'My Sand Palace'

My Sand Palace

Sydney, 9

Oak Creek Elementary

Irvine

By a sea of sapphires that shimmers in the sunlight, I sculpt castles in the golden sand, imagining it's a giant palace I can stroll through with bathtubs made of giant shells and sofas of soft sand.

In my bathtub, mermaids splash, laughing, as they push waves of soap bubbles onto the sand floor.

And nobody yells.

I splash into my bathtub to join them, my fish-tailed friends.

And at supper, we all feast on chocolate.

--

Spring

Sandy, 11

Home-schooled

Crestline

Spring is yellow like the dandelions and yellow-green like the new willow leaves.

It sounds like the stellar jays squawking.

It tastes like spicy hot mustard flowers. It smells like flowers in the house.

Spring makes me feel like a free, happy butterfly.

--

My Garden

Katie, 10

Salem Lutheran School

Orange

Outside my window, my violets yawn and stretch their leaves. I hear them telling each other the news of spring.

They laugh, and the air is filled with the scent of sweetness, and a cloud of golden pollen tickles my nose as I stroll into the sunlight of my garden.

--

The Snake

Sophia, 6

Multnomah Elementary

Los Angeles

One sunny day, my dad was fixing my grandma's toilet. I was in the car and I overheard my mom on her cellphone. I heard my mom say, "Do you have a snake?"

I imagined a dark green and light green snake coming out of my grandma's toilet.

I asked my brother, "Did dad find a snake in grandma's toilet?"

"No," he said. "He just used a tool called a snake."

I didn't believe him. But my mom said that it was a tool.

So next time I will know it is a tool called a snake.