Entry for 1st Annual Kids Choice Kidlit Writing Contest 2022/ (Max -WC 200) Revised to full story.
All the Henderson children love to read except Rex.
Why Do Letters Move? Read ALoud-Never!
by R Bronte Brown
The Eyes of a Dyslexic Child
Why Do Letters Move?
All the Henderson children loved to read except for one.
Rex Henderson hated to read aloud. Unlike his sister, his words slipped, tripped, and skipped over his tongue like jabbering gibberish. Susie loved to read aloud. Her words flowed in seamless syllables of streaming sounds.
Each time he compared himself to her, his heart sank deeper into despair.
His sister could read, but he could not.
Rex wished he could slash words off all the pages. Then, there would be no more letters picking at his brain, and the pages would be as silent as a gentle rain.
Flustered, Rex snapped the book shut. “My brain hurts. My eyes won’t work. Why do letters move?” he sputtered. The letters giggle.
”Who’s that?” Rex demanded.
At that moment, a quirky character named Memes emerged from the pages, crawling out with an air of mischief. Memes stood atop the book, dressed like a sailor with a floppy bandanna tied around his head, baggy striped pants, and a cheerful checked shirt that seemed to dance as he moved.
“I’m here to be your first mate,” said Memes. “We letters can be a rowdy bunch, but we need a captain like you to guide us through this story.”
“Me, be captain of these letters? They're never still; they are always hopping about. They are a flip--flopping mess.”
“If you sound out their names, they’ll snap into place,” said Memes as he encouraged Rex to join in.
Together they continued, “… b, d, c, f, g—come on,” Memes cheered. “Speak up, h, i, j—.”
Rex called each consonant by name.
“These vowels are a troublesome bunch, never sounding the same,” Rex complained.
“Yes, they do flow here and there. But consonants like the bossy --r tell vowels how to behave like 'er' in ferret, 'or' in fork, ‘ir' in bird, 'ur' in turn or 'ar' in a pirate’s ‘Aargh.’ With practice, you’ll learn their names,” Memes smiled.
Memes handed Rex a script. “Read it aloud,” said Memes.
“Me!”
“You’re their captain,” Memes reminded Rex
“Laugh, and I’ll toss you off this page,” Rex warned with a half-hearted attempt to muster some bravery.
As Captain Rex began to read aloud, something remarkable happened—the letters snapped into their rightful places on the page. With each sound, they formed a steady rhythm, building a bridge from confusion to clarity.
“Why did the letters move?” he wondered aloud.
Not today, he thought..
Why Do Letters Move? The Eyes of a Dyslexic Child
All the Henderson children loved to read except for one.
Rex Henderson hated to read aloud. Unlike his sister, his words slipped and tripped over his tongue. They sounded like jabbering gibberish. Susie loved to read aloud. Her words flowed in seamless syllables of streaming sounds.
Each time he compared himself to her, his heart sank deeper into despair. His sister could read, but he could not.
Rex wished he could slash words off all the pages. Then, there would be no more letters picking at his brain, and the pages would be as silent as a gentle rain.
Flustered, Rex snapped the book shut. “My brain hurts. My eyes won’t work. Why do letters move?” he sputtered. The letters giggled. Before Rex could slam the book shut, a flicker of movement caught his eye. Out popped a tiny figure.
”Who’s that?” Rex demanded.
At that moment, a quirky character named Memes emerged from the pages, crawling out with an air of mischief. Memes stood atop the book, dressed like a sailor with a floppy bandanna tied around his head, baggy striped pants, and a cheerful checked shirt that seemed to dance as he moved.
“I’m here to be your first mate,” said Memes. “We letters can be a rowdy bunch, but we need a captain like you to guide us through this story.”
“Me, be captain of these letters? They're never still; they are always hopping about. They are a flip--flopping mess.”
“If you sound out their names, they’ll snap into place,” said Memes as he encouraged Rex to join in.
Together they continued, “… b, d, c, f, g—come on,” Memes cheered. “Speak up, h, i, j—.”
Rex called each consonant by name.
“These vowels are a troublesome bunch, never sounding the same,” Rex complained.
“Yes, they do flow here and there. But consonants like the bossy --r tell vowels how to behave like 'er' in ferret, 'or' in fork, ‘ir' in bird, 'ur' in turn or 'ar' in a pirate’s ‘Aargh.’ With practice, you’ll learn their names,” Memes smiled.
Memes handed Rex a script. “Read it aloud,” said Memes.
“Me!”
“You’re their captain,” Memes reminded, tipping his floppy hat.
“Laugh, and I’ll toss you off this page,” Rex warned with a half-hearted attempt to muster some bravery.
As Captain Rex began to read aloud, something remarkable happened—the letters snapped into their rightful places on the page. With each sound, they formed a steady rhythm, building a bridge from confusion to clarity.
“Why did the letters move?” he wondered aloud.
Not today, he thought
WC 408
His words
slipped –
tripped –
skipped-
over his tongue
like jabbering
gibberish.
Her words
slid in
seamless
syllables
of streaming
sounds.
#HaikuSaturday, #haiku
(excerpt from 'Eyes of a Dyslexic' short story submission by RLBrown
The Eyes of a Dyslexic Child
My brain hurts.
My eyes won’t work.
I can’t read anymore.
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can read you.
The letters whisper,
don’t give up.
Jumbled Words.
Letters flip and flop.
Then they jump and hop.
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can see you.
The letters whisper,
say my name.
Grumbled Sounds,
And mumbled tones,
Never sound the same.
WHY do letters move?
Be still, so I can hear you.
The letters whisper,
blend the sounds.
Teacher, Teacher!
The letters are moving!
Oh, no, that’s in your head.
Why do letters move?
Be still, YOU!
The letters whisper,
concentrate.
Taking Test
Orally, I’m best.
Squiggly scribbly letters
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can write you.
The letters whisper,
yes, you can.
Read aloud!
Nervous mistakes,
Makes my insides quake.
Why do letters move?
Be still, don't laugh.
The letters shout,
keep going.
Every day,
my teacher says,
“You’re reading better today!”
“Why did letters move?”
Not anymore!
I shout, hooray! I’m reading today.
brontebrown2 