The ring was surrounded by viewers. The roar of the crowd at the Staples Center
was like the sound of hail at its hardest. A circle of light was contained within thick
dark-red ropes that enclosed the ring. Two men moved about the ring dodging fear.
They bounced around the sponsors' logos on the leather mat below. Butterbean had
two cuts and a black eye. His nose was broken. The black man, George Foreman,
had a cut on his left eye. Butterbean's trainer, a white man with dark blue eyes wore
a buttoned shirt. He stood calmly waiting for Butterbean to finish it. George
Foreman's trainer was yelling at the top of his lungs for his fighter to end it.
Butterbean's jarring punch connected to the right side of Foreman's chin.
In the poster on my wall the spotlight beams down on a fight I wish I'd
seen…Butterbean by a knockout in the eleventh round 1998.
-Matthew Pitnoczko
At my grandma and grandpa's house we own a cabin. It is on the sand hill by the
North Saskatchewan River. I love this land. Outside around our cabin is a beautiful
forest. The sand hill itself is a fifty-foot cliff. In spite of the prickles it is really fun to
climb down. Below the sand hill is the river with its strong current. As I look down
the sun is warm on my back. The sand feels warm on my feet. I can see a beaver
building his dam. From the trees I hear birds chirping. Beyond the trees are golden
fields that belong to my grandpa. Once, a long time ago, my grandparents were
offered one million dollars for this land. They said no and I am glad because this
is my favorite place.
-Haley Van Imschoot
Michael's room at my grandfather's place in Africa is to the side of the clinic.
The room is very small and packed with stuff. His bed is made of planks on a
raised step. The bed covers are African designs in browns, yellows, and orange.
Under the bed are clothes and pizza remains. Clothes and DVDs are scattered
on the floor and on the bed. To the side of the bed is a computer. Next to the
computer are more pizza crusts and pop cans and a lot of dirty bowls. The
walls are covered with posters of rap singers. Michael's window looks out on a
street with coconut trees. The people are dressed in bright colored skirts,
shorts and tank tops. The women have cloths around their waists. Some have
baskets of yams on their heads and babies tied to their backs. That's how I
remember Michael's room.
-Fafa Golokuma, Grade 4
I loved snorkeling in Mexico! The day was very hot. The water was so clear. I
could see the fish swimming. The fish were all different colors. Some were
bright yellow or metallic grey. There were even yellow and white striped fish
swimming in big schools. I saw one big grey fish. There were huge rocks
underwater that we could stand on. They were covered with slippery algae.
Some parts of the ocean were deep in between the rocks. I had a great time
snorkeling in Mexico!
-Alex Harrison, Grade 4
My family's shop is mouse infested and has always been that way. This shop
is very dirty. We try to sweep it, but the tractors always bring more dirt in. It
is also home to many animals, such as mice, dogs, and cats. This is where all
of our tractors stay when it is cold and they are not in use. There are about
four red toolboxes on the right side against the wall. There are also metal
shelves on the left side against the wall. We keep heavy chains and boxed
stuff on these. The tools that are not stored in the toolbox are there, as well
as a lot of old broken parts. On each end there is a big single door where the
tractors come in and out. In the bottom right-hand corner there is an air
compressor and a welder. The compressing of the air is very loud and it
echoes. This is a good working space because there are lots of tools and
supplies to use. The light in the shop is very dim. The floor of our shop is
cement but the siding and the roof are made out of metal. Right beside the
air compressor are the grinders that grind and sharpen metal. In the top
right-hand corner there is a sink. This is where we prepare the milk for our
calves. Right beside that is our gun box and ammunition. To the right of
that is a fridge that holds medicine for our animals. This shop is one of my
favourite places to be because I can be alone.
-John Wagner, Grade 5
On top of the hill overlooking the lakes, Chico, my bay horse, and I survey
the scene at dusk. The lush grass contrasts with the golden oats. The clear
lakes tremble with the eagerness of a secret. The pines are swaying. Some
horses graze while their young ones race. In the adjacent pasture cattle mill
about the smoldering brush piles. Sounds are distinct. Horses snicker to their
frisky foals. The creek gurgles and trees whisper above bird and insect noises.
Sitting astride Chico, I smell the strong odor of his sweat. Lifting my head I
smell wood-smoke and pine on the breeze. This is contentment.
-Cathie (Ambrose) Bruner, Grade 8
The air in the kitchen smells of cupcakes cooling on the black marble-like
wood counter tops. The wooden cupboards open and close as my brother
darts around the room looking for a snack to munch on. The hardwood floor
glows as the sun beams through the large window. The bright yellow walls
make the room stand out. I sit at the island doing my reading homework.
Some worn books are piled at the corner along with some old junk mail.
Two small kittens watch curiously as my tall mother cooks a fat chicken in
the oven across from the window.
-Carli Duvel, Grade 5
I am sitting on the bench at Switzer Provincial Park. It is a cold, oak bench,
high above the vast lake. Across the murky, green water a coyote is taking a
drink. The sky is a kind of purply-blue that sets off the deep green pine trees
surrounding me. It is extremely calm. A beetle is making a quiet humming
noise at my feet as it searches for food in the grass. I hear a squirrel far off and wonder what he is doing. In the lake I see fish jumping. They must be trout. Down the hill I see a man walking his little, white dog on the path. He is a big man with a beard and dark hair. He waves up at me. I wave back and he continues walking. I look past them back across the green lake. The coyote is gone. It's mid-afternoon and I'm not supposed to be here alone. I decide to go back to camp.
-Darcie Mesher, Grade 5
I have always enjoyed going out to my Auntie Kathy's house in Ontario. I
used to have a favorite tree that I would climb. It was curly and big. From this
tree I could see all the other trees . . . the apple tree, the crab apple tree, and
the maple. From my favorite tree I could also see birds and my auntie in her
house. I could see all the way to the barbed wire fence at the end of the
acreage. I would feel the wind smash against me and smell the steak my auntie
was cooking for supper. Beyond the yard was a large field where I could play
soccer, baseball, lacrosse, or football, but my favorite thing of all was to climb
the tree. I'd watch a bird swoop from the sky and I would stay in my favorite
tree until the horizon disappeared and it turned dark outside. Two weeks after
I came home from my auntie's she phoned to say that the tree I always
climbed blew down. Now all the fun I had in that old tree is over.
-Brett Snyder, Grade 6
Poisonous green lizards climb the walls in my grandpa's backyard on a hot day
in Sawerpuram, India. My grandpa is sleeping on a chair. Grandma watches us
play with the chicks and chicken. A brown dog runs and chases us around.
Green birds chirp in a cage near the backyard. The day is scorching hot
weather so we will have an excuse to swim in the mini swimming pool. Brown
coconuts are on the ground in the backyard. My cousins and I are building a
wooden human-powered car that looks like a box. Grandpa's new black
motorbike sits beside the trees. A servant cleans along the side of the yard
with the broom. Small banana trees grow in a row. A large green medicine
tree grows in the middle of the yard. It makes me feel blessed to go to
Sawerpuram, India, to see my grandma and grandpa.
-Emmanuel Lamech, Grade 6
As I look around my grandma's closet I see all this old stuff like jackets she
owned and a lot of purses. There are boxes and tins. I smell something like
flowers and I know it's from the new can of freshener she bought. Grandma is
standing on the two-step ladder beside me. She looks at me saying, "I know it's
around here somewhere. Just give me a few minutes." From the closet we can
hear all the relatives downstairs talking and laughing. I look around at the
bright pink walls and warm tiles. Grandma opens one of the boxes and takes
out another box inside it. She opens that box, and taking all the plastic off,
she hands me a shiny wooden jewelry box. I try to see what the picture is but
the glare of the bright light makes it hard to see. I realize, this Christmas Eve,
that all of these things in the closet are part of Grandma's treasure and they
mean a lot to her.
-Brandyn Johnson, Grade 6
People Portraits by Students
From Grades 4 to 6
My grandma is a big woman. She's not fat, but she has a large frame. She's a
farmer's wife and she seems built for that life. Grandma's hands are rough and
often red and chapped looking. She works hard. She milks cows and does
chores outside besides looking after the cats and dogs and the human critters
on the place. Grandma's face is broad and pleasant. She smiles easily and there
are crinkly lines around her eyes and mouth. Often Grandma is dressed in
pants and a sweatshirt, but when company comes she wears a dress. She always
smells good to me, of soap and fresh air.
-Kerry
Ethan is a chubby little guy. As he sits in the sandbox in just his diaper, his fat
little hands pat his round belly. He is smeared with dirt and doesn't care at all.
He looks up from his trucks as I walk over. He blinks his blue eyes in the
sunlight and gives me a cheerful grin. His blond hair is wispy and thin. It sort
of floats around his head when he moves.
-Blair
Dad is tall, really tall. He's fixing the fence today and he has sweatpants and a
T-shirt on. His ball cap is on his head at an angle pointing in a different
direction than his face. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and looks
carefully at the work he has done. Dad's face is brown already from working
outside. Today he's kind of whiskery but when he goes to work his cheeks are
smooth and shiny. I think my dad is handsome with his dark brown eyes and
the line of mustache over his thin upper lip. When he laughs his teeth show
and they are straight and white.
-Matthew
Rachel is a no worse than any other sister would be, but I don't have much to
do with her. Rachel is eleven and she's scrawny as a pole. Her skin is white
and freckly. She squints and her glasses are always about to fall off the end of
her pointy nose. Rachel wears weird clothes… like flowered pants and vest
and jackets, socks with frills on the ankles, and things in her hair. She doesn't
talk much, especially to me, and I don't mind that.
-Shane
