07 January 2009

Guest Fiction

I am remembering, these days, that Ellen Goodman stopped writing her columns when her children got old enough to read them. I'm wondering just how to tell Curious Girl stories in this space, wondering when it's OK to tell her stories here, when it's not.

Here's her latest story, an opportunity for you to work out your invented spelling skills. I am loving watching her learn to read and write down her own words, and at the moment, I'm letting my enjoyment of all that wash over my ongoing ethical debate about what of her words it's OK to post here. So, for your pleasure (and my own memory), some guest fiction (focused a bit more on setting than plot, but hey, it's kindergarten):

The Bav Princess, by Curious Girl
Wuns upun u time ther wus a brav princess. She liket being a rav pinses. She live in a kasl. I love my kasl she said, the prinsess. The end.

[self-portrait of Curious Girl]

Theis book is dedkdid to Susan and hr dodre Politica.
[editorial comment: CG asked me if I wanted her to write a story. Of course, I said. What kind of story did I want? one about a brave girl, I said. She offered me a brave princess, and I said that was fine, and so she set to writing. She gigglingly said, at the end, that she was pretending that I was the mom and that Politica was the daughter. I guess she was the house bard or something.]

8 comments:

Arwen said...

I get misty when kids get creative, and this did it for me. Sort of a "yay, humanity!" sniffle. So there y'ar - she even had an emotive effect.

And if she continues to focus on setting, she can come live in Canada for awhile. The word on the street is that we're writers unnaturally influenced by geography.

...Or that was the word 15 years ago. I'm actually not sure how the current thought in defining Cdn fiction goes.

Unknown said...

That's so sweet.

Liz Miller said...

Delicious.

kathy a. said...

wonderful! it's not just setting; she is including emotions and opinions, and some character description. and her princess is BRAVE! i'm sure this will all be fleshed out once she can write faster.

i really like the "i'm pretending" explanation for the dedication. she is totally enjoying using her imagination, and drawing a line between truth and fiction. woo-hoo!

susan said...

Definitely no shortage of imagination around here, you're right on that score, Kathy.

Arwen: I'd love to have a Canadian-living kid some day (some days, I wish I'd stayed, but then there's the problem of how I'd have met Politica had I done that), but you have apparently forgotten Elswhere's rant on Cdn fiction. I'm hoping for happier writing out of my girl :).

Jody said...

Ahhhhh. That's pretty impressive invented spelling for a first-grader, too. Elba did nothing but random consonants until almost the end of the year. She'd bring the stories home, I'd stare at them in consternation, ask her to read them, she'd look at the words, look at me, then run off for a toy.

Which was pretty darn charming in itself. :-)

abebech said...

I love it. So interesting, the dedication!

I stopped blogging Little Bun stories for awhile, at his request (he's far more private than Miss I), but then he asked why I wasn't telling Little Bun stories anymore, and recommended a couple to me, so back to blogging I went.

Magpie said...

I love that. Completely.

Hey do you have The Princess Knight and The Paper Bag Princess? If not, you need them. Or rather, she does.