Whoo Hoo! The Bertie is almost here! You can read my post from last week to get all of the details, but I wanted to share the link where you’ll…

Read More Writing Contest Begins Next Week!

The Bertie is almost here! For those of you who are aren’t aware, I host a short-story writing contest each year for students, 10 – 13 years old. Traditionally, this…

Read More Bertie, Bertie, Bertie!

THE BERTIE, a writing contest for middle-schoolers will open for entries on September 1, 2018. I thought you might like to see some of the winners from last year. First up is a story by Nathan Musgrove. Nathan won 2nd place last year ($75.00 dollars!) in the 10 and 11-year-old category.  Enjoy!

 Yutren andTagi, by Nathan Musgrove (11)

One windy day, a twig flew up in the air. Its thin stature enabled it to ride on the breeze, but its firmness kept it intact when it came in contact with a tree or solid of some sort. After a moment of drifting freely in the breeze, the twig came down to land in a circle, drawn out of the snow on the ground.

“Ha ha! I knew I could do it!” shouted a voice triumphantly in the distance. Yutren leaped out of the bushes, grabbing the stick and waving it to the older chipmunks. He smiled at them, the stick seeming to share his joy.

“Yutren… you do know that was only the first round, don’t you?” said one.

The stick slowly descended. “Oh,” was the crushed reply.

Yutren trudged over to the starting line, where he got in position to begin the second round. He raised his eyebrow at the others, expecting them to join him, but no one stirred.

“I’m not really in the mood for this anymore, Yutren. You can have the berries.” Said another one of the chipmunks. Yutren threw his hands up in the air and whooped. He rushed over to the stump holding up a plate of berries and snatched up one, tossing it carelessly in the air and catching it in his mouth. He swallowed gratefully, for fresh fruit was scarce in the dead of winter. The area cleared out gradually, and eventually Yutren was the only one left. He munched on the berries thoughtfully, thinking of how he had shown up those older chipmunks at their own game. He smiled to himself.

Read More A winning entry from The Bertie, 2017