My parents took me to Happy Tails Happy Tails is an animal shelter Lots of dogs live there But they don’t want to live there They want a home of their own They are looking for families to adopt them I walked up and down the rows and rows of cages I saw all kinds of dogs I saw a poodle a dalmatian three Chihuahuas a golden retriever beagles black Labs German shepherds and even a Great Dane Miss Lucy the owner let some dogs come out and play with me The golden retriever ran over to me and wagged its tail She licked my face and was playful Mrs Bingsley interrupted She said Are Vanessa’s words painting a picture in your head That’s what a good writer does 9
I squeezed my eyes shut I pictured the dog wagging its tail Vanessa continued reading I played with other dogs too But no matter which dog I played with the golden retriever wouldn’t leave me alone Finally Miss Lucy asked Which dog would you like to adopt But it was too late The golden retriever had already adopted me Everyone laughed We laughed again when she wrote about the puppy slobbering on her shoes When Vanessa said that Sparky had seven accidents in three days Alex raised his hand Mrs Bingsley I think I need to go to the bathroom now he said When Vanessa fi nished she jumped up and took a bow The end Everyone clapped Including me It was a good story She deserved the pencil Vanessa had the write stuff 10
Go back and reread your stories said Mrs Bingsley Start to revise I rushed back to my desk I studied my title My Day at Slip-N-Slide World Vanessa I asked what was your title Vanessa fl uff-a-puffed her hair A Dream Come True I thought your title was creative said Mrs Bingsley You could have taken the easy way out You could have said The Day I Got a Dog But that would be boring said Vanessa I looked back at my title Bor-ing I traced over my C I did not have the write stuff I had the wrong stuff Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong And I was boring Boring with a capital B 11
