Free Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

point of view of the animal. Give it to someone to read, without naming the animal, and see if they can figure out “who” is speaking.?
    3. Make your own rules for a poem and see how hard it is to follow them. If it doesn’t lead you to discover something fun or interesting, try a different rule.
    Â Â Â Â Â Examples:
    â€¢ A poem of three stanzas, four lines each, that has a different color in each stanza.
    â€¢ A poem shaped like a circle, square, triangle, or rectangle.
    â€¢ A poem, at least ten lines long, that doesn’t say anything true.

THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE
    Please note that some of the links referenced in this work are no longer active.

    Spinning Through the Universe by Helen Frost
    If you enjoy trying to write in the voices of different people, or using different forms (rules) for your poems, this book will give you a lot of new ideas.
    Â 
    Websites
    Â 
    http://iditarodblogs.com/zuma
    Zuma’s Paw Prints, using the Iditarod in the classroom
    Â 
    www.iditarod.com
    the official Iditarod website
    Â 
    www.helenfrost.net
    Helen Frost’s website

 
    An accidental kidnapping leaves unanswered questions. Years later, the truth is revealed.

    Keep reading for an excerpt from

    by Helen Frost

 
    1
    I was a happy little girl wearing a pink dress,
    Â Â Â Â Â sitting in our gold minivan,
    Â Â Â Â Â dancing with my doll, Kamara.
    Â 
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  I’ll be right back, Mom promised.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Leave the music on, I begged,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â so she left her keys
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â dangling
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â while she
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ran in to pay for gas
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â and buy a Diet Coke.
    Â 
    2
    I think about that little girl
    Â Â Â Â Â the way you might remember your best friend
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â who moved away.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sitting in the middle seat
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â beside an open window,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â her seatbelt fastened,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â she looked out at the world.
    Â 
    3
    And then she heard
    Â Â Â Â Â a gunshot
    Â Â Â Â Â from inside the store.
    Â 
    That’s when she—when I—
    Â Â Â Â Â stopped breathing.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I clicked my seatbelt off,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â dived into the back, and
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ducked down on the floor
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â to hide
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â under a blanket
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â until Mom
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â came back out.
    Â 
    I heard the car door open, heard it close.
    Â Â Â Â Â The music stopped.
    Â Â Â Â Â Why? Mom liked that song.
    Â 
    I breathed again. (Mom smelled like cigarettes.)
    Â 
    I pushed the blanket off my face,
    Â Â Â Â Â opened my mouth
    Â Â Â Â Â to ask,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  What happened in there?
    Â 
    But then I heard a word Mom wouldn’t say.
    Â Â Â Â Â A man’s voice.
    Â Â Â Â Â  C’mon! Start! He was yelling at our car—
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â and the car
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â obeyed him.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â It started up
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â just like it thought
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mom was driving.
    Â 
    4
    Who was driving?
    Had this man just shot someone? Had he
    Â Â Â Â Â shot … Mom?
    If he found out I