In celebration of World Read Aloud Day on March 6th, I’m taking part in fellow 12×12’er Marcie Colleen’s Food Fight Challenge. Here’s what Colleen says:
“What says “read aloud” more than onomatopoeia? Maybe it’s because I grew up with Adam West’s Batman on TV and would live for the fight scenes when onomatopoeia would cover the screen. POW! ZING! WHAP! But I do have an absolute love for onomatopoeia. What a tool in children’s books. So much fun to read aloud and play with.
I therefore declare the week of March 4th, 2013, Onomatopoeia Appreciation Week.”
Visit Marcie’s blog here for all the info: Thanks to Jennifer Young for the summaries below!
The Competition Rules
1. Create a post in which you start a story.
2. The story should have a clear setting and at least one clear character.
3. Set the scene. Be creative. It can be anywhere.
4. Write the story up to the moment when a food fight breaks out. And then stop.
You can add to my story below until March 8th:
1. Read the posted story and all of the comments that precede you.
2. Post your comment.
3. Be sure to build on and further the existing story. Your comment should flow.
4. The story should read as if it was written by one person when read from beginning to end.
5. ALSO, your comment needs to include at least one word of onomatopoeia and one thrown item of food.
NB: Your onomatopoeia must be a word that has not been used already in that story.
Without further ado…
FOOD FIGHT AT CAMP RUNAMUCK
It was Sarah’s first time going away to summer camp. Sarah’s friends were off to a different camp where she had also wanted to go, but her mother wouldn’t hear of it. Sarah’s older sisters had both spent their summers at Camp Runamuck, and her mom insisted that Sarah follow suit. She was going alone, and she was far from thrilled.
Sarah always thought the camp sounded like a totally weird place, but as the family car pulled into the gates, rolling green hills, a lake with big wooden rafts and row boats, a swimming hole with a tire swing, delightful log cabins, and rows and rows of vegetables were what met her eyes. “This place looks beautiful,” Sarah let slip out of her lips.
They were soon met by a camp counselor. “Welcome fellow farmer. I’m Christie,” she said as she held out her hand to shake Sarah’s. “Ready for the tour?” Christie led Sarah and her parents around the grounds.
Camp Runamuck had more than fields of growing vegetables, it had an enormous barn full of cows, goats, chickens and ducks. “You’ve got livestock, how wonderful!” Sarah was beginning to feel good about the camp her mother chose for her.
“Folks think the name ‘Camp Runamuck’ sounds like a place gone out of control, but it was named because it overflows with growth. It ‘runs-a-muck’ with leafy and breathing life,” explained Christie.
“It’s a ‘Green’ place Sarah! Getting your hands dirty growing food and working with animals are things you don’t get to do where we live,” said her mom excitedly. “I grew up on a farm, and I wanted my girls to experience it too.”
“I think I’m going to like this place,” she thought as she waved goodbye to her parents. However, that feeling was fleeting. Just as she picked the nicest bed in the empty cabin and began unpacking her trunk, three girls burst into the room.
“Hey, newbie, you get the smelly futon!” yelled Marsha, a huge, red-headed girl who had hair growing on her upper lip. Her toadies, Trish and Tiffany, followed suit in welcoming Sarah by laughing and kicking her trunk into the corner where the dilapidated bed sat. “See you at chow,” they taunted as they left the cabin.
Sarah found her way to the ‘Grub Pavilion,’ picked a seat at an empty picnic table and was soon met by a smiling boy wearing thick, wire-framed glasses. “Corey’s my name, and growing is my game. It’s nice to meet you.”
Sarah and Corey were getting to know one another in between bites, but something suddenly caught Sarah’s eye. Marsha was standing a table away holding a heaping bowl of white stuff high in her hand, and she was aiming right at Sarah!…
Read the Complete Story Here
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WHUMP! A gloppy, gooey mess that smelled of porridge dripped down her cheek and the front of her t-shirt. What?! Sarah was shocked, and the outraged. She grabbed the first thing at hand…
…Her chocolate milk. She opened the box all the way and threw it – past Marsha but THUNK, right on Trish’s ear, the milk flowing like a wave over her blonde banana curls!
“You missed me,” laughed Marsha. She then grabbed Corey’s tuna fish sandwich and rolled it into a soft fishy ball.
Swishhhh- THWACK!
With Corey’s egging, Sarah stood up and with all her strength flung her tuna fish sandwich at Marsha. But instead it zoomed way to the right and landed Swap, right on Christie, the counselors, chest.
Christie the counselor jumped up on a table and yelled “Enough! This is no way to welcome everyone to the first meal of camp.” Sarah stared sheepishly down at her plate feeling guilty for her retaliation and generally bad aim. Christie took something from behind her back. “Cake is a much better welcome!” Cake flew in all directions, splatting on hair and noses.
Camp Runamuck’s Grub Pavilion was in total chaos! As Sarah turned to ask Corey if this kind of thing happened often, he yelled “IN COMING!” And an expertly thrown frosting glob landed, SMOUSH all over Sarah’s face!
“Let’s get out of here Corey,” cried Sarah as she went running towards the door, but SWOOMP, she slipped on a juice puddle and the frosting glob she had cleaned from her face went flying and landed on Marsha’s head with a PLOP! “Uh oh, I’m dead now! Come on Corey, let’s go hide in the veggy fields.”
“No, not yet,” Corey said. He stopped at a table where three girls were cowering underneath, on the floor. They had hardly touched their food. Corey reached for it and in quick succession he fired three sandwiches, two scoops of mashed potatoes, two handfuls of green peas, three pieces of chocolate cake and two slices of watermelon across the room. Clump, scroosh, squoosh, sclatter, plunk, bunk, splump the food found its targets, Marsha, Trish, and Tiffany hardly had time to look for something to throw before something else was spluttering somewhere near them.
Dahlia Jones, a newbie too, had shaken a bottle of YOO-HOO and stealthily rolled it to stop right next to Marsha and the toadies. POPWOOOSHLISH Direct hit! Sarah cheered, then grabbed Corey and Dahlia and ran to the veggie fields.
There they found turnips; pulling them from the soft earth with a THWOOP, they fired one, then another, then a third at the troop streaming from Grub Pavilion.