Last week we asked kids to write a story to go with Robbi’s painting of a sailboat. Here it is.
As usual, they wrote wonderful, amazing stories (what I wouldn’t give to spend five minutes in the mind of a child).
Here’s one from Wesley.
The Sailboat
“There was a storm coming and the person in the boat was someone who had to go to another island to help people and he almost didn’t survive but then he made it to the island and helped a couple people. He was helping people by giving them money because they didn’t have any money at all. And then another storm came and his boat went into a tornado which took him back to his island and then he went back to his house. The End.”
I love Wesley’s story. I love the unnamed peril that almost takes the protagonist’s life before he makes it to the island. I love that said protagonist believes in the redistribution of wealth. And I love that, at the end of this saga of peril, drama, and redemption, our hero is able to return home (aided by a tornado, of course).
As for Spencer, here is his story.
First Boy Across Four Seas
“There’s a person inside the boat but you can’t see him. He’s crossing the four seas. Now he’s on the Pacific. It’s really hot since it’s next to the equator. The person’s name is Spencer. There’s no destination. He just wants to cross the seas. The sea gulls are there because there’s food on the boat. There’s an octopus, but no land.”
Spencer sets a beguiling scene: an unseen protagonist, an undetermined motive, an unknown destination, and several intriguing details: the temperature, the gulls, the octopus. I feel I’ve just read the first chapter of a novel that will keep me reading for hours, if not days.
I should expect nothing less from a published author.
Here’s a story from Tyler.
The Sailboat
“There’s a person inside the boat and his name is Tyler. He’s going across the ocean. It’s really sunny out. There started to be a storm. There’s eagles flying in the sky wanting to eat the food on the boat.”
Tyler’s minimalist narrative provides just enough structure while leaving the reader ample space to inhabit the world of the picture unrestricted.
And then there’s Alden, who was clearly feeling it when we asked her to tell us the story of this painting.
Really Old Mermaid Skeletons
“It’s a crew and the crew is a pirate boat. The pirate boat has a captain on it and a whole bunch of crew and the captain’s named Captain Pythagoras. This is a picture of a crew. Satchi and Sorla and Mahra and Sahra and Sula and Morla and Mishla and Barla and Julia and Margosh and Shoosha. And they find pirates underwater. Old old skeleton pirates for their real real special treasures. And the ship is their home. And the treasures are in the treasure chest. The gold ones go in the gold treasure chest. The silver ones go in the silver treasure chest. The pink sparkly ones go in the pink sparkly treasure chest. So they live on the ship and they also collect really old mermaid skeletons for their collections. And they collect seashells and they collect rainbows. Wooden rainbows, that are the right pattern. One last thing. The sun. They collect red and yellow suns and pink suns. And one day they painted the ship all golden, and some pink, and all the colors in the world. They were pirates and they really like the crew and the captain because they would feed the babies and the babies were named Pan and Stan and Man. There were three pirate babies and they were named Pan and Stan and Man. And there were three girl pirate babies named Julie and Diamond Rose Petal and Rosetta. And another one named Rosie. Their names are alike. The end.”
Robbi and I are sometimes asked whether we think our kids will be writers or artists. Our stock answer is that we hope they become accountants. But after reading Alden’s missive, I wonder if she might have a story or two up her sleeve. There are so many phrases I admire, many for their utter surprise. “This is a picture of a crew.” No it isn’t! But what a wonderful thing to say about a painting with no people pictured.”Wooden rainbows.” Who ever thought about a rainbow (nothing more ephemeral) being made out of wood. I love it! And, of course “They collect really old mermaid skeletons for their collections.” Perhaps one of my favorite sentences of all time.
Here’s what Kato came up with:
How Do Rainbows Disappear?
“Once upon a time, there was a boat sailing and sailing and it was going to pirate island. A rainbow was in the sky and then it disappeared! How do rainbows disappear? And then a whale came in the sea and it scared the boat. Pshhhhh! Like that. Pshhhh! It was just like that. Pshhh pshhhh psshhhh!! It wants to go to pirate island because there’s pirate gold in there.”
I’ve always wondered how whales go about scaring boats. Now I know. My question is whether I could scare a boat by saying “Pshhh!” or if one has to be a whale for this to work. Perhaps I’ll try the next time I see a boat in need of scaring.
And, finally, here’s a story from Joe:
Travel the World
“One day, it was so very very warm that a group of people needed some breeze.
They decided to go on a boat.
They went sailing and fishing until it’s about dinner time.
Then, they had fish for supper on the deck.
It attracted quite a few seagulls.
The boat traveled further and further and the sun set…
Eventually, the people decided to keep on going.
They decided to go see the world…
To see the end of the ocean.”
Using words, Joe paints a picture of a wonderful day. I almost feel as if I’m there on the deck of that boat, eating fish in the setting sun. And what a beautiful phrase, “To see the end of the ocean.”
As usual, Joe sent a drawing to go with his story. And another story to go with his drawing.
“Big blue sea, bright sunny day with puffy clouds.
A small green island in the distance on the left, and four people on board.
The sunshine is in the air.
And the anchor’s just being dropped into the deep blue.”
I love the bright yellow sky (usually people draw the sky as blue, but somehow this yellow sky does a better job of showing the gorgeous sunshine). I love the big swells of the waves, almost like rolling hills. I love the sharp arc of Joe’s boat and the height of the flagpole and the size of the anchor. I love the thick black lines that define the yellow clouds. This is a beautiful drawing, Joe.
I meant what I said at the beginning. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to grow up. Now that I’m grown up (it took a long, long time), all I want is to go back to that place of wooden rainbows and mermaid skeletons, of bright yellow skies and enormous anchors plunging into deep blue seas.
Thanks to all you kids for helping me get back there, if only for a moment.
Per tradition, we have just put Robbi’s painting up for auction on Ebay – you can bid on it here. But what I’d really like to do is bid on Joe’s.
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