Letter to the Author #1

Julie of the Wolves
by Jean Craighead George

Dear Mrs. George,

I am writing to you because we have to enter a contest in my English class and this was the one my teacher decided that my class should participate in. We were told to write to an author whose book affected us in some way in our lives and I decided to pick a book from my childhood. You guessed it, Julie of the Wolves. This book was the one I read over and over and over again. I always wished that I would one day end up living with a wolf pack; I even ended up drawing one of my own wolf packs and kept a sort of diary for them. …I know.

I first read this book in what I think was the 4th grade and I didn't seem to ever put it down. My favorite character was of course Amaroq, I loved that he was such a great wolf leader and that he accepted a human into his pack. I guess this book also encouraged me to start writing. My first real story was one called Dark Snow, a terribly written story about a wolf named Dark-Snow who lived in a zoo and then got the rest of the animals to mutiny against the evil owner of the zoo.

Your story taught me that sometimes you have to look out for yourself and you may just find help in some truly unexpected places. Although I couldn’t compare myself to any of the characters I really benefit from all of them and their stories. Julie, being a runaway while I was not, taught me that you can be a strong person no matter who you are. The wolves who I was obviously nothing like physically taught me that no matter who the person is you should always be friends with them and help them when they are in need.

I don’t really read this particular book anymore because I think I got a bit of wolf-book overdose and defiantly had to find another genre to read about. I did too. But this book I always look back to because the fact is even though I overloaded my head with these wild canines, I still respect wolves to this day. I didn’t appreciate it then but now I notice that this set of book is based more on reality than many other books I have seen, and that is sometimes something of an amazing feat by an author. Unlike my story Dark Snow (which included an array of talking creatures) you were able to keep Julie of the Wolves true to life and still manage to pull off an amazing book.

I know this all sounds just a bit cheesy to say the least, but I have to cram in 500 plus words and I think I did a pretty good job of it too. But truly I really treasured this book when I was little.

So in conclusion I would like to say thank you for taking time to write Julie of the Wolves (and it's two sequels), I loved them so very much.

-Christine Fetcho

Writing Assighment #4-Final

They sky was a particular shade of gray, you know that soft flat blanket that covers the sky right before it snows. The light that mutes white that barely makes it through that gray and the small tiny fluffs that fall through the air. I love winter, it's quiet and calm, especially when it snows. I hope it doesn't stop- I want a snow storm with lots and lots of snow. Go and sit in front of the fire place with a cup of cocoa, skip work and sleep in. That would be wonderful. I'm sitting on a little wall, one of those nice brick ones that boarders flower beads; well their all kind of dead now but the walls still pretty. It's layered with a thin sheet of snow that is at the moment soaking through the seat of my pants. I'm in the midle oftheforest, so thislittle wall serves no perpose but to mark where vandals have decided to start an illigal garbage dump.Some one drives up, gets outof theircar, waves to me, and drops off a tire. Why do people just dump junk at the side of the road? Maybe they hope to get rid of some emotions when they dump it, trying to purge themselves by getting rid of old things. Its wrong but I don't stop any of them, it's fun to see what they leave behind. There's a chair, a couch, what might have been part of a car engine, computer monitors, pens, boxes of all shapes and sizes, glass bottles, cans, pots and pans, and an endless number of tires, everything people no longer want. I flex my hands, each finder is numb from the cold, I should probably be wearing gloves. Soft purple ones that keep your hands warm, and maybe an extra layer of socks too. The wind suddenly runs past making me shiver, I could almost swear I heard it laugh, just a whisper but a laugh none the less, like a child with a secret. I slide off the wall and walk to the junk pile and pick up a small shining object on the ground. It's a small silver locket in the shape of a heart. Its slightly tarnished, it's probably been here a while. I pry it open and in it are two tiny pictures of a solder and a young girl. The pictures are slightly faded and their style tells me I am correct about the locket being old. I really wonder who these people are, but the people smile silently. I smile back.

Writing Assighment #4

They sky was a particular shade of gray, you know that soft flat blanket that covers the sky right before it snows. The light that mutes white that barely makes it through that gray and the small tiny fluffs that fall through the air. I love winter, it's quiet and calm, especially when it snows. I hope it doesn't stop- I want a snow storm with lots and lots of snow. Go and sit in front of the fire place with a cup of cocoa, skip work and sleep in. That would be wonderful. I'm sitting on a little wall, one of those nice brick ones that boarders flower beads; well their all kind of dead now but the walls still pretty. It's layered with a thin sheet of snow that is at the moment soaking through the seat of my pants. I'm in the midle oftheforest, so thislittle wall serves no perpose but to mark where vandals have decided to start an illigal garbage dump.Some one drives up, gets outof theircar, waves to me, and drops off a tire. Why do people just dump junk at the side of the road? Maybe they hope to get rid of some emotions when they dump it, trying to purge themselves by getting rid of old things. Its wrong but I don't stop any of them, it's fun to see what they leave behind. There's a chair, a couch, what might have been part of a car engine, computer monitors, pens, boxes of all shapes and sizes, glass bottles, cans, pots and pans, and an endless number of tires, everything people no longer want. I flex my hands, each finder is numb from the cold, I should probably be wearing gloves. Soft purple ones that keep your hands warm, and maybe an extra layer of socks too. The wind suddenly runs past making me shiver, I could almost swear I heard it laugh, just a whisper but a laugh none the less, like a child with a secret. I slide off the wall and walk to the junk pile and pick up a small shining object on the ground. It's a small silver locket in the shape of a heart. Its slightly tarnished, it's probably been here a while. I pry it open and in it are two tiny pictures of a solder and a young girl. The pictures are slightly faded and their style tells me I am correct about the locket being old. I really wonder who these people are, but the people smile silently. I smile back.

Five Paragraph Essay- Final Draft #2

The Simpsons, Family Guy, Scooby Doo, all shows that many people consider ‘mindless’ entertainment; Scrubs, The Office, House, Shows that people wait religiously for every week. My mother used to tell me that If I watched too much TV that my brain would leak out my ears. Could the television really detract from the thinking process? Doubtful. It could possible twist your ideas (or concept of reality) but not prevent you from learning while in school or in the real world. The things you see on tv, sorting through what might be educational or not, and the ways it might affect your social skills can be a bit over whelming but not as hard as you think.

It’s not hard to see why so many people believe that ‘Boob Tube’ has no educational value. Shows are full of aliens, talking animals, money, drugs, and violence-not to mention the other thousands of strange things you can stumble upon when channel surfing. It seems that mainly parents are the ones worrying about what is on TV. Probably because they want to keep their children from learning, or seeing, things that they one day will learn or see. But young minds are easily manipulated, so it is a pretty good idea that parents keep their young children away from shows that might harm their development. But can you say that these shows can truly detract from your minds ability to learn? Yeah right; though it may seem not the least bit helpful, the shows and movies we see teach us things. How to interact with people, how some decisions affect the ones who make them, perhaps even how to escape the jaws of a deadly crocodile.

Educational television is a whole other realm from the one above. One those days when you’re sick and stuck at home from either work or school it is almost certain that you have seen what broadcasters and parents alike call educational television. One show is Dora the Explorer, its about a young girl who goes on miscellaneous adventures while teaching you children random Spanish words; that’s about as educational as it gets. Older shows like Barney teach your children classic lessons like sharing and how to be kind to other people, while teaching them repetitive songs. These shows to have some education in them, but is it really better than any other television show- despite it being a less than G ratting?

If television does not affect your learning abilities, can it affect your social skills? In some instances, yes. If a person (normally a younger person) takes a show too literally and lets it cloud their sense of reality; no matter how many shows there are, Star Trek is just that, a show. However in other instances a show can be a social boost too. If one person watches the same shows are their friends, then they can talk about it however they seem fit.

Though it is highly unlikely that television is a waste of brain space, there is no denying that it can make you a couch potato. So please, watch responsible. Now excuse me, my show’s on.

Five Paragraph Essay- Final Draft

The Simpsons, Family Guy, Scooby Doo; all shows that many people consider ‘mindless’ entertainment. Scrubs, The Office, House; shows that people wait religiously for every week. My mother used to tell me that if I watched too much TV, my brain would leak out my ears. Could the television really detract from the thinking process? Doubtful. It could possible twist your ideas (or concept of reality), but not prevent you from learning while in school or in the real world.

It’s not hard to see why so many people believe that ‘Boob Tube’ has no educational value. Shows are full of aliens, talking animals, money, drugs, and violence- not to mention the other thousands of strange things you can stumble upon when channel surfing. It seems that mainly parents are the ones worrying about what is on TV. Probably because they want to keep their children from learning, or seeing "bad" things.But young minds are easily manipulated, so it is a pretty good idea that parents keep their young children away from shows that might harm their development. But can you say that these shows can truly detract from your minds ability to learn? Yeah right; though it may seem not the least bit helpful, the shows and movies we see teach us things. How to interact with people, how some decisions affect the ones who make them, perhaps even how to escape the jaws of a deadly crocodile

Educational television is a whole other realm from the one above. One those days when you’re sick and stuck at home from either work or school it is almost certain that you have seen what broadcasters and parents alike call educational television. One show is Dora the Explorer. It is about a young girl who goes on miscellaneous adventures while teaching you children random Spanish words; that’s about as educational as it gets. Older shows like Barney teach your children classic lessons like sharing and how to be kind to other people, while teaching them repetitive songs. These shows to have some education in them, but is it really better than any other television show- despite it being a less than G rating?

If television does not affect your learning abilities, can it affect your social skills? In some instances, yes. If a person (normally a younger person) takes a show too literally and lets it cloud their sense of reality; no matter how many shows there are, Star Trek is just that, a show. However in other instances a show can be a social boost too. If one person watches the same shows with their friends, then they can talk about it however they seem fit.

Though it is highly unlikely that television is a waste of brain space, there is no denying that it can make you a couch potato. So please, watch responsibly.

Five Paragraph Essay

The Simpsons, Family Guy, Scooby Doo, all shows that many people consider ‘mindless’ entertainment; Scrubs, The Office, House, Shows that people wait religiously for every week. My mother used to tell me that If I watched too much TV that my brain would leak out my ears. Could the television really detract from the thinking process? Doubtful. It could possible twist your ideas (or concept of reality) but not prevent you from learning while in school or in the real world.

It’s not hard to see why so many people believe that ‘Boob Tube’ has no educational value. Shows are full of aliens, talking animals, money, drugs, and violence-not to mention the other thousands of strange thins you can stumble upon when channel surfing. It seems that mainly parents are the ones worrying about what is on TV. Probably because they want to keep their children from learning, or seeing, things that they one day will learn or see. But young minds are easily manipulated, so it is a pretty good idea that parents keep their young children away from shows that might harm their development. But can you say that these shows can truly detract from your minds ability to learn? Yeah right; though it may seem not the least bit helpful, the shows and movies we see teach us things. How to interact with people, how some decisions affect the ones who make them, perhaps even how to escape the jaws of a deadly crocodile.

Educational television is a whole other realm from the one above. One those days when you’re sick and stuck at home from either work or school it is almost certain that you have seen what broadcasters and parents alike call educational television. One show is Dora the Explorer, its about a young girl who goes on miscellaneous adventures while teaching you children random Spanish words; that’s about as educational as it gets. Older shows like Barney teach your children classic lessons like sharing and how to be kind to other people, while teaching them repetitive songs. These shows to have some education in them, but is it really better than any other television show- despite it being a less than G ratting?

If television does not affect your learning abilities, can it affect your social skills? In some instances, yes. If a person (normally a younger person) takes a show too literally and lets it cloud their sense of reality; no matter how many shows there are, Star Trek is just that, a show. However in other instances a show can be a social boost too. If one person watches the same shows are their friends, then they can talk about it however they seem fit.

Though it is highly unlikely that television is a waste of brain space, there is no denying that it can make you a couch potato. So please, watch responsible. Now excuse me, my show’s on.

I Hate The Cold...

It's one of those mornings where you wake up, curled in a tight ball under a blanket. It's cold outside and you sit in a kind of shocked numbness. It had been warm the night before and suddenly fall has come and hit you in the face.
Anyway, you are huddled under the covers on that cold Sunday morning, ready to go back to sleep when suddenly you remember that your busy weekended has left it till today to finish the load of homework you teachers had so kindly dropped into your lap. Your heart sinks as you roll out of bed, taking the blanket with you and wander over to your back pack. It's crammed full of binders and folders that would have been beaming up at you had they had a face.
Grumbling you make some hot tea and then start the arduous task of learning about the importance of the Renaissance, the composition of the cell, and how Latin is probably the most complicated language to have ever been spoken.