Brianwoods

Hi. My name is Ken. I'm a member of SCBWI. I'm your tour guide into Brianwoods, a blog dedicated to my children's writing endeavors. Thanks for stopping by.

Just for a minute, close your eyes and imagine you're walking along a forest trail. Listen to the forest animals, as they call out to greet you. Welcome to Brianwoods!

This blog includes some of my other writing and details on my published materials.

Friday, February 10, 2017

My Valentiny Story Entry: 2nd Annual Susanna Leonard Hill Contest

Here's my entry into Susanna Leonard Hill's Valentiny Writing Contest. I hope you like it.




                       
                                                                                                            Word Count: 210                                          

My Valentine



My teacher asked each student in my class to pick someone to be their valentine this year, make a card, and write about them. I picked my Grandpa.

When Grandpa was younger, he used to play dollhouse and tea party with me. But he is sick now. He has Alzheimer’s disease, which makes it hard to remember who people are and other important things.

I remember the first time we visited Grandpa at the nursing home and he didn’t know who I was. It hurt my feelings.

“What a pretty little girl,” said Grandpa. He asked the nurse who was pushing him in a wheelchair, “Is that your daughter? Why is she crying now?”

Mommy explained that he couldn’t help it. I understand that now.

Anyway, I think my Grandpa is the best because he still tries to play games with me even though Mommy has to explain to him that I’m his granddaughter every time we visit him. I can’t imagine how scary it must be for him to not remember his family. That’s why I decided to visit him on Valentine’s Day to tell him that he’s my valentine this year.

“Thank you for picking me,” said Grandpa. He gave me a big hug.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Grandpa.” 

Respectfully submitted,

Ken Major


23 comments:

  1. Ken, what a lovely, touching Valentiny story. I enjoyed it very much.

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    1. Hi Jill,

      Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your comment. This story was risky because it touches on a very difficult subject, but one that many kids will end up facing with the number of elderly people getting the disease.

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    2. Yes, so true. My father had Alzheimer's, and I know how difficult it was for the grand kids to understand. Your story shares the experience in such a gentle way. Well done.

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  2. Ken, what a lovely, touching Valentiny story. I enjoyed it very much.

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  3. What a lovely and poignant story. I'm sure it will touch lots of hearts. Well done!

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    1. Thanks, Jilanne. Good luck with your story. I enjoyed it.

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  4. This is an important topic and I am sure many children will come it. Thank you for writing this!

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  5. Moving Valentine's story, Ken. Beautifully done!

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    1. Thanks for your comment,Gabi.Good luck in the contest.

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  6. This reminded me of my grandpa. Very well done. Good luck!

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  7. I get this. I take care of my dad who has this horrid disease. I wish you well with your story.

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  8. Lynn-Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your comment. You are obviously a very strong woman. Take care.

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    1. Ken, I had to come back and reread your story. Thank you for your empowering words to me! I have the help of my sister, and a small team of caregivers, or he wouldn't be doing as well as he is. This disease took his dad and three of his siblings, so ... I do appreciate your story. Blessings to you.

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  9. Ken, this is really sweet and touched a spot in my heart. Not your typical Valentine's story which is wonderful.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your nice comment, Traci. Best of luck in the contest.

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  10. Ken, this has such a genuine voice. Authentic and bittersweet. Thank-you for sharing it with us. Beautiful.

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  11. Thanks, Joanne. Good luck in the contest.

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  12. What a poignant entry, Ken. So sad and sweet because it's so authentic. Thanks so much for joining in the Valentiny Contest!

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  14. Hello All,

    The contest has ended and unfortunately I didn't make the final cut. There are 12 finalists that were selected by the contest committee, which can be viewed on Susanna's blog and voted on. My understanding is that the story that gets the most votes wins first prize. There will also be prizes for the other top entries, but I'm not sure how many prizes Susanna was able to get for the contest.

    I find it hard to believe that Susanna has the time to comment on each and every entry! Further, she really reads the stories and provides what I consider thoughtful comments. Very impressive!!!I also think that Susanna and company put a lot of work in posting entries for writers whom don't have a blog or a website. That's very inclusive and something that many others wouldn't do because of the effort to do so. A thought to those who don't have a blog or website-let this contest be the motivating factor to get you to do that. If you want to enhance your writing resume, I think it's essential.



    Please vote and good luck to finalists!

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  15. I just viewed Susanna's blog this morning and left a message. As I read through the comments, it got me thinking. What does kid-appeal mean?

    My Webster dictionary defines "appeal" as follows: to be interesting or arouse a favorable or sympathetic response.
    So for a story to have kid-appeal it must draw interest or arouse a favorable or sympathetic response from kids. The process of picking which story has more kid-appeal is very subjective. With such a broad definition, it's no wonder certain writers might not agree with the chosen finalists. You can debate each of the criteria like this. For instance, there are several finalists that have some typos in their stories. Should those entries have been chosen?

    A thought to consider: Maybe the committee shouldn't be composed of adults. Perhaps kids should vote on which entries they prefer. The problem with that is kids wouldn't want to spend the time to read all these entries. Oh well.

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