From Poetry to Play

I wrote a rhyming poem entitled "The Last Leaf" for a contest a number of years ago. It was far from being perfect. But I think it had that certain something, "a hook", like that term used to describe a song with a certain appeal. Anyway, I've been working on converting it into a children's play and it's been fun. I'll give you a sampling of several of the lines in it. Keep in mind that the leaves on a tree come to life. Here, one leaf is attacked by several hungry caterpillars.

Later on, caterpillars stopped for lunch. All you could hear was "Crunch, Crunchy, Crunch, Crunch".
"Get off off me, bugs! Get off of me, please! Now look what you've done. I look like Swiss cheese."

I'm anxious to see if I can get someone to actually do the play. My fingers are crossed.

Let me know what you think. I'm interested.

Thanks,

Ken

Say Hello to Somerset-The Upside Down Pouch

      In this part of the story, Kellie and Karl, Somerset's parents discuss Somerset and Kellie's upside down

pouch.
                                                                                        

      "Karl, do you think we'll be able to keep Somerset safe until she gets bigger?  And do

you think the others will treat us differently when they discover our secret?" asked Kellie.

     "We'll be able to protect her.  But I'm not sure how the other kangaroos will

react to our secret."

     "Why did I have to be born this way?" wondered Kellie.

  

     " I don't know, Kellie.  But Somerset is small.  She'll be able to climb around and stay

inside your pouch with a little help from us.  I also have an idea how we can keep her

safe.  We can put a flat piece of eucalyptus in your upside down pouch and wedge it in

place. As Somerset grows, we can put in smaller and smaller pieces," suggested Karl.

     "I don't know if I want a piece of wood put in my pouch.  Besides, it's probably just

going to fall out once I start hopping around," said Kellie.

     "Not if we put some sticky sap from that tree on the edges," stated Karl.

     "And how am I suppose to get the wood off my hair after it's stuck to it?  I think

it's really going to hurt when we try to pull it off," replied Kellie.

     Just after she said it, Kellie started to feel bad.  She needed to do whatever possible

to keep Somerset safe, even if it meant having to feel some pain.

Highlights for Children-Fiction Contest

There are a number of children's writing contests that can be entered. Some of these contests require an entry fee per submission too. I'm glad to say that Highlights isn't one of them.

Each year Highlights runs a theme-based fiction contest, which any adult can enter. They choose three stories each year out of hundreds of entries.  I believe they get about 1,200 entries each year so it's a very competitive contest. The other good thing about this contest is that the company reviews these entries also for possible publication in its magazine even if you don't place in the top three. Shortly after the winners are chosen, Highlights provides the next year's theme so that writers can start to think about putting together a new manuscript or revising an existing one to fit this new theme for next year.

I've entered the contest for the last five years. Although I haven't won or drawn interest from them, I continue to enjoy the contest and have built up a portfolio of stories.

So if you're looking to get a manuscript published by Highlights, I encourage you to enter the contest. Their website is http://www.highlights.com/.

Ken Major

"Odd Animal Friends" Published in Ladybug Magazine's November/December 2010 Issue

I'm excited to announce the news that my poem entitled "Odd Animal Friends" has just been published in Ladybug Magazine, a publication by Carus Publishing.  The poem is broken into five stanzas, which feature various mismatched animals doing things together. I encourage everyone to check out Ladybug Magazine and the other excellent publications by this wonderful children's publisher. Their website is  http://www.cricketmag.com/.

Ken Major

Crazy Cat Quiz

See how you do on this humorous quiz about cats.  The answers are at the bottom of the post.


 CRAZY CAT QUIZ

    1) What do you call a cat that thinks it is a sports car?
    2) What do you call a cat that likes to swim?
    3) What kind of cat doesn't play fair?
    4) What kind of cat wears diapers?
    5) What do you call a cat that doesn't tell the truth?
    6) What do you call a line of cats holding their paws 
         together?
    7) What do you call a cat that can fly?
    8) What type of cat likes to paint?
    9) What is the name of a cat that likes to go fishing?
  10) What is another name for Thomas the cat?
  11) What type of cat thinks it is a dinosaur?
  12) What is another name for a cat from Egypt?
  13) What do you call a tired male cat?
  14) What is a name for a type of cat underwear?










 1) Jaguar, 2) Catfish, 3) Cheetah, 4) Pampas, 5) Lion, 6) Lynx,
 7) Catbird, 8) Pan-ther, 9) Polecat, 10) Tomcat, 11) Rex,
12) Sphynx, 13) Him-a-layan,14) Jaguar-undi      

Brianwoods

Welcome to Brianwoods. This blog is dedicated to all my children's writing endeavors. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. By the way, you just might run into a sly chipmunk named Plunk, an adventurous spotted salamander named Alexander, or a kangaroo by the name of Somerset. Don't worry. They're very friendly. Sit down and take a journey into the world of Brianwoods.