ABC Life Literacy Canada

We`re encouraging families to get together and write an original short story in celebration of Family Literacy Day. Each week leading up to Family Literacy Day on January 27, a lucky story will be featured as the Family Literacy Day Weekly Story. Check out this week's story below:

Week of January 23, 2012

The story of Bookworm family
By The Wong Family
Burnaby, BC

Hi!  My name is Brandon and we are a family of bookworms. There are five of us: me, my dad, my mom, my older brother Jeremy and my younger brother Justin.
The reason that we call ourselves the “bookworm family” is because we really like to read. We spend a lot of time in the library every week searching for books and reading them.

My older brother Jeremy loves to read adventure and fantasy stories because of the way the story unravels. It never gets old for him. Each story has a different ending and my brother has to find out, even if it means hiding under his covers to read the book with a flashlight.

My younger brother Justin is only five; his favorite type of book to read is the I Spy series. He loves to learn new words through searching the pictures for different objects. I think that it is a very good way for him to learn how to read. Right now he can read simple books by himself. We are all very proud of him.

I like to read about dinosaurs, their fossils and how to excavate the fossils from the mountain sides. My dream is to one day become an archeologist and discover a new dinosaur species. I am going to name it BranBransaurs.

My dad likes to read a lot of comic books aside from computer manuals and such. He enjoys reading comic books because he finds it really relaxing after a day of hard work.

My mom is always reading about cook books, she is constantly searching for new recipes and preparing different types of meals for us to eat. One day, we maybe having sushi and the next day, we are eating pizza and pasta.

We are proud to be called the bookworm family because books not only bring us happiness, excitement, new knowledge and imagination but also fantastic food.

Week of January 16, 2012

Homework Hassle
By Liliana and Alexia Gal
Guelph, ON

Subjects, predicates, adjectives and verbs,
I’d rather learn about flowers, plants and herbs.

Addition, subtraction and division,
There’s a test and I don’t have a decision.

Homework’s a real mystery
Now my teacher tells me to learn history.

What am I going to do with my head full of math?
Mom said: “It’s time to take a bath!”

Week of January 9, 2012

How My House Fell Down
By Nathan Yauck, age 5 & Danette Stevens-Yauck
Edited by Dan Yauck
Listened to and given ‘Thumbs Up’ by Alexandra Yauck, age 2
Calgary, AB

One day, I was feeling bored. So, I invited all my friends over to play. I am lucky to have a lot of friends! We played hide and seek. We sang happy songs. We laughed and played all day and chased the clouds away.

After awhile, we went inside for a snack. Suddenly, the house began to shake. And that’s when it happened. Crash, boom, bang! My house fell down!

Everyone fell over. No one knew what to do! I stood up and cried, “We have nowhere to live now!”

I knew we had to think. We thought and thought and thought.

One friend said, “We could fix it with some tape.”

Another friend said, “I think we need a magic wand.”

Mommy suggested that we call the workmen.

The workmen came right away and looked at the mess. They said, “This will be hard to fix. We need some help.” All my friends said “We’ll help!” and I said “Me too!” We sang while we worked, and together, we fixed the house.

Now my house is even stronger than before, so all my friends can come to sing and play, everyday.

Hooray!

The End

Week of January 3, 2012

Tiny and Freddy Learn About Morning Dew
By The Adams Family
Richards Landing, ON

Download the story and illustrations.

Week of November 28, 2011

Le petit pingouin qui n’aimait pas l’hiver
Par Édouard et Amélie Boccoz
McIntosh Hill, NB

Il y avait un pingouin qui n’aimait pas l’hiver.
Il aimerait habiter en Floride.
Il a demandé à papa, à maman et à sa sœur.
Tous ont dit non.

Week of October 17, 2011

Can You Answer It?
By Rhylynn, Rhyler and Linda M. Wahl
Regina, SK

Rhylynn and Rhyler are a lot a like,
They even have the same color bike!

But the questions they ask are rarely the same,
So our family plays the “Can You Answer It” game.

This game can be fun and exciting to play,
This is something we do almost every day!

There are times when Mom is in a frenzy and Dad is a mess,
Most of answers come from the web we confess.

Who is the prime minister?  And what exactly does he do?
Will the Riders win the Grey Cup? Why is the sky blue?

Then it’s Mom and Dad’s turn to ask the kids some things
Can someone answer the phone when it rings?

Is your homework all done?  Did you give your teeth a brush?
Slow down when you are eating…what is your rush!?

These are the answers we all know I guess,
But it’s the ones we don’t know that causes us the stress.

Is the Tooth Fairy real?  Does Santa vacation in Maine?
Does the Easter Bunny paint all the eggs the same?

Heaven is for real but is our loving dog Ice there?
Do you see why Mom and Dad pull out their hair?

These are the questions hard to answer most days
But children are small only for a moment, our grandma says.

The Tooth Fairy IS real, and is married to his wife,
Everyone knows Santa prefers the Florida life.

Like snowflakes the Easter eggs are different every year,
And Ice IS in heaven looking down on you dear.

You will never know all of the answers you see,
But learning can be fun if you want it to be.