Sample story
Harper and the Brave Backpack
Sample · hero: Harper, 5
Harper's new backpack was blue with yellow stars. It had a pocket for her water bottle, a pocket for her lunch box, and a tiny secret pocket on the front, just big enough for a note.
On the morning of her first day of kindergarten, Harper put on the backpack and looked in the mirror. She looked ready. But her tummy did not feel ready. It felt like a jar full of jumping frogs.
"Dad," she said, "what if I don't know where to go?"
"Your teacher will show you," said Dad. "Her name is Mrs. Garcia, remember? We met her at the open house."
"What if nobody plays with me?"
Dad knelt down. "Lots of kids will be new today. Some of them will be wondering the same thing. Maybe you can be the one who says hi first."
Then he put a little folded paper into the secret pocket. "This is our brave word," he said. "If you feel wobbly, you can touch the pocket and remember it."
"What's the word?" asked Harper.
Dad whispered it in her ear: "Pancakes." Harper giggled. Pancakes was what they always had on Saturday mornings, just the two of them.
"Pancakes means I love you and I'll be right here at pickup," said Dad.
The school was big and red, with a flag out front and a lot of kids and grown-ups everywhere. At the door of Room 4, Mrs. Garcia was waving.
"Good morning, Harper! I have a cubby just for you. It has your name on it."
Harper held Dad's hand tight. Then Dad gave her a big hug, and said, "Pancakes," and walked back down the hall. Harper watched him go. Her eyes got blurry.
She touched the secret pocket. Pancakes. She took a deep breath. Then she walked into Room 4.
Her cubby really did have her name on it, in big purple letters. She hung up her backpack. Then she sat on the carpet for circle time, next to a boy with a dinosaur shirt who was chewing on his sleeve. He looked a little wobbly too.
Harper remembered what Dad said. "Hi," she whispered. "I'm Harper."
"I'm Marcus," whispered the boy. "I like dinosaurs."
"I like dinosaurs too," said Harper. And the frogs in her tummy jumped a little less.
Then there was so much to do. Mrs. Garcia read a book about a raccoon. They sang a song about the days of the week. They painted their names. They went to the cafeteria, and Harper opened her lunch box all by herself.
At recess, Marcus and Harper played dinosaurs under the big slide. Marcus was a T. rex. Harper was a triceratops. They roared so loud that two more kids came to play.
At the end of the day, Mrs. Garcia lined everyone up by the door. Harper looked out the window, and her heart jumped. There was Dad, right by the big tree, waving with both arms.
She ran to him and jumped into a hug. "Pancakes!" she shouted.
"Pancakes," said Dad, laughing. "How was it?"
Harper thought about it. "My tummy had frogs," she said. "But then I said hi to Marcus, and we were dinosaurs, and Mrs. Garcia read about a raccoon, and I opened my lunch box by myself."
"That sounds like a very brave day," said Dad.
That night, Harper put her backpack by the door, ready for tomorrow. She tucked the brave word back into the secret pocket. She didn't think she'd need it as much tomorrow. But it was nice to know it was there.
