Monday, April 5, 2010

memory lane

so, i tease my mom a lot about never throwing anything away, but after visiting home this weekend, i am sooooooo grateful for her ocd saving habits, because she found something priceless.

it turns out, i finished my first book at a much earlier age than i realized.


introducing my first "book," LISA AND GRETEL. (and if you think Gretel is stolen straight out of a fairy tale, just wait. it gets better.)

i'll spare you the entire book, but here are a few highlights. (i hope you can read the pages. they're as big as i could make them):


yep, that sounds like me in third grade. ;)
now, before you forgive the pictures because of my age, i have to confess, my drawing hasn't really improved.


hey, i never claimed to be an illustrator.
but i could tell a story:


the last remaining fairy on the run from the evil fairy-snatcher, Dark Heart? hey, little third grade me, sounds like you've got a plot there!

although, young me had not learned the word "plagiarism" yet.... obviously:


weaving straw into gold? hmmmm. where have we heard that before?

also, i had yet to master the art of endings. once lisa and gretel gave dark heart the gold made from straw, he let the fairies go and turned out to be a friendly fellow. what happened to turn him from evil to good? good question:


yep, just happened.
this ending is not so different from the ending of BUTTER... which is probably why Agent Almost asked me to rewrite it. ;)

but i do still like a happy ending:




so that's my little trip down memory lane, courtesy of a closet cleaning with mom.
now i can't wait until my next trip home, so mom and i can tackle some of those mysterious boxes of mine in the attic! who knows what literary treasures we might find!

9 comments:

Lydia Kang said...

OMG, this is priceless. Never throw this away!!!!And don't forget to thank your Mom again!

Anonymous said...

What a cool memory to have! I love looking at my old stuff even though it makes me cringe.

Kaitlin Ward said...

Ohhhhh the memories. I have several books like this, with the weird old printer paper from the 90's and that lovely font and the binding.
AMAZING.

Tahereh said...

ahahahaha this was AWESOME!! i was RIVETED!!

hee hee!

thanks for sharing :D :D

Sage said...

I LOVE it. This was adorable.

Also Dark Heart? Possibly from a Care Bears movie ;-)

Glen Akin said...

HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my days, this is cutest thing EVER! You wrote this?! Really? Wow! Awwww look at you, all miss young writer. Bet you were really proud of yourself back then. Bet your mum was really proud of you. Man, you should cherish this. I wish i had the stories I wrote back then :(

erinjade said...

the funny thing is, i didn't even remember writing it until my mom showed it to me.

then all these writing memories came flooding back, and i started hounding my mom - "Mom! find the one i wrote about the dinosaurs! hey, where's that script for the teddy bear tea party featuring steve urkel?"

;)

sage, that is too funny! i was a care bears fanatic, so i'm certain now that i ripped off that name. hee hee!

K. H. Carson said...

Wow. It reminds me of a story I wrote in fifth grade. A little older, yes, but it looks pretty much exactly like this. Keep it forever, it's completely priceless.

Emmychka said...

that is awesome on so many levels. It will go on ebay for millions when you are a famous author. ;) Nonetheless, really cute to have something the memorable in your possession. I have to say though, I am like your mom and it is very difficult to throw things out. But since I am in the middle of trying to pack for a move, the inevitable YOU MUST GET RID OF THINGS has come. *sighs* Have yet to find something that adorable.