. Her favourite book is Charlotte’s Web.

Joseph, 11, WA
Joseph has been reviewing books for Alphabet Soup since 2011. When he’s not reading, he likes writing, and playing cricket and when he grows up he wants to be an author or a cricket player. He likes books that hook you into the story straight away.

Veronica, 12, NSW

Veronica loves all things nature, coin collecting, gaming, singing, and music that takes us on journeys. She likes reading a whole range of writing, especially fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction and poetry.

Lewis, 6, WA

Lewis loves trains, soccer, swimming and building with Lego.

Xavier, 6, NT

When he’s not reading, Xavier enjoys being outdoors, swimming and running. He loves telling himself stories and when he grows up, Xavier wants to be an adventurer.

Look out for their first book recommendations for 2015 later today!