Children love fantasy. Their minds are young and open to outrageous ideas and imaginative wonderings. Fantasy also helps them deal with stressful situations and allows them to feel empowered. This week with my summer students, I focused on three core elements of writing fantasy stories: portal transitions, living statues, and magic rules.
First, I showed my students an image of a large stone bear nestled among ordinary garden plants to spark their imaginations. I wanted the bear to have soft, subtle features so that the students could add their ideas without the features of the bear dictating what they would create.
Then I introduced the three elements I wanted them to experiment with this week, creating a fantasy story involving this stone bear. We discussed the portal transition – how the character or characters find the bear and interact with it. Maddie and Violet began a writing plan that started with these questions:
- How do the characters find the bear?
- What details of the setting can be included in the story?
- What do the characters do to make the bear come to life?
Once they decided on the transition, the statue transformed into a living companion who lived by the laws of the magical realm. Then they need to think about how to describe the stone bear – both physically and emotionally. The next part of their plans considered these questions:
- What is the bear’s name?
- How does it move?
- How does it speak?
- What kind of personality does the bear have – friendly, grumpy, playful?
- Is there something the stone bear is afraid of?
- How will the bear help the characters in the story?
Once the students had thought about the bear and brought him/her to life, they needed to think about the magical world rules. Some fantasy stories include rules about hidden magic, forbidden items, and royal edicts. Since Maddie and Violet had an awful lot of background knowledge about magic (Thank you, J.K. Rowling!). They were able to generate a list of rules they had read about. This helped them think about what they wanted to include in their stories. Some guiding questions helped them further focus on formulating the arc of their stories:
- What kind of magic brought the bear and characters together?
- What obstacles do the characters and bear face together?
- Is there a villain in the story?
- What type of villain is there?
- How do they overcome their problems?
- Is there a magical object that helps them?
The Stone Bear
By Mrs. Emery
Little bear went foraging in the summer sun. He gathered all kinds of berries as he walked along the wooded path. There were blueberries, raspberries, and his favorite, blackberries. Little bear called them “black-bearies,” and chuckled to himself as he filled his mouth. Juice trickled down his chin and rolled down his black shiny fur. He kept walking and eating. He thought to himself, “What a lovely day. Nothing could be better than this!”
All of a sudden, out from behind a hemlock tree came a loud whir and a puff of smoke. It wasn’t a forest fire. No! It was an evil woodland witch. She appeared out of the smoke and stared at Little Bear with her shiny, wicked eyes.
“These are MY berries,” the witch screamed.
“Berries are for everyone,” stammered Little Bear.
“Oh no, you mangy little bear! These are my berries, and you’ve eaten too many!”
“I…I … I… I’m sorry, “ Little Bear said as he began to back away.
The witch yelled, “Don’t you move a single bear hair! In fact, I’ll make sure you don’t ever move again!”
And with that, the witch snapped her fingers, and Little Bear immediately turned to stone. He could not move or talk, but he could hear the witch’s evil cackle.
“You’ll remain here forever. No more berries for you ever again! What a fine bear statue you are! No one will ever know you were once a real berry-stealing bear!
“Oh no!” Little Bear cried, but no words came out; just a single tear slid down his now stone cheek.
************
Days turned into months. Months turned into years. Little Bear sat imprisoned inside the stone. Seasons came and went. The sun baked him in the summer. The cold winds and snow froze him in the winter. At first, he had called out to be rescued, but no one ever came down the woodland path until one summer day.
One June morning, two children came wandering down the woodland path. They each carried a small can with a rope handle that clanged together when they walked side by side. Little Bear heard them coming before he could see them. Clang, clang went the pails, and the children giggled and chatted as they came to the blueberry thicket.
“Look at all these big blue berries!” Nora, the girl, said as she ran.
“Wait for me!” called the boy, tripping on the dirt path.
Nora turned around. “Careful, James,” I’ll wait for you.
“I am going to pick hundreds of them,” said James as he got to his feet and brushed off his knees.
They both walked slowly toward the blueberry bushes.
Little Bear wanted to call out, but he knew it would do no good. They wouldn’t hear him.
But they did see him! James bumped right into Little Bear’s stone feet. Nora and James looked up at Little Bear, who was now a great stone bear rising tall among the trees.
“WOW!” cried Nora, “What a beautiful bear!”
“I wonder who made him,” said James.
“He is magnificent,” said Nora as she placed her can on Little Bear’s big stone toe.
James was picking berry after berry and popping them in his mouth, “So good!”
All at once, smoke rose over the berry thicket. Little Bear heard a familiar whirring sound.
“Oh no,” he thought.
And then the witch appeared. The children ran away and stumbled right into Little Bear. They held tight onto his stone legs. The berries in James’ hand smashed across his stone knees. He could feel the juice running down his legs.
“Who are you?” stammered Nora.
“The right question is – What are you doing in MY woods?” cackled the witch.
“We didn’t know this was your woods,” whispered James.
“I’ve caught two more thieves!” yelled the witch, “And you know what happens to blueberry thieves, don’t you?”
Nora thought for a moment. The witch said, “Two MORE thieves,” which means this bear could be a real bear and soon they could be two stone children! Nora started to panic, but she knew she had to keep her head. To calm herself, Nora started patting Little Bear’s stone leg where the juice had stained it deep blue.
“Oh, please, beautiful bear, help us,” whispered Nora.
James saw what Nora was doing, and he began patting the blue spot and wishing the stone bear would turn into a real ferocious, witch-eating real bear.
“Ha-ha!” laughed the witch, “He can’t save you. I turned him to stone years ago. And that’s just what I’m going to do to you!” she bellowed.
“No! No!” cried the children as they moved closer to Little Bear. Little Bear felt a cool spot on his leg. He suddenly began to get warmer and warmer.
At that moment, the witch lunged at Nora and James, but she tripped and landed on the ground. Her fingertips clutched the earth, and suddenly a great stone wall grew up all around her. She was imprisoned in a huge stone cage. Little Bear looked down, and instead of seeing his great stone legs, he saw glistening black fur. “Could it be?” he thought.
“Oh look,” cried Nora, watching Little Bear.
“He IS a real bear!” shouted James.
“He is even more beautiful now,” said Nora.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” said Little Bear.
“Thank you for rescuing us,” said Nora and James together.
And the three blueberry-loving thieves ran quickly down the path, as they heard the witch call out to them, “Come back, come back!”
But her voice immediately turned to stone.
The Stone Bear
By Maddie
Lily and Maya walked down the pebble path. A huge bear statue stood right in the middle of Aunt Milly’s secret garden, surrounded by tall pink and yellow flowers. The bear was carved out of smooth mossy gray rock that felt cool when Lily reached out to touch its big paw. The girls checked the sky to make sure the sun was exactly overhead, because that was the only time that garden magic worked. “Hurry, Maya!” shouted Lily, as they climbed nearer to the bear.
Maya took a deep breath, leaned close to the statue’s mossy ear, and whispered the secret password: “grizzly growl.” Suddenly, a tiny sparkle of green light drifted down from the trees and landed right on the bear’s stone nose. With a soft rumbling sound, the statue blinked and lifted its heavy head! Lily and Maya giggled with excitement as the bear wiggled its thick stone toes in the dirt and smiled a secret smile. “The garden magic did work!” whispered Lily.
The stone bear gave a low, friendly rumble that sounded like two smooth river rocks rubbing together. Instead of being scary, its dusty eyes twinkled with kindness as it held out its big paws, inviting Lily and Maya to climb onto its broad, sunny back. The girls gripped the bear’s fur as it took its very first step, moving gently past the flowers. It slowly walked toward the very back of the garden, where the stone wall was covered in thick, tangled ivy. With another soft rumble, the bear nudged the leaves aside with its snout, revealing a hidden wooden door. “Wow! I didn’t know there was a door in the wall,” said Lily. “Me either,” replied Maya.
The door creaked open to a glowing pathway made of shimmering stepping stones that floated just above a misty green meadow. The stone bear trotted forward, carrying Lily and Maya into a secret world where giant dragonflies and butterflies zipped through the air like miniature airplanes. They spent what felt like hours riding their magical guide across the meadow, picking glowing berries that tasted like sweet strawberries. When the bear finally turned back toward the secret door, the girls hugged its warm neck tightly. “Good-bye, Grizzly Growl,” the girls said, as they stepped back into Aunt Milly’s garden. The bear gave one last wink before settling back into quiet, unmoving stone.
The Stone Bear
By Violet
On Saturday, Sam and Chloe went hiking in the woods behind their house. As they got to a clearing, Sam pointed to the giant stone bear sitting right by the flower path. “Look, Chloe! If you stand right here, the sun hits the bear’s ears and makes them glow
Chloe skipped over, her pink light-up sneakers flashing. “Whoa, it does! And look at its nose. It looks like a giant piece of chocolate fudge.” She tapped the bear’s cool stone snout that dinged like a bell all through the garden. A puff of yellow sparkles blew out of the bear’s nose like a big sneeze.
“Hey, look down!” Sam giggled, pointing at the grass. Wherever the yellow sparkles landed, the ordinary green grass started growing tiny, edible gummy bears right out of the dirt!
Chloe picked a red one and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm, cherry! This is the best garden ever.”
Suddenly, the stone bear’s carved mouth curved into a big, silly smile, and it let out a happy chuckle. “Would you like some more?” the bear asked. Sam and Chloe nodded their heads.
The bear didn’t move. It just stood there like a giant, bear-shaped candy machine. This time Sam tapped the bear’s nose. The bear sneezed again, but this time blue sparkles landed on the grass. Sam and Chloe wondered what flavor would come next!
Teacher Reflection
The girls were very motivated to write fantasy stories. They had a lot of ideas and needed some guidance determining which ideas would work best for their stories. I must admit that my story was greatly influenced by William Steig’s Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Fantasy writing is a stretch for me, so I employed the format of that story to help me develop my own. Maddie is very comfortable with fantasy. She reads a lot of it and likes to write about dragons and wizards. She was able to stretch herself by adding some dialogue to help her readers hear the girls as they encounter the bear. On the other hand, Violet likes realistic fiction, and this shows in her story. She included something she loves, candy, and made it magical, which was a very creative way to develop her story. As we write together, I get to better understand these students’ unique voices, their word choices, and their preferences in storytelling. They also get a glimpse into my process, and though they thankfully are not influenced by my content, they are most definitely influenced by how I approach thinking, planning, and composing. I believe this type of modeling helps them look at a blank page without fear. They know how to generate ideas, organize them, and make them into something magical.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 