Last week, we asked kids to write some sort of story about this drawing I did:
It’s always interesting to see which threads of an idea show up in all the stories, and where the stories are totally different. We pretty consistently got bunnies playing an instrument, but the whys and hows were never the same.
“Bunny Plays in a Band” by Tyler
There’s a bunny going to the band. When he’s at the band, the band goes on until midnight. The bunny is really tired when he’s singing so he lets another bunny play the trumpet for him. That’s the bunny in the picture. The end.
Boy, being in a band sounds like a real drag. I like the idea that the story is actually about a totally different bunny, who isn’t even there. It’s funny how a story can develop like that.
“Bunny’s Flute, Too” by Spencer
Once there was a bunny. The bunny had an instrument and he let lots of people borrow it. And then the bunny played it. He played the flute the most beautiful, so he kept it forever and ever.
I like that this story also includes a lot of characters who aren’t there. And that there’s sharing involved. Sharing is always a good thing, even if you end up keeping whatever you’re sharing forever and ever.
“Flute Toot” by Joe
The song this bunny is playing?
Hey Diddle DiddleWhy?
Because in the song, there is an animal who plays instrument too.
The cat is this bunny’s friend.Does it sound good or bad?
Good. This bunny really likes the song. It doesn’t sound bad even though the note is a little shaky.Who is in the audience?
His friends: the cow, the cat, the dog, the spoon, and the dish who ran away with the spoon.
Again, I like that this is not the story of a solitary bunny. This bunny has friends. And I like how Joe lets the bunny know that even though his note is a little shaky, he’s still got it. That is a friendly narrator.
Joe was even inspired to draw another portrait of this bunny, based on my drawing.
Pretty awesome. I think Joe is an excellent artist. It makes me happy to see his bunny! Maybe his bunny and my bunny can meet someday, and play “Hey Diddle Diddle” in the band with Spencer and Tyler’s bunnies.
“Bunny Party Flu Song” by Alden
A rabbit playing music at a music party, and she has the best song. And she plays the flu. And she makes beautiful music. And there are other people at the party and they’re her friends, Martha, Kay, and Musius. They’re also rabbits. But she has more friends. Russie, Arin, Poory, Sissy, Midlah, Killa, Sillilla, Mora. She still has more friends. Silla, McKenzie, Rulla, McKunzah, Mare, Sih, Ken, Aura, Shora, Scuhscuh. I can’t think of anymore names. And her friends have the same instruments as she does. They play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Lullaby and the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row Row Row Your Boat. All of those songs. At the end of the party they go home and have hot chocolate.
The End.
I had no idea that Alden was aware of the multiplying effect of rabbits, but there you go. The things she learns in school these days. And now we’re really talking on the band front! Get all these bunnies together and you can see why Tyler’s band of bunnies doesn’t get done playing till midnight!
Finally, we’ll end with Kato’s story, which, I’m afraid to say is a bit of a downer (or isn’t it? I can’t tell – it really is an emotional roller coaster ride…).
“A bunny. He’s playing a tuba.” by Kato
He’s playing loud. He’s just playing to be loud. Bunnies make quiet but that’s a long bunny. The bunny was playing a tuba and he was loud and he was quiet and he was too loud and he was too quiet and he died and then he didn’t die and he was alive. That was the story.
bbbbbbbunpnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnee
(Kato actually wanted to type “bunny” at the end of his story, so that last bit is what he typed.)
While Alden has been learning about bunnies making babies at school, Kato has apparently been learning all about opposites. Though it’s sad that the bunny died, I’m glad the story ended on a positive note, with the bunny being alive again. Perhaps he should have called his story “Schizophrenic Zombie Bunnies.” Though, that’s a good enough title I might just have use it myself.
Thanks for sharing your stories, everyone! If you’d like to read some stories we got from a couple grown-ups, head on over to the Idiots’Books blog and check them out.
And, of course, don’t forget to bid on the original flute toot drawing over here on eBay.
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