Harvest 2011 - Northwest AEA

i
2011
Harvest is published yearly by the Educational Services
Division of Northwest Area Education Agency, 1520
Morningside Avenue, Sioux City, Iowa 51106-1716.
VOLUME XXXIII–Spring 2011
Editor: Dr. Judy Sweetman
Typing/Layout: Gloria Kistner, Jill Wright
Proofing: Gloria Kistner
Printing: Northwest AEA Media Center
Cover Art
Northwest AEA Board of Directors
Keith Zylstra – District 1
Adella Hulstein – District 2
Roger Brinkert – District 3
Larry Petersen – District 4
Creston Schubert – District 5
Tom Bruegger – District 6
Patricia Sutherland – District 7
Glenda Den Herder – District 8
Dr. Robert Rice – District 9
Chief Administrator
Dr. Tim Grieves
Princess Pirate Ship
Karla Rodriquez
Grade 4
St. Rose of Lima
Denison
Educational Services Executive Director
Pam Barry
Northwest Area Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race,
creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status or as otherwise prohibited by law in
its educational programs, services and employment practices. Questions or grievances related to this policy may be addressed to: Sally Hudek, Equity Coordinator,
1520 Morningside Ave., Sioux City, IA 51106-1716, 712/222-6114.
ii
2011
A Spring Gathering of Northwest Area Student Work
Stephen T. Colbert
Scout Villegas
Grade 11
South O’Brien High
Paullina
Generally, student work is published as submitted.
iii
FOREWARD
The Educational Services Division of Northwest AEA is proud to present to you
this 33rd edition of Harvest. Harvest is a compilation of our K-12 students’ writing
and artwork. Writing and art capture the culture and climate of the time period.
In addition, we have an inkling of what was important to our students during this
time period.
This year, Harvest is adapting to the digital age. Besides being published in the
traditional book form, Harvest is available on DVD and is also up on our Northwest
AEA home page.
We try to alternate between high school, middle school, and elementary school
when choosing artwork for the cover. This year we chose artwork from an
elementary student. A special thank you goes to Karla Rodriquez from St. Rose of
Lima in Denison for submitting her artwork for the cover.
Thank you to all of the teachers and parents who encouraged our students to keep
writing and to continue creating artwork. Your guidance and encouragement are
critical in their lives.
It is always a delight for me to read all of the entries and to view all of the artwork.
Thank you, students, for your diligence and pursuit of excellence in your writing
and artwork. It is very rewarding to see the quality of your work, and to see how
articulate and talented you are.
We hope you thoroughly enjoy this 2010-11 edition of Harvest—regardless of how
you will be reading it!
Dr. Judy E. Sweetman, Harvest Editor
Educational Services Division
Northwest Area Education Agency
iv
It’s Cancer
It’s the tears.
It’s the sweat.
It’s the hurt.
It’s the pain.
It’s the loss.
It’s the cost.
Foal
Abby Steen
Grade 5
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
It’s a life God will gain.
It’s a disease.
It’s uncured.
It’s a bomb of its own.
It’s in a man with one wish,
He just wants to go home.
Rachel Julian
Grade 12
South O’Brien High
Paullina
Caring
I care about my uncle. He is in Afghanistan. I
miss him. I love him so much! When he comes
back, I am giving him a big hug. I can’t wait!
Jerzey Endrulat
Grade 1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Holstein
1
Big Red Barn
Ali Schroeder
Grade 3
St. Rose of Lima
Denison
Blind Like an Eagle
I was fifteen years old when I had to go to the big
mountain. The wind had finally called my name through
the trees. It was at last my time. I was the only moose
that had not traveled and I felt lonely. But, then on the
way I met Asha...
I can remember that day, on October 17, I felt the
rush of the spirits in my soul and ran to the phone. The
only phone at the mountain was picked up by a man
who was not too excited to be answering calls from
down-landers.
“Hello, may I speak to Kasunt?” asked I as politely
as possible and received a grunt. There I stood, in the
hallway of the down-land school, impatiently waiting.
“May I help you?” came a voice and I jumped a
foot high.
“I felt it Kasunt! I felt it!” I squeaked and my toes
jumped across the marble floor.
“Are you telling the truth Tahea?” Kasunt said in
a controlled voice but I could hear the smile peaking
through her words. For the first time in fourteen years I
would be able to see her again.
“Yes, Kasunt! I will be with you soon,” my plans
raced in my mind like a deer.
“See you soon daughter,” a click ended our call.
I hung up the phone and ran down the hall. Five
others were sitting in the office today. It was a new
law that we had to go to school until we were at least
thirteen years of age, which is usually when the winds
whisper to us. I guess I was a late bloomer. The others
got up and soon I was alone.
2
Then, a man in a brown suit stepped out of the
frame and indicated me to come. I hurried through the
doorway and into the office.
“Tahea!” snapped the old chief’s voice.
“Yes, sir,” I said proudly.
“You are going out into the world today. I want you
to realize something,” he stared into my eyes for a
moment, “The reason you have been kept in this school
is because the spirits want to challenge you. They
throw children into nature to live...or suffer. Those who
make it are honored as heroes. You will be tested.
Don’t even think about coming back.”
With that I was tossed a backpack and shoved into
the unknown through a tall door. I was terrified and I
looked around cautiously and started tearing through
the trees. Eventually, I fell to the ground.
There was a rustling sound beneath a tree and I
jumped to attention. “Hello?” I said cautiously. I could
sense that I wasn’t alone. I lay as still as I could, trying
to listen for signs of life.
I heard it again and smashed myself down farther.
When an outline appeared I held my breath in
anticipation.
“Who’s there?” a voice whispered. “Look, I know
you’re there, so just tell me who you are.”
“Um, my name is Tahea, I’m trying to find the
mountain,” my voice chattered.
The shadow chuckled, “Aren’t they all,” and stepped
out. “Look kid, my name’s Asha. I suppose that you can
say that the mountain doesn’t want me. If I was you I’d
stay away from me,” she turned away.
“Wait can you help me start a fire?” I begged.
“Oh, well that’s the one thing that I am good for,” she
said and grabbed my backpack. After looking over what
I had, she grabbed some stones.
“Here we go,” she grunted. Sparks lit the air and
soon a fire was before me.
“Wow,” I breathed, then looked at her face. She
might have been sort of pretty if there wasn’t a huge
scar cutting across her eyebrow, down her eye, and
onto her cheek. That ugly marking represented the year
of the eagle.
“Yep. This engraving has kept me from seeing very
much for years. Now that I’m eighteen, everyone must
think that I’m dead.” She huffed.
“Do you think that we can look together?” I asked.
Asha smiled at me and nodded then lay down her head
in the grass.
Asha and I looked everywhere. We hiked up many
hills and waded in creeks with gooey mud.
“Do you think we’ll ever make it?” I asked one day.
Asha glared at me as if that idea was absolutely
absurd and barked “Yes, we will. No matter what, we
will make it together.”
One day, Asha taught me how to fish, but I couldn’t
keep hold of the stick and fell into the water. Asha
laughed at me and soon we were having a water fight.
Then Asha looked up and pointed at something in the
distance. It was the tip of the mountain. We looked at
each other in awe. Then Asha started off in a sprint and
I laughingly followed.
“Hold on!” I called but my voice was washed out by
her footsteps. She was finally going to be where she’d
dreamed of being her whole life.
When we finally reached the base, there was a man
there looking strangely at Asha. “You are blind like an
eagle, and you made it? How is that possible?” He
croaked and looked down at me, “And you are the last
of the moose! There must be a celebration in honor of
your arrival...Just answer me, how did you make it here
with an eye like that?”
Asha took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I
believe that I was the only eagle that was willing to soar
in a group. I finally decided that I needed help.”
The old man bowed to us and said, “Congratulations,
you both have done well. Come up the mountain with
me and we will tell everyone of your arrival.”
As I followed him up the mountain I knew that she
was right. Sometimes it takes help to make a warrior,
Olivia DeKok
Grade 9
Sheldon High
Sheldon
Deer in Forest
Brett Walker
Grade 9
Washington High
Cherokee
3
My New Home
“Miss Ackley are you sure this family will like me?” I
asked.
“I’m sure they will Melissa.” she replied.
I was an aid child because my mom died when I
was one. My dad was said to be killed in a car accident
when I was three. No one knows what happened
to him. I have been rejected by four families before
because I was too troublesome.
“We’re here!” said Miss Ackley in a sunny voice.
I looked out the window and blinked. I couldn’t
believe my eyes. In front of me was a huge, brown
house. There was a whole herd of horses in the
pasture. Three dogs ran up to me as I got out of the
car and looked around. To my left was a big, wide-open
prairie. Ahead of me it was more of a forest. To my
right was a grove and then lots of fields. Usually I hate
meeting new families, but somehow I knew this family
was going to be different.
“Hi, you must be Melissa.” A man stepped out of the
house. He introduced himself as Dustin but said I could
call him Dad if I wanted to. I did not. My dad is still
alive. I just know he is.
Dustin invited Miss Ackley and me in. The house
smelled of cinnamon. “Just hang your coat on one of
those hooks. Linda is probably in the dining room. It’s
right around the corner. I’ve got to go finish chores.”
said Dustin. I slipped off my shoes before I took off my
purple and green jacket and hung it on a hook beside
somebody’s pink coat. I walked into the dining room
and sat down.
“Hi Melissa!” A young, dark haired lady walked
in. Her name was Linda. She said she would really
appreciate it if I called her Mom. I might. She went over
the rules with me. Here are some of the rules:
I get one hour of screen time each day.
My chores must be done before I go to school.
Lights out at 9:30 on school nights.
No arguing or talking back.
Homework before friends.
with the door there were a LOT of horse pictures. On
the wall to my right was my name in big, green, wooden
letters. There were some green, blue, and orange
polka-dot pocket things. They were like circle stickers
with pockets in them. Most of them had cards in them,
but some of them had things like stickers, candy,
perfume, a list of chores, and a note that said this:
Welcome home Melissa. This is a certificate for one
free pet of your choice. It will be your responsibility.
I must not have shown my excitement because
Linda asked with a concerned face, “Do you like it
Melissa?”
“No.” I said with a big grin, “I love it! Thank you
Mom.” Had I really called her Mom?
“Your welcome, honey.” she said.
“Chelsey, Mel, time to get up!” shouted my new older
brother, Chad. Chad was tall and had short dark hair.
He sleeps most of the day. I had told my new family
they could call me Mel, but I had really liked it when
Linda and Dustin called me Melissa. I groaned and
asked Chelsey what time it was.
“It’s only 7:00 Mel.”
“It’s not that early.” replied Chelsey.
“It is too early.” I protested.
“Just get ready.” said Chelsey annoyed.
I put on my favorite jeans and my purple, butterfly
shirt and made my bed. I bounced down the stairs
when I smelled Linda’s French Toast. I sat down at the
table just as Dustin came in. “Done with outside chores
already little lady?”
“No.” I said ducking my head. I ran up the stairs and
grabbed my list of outside chores. Once I was outside I
read the list:
Feed stable horses
Choose bottle-calf for fair
Collect eggs
Water rabbits
Outside chores must be done before breakfast
I found Chelsey baby-talking to a horse in the
stables. I asked her what to feed the horses.
“One slice of hay and a cup of grain each.” she
replied. I did what she told me to.
“Chelsey, what calves can I choose from?” I shouted
before she left the barn.
“Come here. I’ll show you.” She was clearly more
interested in the bottle-calves than horses. She led me
Then Linda showed me my room! I had to share it
with Linda’s daughter, Chelsey, but it was awesome!
I almost screamed when I saw it. It was my favorite
color, pink. It had random green, blue, and orange
splotches on the wall in front of me. The wall to my left I
guess was Chelsey’s wall. It had her name in big, blue,
wooden letters and some other posters. On the wall
4
to a barn and showed me four calves to choose from. I
chose the littlest one. It was brown with a white face.
I found Chad in the chicken coop. He must have saw
my hesitation because he said, “Just pull this lever and
the eggs drop down into here.” he said pointing. “Grab
them and put them in your basket.” he finished. I did
as he said. There was a small barn near the chicken
coops. I guessed the rabbits were in there. I was right.
When I entered the barn I found about ten rabbits.
They each had a little water bottle in their cage. I knew
how to take care of rabbits because one of the families
I lived with had them. I opened a little door on top of
each cage to take the water bottle out. I refilled them in
the sink and added a little bit of vitamins to each one.
Once all of the water bottles were in the cages again I
looked at all of the rabbits. The cutest one looked like a
brown and white Oreo.
Once I was inside I sat down at the table again.
Chelsey and Chad still weren’t done with chores so I
decided to go find Linda. She was in my baby brother
Benney’s room.
“Now are you done with chores Mel?” she asked. “Yeah.” I said, “Can I hold Benney?” I asked.
“Sure.” said Linda handing him to me. Benney was
almost two and the cutest toddler in the world. He was
kind of big for his age and had long curly hair. I brought
him down to the kitchen for breakfast. Chelsey was
done with chores and was just starting to eat. I put
Benney in his booster seat.
“Hurry you’re going to be late!” said Chad between
mouthfuls. Linda gave me two pieces of French Toast. “Pass the syrup please.” I said. Chelsey handed it to
me. I smothered them in syrup and ate them as fast as
I could.
After breakfast I quickly washed my face and
brushed my teeth. I brushed my hair with my mother’s
hairbrush. It was the only thing I still had of hers. I
stuffed my new pink backpack with the new school
supplies that Linda bought me. Chelsey walked into our
bedroom and grabbed a sweatshirt and her bag.
“What time does the bus come Chelsey?” I asked.
“7:45, about five minutes.” she answered.
I nodded and went down stairs to get my jacket. “Hey, Mel. You’re in all the same classes as Chelsey,
all right? You can just play puppy dog and follow her
and her friends around.” said Dustin in one big breath. “Now you better go catch the bus.” he finished. Chelsey came down and asked “Are you ready
Mel?”
“Chelsey come here.” said Linda. Linda talked softly
but I could still hear her tell Chelsey to take care of me.
“I’ll race you to the bus!” said Chelsey. We ran to
the bus and got on. I sat in the front by a window. We
stopped and a girl named Hannah got on and sat by
me. I waved and said hi, then stared out the window
again. In school I followed Chelsey around. All the
teachers liked me. I even made a few friends at school.
I ate lunch by Chelsey and a couple of her friends. The
afternoon went by as quickly as the morning did. We
had study hall and then we went home. School was
short and sweet as it could be.
At home I did my inside chores and then I played
Legos with Benney. He wanted to build a tower and
then knock it over with his trucks. Mom (I’m starting
to call Linda, Mom) called us downstairs for supper.
We had Mac’n’cheese. For dessert we had something
called “Charlie Brown Pie.” The bottom was smashed
graham crackers, on top was chocolate pudding and
whipped cream. It was so good!
I went upstairs, sat on my bed, and did my
homework. Pretty soon Dad came in. “So Mel, what pet
do you want?” asked Dad. I thought about it for a little
bit.
“Well, I’ve always wanted a kitten.” I answered. “Then a kitten it will be!” said Dad.
Jacee De Vries
Grade 5
Inwood Christian
Inwood
5
The Farmer’s Farm
Kaitlyn Goth
Grade 3
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
Where I’m From
I am from the cornfields that blow in the breeze,
where the farmers pick the corn with ease.
I am from the vast, rolling plains with crops all over.
From the schools with the kids that play Red Rover.
I am from the definition of education
where every corner is filled with motivation.
Yeah that’s where I’m from; Iowa rules.
Now, why does everybody else think we are just farming
fools?
Jordan Laddusaw
Grade 7
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
Home of Betty Eaton
Wesley Peters
Grade 6
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Sanborn
6
A Different Tomorrow
There’s a different side to every person
Like there’s a chorus to every song.
You try to hold all your emotions in
But you can only hold them in for so long.
Every time the alcohol touches her lips,
Her attitude starts to change.
She is no longer the same person;
She’s my walking shame.
How could I grasp to love someone?
When I have to see...
That she’s drinking her life away
Right in front of me.
I don’t ask for sympathy
I don’t ask for sorrow,
But I will admit I bow down and pray
For a different tomorrow.
Lies start to form about changing what she does
But when tomorrow comes I don’t expect much.
I didn’t believe in addiction until I had to see
A fully changed woman staring back at me.
Sometimes I feel happy because I got back my friend,
Until a week later she is fighting her demon again.
Is there a cure for a drug so legal and pure?
Is there help for someone facing life itself
I can’t just give up and walk away,
If something bad happened to her
And I wasn’t there it was myself to blame.
You can’t pick your life
But you were put there for a reason –
To find your purpose to why you are breathing.
Mine was to write and a chance to save my mother’s life.
I’m not looking at the same woman anymore;
I’m looking at a woman that has been reborn.
I feel no more sadness, hurt, or torn
But to shed a tear in the woman she has formed.
I didn’t ask for sympathy or sorrow
I wrote this for people still looking and waiting
On their different tomorrow!
Typical Classoom
Jessie Feltman
Grade 8
South O’Brien Jr. High
Paullina
Chelsey Kranz
Grade 10
Sioux City East High
Sioux City
7
Matthew’s Story
It was a cold day in March. I woke up to my alarm
ringing and remembered today was the day. I made
my way down the stairs, taking my time. Stepping off
the stairs I looked up and saw what I was trying to
avoid. I closed my eyes and sat down slowly next to
Matthew, my brother. He was wearing his army uniform.
Looking at each other we both teared up. With tears
running down our faces he smiled, trying to show me
that everything would be okay. He wrapped me in his
bear hug and whispered in my ear telling me he would
be back before I knew it. I cried in his arms, everything
was going through my head. Good and bad. Chills ran
down my spine when he let go and told me we needed
to head to base. I knew it could be the last time I saw
him. With a smile he picked up his bags, put his arms
around me, and we joined our family outside to load
into the car.
It was a rainy day. The car ride was painfully silent;
everyone knew we were about to experience the worst
thing we might ever have to face.
Matthew, noticing the silence, broke the ice with,
“Hey, why does everyone look like their sending
someone to war?”
We all giggled and everything got easier, but inside,
the closer we got the more my heart dropped. I wanted
to just turn around and go home. I wanted to go fourwheeling with Matthew and forget about everything that
was about to happen.
My other brother, Zachary, was staring out the
window blankly, not wanting to face any of it. Matthew
nudged me, giving me a smirk, trying to get a smile out
of me. I knew I had to be strong for him but I felt sick.
My heart was beating so hard. I was holding back tears
and trying to find a smile somewhere just for him.
Pulling up to the base, there were families
everywhere saying goodbye to their soldiers, giving
them that one last hug. When we stopped, it was even
more quiet. I could feel myself starting to cry. My eyes
stung with tears, my palms were sweating, and my
heart was pounding. I hated this feeling. I wanted to
close my eyes and make everything stop, and go back
to six months ago when we were all happy. When we
all thought we would never go through this.
Matthew leaned over, laying his head on my
shoulder, breathing heavily. I could tell he wasn’t ready
to leave; could tell that he wasn’t ready to face this.
He reached over and lightly laid his hand on Zachary’s
shoulder, trying to get him to talk about it. Zachary
slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot and
tears were flowing out. We all started to cry then. I was
scared to look up front and see my parents. I couldn’t
handle watching them hurt like this.
I jumped a little as Matthew told me he needed to
talk to me outside. We slowly climbed out of the jeep.
He opened the tailgate and pulled out a medium-sized
present. He looked at me with his dark brown eyes,
tears still falling. I opened it slowly, pulling out a babyblue fleece blanket. I smiled and looked at him in some
confusion.
He smiled back and said, “sleep with it every night.
I have the same one. We’ll always have a part of each
other with us.”
I laughed and wrapped my arms around him. I could
feel his heart beating against me. He let go of me and
just stood there looking at me. His eyes were so gentle
and loving. I knew everything was going to be okay,
but the hurt in my chest wasn’t going away. I knew I
still had to let him go, and that was something I never
wanted to do.
As we climbed back in the car everyone’s faces
turned to smiles as they saw what I was holding. That
blanket meant everything to me. Even if he didn’t come
back I would always have that one thing that we both
had between us. We had only an hour left to spend with
him and it felt like only a few minutes. We talked about
school, sports, life, just everything like we would laying
on the couch at home.
My head was pounding; it felt like someone had hit
me with a hammer. The clock suddenly changed to
nine o’clock. I wanted to turn it back. This was really
happening, he was really leaving. He looked up at me
with a look I will never forget. His eyes were sad. He
had a frown on his face. It was a look I never wanted
to see again. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want to
let him go, didn’t want to have to watch him walk away
from me. I could only stand there as everyone said
their goodbyes. Mom was a mess. She looked like she
hadn’t slept in days. Dad never showed emotion, but
today he couldn’t hold back. The tears came and he
wrapped his arms around Matthew. I couldn’t watch
this. It felt like the world was crashing down around me.
Matthew slowly turned around and stood right in
front of me. I thought maybe if I didn’t hug him he
wouldn’t leave. Maybe if I didn’t say goodbye he could
8
come back home with us. But I knew it wasn’t going to
work. He slowly wrapped his arms around me. He held
me tight and we cried together. He let go, told me he
loved me, lifted his hand, and gently wiped my tears
away.
He lightly kissed my forehead and said, “I’ll always
love you little bear. I’ll be back to see you grow up. I
promise.”
All I could say was, “I love you.”
My stomach was cramping. My face was burning. He
gave everyone one last hug and kiss. He slowly picked
up his bags, turned, and walked away. He looked back
one last time before loading on the bus that would take
him away. I couldn’t help but think it might be the last
time I saw him. Not just my big brother, but my best
friend. My everything. He was strong, though, I had
to believe he would keep his promise and come back
to me.
My American Hero
This is a song I wrote dedicated to my Dad who is
fighting in Afghanistan right now.
When your mother or father are off at the war,
You start to think it’s not worth living no more,
Then you find out they have died,
And you think that you just might,
Run away from home,
But there’s something you should know,
You need to keep on living your life,
But you can only live when you’re alive,
You need to remember that they love you,
And that it was the right thing to do,
They were off fighting for the U.S.A.,
And now it’s time for you to say,
You’re my American Hero!
Tasha Kelm
Grade 11
Charter Oak-Ute High
Charter Oak
Allyson Nicks
Grade 6
Remsen-Union Junior High
Remsen
Native
Lane Lawson
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
9
Foster Care, the Story of How I Adopted Alexis
My family has been doing foster care for five years
now. We have had nine foster children come and go
through our house. It is amazing how much they
change in the little time they are at our house. The
way they are before they enter it and after they leave
it can be completely different. It makes you feel great
to know you are helping a child. Of the nine foster
children we’ve had, we have adopted one. Here is how
it happened.
I hopped off the bus and began to run towards my
mom who was standing next to the garage waiting
for me. I leapt into her arms and gave her a big hug.
“Come inside and meet your new sister,” she told me.
“But stay quiet.” I ran inside and quickly threw my
backpack to the ground. Lying on the living room floor
was Alexis.
As soon as I walked in the room, Alexis began to
cry. I thought she was crying because she didn’t like
me so I too began to cry. My mom assured me that
Alexis wasn’t crying because of me, but because she
was a baby and that’s the way babies communicate.
After all, she was only two days old. Once I was
calmed down, Alexis was placed in my arms. I could
feel the tiny heart beating and the gentle movement
of arms and legs as I sat there holding my new sister
trying to calm her down just like my mom had calmed
me down.
“Mommy, look! Alexis likes me!” I shouted for she
was lying in my arms with what looked like a smile on
her face. I had calmed her down when nobody else
could. That was when I knew Alexis and I would have a
strong bond with each other for the rest of our lives.
We gradually got closer to adopting Alexis. But, she
was no longer the little baby that she once was. After
she learned to sit, she decided she wasn’t going to
crawl. She would just stay sitting, and move around
using her hands to push off like a monkey. Once Alexis
learned to walk, she followed me everywhere. I was
her role model.
Finally, it came time to adopt Alexis. I was so
excited! We walked into the courtroom and the first
things I saw were the beautiful carvings on the walls.
We took our seat and waited for the judge. Once he
came, my mom and dad had to talk to him about why
Alexis should become part of our family. After the
adoption was completed, the judge gave us some
stuffed animals to give to Alexis. Then, it was done.
Alexis was part of our family.
So that’s the story of how we adopted Alexis. It
felt great to know that we were saving a child’s life.
Adoption is a wonderful thing, but sometimes there
are not enough foster homes: there is always room for
more. That is how foster care changed my life. Who
knows? You might have it change yours too.
Rachel Kitrell
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Down at the
Stable
Emily Bunch
Grade 10
Hinton High
Hinton
10
I Couldn’t Think Of A Title
And here I am sitting, staring at a blank screen
Trying to be inspired, but it seems my brain’s been wiped clean
And every idea I conceive seems to fall right apart
and I end up at the beginning, not knowing where to start
Since I have to write this poem about whatever I want
I guess I’m left with one choice; write about writer’s block
I’ve sat here for days, afflicted by this curse
but as time goes on, it seems to only get worse
I want to overcome it
but my creativity seems to plummet
I can’t believe I’ve been reduced to this
originality seems to be what my brain wants to resist
I’m trying and trying to come up with an interesting twist
... forget it, I’ve got nothing
Brady Harding
Grade 12
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Hartley
In a Flash
Flash goes the camera as I
capture a memory I wish wouldn’t
have happened. The skid marks on
the gravel are like snake marks in
the sand. Traveling forward, they halt
at a stop sign torn off at the trunk.
Leaning precariously in the ditch lies
Hailey’s beastly vehicle.
Snapping pictures all the way I
slide down the bank of the ditch. All
the tires are buckled under the body.
Headlights are shattered to pieces.
The window is bulged and cracked
from the impact of my sister’s head.
I pry open the crumbled car door. I
peer into the mangled car, and my
stomach started to turn as bile rises
in my throat. The seats are speckled
with blood. The center console is all
busted and torn to pieces from my
sister bouncing around the front seat.
Images of my mangled sister in the
demolished car pop into my head.
Questions with no answers appear in
my mind. What would I have done if I
had lost my sister?
I marvel at how fast this car turned
into a million puzzle pieces that were
never going to get reassembled but
left my sister in one piece.
Karleigh Clark
Grade 12
Whiting High
Whiting
Grid Drawing
Caroline Ascherl
Grade 8
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Alton
11
The Best Christmas Present Ever
“Look, Mommy! She has a little mouth!” I said. It
was Christmas Day, and we were at St. John’s Hospital
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was the day my sister pulled
out her breathing tube.
My sister, Daleney, was born a preemie. She was
born four months early – on November 25, 2000,
instead of in February 2001. She weighed I pound,
13 ounces. She was 12 inches long. We put a gold
Beanie Baby™ teddy bear next to her. It was bigger
than she was! Because she was born prematurely, her
brain hadn’t had a chance to completely develop. The
part not developed was the motor skills part. She has
spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
My mom and dad couldn’t hold her yet. She had to
stay in an incubator in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit), hooked up to a lot of tubes. One was a
breathing tube. The others were to monitor her body
and make sure everything was working right.
On Christmas, we went back to the hospital, which
was just up the street from where we were staying.
When we asked to go to the NICU to see Daleney, the
nurse chuckled and said, “Oh, Daleney! She was
a very naughty girl last night! She pulled out her
breathing tube. So far, she’s been breathing well on
her own, but don’t be surprised if she has to go back to
using it.”
We went into the NICU. The nurse picked her up
and handed her to my mom. I was standing there with
my brother and my dad. Daleney turned her head and
looked at me. All the times I had seen her, her mouth
and nose were covered by the tubes. Now that she
had pulled the tubes out, I could see her mouth. “Look,
Mommy!” I said. “She has a little mouth!”
On that Christmas, we got to hold Daleney for the
first time, since she could breathe on her own. That’s
the best gift anyone could ask for.
Dakota Teske
Grade 7
Ar-We-Va Middle
Westside
Untitled
Molly White
Grade 11
Cherokee Washington High
Cherokee
12
Midnight Ride
Jamie Hill-Miller
Grade 9
River Valley High
Correctionville
Undying Memories
The snow is gently failing from the chilled sky, but I
am inside a warm heartfelt home with generous and
fun people on New Year’s Eve. As I enjoy myself and
anxiously wait for the ball to drop on Dick Clark’s
Rocking New Years Eve Ball, my grandma is beside
me with her hand alongside mine ready to throw a
gigantic handful of paper confetti.
New Year’s Eve was always an amazing time for me
when I was a child. Every year I couldn’t wait to pack
my bags and venture off to Grandma’s house for the
holiday. Grandma and I, along with my Aunt Susan and
sister Noelle would have our yearly routine of playing
cards (which grandma loves to do), drinking “fake
wine,” and eating an assembly line of goodies that
we created on the living room coffee table – a special
coffee table that always had to have a towel placed
on it before anyone was allowed to use it. I used this
coffee table constantly for various things, such as
dancing and singing to my favorite songs, eating junk
food, strutting the runway, and playing tea party.
Another thing Noelle and I always did at Grandma’s
house was to stay up all night and into the early
morning. No matter the time, day or night, Grandma
would always ask, “Do you want something to eat or
drink?” “I think you should have something!” she would
say. At times, this was an indication that she wanted
13
something herself. This was obvious when she would
then say, “Juanita, would you like some banilly ice
cream?” (banilly is what she calls vanilla ice cream)
Next Grandma would answer herself by saying, “Sure,
I would love some!”
I recall that every night when I stayed at her house
she would “make up the davenport,” so I would have a
nice place to sleep. Grandma would take out a couple
of sheets and a blanket and then create a bed for me
on the “davenport.”
“Deuces and one-eyed jacks are wild!” This is a
phrase you would often hear Grandma call out as we
played poker. She was the first person to teach me not
only how to play cards of all kinds, but to love playing
cards as much as she does. Besides teaching me to
be card savvy, she also taught me to read by playing
the game Hooked on Phonics with me. This was an
extraordinary experience that I’ll never forget. The
game started with us watching a video that took the
players through the steps of pronouncing and writing
the letters of the alphabet, and then continued on
with the next video of learning words, and then finally
the third video of making sentences. After completing
the videos, it was time to set up the board and play
the Fat Cat Game. Grandma Nita taught me many,
many things. Pounding away at “Chopsticks” on the
piano is another example of something she taught me.
Grandma’s house always was and still is my home
away from home – my escape. If I am ever feeling
suffocated by life’s challenges or just need to get away,
her home is where I run to relax.
As I look back on all of the great times Grandma
and I have had together, I begin to feel sorrowful.
Those days are gone, and I can never get them back.
Grandma Nita is aging, and I am as well. Her ability
to get around and function in daily life is decreasing.
Grandma’s short term memory is becoming shorter,
and her Glaucoma disease has taken its toll by
robbing her of her eyesight almost entirely. Whenever
she needs help standing up or finding the way to the
bathroom, I am always at her side to assist her, and
that makes me feel complete as a person and closer
to her.
I will forever remember my Grandma Nita as the
individual who encouraged me to strive and work for
what I want out of life. The many stories she has told
me about her life and all she has gone through, not
only dealing with her disease but also the many other
obstacles that came along throughout her life, will
always be in my memory. Grandma’s funny comments
and the pictures of her from her younger years express
her beauty through lips of scarlet and ivory skin which
are so special to me. Grandma was such a gorgeous
lady in her day. She will for eternity be an important
part of me, not only physically, but emotionally. I can
close my eyes and hear her gentle laugh soaring
through my ears as if she were sitting beside me, and
this then creates a mental picture of her.
As each day moves on, I am afraid I may not have
much time left to spend with my grandma; and the
thought of this saddens me and creates an everlasting
ache in my heart. Memories are the best way to keep
someone alive, and so far I have created lots of those
with her. Forgetting the memories is another fear I
have now. What if someday I can no longer recall
the great times we had together? I will do everything
I can to keep my memory of her alive because they
were some of the best times of my life. Grandma will
be locked away through memories of her in my heart.
Grandma was the reason I was created, and I wish I
could somehow give back to her all that she has given
me throughout my life. She gave me the greatest gift
of all – life. Without her, nothing would have been
possible, and I would not be the person I am today.
Cassie Kruse
Grade 12
South O’Brien High
Paullina
Grid Drawing
Daphne Heimensen
Grade 8
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Alton
14
Flying Fish
Bethany Lensink
Grade 12
Sioux City East High
Sioux City
Adoption
Adoption: “to take into one’s family through legal
means and raise as one’s own.”
In the year of 1978 there were numerous children
adopted through Bethany Christian Services. Kristina
Mae Kramer Galles was one of those children.
Carolyn Kramer, the mother of Jessica, did not have
enough money and was not old enough to support
her child, so Carolyn’s stepmother and father offered
to have Jessica live with them. Carolyn was not
happy with this decision because she did not like the
stepmother and father was an active doctor. The only
alternative for baby Jessica was for her to be put up
for adoption through Bethany Christian Services in the
state of Michigan.
Jessica, at approximately the age of two months,
was adopted by Corinne and Gene Huisman in the
area of Orange City, Iowa. This little girl attended
school at Sioux Center Christian until high school in
Sioux Center, Iowa, and later transferred to MOC-FV
in her sophomore year in high school. Now a young
15
woman, Jessica made certain decisions, leading her
into motherhood at a very early age.
During her middle school years at the age of 13,
before Jessica had any clue that she would be a mom
early on, she contacted Bethany Services to see if she
could find her biological mom. Meanwhile, Carolyn
Kramer contacted Bethany to ask if they could give
Jessica a letter from Carolyn. Bethany reached
Carolyn Kramer, Jessica’s real mom, and Carolyn
reached out to Jessica with letters. Later on phone
calls make their connection more real.
Gene, Jessica’s adopted father, did not approve of
this contact. In fact, Mr. Huisman really never accepted
Jessica as his daughter. Jessica related the fact that
he picked fights, disliked her, and was not supportive
in her discovery of all this information.
On the other hand, Corinne was very open,
thoughtful, understanding, and did not object sharing
information with Jessica. Corinne, a mom herself,
stood up for her adopted daughter, announcing that “it
was ok to find out the things she had a right to know.”
The letters the two women shared were very basic,
they asked each other how they were doing, and then
the questions began. Jessica asked Carolyn why she
was put up for adoption; but she never really received
the answer she wanted. The women continued
contacting each other, never really knowing all
the answers.
Jessica Joanne Huisman Galles, now married
with children of her own, had hard feelings and got in
trouble in the past, because of her situation; she yelled
at Corinne accusing her of only loving her because she
was purchased. She said she “felt like an item, she felt
bought, abandoned, and found it hard to understand
why any mother would do what her mother did.”
Jessica felt that she did not fit in and different. She
said she did not know “what she would turn out like, or
what she was supposed to do.”
She did not know who she would grow up to look
like, that is until, Facebook opened the door to the
visuals Jessica needed. Jessica now cries when she
realized that her hands look just like those of her mom,
Carolyn Kramer, who now lives in Fort Myers, Florida.
This mother of five, my mother, has gone through
extraordinary experiences to become the woman
she is today. One reason I have for this writing is
the fact that I was to submit a paper in my middle
school language class on “The Person Who Made a
Difference in My Life.” All of this came to be as I put on
paper the facts I knew but never wrote them down.
My mom has a passion about the ocean. It began
when my mom’s adopted grandma and grandpa had
a place near South Texas and visited South Padre
Island. She loved being underwater and what the world
was like down there. When they went down there it
was during the winter and Mom always waited for them
to come back. They would bring her gifts like seashells
and conk shells ... this kept her connection of the
ocean alive and well. To this day, my parents HAVE TO
travel to the Caribbean on vacation.
This story is not quite ended. My mom’s book is not
closed; there are many chapters still to be written and
one could be about my mom’s sister. You see, there is
Sarah, living in Fort Myers, Florida with Carolyn. My
mom understands there is yet another pair of hands
that look just like hers. I am thinking, “Things are
messed up, yet things are still pretty cool.”
Cynthia Galles
Grade 8
Le Mars Middle
Le Mars
Weaving With Ribbon
Ana Lara
Grade 1
Schleswig Elementary
Schleswig
The American Spirit
16
Libby Tornell
Grade 7
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament Center
Sioux City
The Purr-fect Birthday Gift
strange and I really did smell fish. I walked into my
room slowly.
“Surprise!” some of my brothers shouted.
There were strips of paper around the door reading
Happy Birthday! My room was cleaned for me and my
bed was made. On my bed there were some presents.
There was a watch, lots of candy, and some glow
sticks. What confused me was that there was cat food,
a litter box, some litter, and a food bowl.
Then I heard a little “Mew, mew!”
I looked around, and to my surprise, I found a tiny
kitten no bigger than my hand. He had grey stripes, a
white spotted belly, white paws, adorable blue eyes,
and a teeny tiny white nose. He was trying to walk
around, but was stumbling a little. He had such soft fur.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” I
shouted excitedly.
“You’re welcome,” replied Dad. “You’ll have to take
care of it, or we’ll have to take it back.”
“Okay,” I answered.
I was so excited. This was the kitten I had been
wanting. It was the only kitten at the animal shelter.
I didn’t actually think I would get it though. At last, I
would finally have my own kitten! I later learned to be
a very responsible pet owner. Who knew such a little
thing could be such a big surprise?!
It was the year 2010, and I was riding home from a
Wednesday night activity. It was a very wet April day,
like it usually was on April nights, and there was the
smell of wet grass in the air.
“Are you almost done with that homework?” Mom
asked.
“No,” I answered.
It was my 11th birthday, though it didn’t seem like
it, with an extra-heavy load of homework. To make it
worse, it was on such a dreary dark day. I was thinking
it wouldn’t be a very good birthday with such little
money, and not very much time. I definitely wasn’t
expecting anything unusual when I got home. During
what seemed like a long, never-ending drive back
home I kept thinking that.
Then my dad questioned, “Why don’t you stay out
here for a little while and do some of your homework?”
“S-sure” I stuttered, confused.
So, I stayed out in the car, trying to do my math
homework, but it was hard. I was trying to figure out
what was going on, but I was almost sure it was
something for my birthday.
Finally, my dad called out, “Alright, you can come in
now!”
I walked up the steps to my house and walked into
the doorway.
Then my whole family yelled “Happy Birthday!”
almost in unison.
This is what I was half expecting. I was not
expecting what was coming next. My parents led me
into my room. I thought I smelled something fishy. And
what I meant by that was I thought something was
Misha Sawyer
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Grid Drawing
Selah Lawrensen
Grade 8
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Alton
17
Christmas Eve
My family and I sit in our warm, cozy living room.
The beautiful tree stands in the corner, free from gloom.
Its multi-colored lights, varieties of ornaments, and the glowing, gold star
Will keep our whole family dreaming no matter where we are.
Contentedness.
We sip our hot cocoa in our Winnie the Pooh themed glasses,
And watch our favorite holiday flicks in masses.
The fireplace crackles, the snowflakes fall outside, and the winds howl to their own beats,
As we sit inside and smother ourselves in mountains of sheets.
Tranquility.
It’s that special time on Christmas Eve to gather at the church.
The sight so calming; the celebration of Christ’s birth.
The service continues as we sing the soft, peaceful hymns for the celebration.
The whole church is in a trance, known purely as captivation.
Silence.
The service nears its end as we form a circle ’round the hall,
Holding our own candles, we wait patiently for all.
The flame borrowed from the Christ candle, is passed to me, and I, in turn pass it on.
The service ends as Silent Night fades; the ring of light is gone.
Peace
The last thing left, of course, is the dreaded eight hour slumber
That every boy and girl will tell you is a bummer.
I curl up in my sheets, finding sleep comes much, much easier as you get older,
Knowing Santa’s on his way as this winter’s night grows colder.
Christmas Eve.
Danielle Kock
Grade 11
Ar-We-Va High
Westside
Untitled
18
Kelton Freemont
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
Bill the 4440
Skylar Goslar
Grade 8
Anthon-Oto/Maple Valley Middle
Anthon
Climbing Camelback
When we were more than halfway there, my mom
and I went back because it was too dangerous for me
at that time I was only 8 or 9 years old. We met my
grandparents at the bottom where they were waiting
for us. We waited for a long time, and I was getting a
little cranky.
“Are you excited?” my mom asked me as we got off
the plane. I could not believe that I was about to go to
Phoenix, Arizona to climb Camelback Mountain!
When we got out of the airport, we met my
grandparents, and they drove us to the mountain.
When we got there, policemen were standing around
helping a lady who didn’t bring water while she
climbed.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
Later, my parents found out that the lady fainted
because she was too hot, and she didn’t bring water.
After that, we started up the mountain with plenty of
water. The bad part was that I was hot and sweaty
within one minute of climbing!
As we got up higher, it got scarier because the only
thing that was there to keep us from failing was one
tiny railing. Halfway there we stopped at a hole in the
rock to take a picture. (We take a picture in the exact
same spot every time we go there. We have one from
when we were really little, so it’s fun to compare them.)
Right as I said, “I am so hot!” my dad and my
brother came down. They made it all the way to the
top! They told us all about it in the car ride to my
grandparents. They said that they met a guy who told
them where to go.
I still regret not going all the way to the top. Oh well,
I guess there is always next time!
Alexis Lapke
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
19
The Dragon and the Duck
This is a story about my childhood. My name is
Draco Duckley and I am nine years old. In my village,
we have a lot of people. Some are young, some are
old and some are really old. We live on an island that
is very far away from everything else. We don’t have
markets or stores where we can get our food, so we
have to grow and raise our own food. We grow corn
and raise sheep and chickens.
Now since I am only nine years old, I have never
saw any other animals besides sheep and chickens.
On one day when it was bright and sunny, I wandered
out to explore further beyond the village. I walked for
about an hour before I came across two mounds that
looked like chicken nests back in the village. When I
looked inside both nests there was an egg in each one.
In one nest, the egg was small and freckled and in the
other the egg was huge and had red and black stripes
on it. I gathered both eggs and took them back to the
village. I held them up to the chicken eggs and neither
one of them were the same at all. I took the eggs home
to keep them warm like a chicken.
A long time passed, then one day the eggs started
moving. Pretty soon the small egg hatched, but inside
was nothing I had ever seen before. The animal had a
bill and webbed feet, it looked really cool. This animal I
called a duck.
A couple weeks had went by and the other egg
started to move and crack, it hatched and this animal
was even more strange. This animal had sharp claws,
spikes on its back, and long wings. I had never seen
one of these things either, so I thought for a moment
and since my name is Draco, I called him a dragon.
Now that I had my own two animals to take care
of, I had to figure out how to keep them alive. As I told
you earlier my dragon had a long tail, wings, big teeth,
and a lot of spikes. My duck had a bill, webbed feet,
and very pretty feathers. I named my duck Quackers,
because of the noises it made. I named my dragon
Spike for all the spikes he had. I had to figure out
what kind of food my two new pets would eat. First,
I tried grass but neither would eat it. The next day I
tried leaves and nope they wouldn’t eat that either.
On day three, I brought some corn from our fields and
Quackers went crazy for it but Spike wouldn’t touch
it. This went on for several weeks. I tried to get him to
eat dirt, sticks, bananas, grapes, hay and even rocks.
Spike wouldn’t touch any of it. I started to worry that if I
didn’t figure out what he eats soon that he would die.
Finally six weeks after the egg hatched, l came to
check on Spike and Quackers and saw that Quackers
had a bite taken out of him. Now I knew that Spike
liked to eat meat. I had to put them in separate cages.
I could tell that Spike and Quackers were not going to
get along. When they were together Spike would try to
pluck all of Quackers feathers off and Quackers would
bite at Spikes scales.
I would take them out of their cages one at a time so
that I could spend time playing with each of them. On
one day while playing with Quackers he started to fly,
l was shocked because I had never seen anything like
this. Quackers took off into the sky and I was worried
that I would never see him again. Twenty minutes
later I heard the same quacking noise that had given
Quackers his name, l was so happy to see him come
back and knew that I would never let that happen
again. The next day I brought some rope with me and
tied one end to his leg, he flew into the sky and I was
flying him like a kite.
I got the idea that I should tie a rope to Spikes leg
too and see if he could fly. I tied Quackers off to a log
and got Spike out of his cage. I tied one end of the
rope to Spikes leg and let him go. He ran and flapped
his wings and he started to fly. Wow! I thought, until
I saw Spike going right for Quackers, and sure
enough .... he bit Quackers right in the butt. Oh no!
I said, and pulled them apart. Thank god he wasn’t
hurt. He was missing a few feathers but was fine.
No matter what I did Quackers and Spike would not
get along. Time went by and they were both growing
bigger. Flying them became my favorite thing to do.
One day I was flying Quackers by a big cliff. He was
doing some pretty cool tricks and I wasn’t watching
where I was going. I slipped and went over the edge
of the cliff. I was only holding on to the rope that I had
tied to one of his feet and he was flapping as hard
as he could but he wasn’t strong enough and we
were going down. I was screaming my head off and
Quackers was quacking but we were both heading for
the rocks below. Suddenly, I heard a loud roar coming
from above. It was Spike. Somehow he had gotten
out of his cage and was coming our way. All I could
think of is that he was going straight for Quackers butt
20
again and that would be the end of both of us. We
were falling fast when Spike flew out from the trees.
Oh no! No more corncob salad or sheep soup. I would
never get to ride a sheep at the fair or play with my
corncob boats ever again. I held on and closed my
eyes. Suddenly, l felt the rope pull really hard. I opened
my eyes and couldn’t believe it. Spike was pulling us
to safety. He didn’t even touch Quackers butt. Once
he got us to the top of the cliff l hugged them both.
Quackers and Spike touched wings as if they were
best friends.
I knew at that moment that I had to set them free.
My heart was breaking but I knew that I had to do it.
I hugged them and took the rope off Quackers. I told
them to fly away. You are free. They looked at me for
a long time and I knew they were saying good-bye.
Together they flew off into the sunset. There was
about a week of Summer left and I came back to that
spot every day. There was no sign of either of them.
Summer turned to Fall and Fall turned to Winter.
Before I knew it, Spring was back again. I ran back
to our spot at the top of the cliff and to my surprise I
heard something in the distance. I followed the noise
and sure enough at the end of the cliff sitting on a
mound were Quackers and Spike. They both had little
ones of their own. As I looked closer I could see that
the little duck had a dragon bite right out of its butt.
Here we go again…
The End
Hunter Schonrock
Grade 3
Sioux City Emerson Elementary
Sioux City
Medieval Castle
Megan Carlson
Grade 10
Cherokee Washington High
Cherokee
21
Eagles Landing
Dylan Butler
Grade 4
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
Family
The first week my dad died was the longest week
of my life. The night before my dad died, he was going
to go to my neighbors and help her get her driveway
scooped out, but my mom and dad decided to go
Christmas shopping first. My dad was going to do the
driveway the next morning. My mom and dad took
Josh and me to my grandma and grandpa’s house
that night.
Mom and dad went to all the stores they needed to
and in those stores they saw all of my dad’s friends,
which was really strange. When they came to pick up
Josh and I, we were all excited and wanted to know
what we got, so we were constantly asking questions
about it. Then when we got home, Josh and I had to
go straight to bed, but we wanted to stay up, so we
really got mad and went to bed. When we woke up,
Dad had already gone to Sally’s to push snow, so my
mom, Josh and I all got to work on cleaning the house
for Christmas.
About two hours later we all sat down to take a
break, but we wondered what was taking Dad so long,
so Josh looked out the window, saw an ambulance, a
fire truck, and everything. We all ran like no other out
to the car to get over there. My mom made Josh and I
stay in the car when she went to find my dad. She had
gotten about halfway up the driveway and a few of my
dad’s friends (that are part of the ambulance and fire
department) had to stop her. They walked her back to
the car and came over to our house with us.
When we got home my whole family was bawling
and could not stop. Pat Hackett and Sally Johnson
both made phone calls to both sides of the family for
us, and within twenty minutes family from Le Mars
and Sioux City were there. Then we had close family
friends coming right away, and they helped us pick up
the house because my mom was flipping out about
how messy it was. It seemed like we had the whole
community plus some at our house.
At the funeral it was very crowded and it was like
everyone was there. There were even people there
who I had no idea who they were, but I guess they
were friends of my dad. It was like at that moment I
realized how much of an impact my dad put on people.
That whole day felt like the worst day of my life, but the
best day of my dad’s life because that meant he could
finally be with God and he could be at rest.
Jeana Hamman
Grade 7
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
22
The Frog Legend
Brianna laughed and said, “Just for fun, let’s make
a wish and see what happens. What should we wish
for?”
“Croaker!” yelled the class, and Croaker was there,
just like that.
Simon looked at the map and said, “We are almost
in the Atlantic Ocean.” Everyone was worried.
“Let’s go fishing.” said Dana. The class agreed.
The class fished all day long and caught A LOT of
fish! “We finally have meat!” said Ms. De Groot. Ms. De
Groot cooked the fish.
“It was VERY GOOD!” said Jessica. Everybody was
nervous. Even Croaker was nervous!
When everyone went to bed at sunset, Ms. De
Groot, Kendal, and Simon went upstairs. “What’s
that?” asked Simon.
Stuttering a little, Kendal answered, “P-pirates!”
Ms. De Groot went downstairs and alerted the girls.
Everybody held hands, hoping and praying.
The pirates used a gun to shoot both sides of the
boat and it fell apart! Everybody got on to the two
lifeboats! Everyone was okay, including Croaker.
All the wood floated along with the lifeboats.
Meanwhile, everyone fell asleep.
When they woke up, they were on an island. The
signs said “Bermuda.” No one knew what to do. “We
could rebuild the boat. It only costs $10,000.” said
Hannah.
“We do not have any money,” said Jacee.
“I have an idea,” Hannah said. “Look at that sign
‘Wanted 6 young girls as life guards for 3 weeks!’
We could get the jobs and Ms. De Groot, Simon, and
Kendal can work on the boat!” said Hannah.
“Good idea!” answered Ms. De Groot.
So, they did that for three weeks. It was a good,
brand new boat! “Let’s go home,” said Jacee. They all
agreed. In the evening, when they got about ten miles
away from Bermuda, everyone went to bed. During the
night, the boat’s steering went out again and it turned
around, heading right towards where the legend took
place!
When everyone woke up, they noticed that the
steering went out and that they were going East again.
They were nervous. Everybody wanted to see what
was under the boat. So, they put on scuba gear and
went down. The giant frog was there! Simon said
magic words that he learned about in the legend and
One day, Ms. De Groot, Kendal, Simon, Jessica,
Dana, Abigail, Hannah, Jacee, and Brianna were
swimming in Lake Huron. They decided to go boating.
They took turns driving the boat.
While Simon was driving and the other people were
having cookies, Simon yelled, “Wooow!” They all ran to
Simon.
“What’s going on?” asked Abigail.
“I can’t steer!” said Simon.
“Are you sure?” asked Ms. De Groot. “Let me try.”
“Well, uh oh!” she cried. “I don’t think we are going
anywhere.” Then they went into the basement of the
boat where the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms
were. “I guess we will have to stay here tonight,”
Kendal said. Kendal and Simon, who owned the boat,
showed everybody their rooms. Everybody, except Ms.
De Groot had to share a room with at least one other
partner. In their room, Simon and Kendal read a sea
legend before bed.
About midnight that night, smoke alarms went off.
Everybody rushed upstairs. There was a fire, but they
managed to put it out. Everybody could not go back to
sleep, so they had some orange juice.
Kendal and Simon looked nervous. “Why are you
nervous?” asked Jessica. Kendal and Simon stared at
each other.
“Well,” Kendal sighed, “last night Simon and I read
a legend and I can’t get it out of my head. It is about
someone who long ago cast a spell on a frog and told
it to guard a secret treasure and make sure no one
gets to it. That person died and the frog is still there,
not far from Bermuda at all. I know we are not close
to Bermuda, but the story is kind of making me feel
creepy because the legend also said that if anyone got
near the treasure, there would be problems including a
boat not being able to steer.”
“Yikes!” yelled Abigail. “I’m glad we aren’t close to
Bermuda. Maybe we should get some rest.” Everybody
agreed and went to sleep. The next morning, they
were supposed to leave for home from Lake Huron,
but instead they were stuck in the canal from Lake
Huron leading to the Atlantic Ocean.
At breakfast, Kendal said, “I forgot to say one thing
about the legend. The person who put the spell on the
frog made a mistake on the spell and anyone getting
close to the treasure gets one wish for anything he
wants.”
23
the frog turned back into a Leopard Frog. Then they
found a treasure chest!
They put the frog with Croaker and the two became
friends. The treasure chest had everything in the world
in it. One of everything! “Wow!” Everybody said. They
went home and lived happy ever after.
The End
Kendal R. Zylstra
Grade 5
Inwood Christian
Inwood
Coiling with Raffia
Leslie Renze
Grade 8
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Middle
Odebolt
My Best Friend, Cody
When I first met Cody, we agreed to be best friends
forever. After that we mainly told each other everything
and did everything together. I lost Cody as my best
friend but we made up and we’ve never broken up
again! So today we are going to have a lot of fun! We
will be best friends forever. We will play pranks on
each other. One time I told Cody that he wet his pants
and he fell for it. He screamed his little head off. It was
so funny that I almost wet myself! I didn’t wet myself
at all. I have some other friends but I decided to write
about my best friend Cody. He has never let me down
and I’ll never let him down either. He’s like a brother to
me. He’s really a part of my family.
Bug Eyed
Katie Strouth
Grade 7
St. Patrick’s
Sheldon
24
Dakota Kasner
Grade 4
Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn Upper Elementary
Cleghorn
My Trip to Yellowstone
“Are we there yet?” I asked.
“No, but we’re really close!” said my mom.
“I can’t wait to see all of the geysers; it’s going to be
so much fun!” I said.
Have you ever seen a geyser? Well I have and let
me tell you they are one of the most amazing things
I’ve ever seen in my entire life! A geyser has blazing
hot water that shoots 100–175 ft. into the air!
As we pulled into the parking lot, there was a big
group of people gathered around the biggest geyser:
Old Faithful. We started walking towards the mob
of people, but as we got closer, we realized that the
crowd wasn’t gathered around the great geyser, they
were crowded around a small pond called Morning
Glory. It was about 6 ft. wide all the way around. It was
an amazing sight to see! The whole pond was filled
with bright stripes of colors. No wonder they called
it Morning Glory, because it looked like a sun that
was rising on a beautiful morning, but with a lot more
colors.
Suddenly, a loud voice came from the gift shop
saying, “Old Faithful goes off in 4 minutes, 4 minutes
Old Faithful will blow!”
We all hurried over to Old Faithful when all of a
sudden, my sister Kaylee stopped. “I have to go to the
bathroom!” she cried.
“Just go after we see the geyser,” Chelsie argued.
“But I can’t hold it!” shouted Kaylee. She quickly ran
to the gift shop at an amazing speed.
“Hurry up!” called my mom. Luckily, she got back
just in time to see the geyser shoot hot water into the
air. After the show, we kept on walking around looking
for different geysers. After a while, we came up to a
geyser with eerie smoke around it. It smelled like rotten
eggs, and as you know the smell of rotten eggs is not
very pleasant.
“What is that smell?” I groaned.
“That smell is sulfur,” replied my dad,
“I have no idea what that is, but it smells terrible!” I
answered.
“Well, you’re just going to have to get used to it,”
laughed my dad. After a while, we stopped to take
a water break, but as we were enjoying our water, a
small, brown animal scurried by. I didn’t get a good
look at it, but it kind of looked like a squirrel. Another
one ran past, but this one stopped right in front of us. It
looked at us as if we were having a staring contest.
It actually turned out to be a chipmunk. I started
walking toward it, but it hurried off toward a tree.
After a long day at Yellowstone, we got back into the
car and headed home.
“I had a great time!” Chelsie stated. My family
nodded in agreement.
If your mom ever asks you for ideas on where to go
for vacation, I suggest you pick Yellowstone, but that’s
just my opinion.
Carissa Ver Steeg
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Hurry Up Spring
Connor Nordaker
Grade 2
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Ute
25
At The River
When I was little I used to love coming here.
The clear blue twinkling atop the water on a hot, dry summer day.
While the flowers were just blooming with giant purple pedals.
How it would brighten my day coming to the river when I would be gloomy.
I loved chasing around the giant dragonflies with beautiful speckled wings.
Also, the nature was unbelievable, hundreds of bugs, snakes, birds, fish, and giant willow trees that would weep down the edges of the banks; just
slightly dipping into the water.
The frogs were always teamed together on the bright green lily pads.
I would go there so often that both the animals and I trusted each other.
I would sit on the banks peering at the indigo sunset; taking my breath away.
Now it’s different, the animals stay hidden, never taking their eyes off me.
Then, I realized something, I am a predator to them now, and it would never be like those old summer days at the river.
Kayla Morgan
Grade 8
Anthon-Oto/Maple Valley Middle
Anthon
Like Kandinsky
Keeli Westbay
Grade 7
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Middle
Odebolt
Fun Games at the
Tournament
I’d like to tell you about the wrestling tournament.
It was fun because you get to wrestle people.
There are a lot of people. They are very loud.
They cheer for their children. When they do it,
they mess me up. It is fun because you get a
metal and you get to eat. You hang out all day.
Winter Fun
Aubree Lake
Grade K
Hinton Elementary
Hinton
Tommy Garvin
Grade 1
Galva-Holstein Elementary
Holstein
26
In the Eyes of a Slave
Oh, the life of a slave,
Cruel, harsh, painful, lonely, and grave.
Horseshoe
Superheroes
Dawn ’till dusk, blood, sweat, and tears,
It’s tempting to stop and ask if God, himself, even hears.
America the Beautiful, land of the free and home of the brave,
Isn’t it ironic, that I stand here imprisoned as a slave?
All the broken relationships, my own family being taken away,
Although my thoughts are silenced, tears roll down my cheeks in dismay.
After years of being mistreated, it is nearly impossible not to hate,
Guards watching my every move, controlling what will become of my fate.
If emotions aren’t enough, surely the proof lies within my scars,
When I get the chance, trust me, I’ll leave and simply follow the stars.
Whether it be Tubman, Brown, Lincoln or Scott,
We, the slaves of the South, have not forgot.
In this fight for our rights, we will not quit without protest,
Abolitionists and free men, please acknowledge our lone request.
United we stand together we fall,
We as slaves will stand firm until there is freedom for all.
What is a horseshoe
magnet? A horseshoe magnet
is shaped like a U. Also,
magnets can be circles and v’s,
but horseshoe magnets are the
strongest magnets because
they have two poles pointing in
the same direction. In addition,
a horseshoe magnet is stronger
than the other magnets, and
it attracts everything that has
iron in it. Horseshoe magnets
have a north pole and a south
pole. Furthermore, a horseshoe
magnet has the most
magnetism in it. The horseshoe
magnet is often the heaviest
magnet too. Now you know
what a horseshoe magnet is.
Antonio Rodriguez
Grade 4
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Sioux City
Erin Brasser
Grade 11
South O’Brien High
Paullina
The Sea Dragon
Isaac Goeken
Grade 3
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
27
Waking Up Christmas
The cheating continued, but he was still losing. All of
a sudden he flipped over the board and walked away!
Tired and frustrated, I left.
I walked out the door, grabbed my coat on the
porch, and walked out to the pond behind the house.
I sat there skipping rocks across the pond. I thought
about our rotten Christmas luck and the lack of
decorations in the house. Then, it hit me.
I went back into the house, pulled out the
decorations, and started hanging them up all over the
house.
Aunt Kim asked, “What are you doing, Natasha?”
I answered, “Grandpa would have wanted us to
celebrate Christmas and not just sit around waiting for
it to pass so we can go home again.”
“You’re right,” she answered. She started helping
put up decorations. After a short while everyone was
putting them up. By Christmas Eve, the entire house
was decorated from top to bottom.
“Where are we?” asked Seth, my little brother, “and
when are we going to get there?”
“It’ll be another hour,” Mom replied “It’s not the same
as going to Grandpa’s” Then the car got quiet, it had
not been the best holiday season. Our Grandpa had
died a couple of days after Thanksgiving. And now,
so far on this two-day trip, we had run out of gas, and
gotten a flat tire. Even now we were hoping to make it
to our aunt and uncles house (with the engine making
strange noises).
“How long now?” asked Seth again.
“Uh,” I sighed.
An hour later we reached our Aunt Kim and Uncle
Tom’s house. Our four and six-year-old cousins were
there fighting over a toy and yelling at each other. I
then realized, that other than an empty Christmas tree,
there were no decorations. I know from years past that
they have many boxes of decorations.
On the day before Christmas Eve no one was doing
much. Most were just standing around, and waiting for
Christmas to be over. My parents encouraged Seth
and me to play a board game with our cousins. I said,
“sure,” and went to go get the game.
We were about halfway through the game when
my six-year-old cousin was losing and unhappy about
it. He rolled a four and started moving six. I let it go.
Camille Mumm
Grade 8
Ar-We-Va Middle
Westside
Hot Cocoa
I like hot cocoa
It tastes very good and warm
It helps on cold days
Annie Jensen
Grade 5
BHCS Mater Dei I.C. Center
Sioux City
Christmas Morning
Emily Dreckman
Grade 1
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
28
Christmas
Katelyn Ahrens
Grade 1
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Arctic Adventure
very fast. We were running igloo to igloo trying to stay
safe. The polar bear grew tired and after an exhausting
chase plunged in the water and decided to swim away!
SAFE at last!
The arctic was fun so I decided to stay for another
week before I returned home.
One day before Christmas Day, I went to the animal
shelter. I had fun playing with the dogs. Then I went
home and went to bed. The next thing I knew was that
I woke up with a fever and I was in the Arctic!
Then I noticed I was in an igloo. I also noticed that
my neighbors were penguins and polar bears. The
polar bears were grumpy and the penguins were nice.
Every day I learned about the penguins. There were
three of them who were named Snowball, Frosty, and
Chris. While I was learning about their ways of life,
SUDDENLY, a polar bear ATTACKED!
Snowball was outside in a second because he was
Austin Degen
Grade 4
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
29
Lone Wolf
As the snow covered trees whisper their secrets,
As the frost bit wind cries its sorrow filled song,
As the owl questions “who” to everything that may wander by,
Way out there past the bare trees and thriving pines,
Where the snow is high and the ice is slick,
It is there the lone wolf will be throwing his head into the air howling his lonely song,
He sits waiting for his answer every night and every day,
He will wait there forever if he has to,
That is his home and that is one thing that will never change,
It may get colder,
It may get warmer,
Some trees will fall,
Some new will grow,
But the lone wolf will always be sitting proudly waiting for his answer.
Kalynn B. Manker
Grade 6
Woodbury Central Middle
Moville
My Friend Zeus
Now, you may be wondering who Zeus is. Well,
here is a full description. He has four legs, a long
tongue, a long, stubby, pitch-black tail and he’s
very tiny. BINGO! He’s a dog! You guessed it! But
if you didn’t guess right then pat on the back for
trying. The weird thing is it’s not even my dog.
It’s my aunt Kysa’s. Why, you ask why is he my
friend? Well, where do I begin? For one thing he
shows much affection to you like, he sleeps with
you at night and one time I forgot my socks and he
seriously stayed on my feet all night. Not a joke.
And one Thanksgiving I dropped some Chex-Mix
and it was going to be a lot of labor, but he just
licked it up for me. He’s flat out entertainment. I
cannot emphasize that enough. You can take him
on walks down the country road or make him play
dead (he only plays dead for food don’t waste your
time trying to do it without food, been there done
that) he plays fetch and sits on your lap when
you’re watching T.V. I LOVE THAT DOG! JK. I
LOVE THAT DOG X 2, that’s how much I love him.
Best regards from Zeus, and he hopes that you
find a companion too.
Bellsprout and Dratini
McKenzie McCallan
Grade 7
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
30
Ben Sadler
Grade 5
Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto Elementary
Mapleton
“Poof’
“Noah, where does poof come from?”
Seven-year-old Noah knew immediately what his
four-year-old brother was referring to when he asked
about ‘poof’. Poof was the nickname Jordan had given
snow as soon as he was able to talk, and on top of that
the toddler seemed to be especially obsessed with it
this winter. The two brothers were currently planted
in a drift on the back steps of their house, finally
exhausted from a full day of running around in the
gentle blizzard.
Noah shot his brother a half-amused, half-scolding
glare that was only possible for a child to give. “You
probably wouldn’t understand the whole story, Jo.”
“Tell me,” Jordan demanded, nudging his big
brother’s boot with his smaller one.
“Well,” Noah relented easily, “It’s a legend. The
Seema Sisters make it.”
“Seema Sisters?”
“Yeah, they’re two gods in the sky. Their names are
Scorch and Singe, and they live in a huge gold castle
that moves around on the biggest cloud ever made.”
“Is there soldiers?”
“Nope. It’s just them. But they always fight.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re girls.” Noah said this in a “duhthat’s commonsense” type of way.
“Oh.” Jordan fell silent for a moment, his small brow
furrowed as his mind worked to piece together the
‘legend’. “How do they make poof?”
“They have pillow fights, only with HUGE pillows.
The snow is the feathers that pop out.”
“I don’t believe you,” Jordan said firmly.
“Why not?”
“Cause poof does not feel like birdies do.”
“I know that, Jo. It’s not feathers like on birds, it’s
different.”
“How?”
“I don’t know ... it just is. But snow is the feathers
that fall out of the Seema Sisters’ pillows when they
pillow fight.”
“Why do they pillow fight?”
“I already told you that: because they’re girls. They
both want to be prettiest.”
“Which one’s prettiest?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“Just because, Jo.” Noah started to fiddle with a
pile of snow in between his feet, stacking it up into a
miniature snowman. “You asked where snow came
from, and I told you.”
“There’s no castles in the sky.”
“Yes, there is. It’s a gold castle, a really big one.”
“Have you ever seen it?”
“No. But my friend Adam has. He says he even
saw Scorch and Singe fighting, right before it started
to snow.”
“I don’t get It.”
“Don’t get what?”
“Why are the feathers cold?”
“I don’t know,” Noah shrugged, “because they make
it cold, I guess.”
“Oh.” Sitting quietly for a minute, Jordan seemed
to be deeply pondering over all of this newfound
Snowman
Cede Hancock
Grade1
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sioux City
31
information, and so Noah let him, returning to
constructing his snowman. “So...” Jordan eventually
started, “...the feathers from the pillows is the poof?”
Noah smiled, proud that he had taught his little
brother something new. “Yep.”
“Okay.” Jordan smiled back. “But, Noah?”
“What?”
“...What is ‘snow’?”
Alex Metzler
Grade 10
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Hartley
The Zebra
Connor Paulsen
Grade 6
Schleswig Middle
Schleswig
Carousel
Bailee Yankey
Grade 1
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
Purple
Purple feels like a bright crayon in my hand.
Purple sounds like a glass window shattering into tiny pieces.
Purple looks like a pretty dress that you wear to a ball.
And tastes like a sweet and juicy plum.
32
Jordan Peck
Grade 3
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Sioux City
Draining the Mississippi
One day Mary Terry was at the Mississippi River.
She saw the boats getting stuck. Eleanor was cooking
hotdogs outside her house. Mary Terry went to ask
Eleanor, “Do you notice the boats getting stuck?” Eleanor said, “No.” Eleanor asked Mary Terry if she
wanted a hotdog.
“No thank you,” said Mary Terry.
Emma was sitting on the beach. She was drinking
Clear and Clean, a brand of water.
Mary Terry said, “Hi,” to Emma.
Emma said, “Hi,” back.
Mary Terry is 10 years old. She lives in a big house
on West Avenue and she loves her two guinea pigs.
Mary Terry loves to go swimming. Mary Terry went to
look around the river. She saw an indent on the side of
the river. Mary Terry went home to do her homework.
She thought about the indent along the river. After she
did her homework, she got a snack from her mom. She
thought about the boats getting stuck.
Mary Terry went to talk about what had happened
with her friend Lisa Leehoe. They talked it over but
couldn’t figure out what happened.
Lisa Leehoe said, “Maybe some juice will help.”
“Maybe it can refresh our brain.” “Well let’s think about
the boats and the indent along the river bank.” “Ok,”
said Lisa Leehoe.
“So what happened first?” “I noticed the boats
getting stuck.”
“What happened second?”
“I noticed the indent along the river.”
“Maybe you’re just seeing stuff,” said Lisa Leehoe. “No,” said Mary Terry. “Let’s go check it out.”
When they got there, they looked around. “Look
over there, see the indent, Lisa?”
“Yes I do.” said Lisa Leehoe. “What about the
boats?” said Lisa. “They are kind of getting stuck.” “I told you,” said Mary Terry. “Let’s go past Emma’s
house and ask some questions of her.” So they went to
ask Emma some questions.
Emma said, “No,” to all the questions.
“Why don’t we ask Eleanor some questions?”
“Ok,” said Lisa Leehoe.
Eleanor said, “No,” too. “I guess that didn’t work.” Wait a minute, remember Emma has a gigantic
tube. Eleanor lives near the lake and Madison’s mom
owns a water company. The company is making a lot
of money. “Wait a minute! Something fishy is going on.
The Mississippi water is getting lower. Why don’t we
go home and go to bed. Our brains are probably really
tired.”
“I think so, too. See you tomorrow, ok?” said Lisa
Leehoe.
Mary Terry went to meet Lisa Leehoe the next
morning. Lisa Leehoe said, “I had a weird dream last
night about the Mississippi getting drained.”
“So did I,” said Mary Terry. “I think somebody
drained the Mississippi.”
“So do I,” said Lisa Leehoe. “Let’s go back to the
Mississippi. I think Madison did it.”
“I think Emma or Eleanor did it,” said Mary Terry. “I
think mostly Emma did it, because remember Emma
has a huge tube and the indent.
“Tonight we are going to follow her, ok?” said Lisa
Leehoe.
They did that night. Late that night Emma came out
of her house with a huge tube. They saw Emma go to
the Mississippi River. They saw water run through the
huge tube.
“Emma did it. I told you,” said Mary Terry. “We need
to call the cops.” So they did. Emma got arrested for
draining the Mississippi River.
Emma VandeLune
Grade 3
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Cherokee
33
Harvest
Autum Bonnstetter
Grade 1
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Utopia
Is Utopia a theme park for kids to play?
Or a time bomb tick-ticking away.
Will our heroes track them down?
Or will they turn the place upside down?
When the team finds the bomb, are they too late?
I guess you’ll just have to wait.
Hand of God
Brendan Kudrna
Grade 7
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Sioux City
MacKenzie Poole
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
34
Up, Up, Up!
It was a long flight, and leaving at 12:00 A.M. made it
drag on even longer.
When we got back to Iowa, we were at my mom’s
work, Frontier Airline. “That was a fun trip,” my sister,
Abby announced.
“Yeah, it was,” my other sister, Alexis responded.
“I really had a great time, especially when I went up
the climbing wall.”
“You did a great job, Dave,” my grandma said.
After an exciting trip, I decided to take a nap.
I woke up when we arrived back in Sioux City
around 3:00 A.M.
The next day at school I was telling all of my friends
about the trip. “I had so much fun,” I said.
I gave a few of my friends Disney character
figurines that I bought there, and I showed them the
pictures of me on the climbing wall.
“That must have been a fun trip,” someone said.
“It was,” I agreed.
“Attention passengers! You are now free to move
about the cabin.” These words are the words I had
heard on what might be my favorite trip to California.
It had been a cold February day when we took off
for our 2007 trip to California.
“Mom, can I have a piece of gum?” I asked my
mother. I asked to prevent earaches in high
turbulences.
“Sure.” She handed me a piece of Eclipse gum and
called across the isle. “Abby, Lexi, do you guys want a
piece of gum?”
“Sure,” they replied. My mother threw the canister of
gum across to them; they took a piece and threw the
canister back.
My stomach started to rumble and I had forgotten
that I hadn’t eaten because it was so exciting taking
off. I asked, “Mom, can you grab a bag of trail mix, and
call the flight attendant for a Diet Coke?”
“Mom, toss me a bag of trail mix.” My mother called
to my grandma across the isle. My grandma tossed
over a bag and then my mom pushed the flight
attendant button on the screen above.
When the plane landed, we went to the hotel that
we were staying in. It was two stories tall!
We got settled in and then we went straight to the
amusement parks.
On our first day, we went to Disneyland; my favorite
ride was Splash Mountain. Our second day, we went
to Knottsberry Farms, another amusement park, and I
LOVED going on the Ghost Rider. On our third day we
went to the beach. On the fourth day, we headed back
to Disneyland for a second time. And on our fifth and
final day, we headed to Universal Studios.
Everybody in the family, who came, except for my
grandmother and a couple of my cousins, went on the
Mummy. My grandmother let us go on the climbing
wall.
My cousins didn’t complete the rock wall, and I was
the only one left. Halfway, my hands started to slip, but
I had to complete it. “You can do it Dave,” my grandma
shouted from way down below.
With one sudden urge, I pushed upward and then
reached the final part, a ladder I had to climb, which I
accomplished easily.
I rang the bell and my family cheered as I rappelled
down.
The next day, we boarded the plane and took off.
David Suhr
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Castle in the Spring
Katie Miller
Grade 4
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
35
3-Time’s The Charm
Thud! After just experiencing his skull pounding
thunderously on the unforgiving ground at the hands
of me, T2K, J.T.G. had no idea where he was. I was
winning the match of my career. I was ahead, two pinfalls to J.T.G’.s one. I tossed his lifeless, chiseled body
back into the trampoline ring. “Just stick to the plan,”
he whispered. The twenty-five fans thundered for
more.
As I stalked my opponent inside the ring, I sprinted
forward, lunging my whole body at him to deliver
a punishing spear. My body shot at the reigning
champion like a rocket with full force ahead. In just a
millisecond, he sidestepped to the right, leaving the
exposed referee to take my devastating maneuver.
The man I incapacitated was not my enemy. My face
was sweltering, and I listened to the crowd’s roar at
the accidental carnage. Quickly glancing behind me,
I realized there was still a championship to be won.
SMACK! The steel seat of a chair met my already
broken face. I fell down as if I had been shot between
the eyes. J.T.G was not finished. He grabbed another
folding chair. Shoving my cranium on top of one
seat, he used the other to smash my head between
two manufactured pieces of evil. The still stunned
ref counted the next pin-fall for him. He lethargically
regained his composure. 1 2 3! The score was now
tied two to two. “Five minutes remaining,” Timekeeper
exclaimed. At this point ringing ears could hear nothing
except the cheer of the indecisive crowd. At that
moment a surge of adrenaline inflamed my 190 pound
frame. I skipped up and delivered a backbreaking
power bomb to J.T.G. The trampoline vibrated for
endless seconds from the force of his body smashing
into it. Recovering instantly, he kicked out of my
attempted pin-fall. We had been struggling over fifteen
minutes. We could feel the heat and sweat radiating off
each other in the scorching June sky. “Hang in there,
champ!” a fan exclaimed. “Get the win T2K!” shouted
another. I felt like a gladiator inside the Coliseum. We
had blasted each other with everything in our arsenal.
For the last four minutes we were able to stand and
kick out of each other’s pin attempts only by tapping
into our adrenaline tanks.
“Thirty seconds remaining!” screamed the timekeeper.
“What now?” I whispered.
“The big finish,” J.T.G replied.
The Farmer
Erika Buiter
Grade 6
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
36
I popped him in the mouth with my forearm forcibly
cracking his mandible. I exploded out of the ropes, and
this time I drilled him in the abdomen with a spear. 1,
2. At 2 and a half, J.T.G. kicked out of what could have
been the end. Next, he grasped my head and spun
his whole body around, slamming my neck and spinal
column into the mat with much torque.
I could hear the timekeeper starting to count down
from ten. I could see the crowd clamber to their feet.
My opponent laid his 170-pound, limp body across
mine. 1, 2. The timing couldn’t have been more
perfect. I lifted up my shoulder and flipped J.T.G.’s
body around to not only break up the pin-fall attempt,
but to counter him in a pin of my own. I pressed down
with full force against his body. There was a barrage
of voices echoing through my head, but mine was
focused on the referee’s. 12 3! In amazement, I shot
up with my hands raised high above my head. “Here
is the winner and new Whiting Wrestling Federation
Champion, T2K!” screamed the referee. A feeling that
I could not explain engulfed my spirit as my theme
music blared through the amplifier speakers. I knew
the match was planned, but my mangled hair, sweaty
shirt, and plastic belt around my shoulder made me
believe that my victory was real. When I triumphantly
limped out of the ring, I thought to myself, “it’s my time
to shine.”
Taylor Kron
Grade 12
Whiting High
Whiting
Panda Bear
Kade Rotnicke
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
Fall
Fall, fall, leaves are blowing away
Fall, fall, plants are dying
Fall, fall, Thanksgiving is near
Fall, fall, being with family
Fall, fall, scary Halloween
Fall, fall, end of baseball
Fall, fall, start of basketball
Fall, fall, pumpkin pie
Fall, fall, yummy turkey
Fall, fall, mashed potatoes
Fall, fall, amazing gravy
Fall, fall, blue jeans
Fall, fall, winter coat
Fall, fall, nearing Christmas
Fall, fall, being thankful
Fall, fall, carving pumpkins
Fall, fall, jumping in leaves
Fall, fall, Thanksgiving break
Fall, fall, snow is failing
Fall, fall, it’s chilly out side
Fall, fall, t-i-m-e o-f r-e-s-t
Fall, fall, THE END
U.S. Seal Now a Dog
Taylor Young
Grade 7
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Middle
Odebolt
Jaden Heiden
Grade 5
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Denison
37
and told her I loved her still, even though I knew she
couldn’t hear me.
My daughter would visit me daily after that.
Sometimes, she wouldn’t visit for days and I would
think that she had forgotten me. My fears would vanish
though, as I’d watch her approach. She’d sit in the
grass and talk about her life happenings and I’d sit
next to her, enjoying the simple way the words would
roll off her lips. She always broke my heart by saying
that life wasn’t the same without me. Before she’d
leave, she’d pray for me to watch over her friends and
the family I left behind. Then, she’d blow a kiss after
telling me she loved me. I promised to watch over her
even though I knew she couldn’t hear me.
Once the blanket of white was laid before me, I
knew my daughter’s visits would cease, or so I
thought. She continued to come to me even though the
weather didn’t want her to. She wouldn’t stay long, but
she always promised to come back. I tried to touch her
hand to let her know that I understood, but my touch
came through the wind, making her flinch and pull
away. Oh, how I wish I could apologize, apologize for
everything, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to
hear me.
I was overjoyed when the breezes that greeted me
were warm. My daughter was also. I could tell because
of the smile she wore as she waded toward me
through a sea of flowers. This visit was different from
her others, however. She spoke of Graduation as she
lay on the grass, oblivious to me sitting next to her. A
sad look was upon her face as she told me she wished
I could be there. I tried to assure her that I would be
there, in spirit, but I knew she couldn’t hear me.
On that day in May, she came to me. Clad in a black
cap and gown, she held out her diploma for me to see.
Tears began to form in her eyes.
She whispered to me with a watery voice, “I made it,
Mom. I did it.”
My heart leapt at her success. No mother could
have been happier. Though I knew it was a lost cause,
I held my daughters face between my hands and
kissed her forehead. I told her I was so proud of her.
Tears fell from her closed eyes as she said, “I knew
you’d be there ... you always have been.”
For once, I knew she could hear me.
Leo’s Mona Lisa
Madi Koob
Grade 2
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
Hear Me
Believe me, I was scared of leaving them behind. I
loved my three kids and my husband. Unfortunately,
I knew my time was limited. I looked at them, wishing
I could smile, wishing I could tell them it’d be alright.
Before I closed my eyes to my everlasting sleep, I met
my daughter’s eyes. Her tears broke my heart and
instantly, I shut my eyes, hoping to forget the pained
expression on her face.
When I opened my eyes again, they were looking at
what was to be the resting place of my previous body.
I stood near them, the sun’s rays touching me softly
like a mother’s gentle hand. My daughter smiled at
my future bed, she told me she loved me and that she
missed me. As if she knew my presence were there,
she turned and blew a kiss to the wind. I smiled back
38
Richelle Miller
Grade 12
South O’Brien High
Paullina
Forgotten
Forgotten: to be lost from one’s memory.
They didn’t remember. I needed them, but they didn’t
remember.
Black; I felt impact. My whole body swung forward.
A scream filled my ears, was I screaming? Blackness,
all I could see, nothing but black. Then, someone was
talking. Hints of the voice place themselves inside my
ear.
“...Out cold... so much blood... call 9-1 -1 ... it’s
going to be okay...” Something or someone was
holding me now, I could feel ground move from
beneath me. Strong arms lifted me and set me on a
soft surface.
White; fuzzy figures move in the bright light. Where
am I? Where was my family? One of the fuzzes came
towards me and my life was filled with darkness again.
Gray; the doctors lead my mother into my room.
My dad already sat in a chair a few feet from me. They
looked confused. Everyone else in the room looked
at me as you would a lost puppy. There was a black
bruise on my mother’s left wrist and a long swollen red
cut on her forehead. The crash, I had learned, knocked
me unconscious with minor wounds. My mother had
been thrust against the windshield, shattering the
glass. My dad’s side had hit a tree, he had also been
knocked out by the collision but unlike me, he had
major head and body wounds. When I had woken up,
the doctors told me my parents’ memory would come
back as soon as they saw me.
They didn’t remember. I needed them, but they
didn’t know who I was. I had no one to comfort me
at night, no one to hold to when the doctors gave me
shots, no one to fill the hole in my heart.
Blue; Aunt Marie took the plate from my spot at the
table while I watched from the stairs. How could I eat?
My parents had lost all memory of themselves ... and
me. Aunt Marie had gratefully taken me in, having a
room to spare. It had been one month, and I am still
getting letters from family, friends, and co-workers
of my parents. They all say how sorry they are, but
they have no idea how I feel. It’s not every day you
are forgotten.
Untitled
Chloe Houlihan
Grade 10
Sioux City East High
Sioux City
Untitled
Addison Grant
Grade 8
Sheldon Middle School
Sheldon
39
Rebecca Dykstra
Grade 1
Orange City Christian
Orange City
Confused and In Love
I am confused and in love,
I wonder what is going to happen,
I hear my heart beating,
I see you and me,
I want to be with you,
I am confused and in love.
I pretend not to love you,
I feel you in my heart,
I touch your hand and feel a spark,
I worry that someone will take you away,
I cry when I see you with another girl,
I am confused and in love.
Fall Branch
Bethany McKenney
Grade 5
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
I understand you don’t want me,
I say, “it’s okay,”
I dream about you still,
I try to let you go,
I hope one day you’ll feel the same,
I am confused and in love.
Ashley Ewoldt
Grade 7
Charter Oak-Ute Junior High
Charter Oak
Monster
One hour ago Brayden, Brandon G., Cade and I
were walking home from school when a big monster
jumped out and grabbed us and pulled us to his house.
We couldn’t see who he was but we noticed that it’s
shoes were the same as someone’s we have seen
before but it wasn’t. So I just jumped up at his face
and tried to see if it was the someone we have seen
before. He stopped pulling us so we got up and started
to run to Brandon G’s house. When we got there no
one was home and then we heard pounding on the
door. We all said, “it’s him!” So we ran up to Brandon’s
room and hid. He came up and found us and when he
was walking out the door Brandon’s mom caught him
and the monster police took him to the monster jail.
Carter Arens
Grade 2
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Bear
Kinzey Dutler
Grade 4
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
40
Deer Hunting
It was six o’clock in the morning when my alarm clock went off
Oh, yes, it’s time to go deer hunting
I jump out of bed, race up the stairs, and get my gun
Dad is already up, so we are ready to go
On the ride to the deer blind, I can imagine myself in the blind, then all of a sudden, I see
a great big deer just walk up to my blind, and I shoot it right in the heart
Finally we get to our spot
We get out of the pickup and start walking to our blind
With a lot on my mind, we finally get there
I feel so excited, anxious, and nervous
I get in the blind and wait by my dad’s side
We sit down for about fifteen minutes, but it feels like hours
Then all of a sudden I look up, and see the biggest buck ever
I get really nervous because this is the only chance this year, and I can’t blow it
I looked up at it, but it was about one hundred fifty yards away
That is a long shot with a slug
So dad tells me to wait, and let it get closer
Then it finally started coming closer
The deer slowly got closer
It took about ten minutes
Finally it got about seventy-five yards away
Now it was up to me to shoot it
I put my gun up to my shoulder, looked through the sights, and clicked the safety off
With my chest pounding and my adrenaline high,
I put my finger on the trigger, looked up at dad, and shoot
For a minute, I didn’t want to look up
Finally I did, and couldn’t believe what I saw
I saw a bloody deer run to the creek banks
I was so excited!
I shot my first deer ever!
We waited for about fifteen whole minutes to let it die, and I just couldn’t wait
Except, I was so excited I left searching early
With dad at my side, we walked to the creek
All I saw was a dead, fat, huge deer lying in the grass
I was so excited!
I shot my first deer!
It took about twenty minutes to get it to the pickup
I have it mounted on my wall now
will never forget that incident
Mitchell Moritz
Grade 6
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
41
Nature
I say give me water
She brings me rain
I say give me food
She brings me fruit
I say give me shelter
She gives me trees
I say give me company
She gives me friends
I say give me comfort
She gives me sunshine
I say give me sadness
She brings me storms
Untitled
Lauren Davis
Grade 5
St. Patrick’s
Sheldon
I say give me love
She gives me doves
I say give me peace
She gives me wind
The Ring
I say quiet me
She sings softly
I looked at his face, his clothes, his shoes.
I walk along beside him then he stops.
He kneels.
I cry.
He asks.
I answer.
My father walks with me,
I, in my long, beautiful, white dress,
my father in his tux and top hat.
I see the diamond ring.
I see its beauty, I see it shine.
It looks even more beautiful on me.
The ring, gold ring, diamond gem.
We, us, a couple grew old and faded,
but the ring stayed beautiful forever!
Descriptive Paragraph
I say give me excitement
She gives me outdoors
She is nature
Emily Hoy
Grade 8
Anthon-Oto-Maple Valley Middle
Anthon
Lydia Prior
Grade 6
Lawton-Bronson Elementary
Bronson
42
The Girl Who Played Baseball
saw were boys staring at me. Then the coach walked
Once there was a girl named Sara. Sara was a
over and said the softball tryouts are one field down. I
looked at him strangely and said, “I’m here for baseball
tryouts.”
He said, “Funny now run along, I have tryouts here.”
I asked why I couldn’t try out? He said, “I know you
are new and all, but here there’s softball and there’s
baseball.” I said fine and left. I wasn’t just going to give
up though. So when I got home I made a plan to go to
the superintendent’s office and ask if I could at least
tryout.
So the next day, that’s what I did. I walked over to
the superintendent’s office. I could have talked forever
about how I need to play baseball but I only had an
hour, so I got right to it. I said, “Can you please let me
try out for baseball. Everyone back home said I was
great. Please!”
She said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
baseball player in Chicago until they moved. Sara’s
mom said the move would be good but I said, “How
can moving 4 hours across the world to Iowa where
girl’s can’t play baseball be good for me?” My mom
said that if you try out for baseball maybe you would
make it. So I went along with it but I wasn’t happy
about it at all.
So the next day we headed out to Iowa. It felt like
forever until we finally got there. So my mom said that I
didn’t have to go to school until we got settled in which
she thought was a day after we got there.
So when I got to school the first day, I was a little
shocked because it was baseball tryouts already.
Although I was still shocked I was determined to make
the team.
So right after school I went to the baseball field and
looked for some of the girls, but when I got there all I
Christmas Break
Ellie Hilbrands
Grade 1
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
43
But the next day I got a call from the coach and
he said, “All right, you can try out. Just tryout but no
promises you will make the team. Ok?”
So the next day I went to the baseball field to try
out. When I got there the coach had me hit some balls.
I hit 2 to the outfield and 4 to the infield and let 1 go
by. After that we played catch and pitched. After the
tryouts he told me that I did good.
2 days later I got a call from the coach and he said
that I didn’t make the team. When he hung up, I went
to my room to think. Then I went to the park
to practice.
After 4 more days, I got another call from coach. He
said, “Hey, I was just calling to say that John dropped
out and you are in.”
I said, “Great!”
“The first game is Friday, 6:00. See you there,” said
coach.
On Friday I went to the game. It was Warriors
verses Heelan. In the first inning we were down by 4.
In the 9th inning, Heelan was still winning, but by only
1 point and I was up to bat. I grabbed my lucky bat,
grabbed my helmet and went out there. When I got up
to the plate, everything disappeared and it was just me
and the pitcher. He threw the first pitch. I swung and
I missed. The second time the same thing happened.
So the last pitch, I stepped out, looked at the crowd,
then at the field, then at the scoreboard. I stepped up
to the plate and looked at the pitch. Then I swung as
hard as I could, then BAM! I hit it and I ran as fast as
I could. The outfielder missed it and the crowd went
wild! I kept running to second, then to third, then to
home. The outfielder picked up the ball and threw it. I
slid into home and 1 second later the catcher got the
ball, but it was too late. I scored the winning homerun.
The team came out and then they picked me up. Then
at the end of the game I got an offer to be in the pros
when I get older. I became the first girl ever to be a pro
baseball player!
Brooklyn Huberty
Grade 4
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sergeant Bluff
Princess Stuck in
a Castle
Peregrine Falcon
Phuc Le
Grade 7
Sioux City West Middle
Sioux City
44
Blake Hogancamp
Grade K
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
Christmas Memories
Why is Christmas special to you? How does it make
you feel? Why do you like it? To me Christmas is
special for many reasons.
You get to spend time with your family. On
Christmas my family and I usually eat dinner and play
games together. Last year we played Monopoly for
almost five hours. We love to be together even though
we can only handle so much of each other at a time.
I appreciate this time of year because you get the
chance to give. Although we all love to receive gifts, it
feels good to give them too. How good would it make
you feel to give to the homeless? At my school, my
eighth grade Literature class is having a food drive to
give to families who can’t afford food for Christmas.
Also, our seventh graders are having a collection for
things the military could use for Christmas. In addition,
our National Honor Society is having a toy drive.
These are things that really will help people out, not to
mention that you’ll also feel good about yourself.
My most important reason of all is that you have
the memories you make. I have a lot of memories
from when I was little. Things like waking up early in
the morning to see what Santa Clause brought me. I
remember my family coming over and I was helping
make forts for the little kids when the power was out.
One year I invited my cousins over and we made a
gingerbread house.
My advice is to make as many memories as
possible. It’ll be worth it for many years to come. Now
that I’m fourteen it’s getting a little harder to remember
some of the memories, but the most special memories
will always be kept with me. That’s why I love
Christmas!
Picasso Faces
Antonio Shaw
Grade 3
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
Gunner Cornelius
Grade 8
Ar-We-Va Middle
Westside
Untitled
John Rahilly
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
45
Guess Who?
It’s never really there with you but always is.
It hides in the corners and never jumps out at you.
It’s a copycat and never minds itself.
You may like it or despise it.
You may even try to catch it,
But it is sly and quick
And you never can.
The best place to meet it
Is when you stand toward the west and look back,
But only when the sun is rising.
It may not be you,
But it will be with you your whole life.
Guess who?
Best Friends Forever
Ellen Mallory
Grade 3
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Ute
Jacqueline Ingram
Grade 6
Denison Middle
Denison
Everybody Needs a Jar
Everybody needs a jar. I feel sorry for people who
don’t have a jar. I am sorry for people who only have
music players, video players, game players, TV’s,
computers, cellular phones, and things like that-–if they
don’t have a jar.
A jar is a never-ending storage unit. Imagine all the
things it can hold: bugs, worms, butterflies, jelly (the
best part of jelly is when you have finished it, your jar
smells good).
Guess what? If you didn’t have a jar, you’d be letting
down bread, and his cousin toast, because peanut
butter and jelly wouldn’t exist because no one has a jar
to hold them. Wouldn’t that be a tragedy?
You wouldn’t be able to catch bugs and give them a
home if you didn’t have a jar. They might get confused,
but still.
Jars are extremely helpful. They willingly hold your
allowance for you. It holds anything you ask it to. Jars
find it hard to say no.
Though they may seem boring, they are really very
wonderful. You shouldn’t ever judge a jar when you
don’t really know it.
If you blow in it, it responds by giving you a nice,
echoed, sound. It’s really grand.
The best part of a jar: it will always listen and it will
never judge you.
Not only are you helping yourself a great deal,
you’re also helping the planet by recycling.
Jars like anything you like, so you never have to
worry if your jar is happy with what you’re doing.
If you don’t have a jar, I suggest finding one. They
are very easy to find; your basement, a recycling
center, a store (just eat the food inside first).
I have told you lots about jars and some of their
wonders. But I’m stopping here. My jar and I are going
on a walk together. Then we will probably talk, or
watch a sunset, like good jar friends should. I may not
have told you everything about a jar, but I’m pretty sure
you (and your jar) can figure out the rest by yourself
46
Tori Koontz
Grade 7
St. Mary’s Elementary
Remsen
Scales
The day I had felt smooth scales, oh, what a feeling!
I was holding a real, live, 80-pound baby alligator. Now
let’s get to how I did it.
Well, my Grandma, sister, and I were looking for
something to do at the Art Splash 2010. My Grandma
saw a sign that said, “Wild animals–hold one today!”
She told me, “Hey, look!”
I said, “Cool! Let’s do that!”
Lillian, my sister, agreed, “Yea, but it’s seven dollars
an animal.”
My Grandma said, “I can spare fourteen dollars!” Lillian and I both shouted, “Yes!” So we drug
Grandma all the way to the stage.
I wondered out loud to the animal keeper, “What
animals are there?”
“There’s a baby fox and a baby alligator,” she said. I was scared and confused all in a mix. My sister
was probably excited. Then I chose the alligator. I told
the animal keeper, “I want to hold the alligator.”
“Okay,” she said and I went on stage. The animal
keeper handed me the alligator and instructed me on
how to hold her. I pet her and posed for the camera.
Checkers
Kendra Sears
Grade 5
West Monona Central Elementary
Onawa
Crystal Puhrmann
Grade 11
South O’Brien High
Paullina
My Family
My family is special. They are the nicest people ever.
We have family fun night on Saturday, and we play
Monopoly and sometimes watch a movie. My family
does stuff together all the time. I love my family.
Ethan Breyfogle
Grade 2
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Sioux City
Rocky
Daltyn Swanger
Grade 5
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
47
The Christmas Visit
As I climb from the chimney with dust on head,
I worry and hope the children are in bed.
So I peer around from wall to wall,
Till I come across a wondrous tree, nearly ten feet tall.
The glimmering tree–such a large spectacle of art,
I didn’t even know where to start!
I glimpsed from the star atop and worked my way down,
To the warm and empty tan carpet ground.
The shining star on top was carefully placed,
And the red and white candy canes so evenly spaced.
The tinsel and garland so delicately strung,
And the balls and ornaments were merrily hung.
The Christmas Spirit
Kairo Lara
Grade 4
Sioux City Irving
Sioux City
The cloth on bottom–placed with care,
But I looked further down and nothing was there!
So, I dug in my bag and pulled out a toy,
A doll, a train track, something to give them some joy.
On bended knee I eagerly placed the toys down,
Thought for a minute, then spun around.
Quickly gobbled up the milk and holiday food,
And set off for the next house in a jolly good mood.
Christmas
Christmas Cookies
Hot Chocolate
Reindeer
I love Jesus
Snowflakes
Tough Travels
More Games
A Big Blizzard
Saint Nicholas!
Jena Van Marel
Grade 8
Sheldon Middle
Sheldon
Kate Kofmehl
Grade 3
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Holstein
Christmas Eve
Ella Ruba
Grade K
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
48
George
Many childhood memories involve; grandparents,
best friends, a sibling, a babysitter, or a favorite pet.
This is the story of George.
We don’t know the beginning of George’s story.
Was he the pet of a young boy who grew up and went
to college? Was he the last puppy in a litter and kept
by a farmer? Our family will never know the beginning
because he showed up at our house one afternoon
tired, hungry, abused, and with only one eye.
My dad took pity on him and fed him not knowing
if he would still be there in the morning. He was, and
when dad went out the next morning to try to pet him,
he cowered to the ground, but stayed on our farm. Dad
kept feeding him and kept trying to build his trust. This
kept going until George finally trusted us.
My mom was always worried about Adam and I
playing with George because of the obvious reason,
his pre-abuse. She didn’t know if he would turn on us
if we would sit on him too hard, pull his tail, or grab
his ear. Little did she know that he was the most loyal,
gentle dog we could ever own.
Whenever Adam and I went out on an adventure,
my mom and dad had no worries because George was
always with us whether we went down to the creek or
over to Grandma Barbs, he was always next to us.
Grandma and the other neighborhood ladies always
talked about their good walks with George every
morning. They knew George would always protect
them from the likely striped gopher or the bunny to run
across the road and scare them. Whenever George
saw someone out walking, he would always run out to
greet them.
George was the holiest dog that ever went to St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church. Whether there was snow
on the ground, pouring rain, if it was Saturday night,
Sunday morning, or weekday masses, George always
went. Whenever George saw cars driving up to church,
he would go and stay until everybody left the church.
He did this until he was physically unable to walk the
half mile, let alone run.
When he got to the age where you start slowing
down is where things started going down hill for
George. But still every time we walked outside, he was
standing there waiting for us to play.
I can still remember that week George would not
leave his spot in the garage (where mom parked her
car); he would just lie there. I was going out everyday
to just sit there next to him. One night I just laid out
there with him and told him that one of these days
I knew that he would go to dog heaven. The next
morning I walked out to the garage and George was
gone from his spot. I ran outside, and I saw my dad
in our grove and I knew he was digging a spot for
George. Adam and I had a dog funeral for George. But
now whenever I go into the garage I remember George
just lying there; it is one of my many good childhood
memories.
Abby Sitzmann
Grade 7
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
Untitled
Tanner Koenck
Grade 5
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
49
The Polluted Geyser
One day Macie, Molly, and Sophie were riding their
horses around Yellowstone. When they reached Old
Faithful, they saw Joe Tut.
“Hi,” Joe said. “What are you girls up to?”
“Nothing, just riding around,” Macie said.
“Well, see ya.” As we reached our house Sophie
said, “Don’t you guys think there’s something fishy
about Joe? I mean don’t you guys wonder what’s
inside Joe’s duffle bag?”
“I do,” said Molly.
“Me too,” said Macie. “Tomorrow let’s go back to Old
Faithful and check it out.”
“Okay,” said Molly. “See you guys tomorrow. Meet
me at the Old Faithful sign.”
It was the next day. The three girls met at the signOld Faithful. “Hey guys,” Macie said. “Old Faithful is
going to erupt in a half hour. While we wait let’s go get
breakfast at the restaurant right over there.”
“Okay,” said Molly. While they were eating, they
looked out the window and saw John Hillinbog going to
Old Faithful. “Hurry up guys!” Molly said. “Old Faithful
will erupt any minute now.” The girls found a seat. Joe
Tut was sitting in the back.
“Look!” Sophie said, “Joe’s duffle bag.”
“Guys,” Macie whined. “How come Old Faithful
didn’t erupt? It was supposed to erupt 10 minutes ago.”
“Hey Macie we found Joe’s duffle bag,” Molly said.
“Oh, you did?” Macie asked. “Let’s go home and
check it out,” said Macie.
“Okay,” said Sophie. When the girls got home
they sat on the floor. They opened the bag ... Sophie
screamed! “Why is there trash in there?” Sophie
asked.
“Maybe Joe was picking up trash and it was the only
thing he had to put it in,” Molly suggested.
“Nobody would put icky trash in a good duffle bag,”
said Sophie.
“Let’s go to Old Faithful and investigate,” suggested
Molly.
“No,” said Sophie, “let’s go to the Yellowstone duffle
bag store.”
“Okay.”
They walked in the store. Sophie said, “Let’s go ask
the owner, John Hillinbog. “Hi, John. Um, did Joe come
in and buy a duffle bag?”
“Why yes, Joe came in and bought a duffle bag, and
he asked me if he could have our trash. I don’t know
what he would do with our trash.”
“Thank you John, we’re going back to Old Faithful
now,” Sophie said.
When they got to Old Faithful they saw three kids
playing around Old Faithful, with juice boxes. “Guys,
that’s odd that Joe wants trash,” said Sophie.
“Oooh guys, guess what?” Macie interrupted. “What?” “There’s a geyser program in an hour. Can
we go to it?”
“Sure, that would be a great idea!” said the other,
two.
“First let’s go get lunch,” said Macie. “Okay, and
Joe’s going to teach the program.” Later that afternoon
the program was over.
“Guys, at night let’s go to Old Faithful and spy on
Joe,” Sophie said.
“Like what time?” they asked.
“12:00 midnight.”
“Don’t blame me if I’m crabby in the morning,” Molly
said.
“Wait, how do you know that Joe’s there?” “Joe’s the
night park ranger,” Macie and Sophie said together. “Oh, there’s Joe.”
“What’s he doing?” Molly whispered.
“Well it looks like he’s got his duffle bag back,”
Sophie gasped.
“What’s the matter, Sophie?”
“Joe’s putting trash in Old Faithful! So that means
Joe is the one who polluted Old Faithful!”
The next morning the police arrested Joe. “I
would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you guys,”
Joe shouted.
“Thank you girls, we’re just in time to save Old
Faithful!”
“Hurray,” they shouted.
“You girls go and enjoy the next Old Faithful show,”
said the officer.
“Thanks Officer Roland,” said the girls.
“No, thank you,” said the officer. The girls went off to
see Old Faithful.
Emma Jensen
Grade 3
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Cherokee
50
Percy Jackson and
the Olympians:
The Lightening Thief
This book is stocked with adventure and thrill
And an epic journey to Half-Blood Hill.
The hidden answers Percy must seek,
To discover who is the real Lightening Thief.
Ashley Lawler
Grade 8
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Sioux City
October 31
Clara Rivas
Grade 12
Sioux City East High
Sioux City
Football
Running back runs like a cheetah.
The quarter back throws the football like an
airplane flies in the sky.
Wide receiver is as flexible as a ballet dancer.
Linebackers fly through the air like an eagle.
Offensive line blocks like a herd of buffalo.
Linebackers hit shoulder pads like elk hit horns.
Defensive line as slow as camels.
Water boy as fast as lightning.
Scarecrow
Emma Hall
Grade 5
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
Kennedy Schilmoeller
Grade 5
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Le Mars
51
Untitled
Hi! My name is Jeff. I’m just your average fly, or
at least I used to be. See, it all it started January 6th,
when my brother came to town. He always picks on
me and everyone, I mean, everyone in the town likes
him. I live in Schleswig, Iowa, which to you guys it’s
pretty small but to me it’s huge. My job and goal in life
is to annoy any human possible.
I live in an old milk jug that somebody tossed out.
I’ve annoyed anything from babies to mice, but I didn’t
do it all alone. I had some help from my friends Larry
and Garf. Anyway, back to the story. January 6, 2010,
also known as the worst day ever, I was flying around
with my friends, Larry and Garf, when I saw a tub of
some green guck. I thought, “Hey, it can’t be that bad.”
So I decided I’d have a little sip, which was the worst
mistake of my life. Now, I’m stuck with these stupid
powers like ex-ray vision, super hearing, and the super
peskiness.
I went on not knowing about all those until a week
later. I went out and annoyed people, ate some potato
chips, and had a good day, until this bully started
calling me names and made me stay home for 3
weeks.
After the three weeks, I decided to work out at
the local gym. I was just about to move up to two
marshmallows, when this guy dropped a weight on his
chest. I decided to try and save him. Believe it or not,
I did it. I mean sure, I had some help from some body
builders, but really it was all me. I went home and went
to bed. That’s a day in my life.
Forshorten Me
Haley Koob
Grade 4
BHCS Mater Dei IC Center
Sioux City
Jaden Bruck
Grade 5
Schleswig Middle
Schleswig
Lines
Josh Clark
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
52
Music of the Night
Have you ever been camping in the deep dark
green timbers? I have. It was the most fun natural
experience ever! Well, I was about five years old, and
my mom was the Cub Scout leader. My dad was on
the road building bridges, so I had to go with my mom
to the campout. It was fun!
OK, I was asleep, and mom sent my brother to
wake me up. I thought he would wake me up nicely.
Boy! Was I wrong! He made my dog leap onto my
bed and lick my face until I was awake. I then lugged
myself downstairs and shoveled my breakfast in my
mouth.
“Pack up!” Mom said.
“For what?” I ask.
“You’re going on the camping trip with your brothers
and me,” she said.
I gawked. It was my first camping trip. I was not too
happy about it.
We took off and did camping things: hiking, catching
a raccoon, and roasting marshmallows. But the
most fun thing was falling asleep to the music of the
night. The crickets were chirping and the frogs were
gubbling. I said my prayers and dozed off.
In the morning, we packed up and went home. It
was so much fun. I can’t wait to do it again.
Construction Zone
Matt Kanne
Grade 5
St. Rose of Lima
Denison
Carrie Miller
Grade 6
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
Ride On
Trent Moeller
Grade 5
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
53
A Letter to Santa
Football Mike
Dear Santa,
Thank you for all the cool toys you gave me
especially the Wii. I think you need some new reindeer,
flashlights, and one Black Berry and that’s all that I can
afford. I think you need new reindeer because their
hooves are starting to get sore. You need flashlights
because you might get lost and scared. You need a
Black Berry because you might go to Ida Grove instead
of Schleswig. Then all of the Schleswig children will
be very disappointed because you didn’t give them
presents. I think I’m going to leave you a cake with a
glass of milk.
Merry Christmas!
Camryn
Once there was a boy named Mike. He loved
football, and his favorite team in the NFL was the
Minnesota Vikings. One day he went to a Vikings
game and they were playing the Green Bay Packers.
The Vikings won 70-0, but Mike didn’t know that game
would change his life forever.
The next day when he played football with his
friends, he was quarterback. He played as good as
Brett Farve. When he was a wide receiver he played
as good as Sidney Rice. When the football got handed
off to him he ran as good as Adrian Peterson, and
when he played defense he played as good as Jared
Allen and got ten sacks. When he returned the kickoff,
he ran as good as Percy Harvin.
The next day his friends on one team and his
friends on the other team both wanted him on their
team. So they kept fighting and fighting until Mike
just decided to leave. When he got home his parents
told him that they were going to go to another Vikings
game, but this time they were playing the Chicago
Bears. The Vikings lost 21-14.
The next day when he tried playing football with his
friends, he didn’t play really good, he just played how
he was used to. First Mike was sad, but then he was
glad because then his friends wouldn’t fight anymore.
He thought it was because the Vikings lost. When
they won a game he was at, he would be good at
football again. He lived happily ever after.
Camryn Schultz
Grade 2
Schleswig Elementary
Schleswig
Alex Koops
Grade 4
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
Farming with Green Tractors
Wesley Swanger
Grade 8
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Middle
Odebolt
54
The Fortune Cookie
“STEPHANIE!!!” Jenifer exclaimed in shock, but, I
covered her mouth before she could say anything else.
“Shhhhhhhhh!!! Look, I have a plan! ... aren’t you
going to ask what it is?”
“No, because I’m waiting for you to tell me what it
is.”
“We could open up a stand and sell fortune
cookies!!!” I said excitedly.
“Where would we get all of those fortune cookies
though?”
“Well ... didn’t Shano’ say the staff made too many
fortune cookies for “The Big China” event?”
“Yes, but I still don’t see...”
“We could ask Shano’ if we could have some to
sell, set up along the highway, and charge 25 cents for
each cookie,” I said rudely interrupting her. I was too
excited about helping Shano’ to realize how rude I was
being.
“I have just one question though.” Jenifer said not
caring that I interrupted her. “Why would someone
going about 65 miles per hour stop to buy fortune
cookies?”
“Good point ... I’ve got it!!! We could sell them
outside “The Big China” and ask Shano’ if he wouldn’t
give them away with every meal bought.”
“Then lets get started before we run out of time.” After we got done eating we went to the store and
bought 2 chairs, markers, wood to build the stand, a
poster board, and paper for flyers. We got to work right
away. I did the poster board and the flyers, my dad
made the stand, and Jenifer went and gathered the
fortune cookies from Shano’.
Chapter 1 A Big Shock
One day, while my friend and I were walking home
from school, we decided to eat out for her birthday. It
wasn’t her birthday that day but it was in a week and
she would be in Florida. So we decided to ask if we
could go to “The Big China”, a restaurant just around
the block. We went home, and asked if we could go
and our parents said yes.
Our favorite thing about “The Big China” is their
fortune cookies. They cooked them until they were just
perfect and there was always wacky fortunes inside.
So, all of us got into my mom’s car, my friend Jenifer,
her parents, my parents and I. When we got there we
all ordered the orange chicken and rice.
When the food got there it was delicious. When
we were almost done eating, I noticed Shano’, the
manager, crying over by the sushi bar. I told Jenifer
and she agreed to go ask why he was crying. So, we
got up and went over there.
“What’s the matter Shano’?” Jenifer asked him
when we got over there.
“We’re not making enough money so I can’t pay my
loan. The bank is going to make close our restaurant.”
Chapter 2 Explaining
“WHAT?” Jenifer and I called out at the same time in
shock.
“I know, it’s terrible,” Shano’ said with a sad look on
his face.
“You can’t do anything about it? I mean ... you can’t
even protest against the bank?” Jenifer asked him.
“If I protest against I could go to jail ... or worse.”
“What do you mean ‘or worse’?” I asked him still in
shock.
“Never mind that. The problem is the bank told me
I had to come up with a half of a million dollars before
the end of the week or they will make us shut down
for good. It’s all ready Wednesday and I don’t even
have half of a million dollars,” Shano’ said with a sigh. I
could see tears welling up in his eyes again.
As soon as Shano’ said that I had a plan.
Chapter 4 My Fortune
We finished around 1:00 and sold our first cookie
around 2:00. Thanksgiving was tomorrow so we
thought we would make enough money to help Shano’,
but it turns out we were WRONG!!! After about two
hours we got hungry. I could tell Jenifer was hungry
because her stomach was growling so loud people
who were walking by looked at us funny. We glanced
at each other and we could tell by each other’s looks it
was o.k. for both of us to eat one cookie.
We have a promise over each other that you have
to pull the fortune out of the cookie, place it word side
Chapter 3 The Plan
“ Excuse us,” I said pulling Jenifer aside.
55
down on the table or ground, eat the cookie, then you
finally get to look and read your fortune.
That’s what we both did. When we were both done
eating our cookies, we read our fortune to ourselves,
then showed them to each other.
“Read my fortune,” Jenifer told me. I read it and
it said: “You will take a very unfortunate trip to the
dentist.”
“Read mine,” I told Jenifer. Mine said: “You will
be very fortunate and win money. You will be very
generous with your money. “
“Yes I know Mom. It’s our year to host
Thanksgiving.”
“I’ve told you?”
“Yes, only about ten times,” I muttered under my
breath.
We spent about 8 1/2 hours cooking this food for
tomorrow [12:00–8-30] and I’m exhausted. I’m really
hoping this food is very good tomorrow.
While we were cooking, my dad was getting the
decorations out of the attic. Tomorrow, after we get all
of our outside decorations put up, we will put all of our
inside decorations up. Last, we will put the Christmas
tree up as a family.
Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year.
Chapter 5 Questions
“What do you think this means?” I asked Jenifer.
But Jenifer was too busy worrying about her teeth she
wasn’t listening.
“What do you think it means – a very unfortunate
trip to the dentist?”
“I don’t know,” I told her. I kept asking myself
questions in my mind. “Was I really going to win
money? lf I am how much?” Questions like that kept
running through my mind.I couldn’t get them out. I
couldn’t help thinking about it.
“We better start cleaning up so I can get home.”
Jenifer told me after about 20 minutes.
“Yea. I agree. Besides, I have to help cook for
tomorow.”
“Yea, me too. See you tomorow.”
“Bye, Jenifer.”
“Bye, Stephanie.”
Chapter 7 Lights
I woke up and today is Thanksgiving!!!! All that hard
work cooking finally paid off. We invited the family
over because it was our year to host Thanksgiving.
When everyone got there, we started to eat. After
that, everyone left and we started putting up the
decorations.
We put up a lot of lights. To be exact, we put up
2,756 light bulbs on our house.
Wow that’s a lot of lights!!! I thought to myself when
my dad told me how many lights were on the house.
“No offense Dad,” I told him, “but the house looks
like it was made of light bulbs.” I didn’t want to hurt his
feelings. When he looked at the house, he had one of
his proudest faces on.
“It’s just about having fun, Honey. It doesn’t matter
how many lights are on your house.” We went inside
and was putting up decorations, when suddenly the
doorbell rang...
Chapter 6 Getting Ready
As soon as Jenifer was out of sight, I started cleaning
up as fast as I could. I put everything in the garbage
bag my dad gave me to carry the stand home. I ran
home as fast as I could so I wouldn’t get in trouble for
staying out too late.
I always help my mom cook on Thanksgiving and
Christmas. This Thanksgiving we’re making turkey,
stuffing, Oreo pie, pumpkin pie, and so much more.
Finally, I burst in the front door. As soon as my mom
saw me she had to remind me about the pies.
“Hi Honey. Where have you been all this time? Any
way, you’re just in time to make the pies. We’re starting
from scratch this year you know. Will you get the milk
and eggs out of the refrigerator. We have to make this
food good because ...”
Chapter 8 Getting Ready
56
“Who could that be,” my mom wondered out loud. I
went over to the door and answered it.
“CONGRAGULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!,” a man said. I
couldn’t see what he looked like because confetti was
all over the place. “You just won a million dollars!!!”
“What for?” I asked him.
“What for? You mean you don’t know about the
contest?”
“What contest?” I asked him again.
“The Most Lights On a House Contest. You know,
the one contest that whoever has the most lights on
their house wins a million dollars,” he said not
sounding as excited as when I opened the door.
The confetti had fallen to the ground, so I could see
what the man looked like. He had short, black, hair that
was kind of spiky. He had blue eyes and a big smile
full of white teeth. He was very pale and wore a black
suit and a white under shirt, which made him look even
paler.
“You won a million dollars because you had the
most lights on your house,” he repeated.
“Oh! That contest,” I said still not knowing.
“So do you want the million dollars or not?” he
asked stupidly.
“YES!!” My parents and I said very loudly before he
could leave.
“We have a winner!!!” he said sounding excited
again. There were two women behind him holding a
giant check. They had darker skin and were wearing
hot pink dresses with matching high heels. All three
people were dressed up. The two women handed me
the check and all three people left our front porch.
They jumped into their limo and speeded out of our
driveway.
“Okay. Well I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Fosway. Cwie.”
“Who was that and what did they want?” My mom
asked me as soon as I got off the phone.
“Wat thas direnifer wand fee thust faunted woo fay
fat tur dorfin wame woo.”
We all laughed.
“She’s going to call me later so I’m going to have to
have a free hand.”
I was helping with the Christmas tree when I
suddenly had an idea...” I’m going to be upstairs in
my bedroom!” I shouted over the pounding of my feet
while I was hurrying up the stairs. I have a journal
where I keep track of my ideas. I opened it up to the
next clean page and wrote: “Thanksgiving Day” up at
the top. Right underneath I wrote: “I was helping with
the Christmas tree, when suddenly the doorbell rang...
I went over, opened it, and it turns out, our family won
a million dollars for having the most lights on our
house! Jenifer then called and told me her fortune
came true just like mine! I went back to helping put up
the Christmas tree, when I realized I can donate half of
the million dollars to Shano’ so his restaurant doesn’t
have to close!” I closed my notebook and put it back in
its special hiding place.
I ran back downstairs and asked if we could go to
“The Big China.”
“We just went yesterday and you want to go eat
there again?” my mom replied.
“No I don’t want to go eat there. I just want to go
down there.”
“For what?” my mom asked me. I could tell I was
getting on her last nerve.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I said a grin
stretching across my face.
“If you don’t tell me, we’re not going.”
“Please Mom. Please can we go. Please, please,
please, please, please...” I didn’t like begging but I
had to in order to go. “Please, please, please, please,
please ...”
“All right!” my mom said with a sigh.” I’ll go tell your
father we’re leaving. You get your jacket and shoes
on.”
“Yes!” I said as soon as my mom walked away.
Chapter 9 An Idea
While they drove away we celebrated.
“Hurray!!!” we shouted. We were still celebrating
when suddenly the phone rang. I went over and
answered it.
“Hello,” I said.
“Wehwo wefiny,” the voice said.
“Who is this?”
“Wif ith four wef weind Dienifer.”
“I think you have the wrong number. You don’t
sound like your speaking English.”
That’s it! Something clicked in my mind. Jenifer’s
fortune said she would take an unfortunate trip to the
dentist.
“This is Jenifer, right?” I asked.
“Wuh” she said.
“Let me guess,” I said, “your fortune came true. Didn’t it?”
“Wuhah. Way fad woo will fi feeth wand wit wiwy
wurt woo.
“Are you okay” I asked her.
“Yef. I frust cawalled fo way fat fi dortune fame
woo.”
“So did mine.” I told her.
“Fell wi fave woo woe wow. Wow acuot fi dalle woo
fater fen fi wouth fith wot wum?”
Chapter 10 “A Donation”
57
We finally arrived at “The Big China.”
“Hurry!” I yelled jumping out of the car and running
towards the restaurant.
“Shano!” I yelled bursting through the
door.
“Shano I have a surprise for you!” I said
trying to catch my breath.
“You’ve been so nice to me through
out the years Shano, so I wanted to give
this to you.” I gave the envelope full of
money to Shano’. After I handed it to him,
he opened it. He was shocked when he
saw what was in the envelope. It took him
awhile to speak. When he finally did, he
sounded so happy.
“Thank You! Thank you so much! Here,
stand there I’m going to take your picture.”
“For what?” I asked him.
“To put outside on the window. From
now on, you and your family can come eat
whenever you want for free.”
“Okay Shano’. Reserve us a seat for
tomorrow night and the same night every
week.”
THE END
Turkey
Shelby Dirks
Grade 4
Ar-We-Va
Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
Taylor Strawn
Grade 5
Sioux City Sunnyside Elementary
Sioux City
The Hunt
A poem about the book
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Lurking through the shadow filled streets,
Briefcase in hand.
I hold it tight,
Guarding it with all my might.
The rush and adrenaline of another hunt has begun,
As I search for my target I see,
The one to my liking.
Weak and fragile, separated from others,
Bringing forth the uncontrollable desires deep within.
My pace quickens to her every move,
There’s no turning back now.
The adrenaline surges with every beat of my heart,
As I move in for the kill,
She can all but surrender!
Fall
Demi Campbell
Grade 8
Anthon-Oto/Maple Valley Middle
Anthon
Jadyn Chandler
Grade K
Hinton Elementary
Hinton
58
What is Love?
What is love?
Happiness to others
Always happy
Together
In it forever.
Staying together
Love
Open arms
Verify feelings
Eternal joy
Ruby Rugland
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Untitled
Kelsey Smit
Grade 6
Boyden-Hull Elementary
Boyden
Candy Canes
Can we open gifts yet?
All sorts of wonderful desserts.
Never stop opening gifts.
Dinner very tasty.
Yes I got my favorite toy!!
Can you please pass the cookies?
Awesome food !!!!!
Never stop playing in the snow.
Everlasting Christmas songs!!
Sing Joy to the Lord.
Erin Johnson
Grade 5
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
UFO
Jacob Goeddeke
Grade 7
Anthon-Oto/Maple Valley Middle
Anthon
59
Music
I love to make music
no matter what kind;
The flow of the sweetness
embedded in my mind
The sound of the clear, crisp notes
come effortlessly to me;
When someone sings a song,
they ask me what I see.
I tell them of the meadows,
grass so lush, it’s unreal;
I tell them of the ocean,
so blue-green it’s almost teal.
On the Farm
Branden Whited
Grade K
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
Music can fill people
with laughter and joy;
so it really doesn’t matter
Whether you’re a girl or a boy.
I really don’t expect
anyone to see;
this wondrous feel
Of music to me.
Snow
When it comes, we despair and sulk
As it falls softly on the ground,
We feel its bitter cold bite
Though it shall pass, we’re embedded
In its cold and steady grip
We play and over joy as it stays
When it leaves, we welcome the warmth
Grace Galles
Grade 6
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
Jeff Ahlers
Grade 6
Le Mars Middle
Le Mars
The Town
Ethan Wiggs
Grade 2
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
60
The Sweet Tooth Raccoon
We had been planning the camping and floating trip
down the Niobrara River, it is very beautiful. On the
second night, a raccoon came and some people said,
“How do you know that?” Well because the raccoon
opened the container that we had some food in and
other supplies and ripped our napkins and took our
marshmallows!
My mom says, “That raccoon has a sweet tooth.” So
we didn’t have any marshmallows for the last night. I was
sad because that was our only pack. But we did see the
raccoon when we went swimming. That raccoon was still
eating the marshmallows!
Becca Brinkman
Grade 5
West Monona Central Elementary
Onawa
The Emperor
Sammy Blum
Grade 6
Rock Valley Middle
Rock Valley
Ripped Stocking
Oh, no! My stocking has a hole in it! A bat bit a hole
in it! I’m going up there to find it and let it free in the
wild nature and have its own life forever. If another
comes I will do the same thing next Christmas. On
the night of Christmas we taped my stocking. The
next morning nothing was in there! I think it fell in the
furnace. I told my mom that I was sad because all of
my candy was not in my stocking. Then I had an idea.
My sister was still asleep and I stole hers. When she
woke up she thought Santa never came so I gave her
a Hershey Bar. So I asked my grandma to sew my
stocking.
Darth Vader
Cameron Blanchard
Grade 5
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sioux City
Braeden Johnson
Grade 2
Schleswig Elementary
Schleswig
61
Teenage Fantasy
I sit at my desk
And try not to stare
At the gleam of his eyes
or the color of his hair.
To him I am no one,
I don’t even exist.
But my affection for him
I cannot resist.
He is perfect and amazing
in every single way.
I fantasize about him
every minute of every day.
I try not to look at him,
and refuse to speak,
for fear of rejection,
so lonely and bleak.
My Heroine: Helen Keller
Helen Keller is my heroine because she was very
brave and courageous. When people doubted her
she proved them wrong by learning how to speak,
write, and read. She also graduated from college and
traveled all around the world giving speeches. That is
why I think she’s such a great person.
I looked up dreams
And all that it said
Was a trick of your mind,
a movie in your head.
But to me it’s much more
than a joke of your brain.
To me it’s a way
To ignore all life’s pain.
Lauren Sobaski
Grade 4
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament Center
Sioux City
It makes me happy
To know I have seen
My fantasies coming true
On an eyelid movie screen
Lexe Kay Nilles
Grade 8th
St. Mary’s Elementary
Remsen
Dinosaur’s Time
Michael Welch
Grade 1
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
62
My First Official 5K (3.1 mile race)
It was 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday in July
of 2009 (the year I turned 11). I woke up, my blood
pumping through my veins. Why? Because my first
official 5k was today! (A 5k is a 3.1 mile race.) Quietly, I
scampered down the creaky stairs of my Pennsylvania
home to my parent’s room on the second floor.
“Mom! Mom! Wake up! The race is today!” I
announced.
“Oh! We’ve got to get going!” she cried.
“D we’re going to the race! Come watch us soon!” I
blurted.
So, we quickly gobbled up Pb and j sandwiches,
popped gum into our mouths, and crossed the street to
the Franklin and Marshal College track where the prerace preparing was being held.
Once there, I got green highlights put in my hair and
acquired a new headband. Then we made a poster of
encouragement to the runners. After that, we met the
rest of a five-girl group. Five minutes after we met my
girls on the run group, we had our picture taken. About
two minutes after that, we filed out to College Avenue.
When the horn sounded, the race was on! I started out
at a medium pace but passed all the girls in my group.
My partners Mrs. Owen and my mom told me to do
my best and to leave them behind since I was faster
than them. As I ran, I drank in the sights. The huge
trees were green and the ground (not pavement)
was moist. There were beautiful brick buildings lining
College Avenue. Some houses were over 100
years old. Others were wings of Franklin and
Marshal College.
As I turned up a huge hill in Buchannan Park I saw
the mini forest of scattered oaks and ginkgos that
would have stunned an out of state person for how
gigantic they were.
While I was finishing the first lap, I saw the people
who were handing out water. I acquired one and
drank it thirstily. Then I threw it into a recycling bin
without stopping.
I started the second lap of the race. The course was
pretty much the same except we bypassed the hill and
went around the track under a balloon arch finish line.
I turned onto the track for the last part of the race.
The track was shaped like a rectangle with rounded
ends with bleachers on the straight sides. The lanes
were a reddish orange color and there were eight.
When I approached the finish line, I sprinted so fast I
passed a 7th grader sprinting awfully fast. (I was 5th
grade at the time.)
When I ran under the balloon arc, I felt exhilarated
and happy. Plus, I got a medal at the end. Soon after,
I grabbed a grape juice pop, settled down to watch the
race, and cheer the runners on. Across the track, I saw
Dad and Julian my brother and I new that they had
seen my finish. I was first in my group. Mia came next,
then Dulcet, next Taylor, then Jolisia and Abbi. They
each were five minutes before/after each other except
me. I was 10 minutes ahead of Mia. Then Mrs. Owen
came in. I cheered wildly. Next, last but most definitely
not least, came my mom.
“Go Mom!” I cheered. She looked spent. But after
the race, she told me that she had reached her goal
to run the whole way. I did too, and my goal was
the same.
A week later we found out the results. I was 97th
overall and first in my girls on the run group. My time
was 28 minutes and 38 seconds and Mom’s was 38
minutes 59 seconds. After that race, I felt like I could
do anything. To this day, I still run 5ks and am proud to
do so!
Hazel Zink
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
The Tree
Once upon a time there was a tree that lived
by himself. Then a bird landed on his branch.
The bird asked, “Can I live with you?”
The tree said “yes” and they lived happily
ever after.
Brady Clausen
Grade 1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Holstein
63
The Silly Squirrel
One day I was going to spend the night at my
uncle’s house. There was nothing to do. About an hour
later, my stepbrother and I went outside. We noticed
his very old tree house needed cleaning. We asked my
uncle if we could clean it. He said, “Yes.”
We were only allowed to have one person at a time
in the tree house. I started cleaning and when I got
down, my brother started cleaning. Just then, a squirrel
jumped out of the tree house! The squirrel ended up
right on my head! It sunk its claws right in my skin and
it hurt! It started to clamp down tighter and harder. It
was sitting on my head for about 10 minutes. I slowly
grabbed it off my head. It slipped out of my hands and
ran off.
I had remembered an odd mark on its head. About
one hour later the dogs came back with the same
squirrel in their mouths, dead. Although it died, it was
cool to hold a wild squirrel for a few seconds.
Jaxson Koenig
Grade 5
West Monona Central Elementary
Onawa
Humpty Dumpty Sat On
a Wall
Alexa Wiese
Grade K
Sioux City Nodland
Sioux City
Hay Ride
One night I was waiting to get on a haunted hay ride.
Finally it was our turn to get on. We started going.
A couple of minutes later we took off. Then witches
jumped out then a zombie. It was freaky. Then
wizzereds were making electrical stuff. When we were
done I was glad it was over.
Brandon Kass
Grade 2
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
A Farm
Cassadi Anderson
Grade 1
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
64
Pond Bond
My Pioneer Story
We swans and geese
Have such bad luck
You folks don’t know
Whose name is whose
It’s finally fall! I, Joby, live with my siblings, Jorden,
Josie, and Jada, and my parents Jenna and Jacob.
Jada has gotten sick, so my parents are tending to her
right now. We are moving again from Maine to Iowa,
which is on the plains. I like it there in the woods.
There are so many things you can do like jump in a
leaf pile. The colors of October are so beautiful, and I
can’t do anything until we go hunting and find food to
eat.
“Hey!” said my Father.
“What?” I questioned.
“We’re going hunting. Do you want to come?” he
asked.
“Yeah! Sure! Okay!” I exclaimed. My father gave me
the 30-30. I was surprised that I got to use my father’s
first gun! Once we were in the middle of the woods, I
spotted a deer.
I was aiming at the deer until I saw a snake! It was
black with a yellow stripe down its back. I was so
scared! My father chuckled at me.
I whispered, “Why are you laughing?”
“It’s a Garter Snake,” he explained, “They don’t
bite.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Then, I remembered the
deer. Where was it?
We searched for two hours, when I finally saw it. I
aimed and BOOM! The deer fell down. That night we
ate fresh venison for supper. We had a huge meal
that night my father asked, “Hey, do you want to go
hunting tomorrow?”
I responded, “Maybe next time.”
The next day we harvested a lot of wheat. Then,
we made bread, bread, and lots more bread. It was
really good. After, my mother told me to go feed the
chickens. All I heard down the path was gobble,
gobble, gobble. As I walked, I grinned and thought, “I
really like Iowa.”
I waddle in
You all yell “duck”
Can’t you see that I’m a goose?!?!
Rachel Myers
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Evan Veltri
Grade 3
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Ida Grove
Eric Koehlmoos
Dalton Richter
Grade 8
South O’Brien Junior High
Paullina
65
The Case of the
Missing Cop
Sunday
One late night there was a full moon. Everybody
in the Sanchez house was sound asleep. Everybody
in Jasper, Georgia was asleep, but the Full Moon
Smugglers. They only strike at full moon. The gang
was after a cop, by the name of Raul Sanchez.
Saturday
The investigators arrived at the McGuire house at
around noon. The Sanchez family was supposed to
meet the investigators at the house. About 30 minutes
later the Sanchez family arrived at the McGuire house.
Well they snuck into the house and it turns out no one
was there. Everybody left at about 2:45 PM.
Monday
In the morning, Mrs. Sanchez wakes up and makes
Tyler, Terrence, Tavian, and Valencia eggs, pancakes,
and bacon. Mrs. Sanchez does this every morning for
breakfast. Mrs. Sanchez went up stairs to wake up all
the kids and Mr. Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez was nowhere
to be found. She called the police station to see if he
went to work early but the police chief said he hasn’t
checked in yet. Mrs. Sanchez was starting to panic.
She called everybody. She called her friends, Mr.
Sanchez’s friends, her sisters, her husband’s brothers
and sisters. She called everybody. Finally, Mrs.
Sanchez told her kids.
Sunday
The police chief found and arrested The Full Moon
Smugglers Sunday night, but still Raul was nowhere to
be found. Well, that night Raul was found. You’ll never
guess where he was found. He was in the Sanchez
basement.
Tavian Sanchez
Grade 4
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sergeant Bluff
Tuesday
After school Tyler picked up Terrence, Tavian, and
Valencia. They drove down to Pretzel Pete’s house, a
friend and helper of their dad. Mr. Pete gives their dad
clues about people he is chasing after. Pete had heard
about their dad. Pete told the kids that he thought their
dad was in the old “Million Dollar” McGuire house.
Wednesday
So after school, the kids went to the “Million Dollar”
McGuire house. It looked very run-down and only one
light was on in the whole house. They could hear
yelling and screaming coming from that one lit room.
They could hear someone yelling, “Just give me the
phone and no one gets hurt.” So they went home to tell
their mom. Their mom got very concerned, and even
more panicked knowing that the person held hostage
could possibly be Raul (their dad.)
Thursday
Mrs. Sanchez called the police chief to ask if they
possible could send some investigators. The police
chief said, “The soonest would probably be Saturday.”
So all they could do was pray that Raul would be safe.
Space Shuttle
66
Zac Paulsen
Grade 8
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Sanborn
Bunny
Becca Kropf
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
Hope’s Bath
“Can we go to the lake, Mom?” Miranda asked. I
was spending the weekend there and we really wanted
to go to the lake and I had never been there before.
“Yes, you can go,” Kyle replied, “But stay together,”
Kyle added.
“Can we bring Hope?” Miranda also asked. Hope is
Miranda’s dog.
“Sure, go ahead.” Kyle agreed. So then we grabbed
Miranda’s motorbike from the garage and rode it to the
lake. When we got there we immediately took off our
shoes. The sand was squishy and soft between my
toes. We started making sculptures out of wet sand.
SPLASH!! Hope just jumped off one of the docks into
the lake. We watched her splash around in the lake
for a little bit then we turned our attention to our
sculptures again.
“Miranda, why don’t we soak our toes in the shallow
water?” I suggested.
“Great idea Makayla!” Miranda agreed. The water
was cool and refreshing against my feet.
“Hey, Makayla, since we are already wet why don’t
we get even more wet?” Miranda suggested.
“Okay,” I agreed, happy to be able to get all wet.
We got soaked and Hope happily played with us and
splashed us.
“Hey Makayla, it’s getting late we should head back
to my house.” Miranda suggested.
“Okay, great idea Miranda.” I agreed. So we headed
over to the motorbike and rode it a little ways and then
it died! So then we took turns pushing it to her house.
When we got to her driveway we took a small break.
“Oh no!” I exclaimed.
“What?” Miranda asked puzzled.
“Your driveway is made of rocks!” I answered sadly
because we never put our shoes back on when we left.
“Oh,” Miranda replied just as sad.
“We could help each other pull it up.” She
suggested.
“Okay.” I agreed. Then we worked our way up her
driveway. Halfway up we took a small break.
“Why don’t we leave it on the side?” I suggested.
“No one would steal it.”
“Okay.” Miranda agreed happy to get rid of the
weight of the motorbike. We hurried into the house and
took showers.
“Hey Miranda, why don’t we give Hope a bath
because she got dirty too.”
“Okay.” Miranda agreed. So we bathed Hope but the
drain clogged and we had to tell Kyle so we could get
it unclogged and she was not happy with us. She sent
us to Miranda’s room while she cleaned the bathroom.
I was cleaning Miranda’s room and tidying her bed. I
was so worried that because of my idea I wouldn’t be
allowed to come over anymore. But then Kyle came
in and reassured me and I apologized and ate a juicy
great tasting dinner with them. Then I went home later
that night. What I learned is at a friend’s house ask
permission before you do something.
Makayla Sullivan
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
67
Description
Chloe Wurth
Grade 1
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Dodge Charger
Noah Lamaak
Grade 6
Denison Middle
Denison
68
The Little Girl Who
Believed in Santa
There once was a little girl who believed in Santa. It
was Christmas Eve. “Mama, is Santa going to bring me
presents?” asked Jazlin.
“Sure he will. He always does,” said Stacie.
“This year I want to give him a present,” Jazlin said.
“Okay,” Stacie said.
They went to the store and got a present. They put it
under their tree. It had a note that said,
Dear Santa,
You get me presents so I got you one.
Love,
Jazlin
Christma Eve
Kallee Allen
Grade 3
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
“Mom, I want to go to the North Pole,” said Jazlin.
“Oh Jazi, we can’t go to the North Pole to see
Santa,” said Stacie. Jazlin started crying. She wanted
to see Santa so bad.
Stacie thought for a while on what to do. She went
over to Jazlin and said, “Santa’s in town tomorrow. We
can go see him and you can sit on his lap.“
“No, I want to see where he works.”
Stacie left and got an idea. It was Christmas Day.
Stacie woke up Jazlin and they went to see Santa.
Jazlin got to sit on his lap and she was happy.
They got home and opened her presents. One of
them said,
Thank you, Jazlin. I love the gift.
Love, Santa.
“Mama, Santa wrote me a note,” said Jazlin.
“Yes, he did,” said Stacie and smiled.
Jenna Hibma
Grade 4
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
Zebra
Jordan Jackson
Grade 8
Sioux City West Middle
Sioux City
69
Fall
My senses tell me its fall when I see leaves on the ground.
I hear the leaves crunch beneath my feet.
That is how I know it’s fall.
The farmers start to harvest, and the leaves begin to fall
I see the carved pumpkins, I feel the cold air.
I hear the wind rustle in the leaves,
That is how I know it’s fall.
I taste the sweet corn and pumpkin pie,
The feel of the pumpkin guts let me know it’s fall.
Court of Dreams
There are many places I enjoy, but the basketball
court is my favorite. As the opposing point guard is
pounding the ball on the floor, I am staring him down
to let him know he is not going to get around me. He
calls out a play to his teammates and makes a move to
blow by me. Then, I shuffle my feet and deceptively bat
the ball from his grasp and recover it myself. My team
is always looking to fast break, so I instinctively look
down the court to see if one of my teammates is open.
All of them are being guarded, so I bring the ball up
the court myself. Next, I glare at my defender, again to
tell him he has no chance of stopping me. I forcefully
pound the leathery, sticky ball with my right hand and
plant my foot to make an attack to the basket. The
move freezes my opponent for a moment, just long
enough for me to get around him. The defender
guarding the post collapses down on me to stop me
from scoring. I fight to the hoop and barely get the ball
over his fingertips. It goes through the hoop, and I am
fouled. The hit from my adversary sends me sprawling
to the ground, and a group of my teammates come
over to help me up. Basketball is my true love. That is
why my favorite place is the basketball court, because
I get to play defense, steal the ball, and score points.
I know the days are getting shorter,
That means it’s finally fall.
Andrew Snyder
Grade 5
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
Connor Murrell
Grade 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Sergeant Bluff
Spirit
Taylor Towne
Grade 5
St. Rose of Lima
Denison
70
Arts of Fun
Kirsten Dausel
Grade 4
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
Football
You have to throw like King Kong throwing rocks at airplanes.
You have to run swift as a deer running through a forest.
You have to see as a little bunny looking out for enemies.
You have to hit like a freight train hitting a car crossing a
railroad track.
You have to catch like a Cardinal catcher catching a fastball.
You have to block like deodorant repellent blocking off the
stinky smell.
You have to tackle like a puma jumping on its prey.
You have to kick like you’re competing in the World Cup Series.
You have to be smart like a math teacher.
JT Engebretson
Grade 5
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Le Mars
71
Behind the 8 Ball
Tino Ramierez
Grade 8
St. Patrick’s
Sheldon
The Meadow
Sydney Mahlke
Grade 4
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Le Mars
Found
Together they waited
until the stroke of midnight,
when she raised her bare left arm
so that it pointed toward the new moon
like a marble spear.
A soft white orb gathered itself above
her palm from the light
emitted by the lanterns
that dotted the Menoa tree.
Then she walked along
the root to the massive trunk
and placed the orb in a hollow in the bark,
where it remained,
pulsing.
from: ELDEST By Christopher Paolini P. 458
A Beautiful Summer Day
Elizabeth Page
Grade 2
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Sioux City
Wade Blakeman/Dimmitt
Grade 8
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Pierson
72
A Perplexing Mystery
Timothy Greenwich is a detective in 1890 London.
He is Scotland Yard’s best detective, and has solved
several of their toughest cases. However, on April 4th,
1890, he faced one of his toughest cases.
Greenwich arrived in the House of Parliament on
the Thames as Big Ben struck twelve. He arrived at the
Central Lobby to see a dead body lying on the floor. It
was a man in his early 40s, who was wearing a black
suit and bowler hat. There was a large gash down the
left arm of his suit that was extremely damp.
A man in a uniform similar to Greenwich was
kneeling, beside the body. He stood up once he saw
Greenwich. “Morning, Tim.” he said as he shook his
hand.
“Afternoon” Greenwich said. This man was John
Bolster, Greenwich’s partner. Both of them took on the
cases that your average Scotland Yard constable can’t
solve.
“Well, what have we got here?” Tim asked.
“The dead man’s name is Phillip Edwards. He was
going to make a statement before the House of Lords
at 3:00 this afternoon. He’s quite rich, made most of
his money during the Industrial Revolution. There were
only three other people in the Lobby at the time of the
murder. His friend, Thomas Lewis is over there.” he
pointed to a man in a safari suit standing against the
wall. “Over there is Parliament member Alfred Butler,”
he looked over at the indignant man sitting on a bench.
“And the custodian William Turner is over there,” he
pointed to a very nervous man pacing the floor.
“Well then, let’s get to it.” Greenwich walked
around questioning all the witnesses about where
they were when the man died, how they responded.
what did they see, etc. After he was done questioning,
Greenwich walked back over to Bolster and gave him
a small book of all he had heard from the witnesses.
“So who do you think it is?” Bolster asked as he
read through the book.
“Well, right now, I’m leaning, toward the Parliament
member. After hearing where he was and what he
was doing at the time of the murder, it sounds like he
just made it up as I was questioning him, although
Lewis has been acting rather strange. He seems to be
hiding something in his pocket and I noticed that he’s
standing right over a squashed bug,” Greenwich told
Bolster.
“So, what does a squashed bug have to do with
anything?” Bolster asked.
“It’s bloody Parliament, this is the Central Lobby, its
squeaky clean all the time, how would they not see a
squashed bug? Also, he had a bunch of tiny mosquito
stingers in a vial in his pocket.” He pulled out a vial
filled with tiny black stingers.
“How did you get that?”
“I pick pocketed it off of him while I was interrogating
him.”
“So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Have you read to the end of the book yet?”
“No.”
“Read to the end, it tells you I think he’s our man.”
Bolster read through the book and threw it down on
the ground. He turned around to Greenwich and said
“That’s our guy. Let’s go get him.” They both walked
over to Lewis. “Thomas Lewis. You are under arrest for
the murder of Phillip Edwards.”
“What? I’m innocent. Phillip was my best friend!”
Lewis cried as Greenwich put the handcuffs on him.
“Yeah, sure, you’re totally innocent. Why else would
you have a vial of mosquito stingers, a bottle of red
paint, and vial of green gel, which is actually extract
from the tropical flower capula, which is highly
poisonous and is only found in the Amazon?”’
Greenwich asked.
“How do you know for sure it’s me?”
“Oh. I’ll tell in the coach ride to the Yard,” Greenwich
said. He pushed him out of the Lobby and into a
stagecoach. As they were on their way to Scotland
Yard, Greenwich explained to Lewis how he knew he
was the murderer.
“You see, the first thing I noticed was that there was
a very small wound, and that there was no way that
there could be so much blood coming from a small
wound. I also noticed that the blood was very sticky
and thick, and it had the same consistency as paint.
Then I noticed that you were standing over a squashed
mosquito. Now, it is impossible for mosquitoes to live
in London or the surrounding area, so I deduced it had
to come from the Tropics. Now, who would be more
likely to travel to the Tropics, an explorer, a Member
of Parliament, or a custodian? The answer was fairly
obvious. Then, I just had to deduce how you killed him,
so I just had to see what you had in your pockets. 73
“What I found was very convicting. A vial of
mosquito stingers, a bottle of red paint, and a vial of
green gel, which I knew right away was capula, which
is only found in the Amazon.”
“You have all the evidence, but you do not have a
motive or a method for why I killed him,” Lewis
pointed out.
“Oh, it’s simple; you injected the poison into the
mosquito, and then used it as a hypodermic needle to
inject the fast-acting poison into his bloodstream.”
“You now have the method, but what of the motive?”
“You told me when I was questioning you that
Edwards had funded several of your expeditions. I
simply deduced that you owed him money for the
expeditions, and you thought that if you killed him, your
debts would go away.”
“Yes, yes. You are right on all counts.”
“I am always right. That is why I’m the best detective
in London.”
The End.
The TTA
Isabel Aduddell
Grade 4
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Le Mars
David Puhl
Grade 7
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
When I Felt Successful
Have you ever felt successful? Well last summer I
got a mowing job from my neighbor. The lawn was
humongous! She paid $20 every time I mowed. I
mowed about once a week.
Most days it was really hot, but I had my trusty iPod
along for the job so I don’t fall asleep while mowing.
We have been through a lot together. He’s like a
brother to me.
At the end of the summer I went to get my money and
it was about $300. I felt really successful
that I did something with my summer. Now when my
family goes to Florida I get to bring $100 of it to do
whatever I want with it. I can’t wait!
Jungle
Chelsea Vasquez
Grade 4
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sioux City
Connor Paulsen
Grade 6
Schleswig Middle
Schleswig
74
Water Slide Fun
When I was at the water park, I experienced many
feelings. First, my family and I went on a lot of slides
and rides there, but nothing could prepare me for what
was about to happen. My grandma wanted me to go
down the biggest, straightest-down slide ever! I was
terrified, and just said no. After we had gone on some
more slides, I finally built up the courage to go down.
Then we walked up tons of steps, which seemed like
forever, and my legs ached at the top. After we had
finished scaling the tall, hard, slippery, wet steps, I
felt very nauseous. I looked down. I instantly made
a decision: back down the steps for me. Next, as I
walked down the steps, I saw my grandma coming
up. I had to go now. Then, as we scaled back up the
slippery gray steps, my legs felt heavy, and my throat
felt like a golf ball was stuck in it. I was really going to
do this. After what seemed like forever of a wait, it was
time. I wanted to turn back. My hands were sweating,
my teeth were chattering like a dancing skeleton, and
my legs were sore. It was time. I just decided to go for
it. After all, there was like a fifty percent chance I could
live after all this. I went. The slide went almost straight
out, then a sudden curve, and straight down. Once I
was on the straight part there was no turning back. I
gripped my shorts with white knuckles, bared my teeth,
and closed my eyes. I dropped. That must have been
one of the scariest moments of my life. But after five
seconds, it was all over. Hey! That was actually kind of
fun! I didn’t die after all! I was then very excited about
it, and went down no problem over twenty times. In
conclusion, the water slide caused many emotions: I
was scared, sore, felt wimpy coming down the slide,
and was excited afterwards.
Untitled
Kendra Kroese
Grade 8
Orange City Christian
Orange City
Christmas
Caroling in the cold night on Christmas Eve,
Heightens the joy in children’s hearts.
Right at home is where they are safe.
In the night they wait for
Santa to come down the chimney,
To bring happiness to everyone and
Make them smile with
A present in their hand to have a
Simple and blessed Christmas.
Gage DeMoss
Grade 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Sergeant Bluff
75
Jayden Kooyman
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Rudolph’s Understudy
Santa took one look at Newdolph and knew that
he was the perfect fit for the job. He explained the
situation to Newdolph and his parents.
“He’s absolutely perfect! He can lead my sleigh
tonight,” cheered a happy Santa.
“What about Rudolph?” asked Newdolph.
“Grrrrr,” mumbled Rudolph.
“Achoo!” sneezed Newdolph.
“I’m sorry,” apologized Newdolph, “I have a cold.”
“Hey, look at Rudolph’s nose light up!” shouted
Santa.
“I can lead the sleigh after all tonight!” exclaimed
Rudolph.
“May I still come?” asked Newdolph.
“Sure,” cried Santa, “You can help Rudolph lead the
sleigh this Christmas Eve!”
“YAY!” exclaimed Newdolph.
“Grrrr,” mumbled Rudolph.
“Let’s go!” said Santa.
After the sleigh ride on Christmas Eve, Rudolph and
Newdolph became the best of friends.
It was Christmas Eve and Rudolph’s nose wouldn’t
light up. “How are we going to get through this dark
night?” asked Santa Clause.
“Rudolph, why is your nose dark as a black hole?”
asked Santa.
“I think my cold is gone,” replied Rudolph.
“Well, you need a nose replacement, Rudolph. We
need a new red-nosed reindeer,” replied Santa Clause.
“NO, NO, NO,” cried Rudolph.
“I’ll have nose red again, you’ll see!” exclaimed an
upset Rudolph.
“Rudolph, it’s too late now. It’s already dusk,” replied
a frustrated Santa.
“It’s not fair,” said Rudolph.
“I’ll go out and find another reindeer like you,” said
Santa.
“I’ll go with you,” said Rudolph.
“If you wish,” replied Santa.
Meanwhile, in a bright cave, a red-nosed reindeer
named Newdolph was thinking that when he grew up
he wanted to lead Santa’s sleigh.
“Hey Santa, what’s that glowing up ahead?” yelled
Rudolph.
“Let’s check it out!” said Santa.
“Hello, is anybody home?” hollered Santa into the
brightly lit cave.
“My, my, it’s Santa,” exclaimed Newdolph’s parents.
Nicholas Gisch
Grade 4
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
Joy to the World!
Isabelle Bertram
Grade 2
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
76
Trying to Get Done
Are the Farmers!
Combining in the fields,
Hoping to get some better yields,
Trying to get done are the farmers!
Hoping nothing ever breaks down,
So that will not bring you down,
Trying to get done are the farmers!
Hoping the trucks keep up,
Hoping the tractors stay real tough,
Trying to get done are the farmers!
Working long days and nights,
Keeping on the tractor lights,
Trying to get done are the farmers!
Farming
Briley Pike
Grade 2
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
Trying to get done with beans and corn,
While your newborn baby is born,
Trying to get done are the farmers!
Now the farmers are getting all done,
So they can go out and have some fun,
Getting done right now are the farmers!
Alec Langel and James Kellen
Grade 5
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
Six Word Biographies
Kora Alesch: kindergarten, girl, five, goulash, pretty, football
Carter Esler: kindergarten, boy, five, lions, park, glasses
Kierra Gengler: kindergarten, girl, six, movies, cute, pizza
Helen Goeken: kindergarten, girl, six, games, spaghetti, pretty
Trevor Homan: kindergarten, boy, six, tag, pizza, tall
Carson Loutsch: kindergarten, boy, six, nuggets, Cyclones, math
Matlynn Loutsch: kindergarten, girl, six, dolls, curly, hotdogs
KC Nicks: kindergarten, boy, six, spaceships, laugh, macaroni
Emma Reuter: kindergarten, girl, five, TV, apples, pink
Ally Sanow: kindergarten, girl, six, hazel, birthdays, uncle
Baily Sargent: kindergarten, girl, six, puppy, cool, watermelon
Jake Utesch: kindergarten, boy, six, sports, brother, play
Bethany Woltman: kindergarten, girl, six, horses, clubhouse, blonde
Mrs. Utesch’s Kindergarten Class
Grade K
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
77
My Normal Day Couplets
When I come home to do my chore
I clean the toilets or mop the floor.
Then when my mom points to the door and says “Go,”
I get pelted by my brothers with chunks of hard snow.
I walk inside tired, wet, bruised, broken, and worn out
My mom gets a towel to give my clothes a drought.
I sleepily fall into bed that night
So I can wake up in morning light.
John Lennon
McKinna Faulkenberry
Grade 5
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
Caleb Jahn
Grade 5
Sioux City Roosevelt
Sioux City
John Deere
D.J. Fischer
Grade K
Hinton Elementary
Hinton
78
One of a Kind
Once upon a time there was a really nice firedog,
but he was all charred from fighting fires. One day
he jumped in a fire to save somebody’s life. When he
jumped in the fire, he didn’t know that it was so hot,
and he passed away. So the firefighters had to get a
new dog.
That dog didn’t know how to fight fires. It just stood
there and when the fire fighters bought him, he cried.
He was a weenie. So they finally said, “This dog is
worthless!” They took him back to the pet store.
They all cried and cried because they wanted their
good dog back. The dog was named Bones because
he liked bones. They still had a bunch of bones to
give him. If they knew he was going to die, they would
have given him all of the bones they had. For one, they
didn’t want them to go to waste. Number two was they
didn’t want him to starve in dog heaven.
They started to cry again. When they stopped, they
heard barking. It sounded like Bones! They looked up
in the sky and saw a cloud shaped like Bones. That
cloud stayed there forever and ever and ever. From
then on, when they looked up in the sky, somewhere,
somehow, a cloud was shaped liked Bones, and they
were never sad again.
The Scarecrow
Sidney Koob
Grade K
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
Jack-O-Lantern
You see me on Halloween night
If I’m carved scary I’ll give you a fright
I’m round and plump
If I rot I will slump
I am a jack-o-lantern
If you put a candle in me I light
My glowing eyes, nose, and mouth light up the night
Abby Whitsel
Grade 3
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Sioux City
Kyra Martin
Grade 5
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
Fall
Kiersten Blair
Grade 5
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
79
My Mother
My Mother
Tied to each other
A shoulder to cry on
A hand to hold
A person to snap at
To be sassy and cold
To smile with on the good days
To cry with on the bad
To live with, to laugh at
To cook with, to scream at
But one thing’s for sure that:
I love my mother for all that she is and all that we are.
Olivia Sickelka
Grade 8
South O’Brien Junior High
Paullina
My Pony
Cadon Remington
Grade 4
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Upper Elementary
Cleghorn
Why
Why is the sky always so blue?
Is it because the ocean is too?
Why is the grass oh so green?
Is it so the hills can be seen?
Why is the air just so clear?
Is it because the garden is near?
Why is the snow very white?
Is it to bring peace to a fight?
Why is the tree bark so rough?
Is it to make the tree seem tough?
Mary Jane Dillavou
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Cheer Squad 6
Marissa Driesen
Grade 4
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
80
Corduroy – The Missing Buttons
Fix up Corduroy in a special way,
So some little child will buy it today!
I can fix the bear...
I can fix his two eyes, two ears, and three buttons for his belly. (Keaton Weiler)
I can fix his tummy with three buttons and two eyes. (Emma Langel)
I can fix the eyes with two buttons. (Jacklyne Ahrens)
I can give him four buttons on his belly. (Rachel Bunkers)
I can put two buttons on his belly. (Maci Gravenish)
I can put two buttons for eyes. (Josh Armfield)
I can put two buttons for eyes. (Sam Johnson)
I can give him two eyes and three buttons. (Bryce Staab)
I can give him two eyes. (Bryce Tentinger)
I can put on five buttons on his fingers. (Torey Tentinger)
I can put on six buttons. (Kamden Steffen)
I can sew on two eyes for him. (Vincent DeBord)
I can put two buttons for eyes. (Braxton Staab)
I can give him buttons for his eyes. (Jacey Theisen)
I can give him buttons on his feet. (Jordan Phillips)
Mrs. Mindy Ruhland’s Kindergarten Class
Grade K
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Black Eyes
Jeremiah Ver Beski
Grade 7
Sioux City West Middle
Sioux City
Untitled
Garrett Meyer
Grade 2
Galva-Holstein Elementary
Holstein
81
Cancer
I was in the car with my dad and two sisters. We
were on our way home. My dad said he had something
important to say. We asked what it was but he said
that he’d tell us at home. We wondered what it could
be. We finally got home. We walked inside and we
were heading up the stairs and I asked what was so
important. He answered, “Grandpa just passed away
from colon cancer.”
We stood there and said absolutely nothing
because there was nothing to say. Then we walked
up the stairs saying nothing and went straight to our
rooms. Inside I had a lot of questions, but outside all
there was were tears. So we went and did everything
that everyone does when someone passes away. And
every year from then the tears would hit me like a rock.
We would drive and see a sign with his name that said,
“In Loving Memory.” People would ask, “Why is his
name up there?” And I’d say to myself because he’s
loved.
The Great Artic Dragon
Drake Oswald
Grade 3
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Abby Gevik
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
The Forest
I have many favorite places, but one stands out the
most: the forest. Being here, I can clear my mind of all
my thoughts. I love to be in the forest in the fall with my
brother and cousin at my side, the frost-covered grass
crunching beneath our boots. All three of us, barely
visible, tread on a short odyssey till dawn. An hour
passes and our bodies are frozen like ice. Minutes
more pass, and we finally reach our destination, an
area where trees stand so close together it is almost
as dark as twilight and there is no frost on the ground.
With difficulty we find the ladders that we have been
searching for and climb them to the platform and
wait. Minutes pass and no signs of life catch our
eyes. Hours come and go and finally we hear a bush
rustle nearby. Instinctively we stand up and take aim.
Then we see a deer pop out and start to eat. With
disappointment we sit back down and stare into space.
The next thing I know, as my brother and I have a
quiet conversation, my cousin sees a turkey. He
stands, takes aim, and pulls the trigger of the shotgun.
The turkey falls to the ground in a motionless heap
of feathers. Over the next hour a few more turkeys
hustle out of the bushes. My brother, I think, has the
most incredible shot. Once he sees one, he stands,
takes aim, and lets the arrows fly. His arrow misses the
turkey but pierces a small, thin tree and hits a different
turkey. To conclude, this is why my favorite place to be
is in the stand, waiting for the next game to appear.
Taylor Cooley
Grade 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Sergeant Bluff
82
The 1st Cupid!
Once there was a baby whose parents were
Mother Nature and Father Time. He was going
to become a tooth fairy. But his parents had a
different idea.
While baby Aaron was sleeping his parents put
a curse on their son. The curse made it impossible
for their son to grow-up.
Two years later Aaron still hadn’t grown. He
started asking his parents why. They told him that
he was to become Cupid, the baby who makes
people fall in love. Aaron was not that happy. His
parents made him go to Training Camp for three
years so he can earn his badge.
Three Years Later…
Aaron came back and he was happy. It was
Valentine’s Day in two days. The day before
Valentine’s Day, his mom went shopping for a bow
and some arrows for Aaron. She didn’t tell her
husband. That night when the whole family was in
their living room. The mom gave Aaron his present.
He opened the box. It was a bow and arrows! His
father went crazy! Then he sent Aaron to bed. He
and his wife started yelling at each other. Aaron
started to cry. How can I fix this, he thought. Then it
popped into his head.
The Rise of the Turkeys
Noah Burns
Grade 3
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
Cooper and Rocky
My dog’s name is Cooper. He’s four months old.
He’s my second favorite dog. My first was Rocky. We
had to put him down because he was really sick. When
I play outside with Cooper in the snow I think of Rocky
because he was playful. When I built a snow tunnel
Rocky would try to crawl through and get me. Cooper
and Rocky are cool because they’re soft. I miss Rocky
so much. I cry when I think of Rocky. I like my dogs so
much. When I chase Cooper, he runs away and I just
laugh. Rocky used to sleep in bed with me sometimes.
Cooper and Rocky like to fetch tennis balls. The
saddest day of your life is when you lose something
you love! Miss you Rocky.
The Bow and Arrow!
He crept to his dresser and got the arrow. He
aimed for his father’s back. It missed his fathers
back, but it hit him somewhere else. Right on his
bottom!
“I love you, sweetheart.” His father said to his
mother.
And that’s how Aaron became known as Cupid.
Just remember, Cupid is always on patrol on
Valentine’s Day, and beware Cupid’s arrow just
might hit your bottom too!
Tyler Anderson
Grade 5
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
Stephanie Heuertz
Grade 6
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
83
Untitled
Keegan Simons
Grade 4
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementay
Arcadia
The Cat
Gabby Ryan
Grade K
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Sioux City
Happiness?
Happiness–what does it truly mean?
To be with a loved one, family, or friend?
To be able to look in the mirror and see a smiling face looking back at you?
To be able to sit in an empty room and find an inner place to know you are ok?
To look back on your life and know you did everything you could with no regrets?
To be able to know that you are loved and that if you died today, someone would miss you for eternity?
Happiness–what does it mean to you?
Kari Lenz
Grade 12
South O’Brien High
Paulina
84
Hero VS Villain
Long, long ago in a very large town, there was a
hero named Captain Diaper Duty. Of course there’s a
hero, so there has to be a villain. The villain’s name
is Professor Poops-a-lot. He was the meanest villain
known to man. The only hero who could stop him
was … Captain Diaper Duty! (“John are you telling that
story again?!” “MOM! Please, I’m busy!”) So where
were we .... ah, yes. Captain Diaper Duty was the only
hero that could defeat Professor Poops-a-lot and send
him back to his home planet. So, off I went out into the
city. (“John your asparagus is getting cold!” “MOM! I’ll
be out in a little bit! I’m busy!”) I went out into the city to
capture Professor Poops-a-lot. He was destroying the
whole town. It was covered with dirty diapers! The only
thing to do was ... eat my asparagus ... no no I’m just
kidding. The only thing to do was .... clean up all the
dirty diapers with clean diapers! I screamed into the air,
“This looks like a job for ... duh duh duh duh Captain
Diaper Duty!’ I flew around the town cleaning up the
dirty diapers with diaper wipes and baby powder. I
filled the diaper dispenser and squirted clean diapers
all over Professor Poops-a-lot. He cried out, “Curse
you, Captain Diaper Duty! You haven’t seen the last of
me.” And he flew off back to his home plant because
he knew he was no match for Captain Diaper Duty!
(John, come eat your food!” “Mom, I’m coming!”)
Flower in Spring
Skylar Mackey
Grade 3
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Ida Grove
I Wish to See
I wish to see my future,
I wish to see my past,
I wish to see my friends,
I really hope they last.
I wish to see the ocean,
I wish to see the sea,
I wish to see my reflection,
I hope it resembles me.
I hope to see my family,
As I slowly fade away,
I wish to see so many things,
But there aren’t enough hours in the day.
The End
Jolee Linden
Grade 7
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
Terence Clyne
Grade 6
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
The Snowmen
Veta Jennings
Grade 1
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
85
Tissues
Tissues live at my school.
At night, they would rather come out of the garbage and tissue boxes than
stay put.
They fight about the brands and which brand is the best.
They dance all night, even when they have a little boogie in them.
The red tissues are as angry as trolls. Green tissues love pickles. The blue
ones are as soft as a snowflake. The white ones are neat freaks. They’re as
white as a cloud.
All the tissues are as light as a feather.
Tissues complain about kids blowing their noses in them.
Some tissues get Candy Land people out of the games and pretend to be
people parachuting off of the students’ desks.
Most tissues dig in the kids’ desks, but then they fix them up.
Tissues always draw tissues. Then they use pencils as war sticks.
As the night passes, the tissues go back in the garbage and the tissue boxes
for the next day.
That’s how tissues have a life at my school.
Alexis Castaneda
Grade 4
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Sioux City
When My Dog Ate a
Rubber Ducky
One day my sister was taking a bath.
Then a rubber ducky fell out of the bathtub.
Then my dog ate it. The next morning when
he barked he squeaked. We had to go to
the vet to get it out and he was okay. The
surgery was nasty. There was blood all
over.
Autumn Henkel
Grade 2
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Holstein
Lighthouse
Zulema Medrano
Grade 5
St. Rose of Lima
Denison
86
Jordyn’s Journey
released the ball … BOOM the ball hit Dakota’s upper
lip he fell to the ground. Couch Austin yelled, “Small
get your uniform on ASAP.” The ump yelled, “You can’t
have a girl on the team.” Coach said, “Who cares? Her
name is on the roster and she has played all season
long.” Jordyn was so excited she got to play in the
championship!
It was the bottom of the 9th inning Jordyn was up
to bat. There were two outs, bases loaded and a full
count. The pitcher winded up and he released the pitch
it was a perfect pitch it was up to Jordyn to hit a grand
slam to win, the score was 9 to 12, the other team was
wining. Boom grand slam!!!!! And the crowd goes wild.
Coach Austin said, “Maybe girls should play on ball
teams.”
So it ends up they let girls play on baseball teams
and everyone heard the story of Jordyn and named the
story Jordyn’s Journey. Dakota ended up with a broken
nose and 2 teeth and the L.A. Strikers won the Little
League World Series!
Once upon a time there was a girl named Jordyn
Small. She moved from North Carolina to California.
Jordyn always played baseball with her brother, Bret,
and all the neighborhood boys. When she moved to
California she decided to tryout for a baseball team
with her brother. When Jordyn went to tryouts she
wore a baseball hat so she looked like a boy. She was
one of the best players on the team. The team name
was the L.A. Strikers.
This one boy named Dakota became good friends
with Jordyn and Bret. Jordyn didn’t know why they
were treating her like one of them so she guessed
she and Bret made the team, and they did! So it was
the first tournament and they checked into their hotel
room and then everyone wanted to swim and Jordyn
didn’t want to and everyone on the team pushed her
in, even Bret. Then she met Kate a teammate’s twin.
She even thought Jordyn was a boy too so Jordyn took
off her hat and showed Kate her hair and told her she
couldn’t tell anyone or she would be off the team. Then
everyone got done swimming and everyone wanted to
play whiffleball and she and Kate decided to play too.
It was the last tournament of the summer and
Jordyn did really good. She hit three doubles and three
singles. So they checked in the hotel and then they
played whiffel ball. Once again everyone decided to go
swimming and Jordyn decided to go swim. So she got
on her swimsuit and walked down to the pool. When
she walked in everyone’s eyes and mouths opened
wide. Then she jumped into the pool and swam to Kate
and Abigail. Abigail was Kate’s friend.
Later that night Jordyn’s mom, Chris, got a
voicemail from Coach Austin it said “I heard the boys
said Jordyn was a girl and I even thought Jordyn was
a boy too.” I read the rulebook and it said girls weren’t
allowed to play baseball in this league.” I asked if
Jordyn could still play in the championship since her
name was on the roster, but they said she could not
play in the championship. I begged and begged but
she couldn’t. If you guys want to leave you can and
we’ll take Bret home. Thanks again for letting Jordyn
play.”
It was the championship game. Jordyn and her
mom stayed to watch and Jordyn brought her uniform
along to turn in.
It was the 2nd inning. Dakota was up to bat “BALL”
says the ump full count the pitcher winded up, he
Madelyn Mogensen
Grade 4
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sergeant Bluff
Whales
Emilee Danner
Grade 4
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
87
Simple Reality
Through the hallways
Down the stairs
I get seated
In my chair
Those around me
Do not notice
Am I seen?
Star Fruit Bowl
Just not heard
Kierra McKernan
Grade 5
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sioux City
Am I heard?
Just not seen
Or am I both
Invisible to all
But me
Monster
What shall I do?
Deal with the pain
One Friday night Carter, Brayden, Scooby-Doo, and
I were at the vampire’s house. We told scary stories.
After our first story, Carter pretended to be a monster
and scared Scooby-Doo. Just then a monster jumped
out and said, “aahhhheeeeee! Moo!”
I said, “Go away!”
Everybody repeated, “Go away!”
The monster shut off the lights. “Aaaag!” I shouted.
Brayden started to cry. Carter did too. It was scary.
Suddenly I said, “Where is Scooby-Doo?” Carter
wanted to go home. We looked all around the house.
The vampire wanted to know what was going on? But I
said nothing was wrong.
But the vampire said, “Shaggy come here.”
“Uh oh” I said. Scooby went with Shaggy! “Thanks,
vampire!” I said. “You are the best vampire in the
world.” Finally we got Scooby back. We all went home
to watch TV.
Should I speak up?
What could I lose?
What could I gain?
Two different realities
Spin through my head
My life feels like
It’s held up by a thread
Is this a dream?
Or simple reality
Alexis Looyenga
Grade 8
Le Mars Middle
Le Mars
Cade Pepper
Grade 2
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
88
Is a Temporary Magnet
a Sidekick?
Winter Sense Poem
I can see winter.
I can see the sparkles glistening in the snow.
I can see ice skaters having so much fun.
I can see the bright lights in the dark snowy sky.
“Can a temporary, magnet really be a sidekick?”
“Yes, but it is not a real sidekick. It is like a magnet’s
sidekick because it is similar to a magnet, but it only
has magnetism for a short time.”
“How can it be a magnet?”
“Well a temporary magnet is an iron material that
can act like a magnet for a short time, right?”
“That is right.”
“So it is like a magnet. For example, a lodestone is
an iron material that is a permanent magnet because it
has magnetite in it, so it always attracts iron materials,
but a paper clip is a temporary magnet, because it
can only act like a magnet for a short time. Also if you
have an opaque material that is made of iron that
magnetism can’t go through, it might be a temporary
magnet.
“But how does it work?”
“It works you when you rub or get close to the
magnetic field of a magnet with an iron material. To
illustrate, pretend you had an iron material like a
paperclip. You use a magnet and rub it in the same
direction. Will it be a temporary magnet or not? Yes, it
would! In addition, the iron material that is a temporary
magnet can only last for a short time.”
“Wow! So a temporary magnet is like a sidekick!”
“That’s right! It is like a sidekick, and the partner of
the sidekick is the magnet, like a super hero!”
I can smell winter.
I can smell the hot chocolate with the marshmallows.
I can smell gingerbread baked in the oven.
I can smell hot cookies in the oven.
I can hear winter.
I can hear the jingle bells waving back and forth.
I can hear the nice Christmas music on the radio.
I can hear the hard snowing blizzards.
I can taste winter.
I can taste the hot chocolate running down my throat.
I can taste the nice warm Christmas cookies.
I can taste the gingerbread fresh from the oven.
I can feel winter.
I can feel the cold breeze outside.
I can feel goose bumps on my arm.
I can feel the warmness from the fireplace.
Ivan Zamago
Grade 3
Schleswig Elementary
Schleswig
Long Ly
Grade 4
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Sioux City
Adoption Zoo
Calvin Chappell
Grade K
Whiting Elementary
Whiting
89
In the Middle
of the Night
A cold lonely voice whispered in Kara’s ear “Wake.”
She didn’t move. “Get up,” it said. She quickly sat
upright.
“Who’s there,” she asked. A light turned on in the
bathroom. She turned, “Mom?” The light flickered.
She caught a glimpse of movement in the corner by
her window. She turned and looked. Nobody there.
“I’m going crazy. That’s the problem,” Kara thought. A
shadow appeared in the doorway, then disappeared
again.
Stand up said the voice, “Don’t make a sound.” She
obediently got up, the bed creaking. What looked like
wind knocked a paper from her desk.
“That’s weird,” she thought, “am I dreaming?” She
was never so scared her heart beat quickening. Then
step-by-step she walked over to the desk. Right foot,
left foot, right foot, left foot. It all looked pretty normal
to her. As she was going to look away, she noticed an
odd layer of dust. In that dust was a note:
WALK OUTSIDE
What is this? Curiosity took over; she slowly walked
through the house and outside. She looked around,
everything in its place. Wait what’s that?
She saw a man, in black, on the porch swing. He
looked transparent, like you could see right through
him. Then, in seconds, he was gone again, and Kara
was left standing in the cold.
Mya Dicus
Grade 7
Sioux City East Middle
Sioux City
Pigeon Hawk
Josh Westra
Grade 4
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
Pink Is...
Pink is a beautiful cloud in the morning.
Pink can also be very funny.
Pink is fairy wings dancing through the air.
Pink is roses and white cake too.
If you want to know what pink sounds like, ring a bell in the
morning or night.
Pink can laugh, dance, and play, just like you and even me.
This color is the smell of beautiful flowers in spring that have just
sprung up from a seed.
Pink is all this and much more.
Pink is more than we’ll ever know.
Sarah Petersen
Grade 3
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Ida Grove
90
Turkey Trouble
Have you ever heard of a turkey that survived every
Thanksgiving for his whole life? Well, if you have you
will probably know the story that I am going to tell you.
Carl the turkey who never died.
Carl was born on a glorious day until that afternoon,
when hunters came looking for Thanksgiving turkeys.
It wasn’t soon before they found Carl’s mother. She
ran so fast, but it wasn’t fast enough. The bullet went
straight through her heart. Carl heard his mother’s
deafening cry. He hid all that afternoon and all through
the night. He was so afraid that the hunters would
come back.
After Thanksgiving was over, Carl came out of his
hiding place. When he felt the cool air on his feathers
he thought, “I have to find a home for the winter,” but
when Carl looked around the woods, all he found was
a lot of dead trees. Carl didn’t know what lay beyond
this part of the woods. Then a terribly cold breeze
told Carl that if he didn’t find a home before winter he
would die. He told himself that he would do it for his
mother. He still remembered the scene perfectly. His
mother running and then that deafening call. It still rang
in his ears. That was the sound that kept him moving
through the forest not knowing what would come next.
After what seemed was years, he came upon a
hollow tree stump he could fit inside. He decided that
this was his house and it would be for many years to
come.
After he got settled in his new house, he began to
think. This life of mine is very lonely. I have nobody to
talk to or play with (except the worms that he found
along the forest floor). Months went by, as the weather
grew colder, and times grew lonelier, Carl got sadder.
As months went by so did Carl’s hope and pride. When
summer came Carl was so desperate that he didn’t
even want to go outside his house. But the day came
when he ran out of food,) so he dragged his lifeless
body out to get more food. His nuts and fruits were
gone, because he ate a lot during the winter (and now
he was kinda FAT). When he came out of his house
he saw a beautiful hen. All of a sudden his hope and
pride came back (but he still looked pretty chubby on
the outside). Then a horrible thing happened! He still
doesn’t like to even speak about it now. The hottest
turkey Carl had ever seen, Zac came near. Carl knew
that turkey would not let this beautiful hen go without
a fight. Just as Carl started to give the fighting signal,
Matthew (Zac’s side kick) came on the scene ready
to fight! As all turkeys did, Carl grasps Zac’s neck in
his bill. Carl swung Zac around so much it made him
dizzy. After what seemed for hours, Carl knocks Zac to
the ground. Carl was so proud he fanned his tail and
puffed his feathers and strutted back and forth and
hissed with his wings on the ground.
After he was done showing off he went over to that
beautiful hen and said, “Will you marry me?” She said
yes! They were very happy. Then that April Carl’s wife
Michelle gave birth to 12 chicks who moved away
several years later. Then it was just Carl and Michelle
again. It was about the time that hunters come out.
Thinking of his mother, Carl told Michelle they must
hide. So on her way to the hiding place Michelle got
caught and got hit in the same spot his mother did, and
he heard the exact deafening cry.
No one knows what has become of Carl today, but
some say he is still roaming the woods looking for
Michelle ...
Brooke Harpenau
Grade 6
Gehlen Catholic
Le Mars
Chase Your Dreams
91
Kayla Ragaller
Grade 5
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
in my snarly which is in a ponytail. I am lonely, and I
don’t have any friends. I am not smiling or having fun.
The last time I did that was at my Aunt’s wedding.
When I go to the inside, it is Spring. I’m still Miss
Popular. I got voted class president! Everyone doesn’t
just like me now for my popularity, they also like me
for who I am. I am so happy I put in the effort to get to
know people.
When I go back to reality, I’m not Miss Popular, but
I did get voted class president! The truth is, the entire
time people did try to be friends with me, but I was the
one that did not make the effort. Now that I think about
it, some people did come up to me and started to talk
to me and I just mumbled to them and walked off to
class.
So that is why you always make an effort or else
your dreams will not come true.
Nature’s Art Work
Marissa Sedano
Grade 5
Sioux City Roosevelt
Sioux City
Megan Loutsch
Grade 5
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
The Inside To Reality
When I look on the inside, it’s Summer Vacation.
I’m headed to the beach. I’ve got the crew behind. I’m
wearing the hottest, new clothes. I lay on my towel
under an umbrella. Talking and laughing with all my
friends.
When I go back to reality, I’m sitting on the couch
watching TV, eating potato chips, and watching my
little sister. I’m still in my bunny Pj’s.
When I go back inside, it’s Fall. I am back to school.
Of course I’m still the head of the group. Not only that
I am Miss Popular. Everyone admires me, wears the
same clothes as me, always trying to sit by me, and
guys trying to hit on me.
When I go back to reality, I walk down the halls by
myself. Everyone is pushing me around and laughing
at me.
When I go to the inside, it is winter. I’m wearing Ugg
boots and a leather jacket. Neatly shaped snowflakes
are falling into my neatly done, soft, parted hair. We’re
tossing snow at each other. We are smiling and having
fun.
When I go back to reality, I am wearing snow boots
and my too small snow jacket. Snowflakes get caught
Cat Nap
Rebecca Nymeyer
Grade 8
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
92
My Favorite Thing to Do
“Summer was fun, fall is here lets go out and kill a
deer.” said Ted Nugent, a well-known songwriter and
hunter that has his own show. Though there are many
ways to hunt deer one of them stands out most to me,
and that way would be that of using a bow and arrow.
My passion is bow hunting.
One of the most important things about bow hunting
is preparation. To prepare for the upcoming season,
I shoot my bow all throughout the summer. In July, I
go out and set up a few trail cams, and at least once
a week I go and check to see if there are any pictures
of deer on them. In the beginning of August, I go and
plant food plots so that they will be ready by the time
the season rolls around. All throughout August and
September I go scout and see where the deer are so
I know where I should set up my tree stands for the
upcoming season. After I go scouting, I go and set up
the tree stands where I have seen a lot of deer. What
I do during the off season is all so that I can have a
successful hunting season.
What bow hunting all comes down to is hunting
season. I count down the days ’till opening day
October 1st because I am so anxious. Late in
September all I can think about is climbing in that tree
stand the first morning. During season I hunt almost
every day after school and I get up early in the morning
every weekend. I am constantly checking the weather
for the wind to see what stand I should hunt that day.
Some people might think that sitting in a tree stand for
hours is really boring, but I get a thrill that I only get
when I am in a tree stand. When I am in a tree stand
I get to enjoy some time alone–until I see a deer. My
heart races when I see a deer. My hearts nearly stops
beating if it happens to be a shooter buck. The only
thing that helps me stay calm is all the practice I have
put in shooting my bow. When I see a deer, it could
be 100 yards away, but I have to wait ’till it is within
30 yards. I have to be very careful of every movement
because the deer can leave at any moment. When
that big buck starts to come towards my stand, there
is nowhere else in the world I would rather be than
standing right there. This is one of the most nerve
racking moments during hunting. I am so excited, but
I also have to stay calm so I don’t make a mistake
and scare the deer away. At the end of the season, it
doesn’t matter if I shot a deer or not; it’s the love of the
sport and the memories made that drive me to keep
hunting every time I get a chance.
When the season ends, I am always sad because
I know that it is harder to be in the woods because
I know that I cannot shoot a deer anymore. Some
things I do, after the season is over, allow me to still
be connected to deer hunting. When the season is
over, I go and look for sheds of deer that I have been
watching or may have seen all throughout the hunting
season. I think back on my close encounters with big
bucks and learn what I have done wrong so that I can
become a better hunter next year. The best part about
the season ending though is if I got a big buck last
year and I want to mount it. The excitement of getting
the mount back from the taxidermist is one of the best
in the world. I love to boast about the deer and the
day that I shot it. I love when people ask me about
it because I love to talk about that day and tell them
exactly what went on while I was in the stand on
that day.
In bow hunting, hunters have to be dedicated all
year round to be the best they can be. Hunting is one
of the best pastimes in the Midwest and all over the
country. As Fred Bear, founder of the Bear Archery
Company, put it “Go afield with a good attitude, with
respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest
and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the
outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make
you a better person.”
Austin Sweeney
Grade 11
South O’Brien High
Paullina
93
The Adventures of Fig in
Sioux City
Fig is a dog. He is white with black spots. He is
visiting Sioux City. I wonder what he will see. Fig
saw the Sergeant Floyd Monument and saw a sign
that said Sergeant Floyd died right there. He was so
surprised that he died there.
Fig went to the Loess Hills. When he got up, his four
paws got dirty. Then Fig took a picture. His camera got
all dirty. Fig went to the Art Center. He snuck into the
Art Center with his camera and went in and saw some
artwork. He was so happy because he saw beautiful
art work. He took a picture. Then he saw a playroom
so he played with the children.
Fig snuck in Palmer Candy last night. He ate a big
candy bar. He ate a bunny, butterflies, suckers, and
colorful eggs. Fig went to the Missouri River. His owner
was so happy to see him. He took a picture. Then
he and his owner went on a boat ride. The river was
pretty. He saw a bridge and a park. He said “WOW”
and his owner said “WOW,” too. Then Fig went home
but he first shook his tail and his butt at his owner.
Then he went in the car. Fig and his owner went home
and ate dinner.
My Dad’s Buck
Wyatt Neumann
Grade 4
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
Man Ton
Grade 2
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Sioux City
Lightning
Light flashes
It zigzags in the air
Glides through the sky
High in the air
Tears through the sky
Never be near water
It can kill
Never be under trees
Go inside
Austin Petersen
Grade 3
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Ida Grove
My Favorite Horses
94
Audrey Kalin
Grade 1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Holstein
The Missing Money
she thought, so she asked him the same question.
“Were you busy between three to six?”
The Police Chief said, “No, I was at home with my
wife. We were having lunch together.”
“Ok,” said Maddie. Maddie decided not to go to the
city council members. That day, Paily’s doorbell rang. It
was a lady.
“Mom?”
“Hello, Paily.” Words were coming out of Mrs.
Johnston. “Are you okay? Are you doing good in
school?”
Words were coming out of Paily! “What are you
doing here?” “Now you show up? WHY?”
“Well I was short of money so I decided to get a job
here so I can see you more often.” said Mrs. Johnston.
Paily’s dad was surprised. “Stacie, what are you
doing here?” he said.
“Well, I was short of money so I decided to come
here.”
Once upon a time in Cornly lived a girl named
Maddie Peeb. Maddie was twelve and her dad Mr.
Peeb was a detective. He loved to solve cases, but
Maddie loved to also. She tried to help her dad
whenever she got to. Paily Johnston was Maddie’s
only friend. Paily lived with her dad, Mr. Johnston but
she went to see her mom often. Paily’s mom and dad
were divorced. Paily’s dad was the mayor of Cornly
and he had lots of cameras in his office. He had
cameras in his house, stores, everywhere. One day
Paily and Maddie were going to the mall. Mr. Johnston
was at his office and Mr. Peeb was at his office. When
Paily got back home she opened the door and saw a
person in black stealing her money. Stealing all of her
money! Paily screamed! The robber got out before
she could see anything. She called 911. They came
quickly. She then called her dad, Mr. Peeb and
Maddie. Paily started to cry. Maddie thought it’s a
perfect time to search.
First she asked, “What did the thief wear?”
“Well the thief was all black.”
Okay, Maddie thought. We should first look at
anything on the ground. “Perfect I found a bracelet,”
Maddie said.
“Does this look familiar Paily?”
“Um, well, I’ve seen it before but I don’t remember
where,” Paily said.
“Well, I could do a DNA,” said W. Peeb.”
“Great,” said Paily
“Sounds good.” After that Maddie thought and
thought and thought about how someone could get in
Paily’s house if the door was locked. Who had a key?
Finally the DNA was done, BUT THERE WAS NO
MATCH!
“That’s impossible. How?”
“Well think of the people who know your dad.”
“Um, well, there is, um well, um, let’s see, there’s
the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, the city council
members and well that’s all that I know.”
“Great.”
The next day Maddie got up early, she had to get to
the Fire Chief. When she got there the Fire Chief was
on the phone. When he was done Maddie asked him
if he was busy between three to six. The Chief said,
“Well, I was at a meeting with the Mayor.”
“Ok. Thanks.” So now she was going to the Police
Chief. When she got there he was not busy. Perfect,
Emerald Dragon
95
Eric Montes
Grade 6
Sioux City West Middle
Sioux City
He said, “Great, well, we’re in the middle of an
investigation. Someone took all our money and now
we are poor.”
“Awe that’s horrible.”
“Well, we’re trying to figure out who it was.” Just
then Maddie came in.
“Oh Mrs. Johnston what are you doing here?”
“Well I’m getting a job here. Isn’t that GREAT?”
That day when the two parents went to the store,
I asked Paily something. “Isn’t it weird that your mom
showed up and she needed money, but you don’t have
money because someone broke in?”
“Yea.”
“I think your mom is the thief.”
“What? No way!”
“Hey, doesn’t your dad have cameras in his office?”
“You could zoom in and see if it is your mom.” So
they went to the office and looked at the camera and
zoomed in and guess what, it was the Police Chief.
“What, how did this happen?” Later that day they
called the police and caught the Police Chief.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Well, you called Mrs. Johnston and told her to give
you the house key and you would give half the money
to her.”
“So that was my mom’s bracelet.”
“I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you
and your little friend.” Well, jail for Mrs. Johnston and
the Police Chief and the Johnston’s got all their money
back.
THE END
The Adventures of Fig in
Sioux City
Fig is a dog with white and black spots. He likes
to explore. He is visiting Sioux City. I wonder what he
will see. Fig climbed a hill and saw the Sergeant Floyd
Monument. Sergeant Floyd died near there. It is 100
feet tall. Sergeant Floyd knew Lewis and Clark. Fig
climbed the Loess Hills. When he got to the top, he
found a bone. He buried it there. When he was done,
he climbed down and went home. When he got inside,
he left muddy paw prints all over the floor. When Fig’s
owner saw the paw prints, he got mad. Fig snuck into
the Art Center. Fig nearly ate a painting because it had
a bone on it. Fig went to get a drink and got out before
he got caught.
Fig smelled something sweet in a store. It was
Palmer Candy. Fig smelled a Bing candy bar. Fig
smelled a big jawbreaker. He had to go in and get
both of them. They were delicious. He thought the
jawbreaker would break his tooth. He licked it instead
of throwing it away. It took two years to eat it.
Fig was playing at the park and got tired and got
a boat and slept in it. He floated across the Missouri
River and got startled by a wave and woke up. He
jumped out and went home. Fig forgot about his
Palmer Candy treats so he went home to eat them and
got cavities in his teeth and had to go to the dentist.
Kyla Garcia
Grade 2
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Sioux City
Abby Wisecup
Grade 4
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sergeant Bluff
Ocean Waves
Carson Pick
Grade 1
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Marcus
96
My Life As a Squirrel
It all started on a Saturday afternoon when I was
strolling around town. When all of a sudden, this witch
popped out of nowhere and turned me into a squirrel!
At first I didn’t know she turned me into a squirrel.
I just felt shorter, A LOT shorter. Then I realized my
arms and legs were shorter. I had a tail, and I had fur
all over! I tried to chase after the witch, but she was
nowhere in sight. I decided to run home. I couldn’t
reach the door handle. I wonder why?
So since I couldn’t go home, I thought, “Hmmm, if I
can’t get inside, then where will I go? A tree!”
I climbed the tree and thought some more. Well, this
will wear off sometime.
Then I noticed I was hungry. I went to find some
nuts. I wondered where to find them. Then I
remembered we have a walnut tree in our yard, but I
had to cross the yard without the vicious dog, Zorba,
seeing me. Then I ran as fast as I could. Zorba saw
me, but I was already at the tree. Phew! That was
close! I climbed the walnut tree and shoved walnuts
into my mouth. YUCK! I forgot to take the outer part
off. I tried, and I tried, but I couldn’t do it. Then I saw an
acorn tree. I climbed across the electricity wire to the
tree, gathered a bunch of acorns, shoved them in my
mouth, ran quietly past Zorba, climbed my tree, and
ate them.
I remembered that if I was going to be a squirrel for
a few days, I should build a home. So I gathered some
sticks, leaves and grass. I thought I should get a few
days worth of food. I went out to get some nuts and
corn and built a home. After I dropped off the nuts, I
went to find a cornfield.
It was starting to get late, but I thought, “What the
heck? Nothing will happen to me. I’m Summit, the
squirrel.”
Boy was I wrong! After a couple of minutes, I started
hearing noises. Thinking it was nothing; I kept looking
for worn cobs. Then I heard the noises again. I was
starting to get worried. I wondered what it was. I was
looking around for the source of the noise. All of a
sudden, I saw two big green eyes staring back at me. I
was scared out of my pants, or fur for that matter! I ran
to the nearest tree looking down to see what it was.
A raccoon, I should have known. Those dirty rotten
flesh-eating things are no good! I looked back down
at it. It was trying to climb up the tree. A raccoon that
doesn’t know how to climb a tree, weird! I waited for it
Sailboat
Hunter Davis
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
to give up. It seemed like forever! Finally it started to
walk away. Until it was out of sight, I stayed in the tree.
I climbed down cautiously, ran to get the corn, and
scurried as fast as I could back to my tree.
I was tired from the long night with the raccoon.
So I took a nap. I woke up around suppertime feeling
hungry. I ate some nuts and corn I had gathered
earlier.
I thought about what to do next. I probably should
go exploring. I went for a walk, and then, I saw
something out of the corner of my eyes. I looked at it,
but it was already gone! This happened a few more
times until I finally got a good glimpse of it. It was the
witch!
I told her in my high pitch voice, “Please turn me
back into a human, you old witch!”
She turned me back into a human, and I told her,
“Never turn me into a squirrel again!”
I should have been more specific because about a
week later, I was a rabbit.
Summit Nielsen
Grade 6
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
97
Koala Bear
The Search
Don’t take your koala bear to the mall.
He’ll steal the stuffed bear.
You’ll be very mad and furious.
He’ll ask if you want to share.
Once upon a time there was a happy family ’till the
dad left them. Renee, a 13 year old girl, was probably
the most affected by this. Since this was her dad. On
the other hand Ray, a 9-year-old boy, was not affected.
’cause he was a mama’s boy. Renee’s best friend,
Arizona, was sad too even though it wasn’t her dad.
Arizona is also 13. Ray’s best friend, Matt, was not
affected at all because Ray didn’t even tell Matt. Matt
is one year older than Ray.
Renee and Ray live with their mom on 3429 West
Fillmore Street in Colorado Springs, CO. Renee goes
to Coronado Middle School and Ray goes to Coronado
Elementary. Their mom works at the market.
One day Renee’s dad supposedly goes on a
business trip to Idaho. The rest of the family asks to go
too. Dad said the trip would be very long and painful.
A couple of months later the family was getting
worried because dad had said, “It will just be a month.”
And it had been 3 months, and Renee knew that they
couldn’t go much longer without him.
Courtney Miller
Grade 4
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
The next day at school Renee told Arizona everything.
Arizona thought this was a scandal to see another
woman. Renee didn’t think so. Ray didn’t tell Matt
because Ray thought Matt would think it’s stupid. And
that Matt would say. “You’re just being a baby.”
The next day Renee and Arizona made an
indestructible plan to find Renee’s dad.
It was around Christmas time and they would soon
have Christmas break. So Renee and Arizona wouldn’t
have much more time.
It was the last day before Christmas break and
finally they had a great plan. Their plan was to sneak
out on Christmas Eve night. Then once they got out
they would set out on their bikes. When they rode as
far as they could they would turn back.
It was Christmas Eve night and they set out. They
made it 8 miles and then Renee saw a familiar truck in
the distance. When it got a little closer Renee knew it
was the same color as her dad’s F-150. When it almost
gets to them Renee waves the truck down because it
was the same license plates as dad’s. When the truck
slows down she realizes it is her dad!
Dad pulls over and says, “I’m so excited to see you
girls. I was just coming home.”
Shore Bird
Abby Burr
Grade 6
Sioux City West Middle
Sioux City
98
“What took you so long?” I asked. “Wait don’t
answer that. Wait ’till we get home and tell that to
mom.”
“Do you girls want a ride home?”
“Yeah we do!” said Arizona, “It’s freezing out here.”
So they put their bikes in the trunk and went back
home.
When they all got home mom was going nuts. When
they opened the door mom didn’t even notice. So Ray
and Matt had to say. “Oh look dad, Renee, and Arizona
are here.”
“Oh my baby is here and so is Rick! I thought I’d
never see you again. What took you so long?”
“I guess that I just lost my way. You know I went all
the way through Washington state and halfway through
Oregon before I even got close to Colorado.”
“What do you say kids should we let him stay?”
“Yes we should!”
“Oh that’s so sweet,” said Arizona. And we all
laughed.
“What?”
The End
Phone Trouble
Man, I was so excited. I’ve been saving all
summer! I was about to get … A PHONE! I’ve been
saving my money from mowing to bagging. I was
pumped. So when we got there, there it was sitting
on its glass stand just waiting for me, the ZX300. The
sweetest, the best, the most insanely cool phone
ever! It had a touch screen, free wireless Internet,
and a full keyboard.
I took it home and all that excitement had made
me thirsty. I set it down. When I came back, GONE! I
looked around. Sophia, my little sister, had it and was
running toward the bathroom. When she got there,
she closed the door with a slam and locked it. I heard
a WOOSH! Sophia came out in tears and said, “Cole,
I am so sorry. I flushed your phone down the toilet.” I
was stunned. She got in gigantic trouble.
Four months later it was my birthday and boy did
I get a surprise! I got the YX300 phone. It was even
better than the ZX300. Sophia bought it to make it up
to me. I forgave her.
Now my birthday is over and for a chore, I had to
unclog the toilet. I got the plunger and got started.
GRRR, it wouldn’t come out. I kicked the toilet in
frustration. It bubbled and PLOPPED, out came the
ZX300!
I was surprised it still worked! So I dried it off. I
gave it to Sophia for her birthday. She was psyched.
Janae Breon
Grade 4
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sergeant Bluff
Cole Veltri
Grade 6
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
The Potter
Leah Buss
Grade 7
Sioux Center Christian
Sioux Center
99
Harvest
Renae Wiese
Grade 4
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
The Top of the World
As I walked up to the first house the people said
it was a haunted house and it was as terrifying as a
werewolf at midnight. The pumpkins were lit up like the
moon lit sky. The foggy steam went through my hair
because it was a breeze. The colorful candy cried out
to me and said it was candy land.
As I unwrapped my candy it sounded like rain drops
on the cement. While I walked, the silent footsteps
were like drum beats. The frightened kids screamed as
they left my house and little kids were laughing as they
went down the steps. When I looked up at a house a
piece of brick jutted out.
My candy holder felt as if there was a nice round
ball right in front of me. The hard candy was a treasure
in my bag. The candy smelled fantastic when a kid
walked right by me. The vampire teeth felt like the
Rocky Mountains.
I smelled my favorite kind of chocolate chip cookies.
The taffy smelled like fresh picked fruit. My costume
smelled like rubber. Rotten pumpkins smelled
disgusting and it smelled like tires. My mom calls and
it’s time for dinner. Everybody have a safe and great
Halloween!
The rollercoaster at Arnold’s Park, Okoboji was one
of the most exciting, yet terrifying, amusement park
rides I have ever ridden for many reasons. For one, I
got onto the rollercoaster feeling absolute dread that
I would not return from the attraction. After a loud
“CLUNK,” I felt the handlebars crunch me in the
monster of a ride, to increase my fear. Then it started,
slowly but surely, the rise to the top of the rollercoaster,
inch by inch. I could see the rest of the park slowly
becoming smaller and smaller, while the safety of the
ground drifted away as the rollercoaster gently took
me higher and higher. Meanwhile, while the coaster
was nearing the top of the gigantic drop, fear ate at my
stomach like a very bad stomach cramp. Then, in what
seemed like ages, I was at the top of the rollercoaster.
The time stood still. I was at the top of the world.
Within a matter of seconds, without warning, my heart
raced as we barreled down our decent on the clackety
metal tracks of the old wooden rollercoaster. I saw
the entire park flash before my eyes. I then closed my
eyes tightly, as adrenaline flowed through me like
water rushing down a waterfall. After a few more twists,
turns, and moments of anxiety, the ride came
to a sudden halt. Although I was still trembling after
the ride, I survived my first rollercoaster ride at Arnold’s
Park.
Maria Bohaboj
Grade 5
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sioux City
Andrew Christensen
Grade 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Sergeant Bluff
Trick or Treat!
100
My First
Snowboarding
Experience
A Special Gift
Jazz was one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten.
It all started when my family’s black lab Jade had
cancer and had to be put to sleep. A few months later
when Mom and Dad came back from a business trip
in New York, they said they had a big surprise for us.
“We’re getting a new black lab puppy!”
Everyone FREAKED OUT about it! Carson, Morgan,
and I were jumping off the walls screaming with joy, but
then they told us the problems. “Problem number one:
we would have to wait three weeks. Problem number
two: before that time, someone might have already
bought her.” But, we kids didn’t really care about those
problems because we were just told that we were
getting a new puppy.
I couldn’t bear the two-hour trip to Des Moines! I
was so anxious to see the new puppy. When we
finally got there, it was so much worse! We had to go
shopping at Scheels first. Boring! We had to go to a
restaurant. Terrible.
The place that had puppies for sale was supposed
to be about twenty-rive minutes south of Des Moines,
but the drive was about forty-five minutes! It seemed
bad, but when I got there, it was worth it! There was
this tiny little ball of fur. I couldn’t believe it was a dog!
I walked over to Jazz and sat down, and she tripped
over her own tiny little paws when she bounced over
to me. Then she gave me several slobbery kisses all
over my face! She romped around a little bit and went
to the bathroom before she sat on my sister, Morgan’s
lap for the car ride home. I knew she was going to be a
perfect member of our family.
Have you ever been so excited to do something for
the first time? Well that was me last winter and let me
tell you about it. My family took a ski trip to Steamboat
Springs, Colorado. Here I got the opportunity to
snowboard for the first time, and it was quite a ride
down the Preview Hill.
I was going way too fast from the very start. I was
so excited to get my snowboard buckled on my feet,
jump on the ski lift, and get to the top of the Preview
Hill. I got off the lift with no problem and I pointed my
board down the hill and the down I went. I started to
pick up speed, and then more speed, until I realized
I was totally out of control. Have you ever had that
feeling when all you could think or say is “Oh no!”
As I started getting close to a train of little kids in
ski school, all I could think was move or I’m going to
mow you over. Just then I hit a little girl in the middle of
them. I wiped her and myself out badly. My board went
flying about thirty feet. It scared my parents watching
this whole episode from the top.
When the dust settled I remember the instructor
saying to me, “Did you practice how to stop or turn
before going down?” all I could say was “no” in this, I
feel terrible. I was more worried about the little girl than
myself, but we were both lucky no one was hurt. (I kind
of hurt my ankle). I swore I would never do or try
snowboarding again.
After a few minutes of terrible feelings, and my
mom convincing me to give it another try, I went to the
top again and this time taught myself to turn and slow
down. Amazing myself how good it felt to know what
you’re doing before you take off!
Finally at the end of my four days and going down
many, many times I realized that I had come a long
way from that first run down the mountain. I knew I was
almost ready for the next Olympics.
Reed Godbersen
Grade 4
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
THE END
Jordan Utesch
Grade 6
Remsen-Union Junior High
Remsen
101
A Special Place
One day when I was staying at my dad’s farm
during summer vacation, my brother, sister, and I found
something special. We were out exploring around the
farm, and went down in a forest-like area with lots of
grass, leaves, and apple trees. The first things we
noticed were deer tracks and beds where they had
been. Then we went deeper into the little woods and
we found a very old deserted car. It was so amazing,
even though it was tipped upside down and had torn
up seats and broken windows. Then we rushed back
up to the house to tell Dad, but he was snoring. So we
decided to build a fort down by the neat car without
waking him up.
We made a tire swing and a path to walk through.
We gathered apples and got an old quilt for our
hammock. We gathered sticks. It was 8:00 p.m. when
we had to go back to the house and go to bed. I
dreamed of the adventures we would have the next
day. My brother, sister, and I were all ready at 6:30
a.m.
We sneaked down there and we found more deer
tracks and resting spots. The three of us split up and
each tried to find something cool. I found a baby fawn
and its mother. My brother found old antlers under
our neighbor’s old pick-up truck. My sister found deer
tracks. We wanted to show dad, but again, he was
Horse
Maddysen Caraher
Grade 4
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
102
sleeping like usual, and we didn’t want to bother
him. We kept working to make our fort neater, until
our hands and feet cramped. The next day was
the last day at Daddy’s farm, so we decided to go
and check it out. We said good-bye to our good
memories and left.
Elizabeth Williams
Grade 4
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Battle Creek
My Dad’s Farm
Jaeden Albers
Grade 5
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Galva
Nothing Ever Happens on Beck Avenue
“Nothing ever happens on Beck Avenue,” I said
when I woke up. The other day I was assigned to write
about a crime that went on, on my street, but the truth
is nothing ever happens on Beck Avenue.
I’m a tall guy with brown hair and blue eyes, also
handsome. I’m also a poor thirty-six year old man living
with my MOTHER, in New York City!!!
“Cam,” called my boss.
“Yes, Mr. Shellmen how may I help you?” I asked.
“I know you’ve been working hard, but I need you
to go to 436 Beck Avenue. There has been a robbery
there and if I’m correct that would get you that new job
you wanted,” he said.
“Right away sir.”
As I was driving to the crime, I saw a lot of odd
things I can’t explain. As I arrived someone came
running out of the house, out of breath. “I’ve been
robbed,” they were screaming!!!
“Compose yourself and tell me your name and what
has been taken,” I told her.
“Ok, my name is Amber and a Chinese plate worth
over 40g’s, and a Mexican glass,” she said. I almost
died at that number, that’s more than I have made in
my life.
103
“Ok, can I have a look around?” I asked in a slow,
hush voice.
“Sure” she said.
As I entered the house the lights went out, and I
was about to ask what happened when angry people
came out of their houses shouting and screaming. “Well, I can’t do anything in the dark; I’ll go back to
the CSI building and see what’s going on.” As I drove
back to the lab I realized how some people are rich
and some are poor. A Chinese plate worth over forty
grand, man that must have been expensive.” I thought
to myself. As I walked into the lab the electric company
was there.
“Sir, I assure you it’s just a short power outage,”
said the electric guy. As he said this, the power came
on. “Ok, looks like my work here is done,” he said and
walked out. It was time to go home, and I was tired.
As I went to bed that night I thought about the crime.
“Why would anyone want to steal a plate and a glass
besides for money?” I asked myself as I drifted off to
sleep.
“Cam get up, you’re going to be late for work!!”
called my mother. I forgot all about work, so I jumped
out of bed, got dressed, ate, brushed my teeth, and
drove to work.
“Ok Cam, back to work, oh and don’t forget your
tazer, remember it’s your bodyguard against evil,” said
Mr. Shellmen.
“Ok, now I can take fingerprints and pictures for
evidence,” I told Amber. I started and didn’t find
anything until I looked at a Canadian doll and got a
fingerprint. “I will go back to the lab and get the data,”
I said to Amber. So, I arrived at the lab and tried to
look for prints, but the fingerprint machine didn’t work,
so I had to compare the print to old crimes and found
someone by the name of Bob Zodo.
I decided to go talk to Amber about him. I was
walking out the door when Mr. Shellmen stopped me.
“Cam, here is some advise, the people in the city move
as fast as lightning and never stop. That should help,
also, always suspect the unexpected,” he told me. As
I was driving to Amber’s house I thought about what
he said, then it dawned on me that it was him. He was
trying to delay my work!! I slammed on my brakes as
fast as I could, and luckily I did, an old lady was
walking across the street and I about hit her. She was
mad!!! I turned around and drove like a mad man back
to the lab; I eyed my tazer, it looked like it was going
to cry because I haven’t used it, begging to be used.
Then, I walked straight into his office. I was about to
give him a piece of my mind when I saw a Chinese
plate, and what looked like a Mexican drinking glass. “So, you figured it out,” said a voice from behind me.
I spun around and found Mr. Shellmen standing in the
doorway. He shoved me aside, took Ambers stuff, and
ran out of his office. I ran after him, grabbed my tazer,
and went to turn it on, but it didn’t work.
“It’s a fake,” he called over his shoulder. Right after
that I saw him fall flat on his back. I saw Amber holding
a tazer in her shaking hand.
“Here’s your tazer back, you left it at my house the
other day, and oh, did I, um kill him?” she asked
worried.
“No, you just knocked him out,” I said reassuring
her.
As the police came and picked him up, we talked
about how he did it. Amber said she wanted to become
a CSI like me. After I drove home, ate, took a shower,
and read a book, I went to bed. Then I remembered
my assignment. So, I wrote a little of this, and a little
of that. I finished at one o’clock in the morning, and
finally went to bed. But, I just couldn’t go to bed, I just
laid in my bed and thought about what happened, then
somebody slid a piece of paper under the door and
it read: “WAY TO GO!!! I saw what happened on the
news. I can’t believe it, awesome! Now go to bed, you
have work tomorrow. Love you!”
Love, Mom XOXO
P.S. Someone called for you. I didn’t know who it was.
Hmmm, I wondered who it was for a while, but then
after that I went to bed. You know what? I felt good and
excited.
When I walked into the lab there was a big banner
saying, “Congratulations.” “Congratulations!” People
shouted as they popped out of their hiding spots.
Amber was one of them; she pulled me aside to talk. “Guess what, you’re the new CSI boss that is so
cool,” she told me. I just about fainted. “Your income is
tripled from your old job.” Ok, now when she said that,
I did faint, but who wouldn’t if they found out they were
going to earn $50,000 a month. I woke up a day later
in the hospital. My dream came true; I am the boss of
the CSI. I love life!
The End
Cameron Miller
Grade 5
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
Truckin’
Colby Wilmesherr
Grade 3
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sioux City
104
The Spy
Agent Matt Langel is a secret spy who works for the
C.I.A. On March 25th he was called to go to the C.I.A.
headquarters. When he got there Tyler Brimm, the
person in charge of the C.I.A. said, “We have reports
of a lot of stores being robbed in New York. We think
it is Chris Schmid. Go to Cameron Miller the gadget
maker.” Matt left the room and walked down the hall to
the gadget room. The gadget room was small and had
gadgets everywhere and in the back of the room there
was a desk. Cameron Miller was the smartest person
Matt knew and was sitting at the desk with three things
on his desk.
“Hi agent Matt, I have three gadgets for you. The
first one is a flashlight that when you turn it on it turns
into a smoke bomb. The second is an iPhone and
when you press the number nine it shoots a laser
that comes out of the camera that can cut through
anything. You are going to disguise yourself as a
security guard at Chris’s house. I already made you a
suit that has a tracking devise on it so we know where
you are at all times.”
Matt grabbed the flashlight, the phone, and the suit.
He left the room and walked to the garage he hopped
on his spy-motorcycle that can go up to 200 miles per
hour. He opened the garage door and drove to Chris’s
house.
Matt stopped a block away from Chris’s house and
hid the motorcycle in a bush and walked to the house.
He rang the doorbell and a security guard with the
same suit as Matt, opened the door and Matt walked
in. The guard said, “You have to guard the door. Don’t
let anyone get in.” The guard left the room. Matt pulled
out a piece of paper and wrote, “I got hungry so I
went to go eat something.” He put the note on the
floor. He looked up and saw a vent just big enough to
crawl through.
He took out his laser cell phone, aimed the camera
at the ceiling and pressed the number nine button.
He cut a hole in the vent and pulled himself up into it.
He crawled around until he found a room with a table
and three chairs. In one chair was a security guard
and another was wearing a lab coat. The last person
looked like he was rich and he was talking to the lab
person. “You have to make my invisible suit faster. It
has to be finished soon.”
The person wearing the lab coat said, “It should be
done in two hours.”
“Good job, Dr. Kuchel.”
Dr. Kuchel left the room and Matt tried to follow him.
When Matt turned around he accidently kicked the
vent and part of it fell. It almost landed on the security
guard. The security guard grabbed Matt’s legs and
pulled him down. He led Matt into a room with a big
cage in it. He pushed Matt in and locked it. The rich
person walked in and said, “My name is Chris Schmid,
and you know my scientists are making an invisible
suit so that nobody will know where I am at. You will
have to stay in here until the suit is finished.” Chris left
the room.
Five minutes later the guard fell asleep. So Matt
pulled out his cell phone and cut a hole in the cage.
Some of the cage fell and the guard woke up. Matt
threw the flashlight and smoke was everywhere. Matt
grabbed the guard’s handcuffs and handcuffed the
guard to the doorknob. Matt ran out of the room and
the guard was shouting for help.
After a few minutes of searching he finally found
the lab. Matt ran in and went over to the middle of the
room, where ten scientists were standing. He pushed
over two scientists and grabbed what looked like a
black shirt. Once he touched it he looked at his hands
and he was invisible. Matt ran out of the building and
all the way to his motorcycle. He put the invisible suit
onto his motorcycle and it turned invisible. He drove
back to headquarters. When he got there, he told
everything to Tyler Brimm and he sent a squad of
police to get Chris. They found Chris, Dr. Kuchel, and
all the other scientists whose names were Dr. Staab,
Dr. Bonnstetter and a few others.
Matt Langel
Grade 5
Remsen-Union Elementary
Remsen
105
Peace
Tyler Gray
Grade 6
West Monona Middle
Onawa
Untitled
Dylan Vetter
Grade 5
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia
Butterscotch
Ashley Huizenga
Grade 2
Orange City Christian
Orange City
Snow
Travis Wiese
Grade 1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Holstein
106
Name
Title
Page
School
Aduddell, Isabel
The TTA
74
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Ahlers, Jeff
Snow
60
Le Mars Middle
Ahrens, Katelyn
Christmas
29
Remsen-Union Elementary
Albers, Jaeden
My Dadʼs Farm
103
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Alec Langel, James Kellen
Trying to Get Done Are the
Farmers!
77
Gehlen Catholic
Allen, Kallee
Christmas Eve
69
Whiting Elementary
Anderson, Cassadi
A Farm
64
Whiting Elementary
Anderson, Tyler
Cooper and Rocky
83
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Arens, Carter
Monster
40
Remsen-Union Elementary
Ascherl, Caroline
Grid Drawing
11
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Bertram, Isabelle
Joy to the World!
76
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Blair, Kiersten
Fall
79
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Blakeman/Dimmitt, Wade
Found
72
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Blanchard, Cameron
Darth Vader
61
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Blum, Sammy
The Emperor
61
Rock Valley Middle
Bohaboj, Maria
Trick or Treat!
100
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Bonnstetter, Autum
Harvest
34
Remsen-Union Elementary
Brasser, Erin
In the Eyes of a Slave
27
South OʼBrien High
Breon, Janae
The Search
98
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Breyfogle, Ethan
My Family
47
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Brinkman, Becca
The Sweet Tooth Raccoon
61
West Monona Central Elementary
Bruck, Jaden
Untitled
52
Schleswig Middle
Buiter, Erika
The Farmer
36
Sioux Center Christian
Bunch, Emily
Down in the Stable
10
Hinton High
Burns, Noah
The Rise of the Turkeys
83
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Burr, Abby
Shore Bird
98
Sioux City West Middle
Buss, Leah
The Potter
99
Sioux Center Christian
Butler, Dylan
Eagles Landing
22
Whiting Elementary
Name
Title
Page
School
Campbell, Demi
The Hunt
58
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Caraher, Maddysen
Horse
102
Remsen-Union Elementary
Carlson, Megan
Medieval Castle
21
Cherokee Washington High
Castaneda, Alexis
Tissues
86
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Chandler, Jadyn
Fall
58
Hinton Elementary
Chappell, Calvin
Adoption Zoo
89
Whiting Elementary
Christensen, Andrew
The Top of the World
100
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Clark, Josh
Lines
52
West Monona Middle
Clark, Karleigh
In a Flash
11
Whiting High
Clausen, Brady
The Tree
63
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Clyne, Terence
I Wish to See
85
Sioux City East Middle
Cooley, Taylor
The Forest
82
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Cornelius, Gunner
Christmas Memories
45
Ar-We-Va Middle
Danner, Emilee
Whales
87
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Dausel, Kirsten
Arts of Fun
71
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Davis, Hunter
Sailboat
97
West Monona Middle
Davis, Lauren
Untitled
42
St. Patrickʼs
De Vries, Jacee
My New Home
4
Inwood Christian
Degen, Austin
Arctic Adventure
29
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
DeKok, Olivia
Blind Like an Eagle
2
Sheldon High
DeMoss, Gage
Water Slide Fun
75
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Dicus, Mya
In the Middle of the Night
90
Sioux City East Middle
Dillavou, Mary Jane
Why
80
Sioux City East Middle
Dirks, Shelby
Turkey
58
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Dreckman, Emily
Christmas Morning
28
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Driesen, Marissa
Cheer Squad 6
80
Sioux Center Christian
Dutler, Kinzey
Bear
40
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Dykstra, Rebecca
Untitled
39
Orange City Christian
Name
Title
Page
School
Endrulat, Jerzey
Caring
1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Engebretson, JT
Football
71
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Ewoldt, Ashey
Confused & In Love
40
Charter Oak-Ute Junior High
Faulkenberry, McKinna
My Normal Day Couplets
78
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Feltman, Jessie
Typical Classroom
7
South OʼBrien Junior High
Fischer, D. J.
John Deere
78
Hinton Elementary
Freemont, Kelton
Untitled
18
West Monona Middle
Galles, Cynthia
Adoption
15
Le Mars Middle
Galles, Grace
Music
60
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Garcia, Kyla
The Adventures of Fig in Sioux City
96
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Garvin, Tommy
Fun Games at the Tournament
26
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Gevik, Abbey
Cancer
82
Sioux City East Middle
Gish, Nicholas
Rudolphʼs Understudy
76
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Godbersen, Reed
A Special Gift
101
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Goeddeke, Jacob
UFO
59
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Goeken, Isaac
The Sea Dragon
27
Remsen-Union Elementary
Goslar, Skylar
Bill the 4440
19
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Goth, Kaitlyn
The Farmerʼs Farm
6
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Grant, Addison
Forgotten
39
Sheldon Middle
Gray, Tyler
Peace
106
West Monona Middle
Hall, Emma
Scarecrow
51
Whiting Elementary
Hamman, Jeana
Family
22
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Hancock, Cede
Snowman
31
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Harding, Brady
I Couldnʼt Think of a Title
11
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Harpenau, Brooke
Turkey Trouble
91
Gehlen Catholic
Heiden, Jaden
Fall
37
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Heimensen, Daphne
Grid Drawing
14
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Henkel, Autumn
When My Dog Ate a Rubber Ducky
86
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Name
Title
Page
School
Heuertz, Stephanie
The 1 Cupid!
83
Gehlen Catholic
Hibma, Jenna
The Little Girl Who Believed in
Santa
69
Sioux Center Christian
Hilbrands, Ellie
Christmas Break
43
Remsen-Union Elementary
Hill-Miller, Jamie
Midnight Ride
13
River Valley High
Hogancamp, Blake
Princess Stuck in a Castle
44
Whiting Elementary
Houlihan, Chloe
Untitled
39
Sioux City East High
Hoy, Emily
Nature
42
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Huberty, Brooklyn
The Girl Who Played Baseball
43
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Huizenga, Ashley
Butterscotch
106
Orange City Christian
Ingram, Jacqueline
Guess Who?
46
Denison Middle
Jackson, Jordan
Zebra
69
Sioux City West Middle
Jahn, Caleb
John Lennon
78
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
James Kellen, Alec Langel
Trying to Get Done Are the
Farmers!
77
Gehlen Catholic
Jennings, Veta
The Snowmen
85
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Jensen, Annie
Hot Cocoa
28
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Jensen, Emma
The Polluted Geyser
50
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Johnson, Braeden
Ripped Stocking
61
Schleswig Elementary
Johnson, Erin
Candy Canes
59
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Julian, Rachel
Itʼs Cancer
1
South OʼBrien High
Kalin, Audrey
My Favorite Horses
94
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Kanne, Matt
Construction Zone
53
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Kasner, Dakota
My Best Friend, Cody
24
Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn Upper
Elementary
Kass, Brandon
Hay Ride
64
Remsen-Union Elementary
Kelm, Tasha
Matthewʼs Story
8
Charter Oak-Ute High
Kindergarten Class, Mrs.
Ruhlandʼs
Corduroy - The Missing Button
81
Remsen-Union Elementary
Kindergarten Class, Mrs.
Uteschʼs
Six Word Biographies
77
Remsen-Union Elementary
Kitrell, Rachel
Foster Care, the Story of How I
Adopted Alexis
10
Sioux City East Middle
Kock, Danielle
Christmas Eve
18
Ar-We-Va High
st
Name
Title
Page
School
Koenck, Tanner
Untitled
49
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Koenig, Jaxson
The Silly Squirrel
64
West Monona Central Elementary
Kofmehl, Kate
Christmas
48
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Koob, Haley
Forshorten Me
52
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koob, Madi
Leoʼs Mona Lisa
38
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koob, Sidney
The Scarecrow
79
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koontz, Tori
Everybody Needs a Jar
46
St. Maryʼs Elementary
Koops, Alex
Football Mike
54
Sioux Center Christian
Kooyman, Jayden
Christmas
75
Sioux City East Middle
Kranz, Chelsey
A Different Tomorrow
7
Sioux City East High
Kroeze, Kendra
Untitled
75
Orange City Christian
Kron, Taylor
3-Timeʼs the Charm
36
Whiting High
Kropf, Becca
Bunny
67
West Monona Middle
Kruse, Cassie
Undying Memories
13
South OʼBrien High
Kudrna, Brendan
Utopia
34
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Laddusaw, Jordan
Where Iʼm From
6
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Lake, Aubree
Winter Fun
26
Hinton Elementary
Lamaak, Noah
Dodge Charger
68
Denison Middle
Langel, Matt
The Spy
105
Remsen-Union Elementary
Lapke, Alexis
Climbing Camelback
19
Sioux City East Middle
Lara, Ana
Weaving With Ribbon
16
Schleswig Elementary
Lara, Kairo
The Christmas Spirit
48
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Lawler, Ashley
Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
The Lightening Thief
51
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Lawrensen, Selah
Grid Drawing
17
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Lawson, Lane
Native
9
West Monona Middle
Le, Phuc
Peregrine Falcon
44
Sioux City West Middle
Lensink, Bethany
Flying Fish
15
Sioux City East High
Lenz, Kari
Happiness?
84
South OʼBrien High
Name
Title
Page
School
Linden, Jolee
Hero VS Villain
85
Gehlen Catholic
Looyenga, Alexis
Simple Reality
88
Le Mars Middle
Loutsch, Megan
The Inside To Reality
92
Remsen-Union Elementary
Ly, Long
Is a Temporary Magnet a Sidekick?
89
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Mackey, Skylar
Flower in Spring
85
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Mahlke, Sydney
The Meadow
72
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Mallory, Ellen
Best Friends Forever
46
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Manker, Kalynn B.
Lone Wolf
30
Woodbury Central Middle
Martin, Kyra
Jack-O-Lantern
79
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
McCallan, McKenzie
Bellsprout and Dratini
30
Gehlen Catholic
McKenney, Bethany
Fall Branch
40
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
McKernan, Kierra
Star Fruit Bowl
88
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Medrano, Zulema
Lighthouse
86
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Metzler, Alex
“Poof”
31
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Meyer, Garrett
Untitled
81
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Miller, Cameron
Nothing Ever Happens on Beck
Avenue
103
Remsen-Union Elementary
Miller, Carrie
Music of the Night
53
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Miller, Courtney
Koala Bear
98
Remsen-Union Elementary
Miller, Katie
Castle in the Spring
35
Whiting Elementary
Miller, Richelle
Hear Me
38
South OʼBrien High
Moeller, Trent
Ride On
53
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Mogensen, Madelyn
Jordynʼs Journey
87
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Montes, Eric
Emerald Dragon
95
Sioux City West Middle
Morgan, Kayla
At The River
26
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Moritz, Mitchell
Deer Hunting
41
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Mumm, Camille
Waking Up Christmas
28
Ar-We-Va Middle
Murrell, Connor
Court of Dreams
70
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Myers, Rachel
Pond Bond
65
Sioux City East Middle
Name
Title
Page
School
Neumann, Wyatt
My Dadʼs Buck
94
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Nicks, Allyson
My American Hero
9
Remsen-Union Junior High
Nielsen, Summit
My Life as a Squirrel
97
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Nilles, Lexe Kay
Teenage Fantasy
62
St. Maryʼs Elementary
Nordaker, Connor
Hurry Up Spring
25
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Nymeyer, Rebecca
Cat Nap
92
Sioux Center Christian
Oswald, Drake
The Great Artic Dragon
82
Remsen-Union Elementary
Page, Elizabeth
A Beautiful Summer Day
72
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Paulsen, Connor
The Zebra
32
Schleswig Middle
Paulsen, Zac
Space Shuttle
66
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Paulson, Connor
When I Felt Successful
74
Schleswig Middle
Peck, Jordan
Purple
32
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Pepper, Cade
Monster
88
Remsen-Union Elementary
Peters, Wesley
Home of Betty Eaton
6
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Petersen, Austin
Lightning
94
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Petersen, Sarah
Pink Is...
90
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Pick, Carson
Ocean Waves
96
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Pike, Briley
Farming
77
Whiting Elementary
Poole, MacKenzie
Hand of God
34
West Monona Middle
Prior, Lydia
The Ring
42
Lawton-Bronson Elementary
Puhl, David
A Perplexing Mystery
73
Gehlen Catholic
Puhrmann, Crystal
Checkers
47
South OʼBrien High
Ragaller, Kayla
Chase Your Dreams
91
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Rahilly, John
Untitled
45
West Monona Middle
Ramierez, Tino
Behind the 8 Ball
71
St. Patrickʼs
Remington, Cadon
My Pony
80
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Upper
Elementary
Renze, Leslie
Coiling With Raffia
24
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Richter, Dalton
Eric Koehlmoos
65
South OʼBrien Junior High
Name
Title
Page
School
Rivas, Clara
October 31
51
Sioux City East High
Rodriguez, Anthonio
Horseshoe Superheroes
27
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Rodriguez, Karla
Princess Pirate Ship
Rotnicke, Kade
Panda Bear
37
West Monona Middle
Ruba, Ella
Christmas Eve
48
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Rugland, Ruby
What is Love?
59
Sioux City East Middle
Ryan, Gabby
The Cat
84
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Sadler, Ben
My Friend Zeus
30
Maple Valley Elementary
Sanchez, Tavian
The Case of the Missing Cop
66
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sawyer, Misha
The Purr-fect Birthday Gift
17
Sioux City East Middle
Schilmoeller, Kennedy
Football
51
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Schonrock, Hunter
The Dragon and the Duck
20
Sioux City Emerson Elementary
Schroeder, Ali
Big Red Barn
2
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Schultz, Camryn
A Letter to Santa
54
Schleswig Elementary
Sears, Kendra
Scales
47
West Monona Central Elementary
Sedano, Marissa
Natureʼs Art Work
92
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Shaw, Antonio
Picasso Faces
45
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Sickelka, Olivia
My Mother
80
South OʼBrien Junior High
Simons, Keegan
Untitled
84
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Sitzmann, Abby
George
49
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Smit, Kelsey
Untitled
59
Boyden-Hull Elementary
Snyder, Andrew
Fall
70
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Sobaski, Lauren
My Heroine: Helen Keller
62
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament
Center
Steen, Abby
Foal
1
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Strawn, Taylor
The Fortune Cookie
55
Sioux City Sunnyside Elementary
Strouth, Katie
Bug Eyed
24
St. Patrickʼs
Suhr, David
Up, Up, Up!
35
Sioux City East Middle
Sullivan, Makayla
Hopeʼs Bath
67
Sioux City East Middle
Cover
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Name
Title
Page
Swanger, Daltyn
Rocky
47
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Swanger, Wesley
Farming With Green Tractors
54
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Sweeney, Austin
My Favorite Thing to Do
93
South OʼBrien High
Teske, Dakota
The Best Christmas Present Ever
12
Ar-We-Va Middle
Ton, Man
The Adventures of Fig in Sioux City
94
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Tornell, Libby
The American Spirit
16
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament
Center
Towne, Taylor
Spirit
70
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Utesch, Jordan
My First Snowboarding Experience
101
Remsen-Union Junior High
Van Marel, Jena
The Christmas Visit
48
Sheldon Middle
Vande Lune, Emma
Draining the Mississippi
33
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Vasquez, Chelsea
Jungle
74
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Veltri, Cole
Phone Trouble
99
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Veltri, Evan
My Pioneer Story
65
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Ver Beski, Jeremiah
Black Eyes
81
Sioux City West Middle
Ver Steeg, Carissa
My Trip to Yellowstone
25
Sioux City East Middle
Vetter, Dylan
Untitled
106
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Villegas, Scout
Stephen T. Colbert
Walker, Brett
Deer in Forest
3
Cherokee Washington High
Welch, Michael
Dinosaurʼs Time
62
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Westbay, Keeli
Like Kandinsky
26
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Westra, Josh
Pigeon Hawk
90
Sioux Center Christian
White, Molly
Untitled
12
Cherokee Washington High
Whited, Branden
On the Farm
60
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Whitsel, Abby
One of a Kind
79
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Wiese, Alexa
Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall
64
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Wiese, Renae
Harvest
100
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Wiese, Travis
Snow
106
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Wiggs, Ethan
The Town
60
Whiting Elementary
Preface
School
South OʼBrien High
Name
Title
Page
School
Williams, Elizabeth
A Special Place
102
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Wilmesherr, Colby
Truckinʼ
104
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Wisecup, Abby
The Missing Money
95
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Wurth, Chloe
Description
68
Remsen-Union Elementary
Yankey, Bailee
Carousel
32
Whiting Elementary
Young, Taylor
U.S. Seal Now a Dog
37
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Zamago, Ivan
Winter Sense Poem
89
Schleswig Elementary
Zink, Hazel
My First Official 5K (3.1 mile race)
63
Sioux City East Middle
Zylstra, Kendal
The Frog Legend
23
Inwood Christian
Title
Page
Campbell, Demi
The Hunt
58
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Goeddeke, Jacob
UFO
59
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Goslar, Skylar
Bill the 4440
19
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Hoy, Emily
Nature
42
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Morgan, Kayla
At The River
26
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Blair, Kiersten
Fall
79
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Danner, Emilee
Whales
87
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Dirks, Shelby
Turkey
58
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Koenck, Tanner
Untitled
49
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Neumann, Wyatt
My Dadʼs Buck
94
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Ragaller, Kayla
Chase Your Dreams
91
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Simons, Keegan
Untitled
84
Ar-We-Va Arcadia Elementary
Vetter, Dylan
Untitled
106
Ar-We-Va High
Kock, Danielle
Christmas Eve
18
Ar-We-Va Middle
Cornelius, Gunner
Christmas Memories
45
Ar-We-Va Middle
Mumm, Camille
Waking Up Christmas
28
Ar-We-Va Middle
Teske, Dakota
The Best Christmas Present Ever
12
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Mackey, Skylar
Flower in Spring
85
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Petersen, Austin
Lightning
94
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Petersen, Sarah
Pink Is...
90
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Elementary
Veltri, Evan
My Pioneer Story
65
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Anderson, Tyler
Cooper and Rocky
83
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Dausel, Kirsten
Arts of Fun
71
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Faulkenberry, McKinna
My Normal Day Couplets
78
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Godbersen, Reed
A Special Gift
101
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
McKenney, Bethany
Fall Branch
40
School
Anthon-Oto-Maple/Valley Middle
Name
Title
Page
Miller, Carrie
Music of the Night
53
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Nielsen, Summit
My Life as a Squirrel
97
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Swanger, Daltyn
Rocky
47
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Veltri, Cole
Phone Trouble
99
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Williams, Elizabeth
A Special Place
102
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament
Center
Sobaski, Lauren
My Heroine: Helen Keller
62
BHCS Holy Cross - Blessed Sacrament
Center
Tornell, Libby
The American Spirit
16
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Bertram, Isabelle
Joy to the World!
76
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Burns, Noah
The Rise of the Turkeys
83
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Jensen, Annie
Hot Cocoa
28
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koob, Haley
Forshorten Me
52
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koob, Madi
Leoʼs Mona Lisa
38
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Koob, Sidney
The Scarecrow
79
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Shaw, Antonio
Picasso Faces
45
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Steen, Abby
Foal
1
BHCS Mater Dei - I.C. Center
Wilmesherr, Colby
Truckinʼ
104
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Kudrna, Brendan
Utopia
34
BHCS Mater Dei - Nativity Center
Lawler, Ashley
Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
The Lightening Thief
51
Boyden-Hull Elementary
Smit, Kelsey
Untitled
59
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Mallory, Ellen
Best Friends Forever
46
Charter Oak-Ute Elementary
Nordaker, Connor
Hurry Up Spring
25
Charter Oak-Ute High
Kelm, Tasha
Matthewʼs Story
8
Charter Oak-Ute Junior High
Ewoldt, Ashey
Confused & In Love
40
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Jensen, Emma
The Polluted Geyser
50
Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary
Vande Lune, Emma
Draining the Mississippi
33
Cherokee Washington High
Carlson, Megan
Medieval Castle
21
School
Battle Creek-Ida Grove Intermediate
Name
Title
Page
Walker, Brett
Deer in Forest
3
Cherokee Washington High
White, Molly
Untitled
12
Denison Middle
Ingram, Jacqueline
Guess Who?
46
Denison Middle
Lamaak, Noah
Dodge Charger
68
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Clausen, Brady
The Tree
63
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Endrulat, Jerzey
Caring
1
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Garvin, Tommy
Fun Games at the Tournament
26
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Henkel, Autumn
When My Dog Ate a Rubber Ducky
86
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Kalin, Audrey
My Favorite Horses
94
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Meyer, Garrett
Untitled
81
Galva-Holstein Lower Elementary
Wiese, Travis
Snow
106
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Albers, Jaeden
My Dadʼs Farm
103
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Degen, Austin
Arctic Adventure
29
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Dutler, Kinzey
Bear
40
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Gish, Nicholas
Rudolphʼs Understudy
76
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Johnson, Erin
Candy Canes
59
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Kofmehl, Kate
Christmas
48
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Martin, Kyra
Jack-O-Lantern
79
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Moeller, Trent
Ride On
53
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Snyder, Andrew
Fall
70
Galva-Holstein Upper Elementary
Wiese, Renae
Harvest
100
Gehlen Catholic
Alec Langel, James Kellen
Trying to Get Done Are the
Farmers!
77
Gehlen Catholic
Harpenau, Brooke
Turkey Trouble
91
Gehlen Catholic
Heuertz, Stephanie
The 1st Cupid!
83
Gehlen Catholic
James Kellen, Alec Langel
Trying to Get Done Are the
Farmers!
77
Gehlen Catholic
Linden, Jolee
Hero VS Villain
85
School
Cherokee Washington High
Name
Title
Page
McCallan, McKenzie
Bellsprout and Dratini
30
Gehlen Catholic
Puhl, David
A Perplexing Mystery
73
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Harding, Brady
I Couldnʼt Think of a Title
11
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High
Metzler, Alex
“Poof”
31
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Paulsen, Zac
Space Shuttle
66
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle
Peters, Wesley
Home of Betty Eaton
6
Hinton Elementary
Chandler, Jadyn
Fall
58
Hinton Elementary
Fischer, D. J.
John Deere
78
Hinton Elementary
Lake, Aubree
Winter Fun
26
Hinton High
Bunch, Emily
Down in the Stable
10
Inwood Christian
Zylstra, Kendal
The Frog Legend
23
Inwood Christian
De Vries, Jacee
My New Home
4
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Blakeman/Dimmitt, Wade
Found
72
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Galles, Grace
Music
60
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Hamman, Jeana
Family
22
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Laddusaw, Jordan
Where Iʼm From
6
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Moritz, Mitchell
Deer Hunting
41
Kingsley-Pierson Middle
Sitzmann, Abby
George
49
Lawton-Bronson Elementary
Prior, Lydia
The Ring
42
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Aduddell, Isabel
The TTA
74
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Engebretson, JT
Football
71
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Mahlke, Sydney
The Meadow
72
Le Mars Clark Elementary
Schilmoeller, Kennedy
Football
51
Le Mars Middle
Ahlers, Jeff
Snow
60
Le Mars Middle
Galles, Cynthia
Adoption
15
Le Mars Middle
Looyenga, Alexis
Simple Reality
88
School
Gehlen Catholic
Name
Title
Page
Sadler, Ben
My Friend Zeus
30
Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn Upper
Elementary
Kasner, Dakota
My Best Friend, Cody
24
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Dreckman, Emily
Christmas Morning
28
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Goth, Kaitlyn
The Farmerʼs Farm
6
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Jennings, Veta
The Snowmen
85
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Pick, Carson
Ocean Waves
96
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Ruba, Ella
Christmas Eve
48
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Welch, Michael
Dinosaurʼs Time
62
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Primary
Whited, Branden
On the Farm
60
Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Upper
Elementary
Remington, Cadon
My Pony
80
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Ascherl, Caroline
Grid Drawing
11
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Heimensen, Daphne
Grid Drawing
14
Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley Middle
Lawrensen, Selah
Grid Drawing
17
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Renze, Leslie
Coiling With Raffia
24
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Swanger, Wesley
Farming With Green Tractors
54
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Westbay, Keeli
Like Kandinsky
26
Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove
Middle
Young, Taylor
U.S. Seal Now a Dog
37
Orange City Christian
Dykstra, Rebecca
Untitled
39
Orange City Christian
Huizenga, Ashley
Butterscotch
106
Orange City Christian
Kroeze, Kendra
Untitled
75
Remsen-Union Elementary
Ahrens, Katelyn
Christmas
29
Remsen-Union Elementary
Arens, Carter
Monster
40
Remsen-Union Elementary
Bonnstetter, Autum
Harvest
34
Remsen-Union Elementary
Caraher, Maddysen
Horse
102
Remsen-Union Elementary
Goeken, Isaac
The Sea Dragon
27
Remsen-Union Elementary
Hilbrands, Ellie
Christmas Break
43
School
Maple Valley Elementary
Name
Title
Page
Kass, Brandon
Hay Ride
64
Remsen-Union Elementary
Kindergarten Class, Mrs.
Ruhlandʼs
Corduroy - The Missing Button
81
Remsen-Union Elementary
Kindergarten Class, Mrs.
Uteschʼs
Six Word Biographies
77
Remsen-Union Elementary
Langel, Matt
The Spy
105
Remsen-Union Elementary
Loutsch, Megan
The Inside To Reality
92
Remsen-Union Elementary
Miller, Cameron
Nothing Ever Happens on Beck
Avenue
103
Remsen-Union Elementary
Miller, Courtney
Koala Bear
98
Remsen-Union Elementary
Oswald, Drake
The Great Artic Dragon
82
Remsen-Union Elementary
Pepper, Cade
Monster
88
Remsen-Union Elementary
Wurth, Chloe
Description
68
Remsen-Union Junior High
Nicks, Allyson
My American Hero
9
Remsen-Union Junior High
Utesch, Jordan
My First Snowboarding Experience
101
River Valley High
Hill-Miller, Jamie
Midnight Ride
13
Rock Valley Middle
Blum, Sammy
The Emperor
61
Schleswig Elementary
Johnson, Braeden
Ripped Stocking
61
Schleswig Elementary
Lara, Ana
Weaving With Ribbon
16
Schleswig Elementary
Schultz, Camryn
A Letter to Santa
54
Schleswig Elementary
Zamago, Ivan
Winter Sense Poem
89
Schleswig Middle
Bruck, Jaden
Untitled
52
Schleswig Middle
Paulsen, Connor
The Zebra
32
Schleswig Middle
Paulson, Connor
When I Felt Successful
74
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Breon, Janae
The Search
98
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Huberty, Brooklyn
The Girl Who Played Baseball
43
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Mogensen, Madelyn
Jordynʼs Journey
87
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Sanchez, Tavian
The Case of the Missing Cop
66
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Elementary
Wisecup, Abby
The Missing Money
95
School
Remsen-Union Elementary
Name
Title
Page
Christensen, Andrew
The Top of the World
100
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Cooley, Taylor
The Forest
82
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
DeMoss, Gage
Water Slide Fun
75
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Murrell, Connor
Court of Dreams
70
Sheldon High
DeKok, Olivia
Blind Like an Eagle
2
Sheldon Middle
Grant, Addison
Forgotten
39
Sheldon Middle
Van Marel, Jena
The Christmas Visit
48
Sioux Center Christian
Buiter, Erika
The Farmer
36
Sioux Center Christian
Buss, Leah
The Potter
99
Sioux Center Christian
Driesen, Marissa
Cheer Squad 6
80
Sioux Center Christian
Hibma, Jenna
The Little Girl Who Believed in
Santa
69
Sioux Center Christian
Koops, Alex
Football Mike
54
Sioux Center Christian
Nymeyer, Rebecca
Cat Nap
92
Sioux Center Christian
Westra, Josh
Pigeon Hawk
90
Sioux City East High
Houlihan, Chloe
Untitled
39
Sioux City East High
Kranz, Chelsey
A Different Tomorrow
7
Sioux City East High
Lensink, Bethany
Flying Fish
15
Sioux City East High
Rivas, Clara
October 31
51
Sioux City East Middle
Clyne, Terence
I Wish to See
85
Sioux City East Middle
Dicus, Mya
In the Middle of the Night
90
Sioux City East Middle
Dillavou, Mary Jane
Why
80
Sioux City East Middle
Gevik, Abbey
Cancer
82
Sioux City East Middle
Kitrell, Rachel
Foster Care, the Story of How I
Adopted Alexis
10
Sioux City East Middle
Kooyman, Jayden
Christmas
75
Sioux City East Middle
Lapke, Alexis
Climbing Camelback
19
Sioux City East Middle
Myers, Rachel
Pond Bond
65
School
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Middle
Name
Title
Page
Rugland, Ruby
What is Love?
59
Sioux City East Middle
Sawyer, Misha
The Purr-fect Birthday Gift
17
Sioux City East Middle
Suhr, David
Up, Up, Up!
35
Sioux City East Middle
Sullivan, Makayla
Hopeʼs Bath
67
Sioux City East Middle
Ver Steeg, Carissa
My Trip to Yellowstone
25
Sioux City East Middle
Zink, Hazel
My First Official 5K (3.1 mile race)
63
Sioux City Emerson Elementary
Schonrock, Hunter
The Dragon and the Duck
20
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Castaneda, Alexis
Tissues
86
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Lara, Kairo
The Christmas Spirit
48
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Ly, Long
Is a Temporary Magnet a Sidekick? 89
Sioux City Irving Elementary
Rodriguez, Anthonio
Horseshoe Superheroes
27
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Breyfogle, Ethan
My Family
47
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Page, Elizabeth
A Beautiful Summer Day
72
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Ryan, Gabby
The Cat
84
Sioux City Nodland Elementary
Wiese, Alexa
Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall
64
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Garcia, Kyla
The Adventures of Fig in Sioux City
96
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Peck, Jordan
Purple
32
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Ton, Man
The Adventures of Fig in Sioux City
94
Sioux City Riverside Elementary
Whitsel, Abby
One of a Kind
79
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Blanchard, Cameron
Darth Vader
61
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Bohaboj, Maria
Trick or Treat!
100
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Hancock, Cede
Snowman
31
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Jahn, Caleb
John Lennon
78
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
McKernan, Kierra
Star Fruit Bowl
88
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Sedano, Marissa
Natureʼs Art Work
92
Sioux City Roosevelt Elementary
Vasquez, Chelsea
Jungle
74
School
Sioux City East Middle
Name
Title
Page
Strawn, Taylor
The Fortune Cookie
55
Sioux City West Middle
Burr, Abby
Shore Bird
98
Sioux City West Middle
Jackson, Jordan
Zebra
69
Sioux City West Middle
Le, Phuc
Peregrine Falcon
44
Sioux City West Middle
Montes, Eric
Emerald Dragon
95
Sioux City West Middle
Ver Beski, Jeremiah
Black Eyes
81
South OʼBrien High
Brasser, Erin
In the Eyes of a Slave
27
South OʼBrien High
Julian, Rachel
Itʼs Cancer
1
South OʼBrien High
Kruse, Cassie
Undying Memories
13
South OʼBrien High
Lenz, Kari
Happiness?
84
South OʼBrien High
Miller, Richelle
Hear Me
38
South OʼBrien High
Puhrmann, Crystal
Checkers
47
South OʼBrien High
Sweeney, Austin
My Favorite Thing to Do
93
South OʼBrien High
Villegas, Scout
Stephen T. Colbert
Preface
South OʼBrien Junior High
Feltman, Jessie
Typical Classroom
7
South OʼBrien Junior High
Richter, Dalton
Eric Koehlmoos
65
South OʼBrien Junior High
Sickelka, Olivia
My Mother
80
St. Maryʼs Elementary
Nilles, Lexe Kay
Teenage Fantasy
62
St. Maryʼs Elementary
Koontz, Tori
Everybody Needs a Jar
46
St. Patrickʼs
Ramierez, Tino
Behind the 8 Ball
71
St. Patrickʼs
Davis, Lauren
Untitled
42
St. Patrickʼs
Strouth, Katie
Bug Eyed
24
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Heiden, Jaden
Fall
37
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Kanne, Matt
Construction Zone
53
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Medrano, Zulema
Lighthouse
86
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Rodriguez, Karla
Princess Pirate Ship
Cover
School
Sioux City Sunnyside Elementary
Name
Title
Page
Schroeder, Ali
Big Red Barn
2
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Towne, Taylor
Spirit
70
West Monona Central Elementary
Brinkman, Becca
The Sweet Tooth Raccoon
61
West Monona Central Elementary
Koenig, Jaxson
The Silly Squirrel
64
West Monona Central Elementary
Sears, Kendra
Scales
47
West Monona Middle
Clark, Josh
Lines
52
West Monona Middle
Davis, Hunter
Sailboat
97
West Monona Middle
Freemont, Kelton
Untitled
18
West Monona Middle
Gray, Tyler
Peace
106
West Monona Middle
Kropf, Becca
Bunny
67
West Monona Middle
Lawson, Lane
Native
9
West Monona Middle
Rahilly, John
Untitled
45
West Monona Middle
Rotnicke, Kade
Panda Bear
37
West Monona Middle
Poole, MacKenzie
Hand of God
34
Whiting Elementary
Allen, Kallee
Christmas Eve
69
Whiting Elementary
Anderson, Cassadi
A Farm
64
Whiting Elementary
Butler, Dylan
Eagles Landing
22
Whiting Elementary
Chappell, Calvin
Adoption Zoo
89
Whiting Elementary
Hall, Emma
Scarecrow
51
Whiting Elementary
Hogancamp, Blake
Princess Stuck in a Castle
44
Whiting Elementary
Miller, Katie
Castle in the Spring
35
Whiting Elementary
Pike, Briley
Farming
77
Whiting Elementary
Wiggs, Ethan
The Town
60
Whiting Elementary
Yankey, Bailee
Carousel
32
Whiting High
Clark, Karleigh
In a Flash
11
Whiting High
Kron, Taylor
3-Timeʼs the Charm
36
School
St. Rose of Lima Catholic
Name
School
Woodbury Central Middle
Name
Manker, Kalynn B.
Title
Page
Lone Wolf
30