I make believe

I think of things I know and see. I also think of things as they might
be. Suppose I write a poem about an animal, halfelephant and
half-giraffe. Shall I call it an elephaffe? How would it look? What
would it do?

I look at things. Then, in my mind, I take them apart and put them
together in new and wonderful ways. Sometimes I write poems or paint
pictures to show how things might be. I make believe.

The Snapterouse

There’s a snapterouse Destroying my house, And it’s eating my garden,
too. Eating things pink, green, and blue, Every color in the world,
Eating things straight and curled. This is ridiculous.

He’s pulled off the drapes And eaten the grapes And is chewing on
bedcovers, too. He has an extraordinary menu. My house is bare.

He hasn’t left a chair;

I can’t sit down anywhere.

There’s not a table

That’s left very stable.

The foundation he’s come to, And there’s nothing I can do. My house is a
mess.

You don’t need the address;

You can see the destruction for miles.

I must stop this poem, For I’ll have to be goin’. ‘Cause the
snapterouse, After eating my house, Is just about to eat me!

Clare Bronowski, Age 9, California

The star talked to the moon and they laughed and laughed. And they
kissed.

Terrie Leong, Age 7, California