INTERACTIVE BOOK
FOR YEAR 6, 7 AND 8 STUDENTS
Have you ever played the game where you write a sentence on a piece of paper then fold the paper over and pass it to your friend who writes something new, and so on until you end up with a totally crazy or amazing story?
Well the Library Week ‘Escape, Explore, Discover’ interactive book blog is a little like this except that you will be able to see what other students have written and you can write a new paragraph each day to keep the story going.
The theme and the first day’s story was written by a special guest author Fleur Beale and the interactive book blog has some fabulous book prizes to be won each day and at the end of the week one student will win the grand prize for their school library.
Prizes are kindly donated by LIANZA and Hardie Grant.
The story so far
Introduction by Fleur Beale: Escape, Explore, Discover
You wouldn't think that walking along the main street of a pretty big city in the middle of a busy Tuesday afternoon could land you up with a pretty big problem, but it has. Mum is going to kill us, and dad isn't going to be too pleased either but I reckon it's their fault. They're forever going on about exploring our world and knowing our past. 'You have to know where you've come from,' Dad says. 'It tells you who you are now,' So when we saw this scruffy wooden door with a sign saying: Museum, Free Entry, I said, "Ah ha! Brownie points coming up!"
Brandy didn't need persuading. She pushed the door open and we stepped inside. Wow! The place was brilliant, colourful and there wasn't even one dusty old relic in the place. But how long ago did we come in? Why aren't there any more people here? And where is the exit?
Brandy grabbed my arm. 'Look!' she hissed, pointing at a wall. We watched as words appeared.
Escape Explore Discover...
Slowly, letters appeared. "What does that mean?" said Brandy." I have no idea!" I replied. Suddenly the room went dim. All the beautiful lights and colours faded away. Across the room I could see a glowing red light. "What is it?" I asked. "Lets find out" said Brandy as she edged closer to the flashing red light. As we got closer I relised that the light was a button. "Push it! Branday whisperd. "No way!" I said. She lifted her finger up, "No,dont!!!" I shouted. She gently touched the button and we found ourselves in a dark ,dusty room, coughing and splutering. I looked up to the ceiling and I saw the trapdoor we had come through."Great!" I said to Brandy,"Thanks a lot!!" She didnt seem to notice me,as she was looking at a big wooden box across the room. "Brandy?" I whisperd. A deep rumbling filled the room. We watched in horror as the wooden box cracked open. We yelled and screamed but noone could hear us, we were trapped. The box burst open. Now we new what the first word on the wall meant......
By Madison Hill, , St Albans Catholic School
, 10-08-2009
Escape…
The word played over and over in my head like a radio stuck on repeat. I gripped Brandy's hand as something emerged from the box. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was huge. It was nasty. It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex! The box blew apart like there was a bomb in it, and shattered into what must have been millions of pieces. The giant dinosaur erupted out of the box like lava out of a volcano. ROAR!!! The horrible screech of the dinosaur broke through the deafening silence. There was nothing we could do. We were going to die for sure. "Stay still" hissed Brandy. I nodded. That wouldn't be hard, I was frozen with fear. The deadly dinosaur sniffed the air. Brandy squeezed my hand so tight; I knew the circulation was cutting off. I couldn't feel anything though; my whole body was numb. The T-Rex took a step, shaking the ground with his weight. He bowed his head closer to Brandy and me, and sniffed again. I wanted to scream, but I knew better than that. The terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex roared again, and something like an earthquake shook the whole room. The dinosaur passed us and curled up by the other side of the room. His soft snores started, and I watched, still frozen solid, in awe as he rested. "C'mon" spluttered Brandy through her teeth. We tiptoed like mice through the hall, trying to not make our footsteps echo. In the place where the wooden crate had been, there was a door in its place. And on the door, just above the handle, written in scrawled, black handwriting, was one word.
Explore…
By Aimee Stevens, Tomarata School
, 11-08-2009
Brandy and I stood staring at the door for what seemed like hours. I couldn't understand what the word explore meant, but it was the fact that someone must've come in and written it that really scared me. Brandy didn't look that scared at all, she actually seemed quite excited.
"Brany, we should get outta here, we don't want the T-Rex to come and find us" I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I shuddered at the thought of being a million year old dinosaurs dinner. Brandy seemed to be thinking along the same lines too and said "Can we hurry then?"
I wasn't too sure about venturing further into this creepy museum, I'd had enough adventure to last me a lifetime, but Brandy was as keen as ever, like the door ahead led to a theme park!
I took a deep breath and said,"Ok, lets go." We both pushed down on the rusty iron door handle and it swung open. I couldn't see anything except for black. Darkness seemed to engulf me and I really wanted to turn back.
"Cmon" called Brandy from in front of me. I hurried to where I thought she was.
"Do you think we should go back?" I asked. There was no reply, all I could hear was my heart beating.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Yelled Brandy from somewhere behind me.
My heart missed a beat. Then I noticed something very unusual, there was a splashing noise behind me, I turned around and where I'm sure the door had been there was a raging stream instead, and beyond there was a beautiful lush rainforest.
I gasped, there was Brandy looking up at a tree her mouth hanging open.
"What is it?" I asked her. She indicated for me to come over to her. I wasn't too keen to get soaking wet but this looked urgent so I waded over to the other side of the stream and joined Brandy. I looked up to see what she was staring at and saw one word etched into the tree trunk
discover.
By Mollie McGeorge, St Alban's Catholic School
, 12-08-2009
What was this? Was this someone's idea of a joke? I didn't know, but I was going to find out. I would discover! "What does it mean?" Brandy asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know. Perhaps we need to discover a way out?" With the door gone, that was really a priority. "Come on, Brandy. We might as well try to get out," I said, taking her hand.
I did my best to smile bravely, and she nodded, and I gave her a hug. Together, we began to explore the dense jungle, hungry and frightened. I don't know how long we wandered through the mass of greenery, searching desperately for a way out. The light was fading when Brandy tripped, bringing me down with her. "Sorry!" she gasped. "I think I tripped over a brick or something."
"A brick?" I asked, thinking hard. What would a brick be doing in the middle of a rainforest? I scanned the ground for anything brick-like, and found a bit of raised ground, covered with rotting leaves. I brushed them away and beckoned to Brandy. "Look at this," I said when she got there. On the ground was a large, grey stone, about the size of a brick, which explained Brandy's reasoning. Etched into the stone was an arrow, pointing to my left. "That's funny," I said, tracing the shape with my finger. As I did so, there was a rumbling from somewhere underground and the earth shook violently. Brandy screamed and clung on to me. A huge cave rose out of the ground and, I noticed, the arrow pointed directly into it. The rumbling and shaking stopped abruptly. "This must be a way out!" Brandy exclaimed with renewed confidence. "Let's go!" She said, rushing into the cave. Apprehensively, I followed.
By Nina Richardson, Marsden School
, 13-08-2009
I couldn't see a thing. I stumbled and fell onto the cold spiny floor. The rocks grazed my hands and my knees were wet with blood. Brandy screamed and I stumbled blindly forward and ran into the rock wall. Up ahead a pin prick of light seared into the cave and blinded the darkness. I saw Brandy's silhouette reaching for the light. She was crawling over the rock. I followed her. We reached the mouth of the cave but there was a metal grate blocking the way. Instead of the smell of dripping leaves and the tropical fruit (I smelt when we were in the rain forest) I could smell greasy take-aways and exhaust fumes. I looked up and gasped "Brandy look." The light wasn't coming from in front of us but above us. It was a manhole. The sun light flickered and flashed as people stepped over us. There were enough rocky hand holds above us that Brandy and I could climb up easily and we pushed open the manhole like it was a floating piece of paper .We climbed out and saw that across the road was the scruffy wooden door that had started this whole adventure. Brandy's eyes were flooding with tears. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I was really concerned but as soon as I asked I knew the answer. Brandy looked at me and a slow smile spread over her face. "Yes but that's not why I'm crying" She threw her arms around me and whispered so softly that I could only just hear. "Im glad you're my brother Christopher." I wondered if this was how my great great great grandfather Christopher Columbus had felt after his first adventure. Now I knew why my parents had wanted me to find out about my past. I was glad I had discovered it.
By Briar, Tomarata Primary School
, 14-08-2009
By Madison Hill, , St Albans Catholic School
, 10-08-2009
Escape…
The word played over and over in my head like a radio stuck on repeat. I gripped Brandy's hand as something emerged from the box. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was huge. It was nasty. It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex! The box blew apart like there was a bomb in it, and shattered into what must have been millions of pieces. The giant dinosaur erupted out of the box like lava out of a volcano. ROAR!!! The horrible screech of the dinosaur broke through the deafening silence. There was nothing we could do. We were going to die for sure. "Stay still" hissed Brandy. I nodded. That wouldn't be hard, I was frozen with fear. The deadly dinosaur sniffed the air. Brandy squeezed my hand so tight; I knew the circulation was cutting off. I couldn't feel anything though; my whole body was numb. The T-Rex took a step, shaking the ground with his weight. He bowed his head closer to Brandy and me, and sniffed again. I wanted to scream, but I knew better than that. The terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex roared again, and something like an earthquake shook the whole room. The dinosaur passed us and curled up by the other side of the room. His soft snores started, and I watched, still frozen solid, in awe as he rested. "C'mon" spluttered Brandy through her teeth. We tiptoed like mice through the hall, trying to not make our footsteps echo. In the place where the wooden crate had been, there was a door in its place. And on the door, just above the handle, written in scrawled, black handwriting, was one word.
Explore…
By Aimee Stevens, Tomarata School
, 11-08-2009
Brandy and I stood staring at the door for what seemed like hours. I couldn't understand what the word explore meant, but it was the fact that someone must've come in and written it that really scared me. Brandy didn't look that scared at all, she actually seemed quite excited.
"Brany, we should get outta here, we don't want the T-Rex to come and find us" I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I shuddered at the thought of being a million year old dinosaurs dinner. Brandy seemed to be thinking along the same lines too and said "Can we hurry then?"
I wasn't too sure about venturing further into this creepy museum, I'd had enough adventure to last me a lifetime, but Brandy was as keen as ever, like the door ahead led to a theme park!
I took a deep breath and said,"Ok, lets go." We both pushed down on the rusty iron door handle and it swung open. I couldn't see anything except for black. Darkness seemed to engulf me and I really wanted to turn back.
"Cmon" called Brandy from in front of me. I hurried to where I thought she was.
"Do you think we should go back?" I asked. There was no reply, all I could hear was my heart beating.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Yelled Brandy from somewhere behind me.
My heart missed a beat. Then I noticed something very unusual, there was a splashing noise behind me, I turned around and where I'm sure the door had been there was a raging stream instead, and beyond there was a beautiful lush rainforest.
I gasped, there was Brandy looking up at a tree her mouth hanging open.
"What is it?" I asked her. She indicated for me to come over to her. I wasn't too keen to get soaking wet but this looked urgent so I waded over to the other side of the stream and joined Brandy. I looked up to see what she was staring at and saw one word etched into the tree trunk
discover.
By Mollie McGeorge, St Alban's Catholic School
, 12-08-2009
What was this? Was this someone's idea of a joke? I didn't know, but I was going to find out. I would discover! "What does it mean?" Brandy asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know. Perhaps we need to discover a way out?" With the door gone, that was really a priority. "Come on, Brandy. We might as well try to get out," I said, taking her hand.
I did my best to smile bravely, and she nodded, and I gave her a hug. Together, we began to explore the dense jungle, hungry and frightened. I don't know how long we wandered through the mass of greenery, searching desperately for a way out. The light was fading when Brandy tripped, bringing me down with her. "Sorry!" she gasped. "I think I tripped over a brick or something."
"A brick?" I asked, thinking hard. What would a brick be doing in the middle of a rainforest? I scanned the ground for anything brick-like, and found a bit of raised ground, covered with rotting leaves. I brushed them away and beckoned to Brandy. "Look at this," I said when she got there. On the ground was a large, grey stone, about the size of a brick, which explained Brandy's reasoning. Etched into the stone was an arrow, pointing to my left. "That's funny," I said, tracing the shape with my finger. As I did so, there was a rumbling from somewhere underground and the earth shook violently. Brandy screamed and clung on to me. A huge cave rose out of the ground and, I noticed, the arrow pointed directly into it. The rumbling and shaking stopped abruptly. "This must be a way out!" Brandy exclaimed with renewed confidence. "Let's go!" She said, rushing into the cave. Apprehensively, I followed.
By Nina Richardson, Marsden School
, 13-08-2009
I couldn't see a thing. I stumbled and fell onto the cold spiny floor. The rocks grazed my hands and my knees were wet with blood. Brandy screamed and I stumbled blindly forward and ran into the rock wall. Up ahead a pin prick of light seared into the cave and blinded the darkness. I saw Brandy's silhouette reaching for the light. She was crawling over the rock. I followed her. We reached the mouth of the cave but there was a metal grate blocking the way. Instead of the smell of dripping leaves and the tropical fruit (I smelt when we were in the rain forest) I could smell greasy take-aways and exhaust fumes. I looked up and gasped "Brandy look." The light wasn't coming from in front of us but above us. It was a manhole. The sun light flickered and flashed as people stepped over us. There were enough rocky hand holds above us that Brandy and I could climb up easily and we pushed open the manhole like it was a floating piece of paper .We climbed out and saw that across the road was the scruffy wooden door that had started this whole adventure. Brandy's eyes were flooding with tears. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I was really concerned but as soon as I asked I knew the answer. Brandy looked at me and a slow smile spread over her face. "Yes but that's not why I'm crying" She threw her arms around me and whispered so softly that I could only just hear. "Im glad you're my brother Christopher." I wondered if this was how my great great great grandfather Christopher Columbus had felt after his first adventure. Now I knew why my parents had wanted me to find out about my past. I was glad I had discovered it.
By Briar, Tomarata Primary School
, 14-08-2009
