Janice Campbell -

Inspired by her actual philosophy that reading and storytelling should feel like "cookies" rather than forced chores, here is an original story about a young girl who discovers the magic of words.

Just then, her aunt Janice stepped into the room. Janice was a teacher who loved books so much that her house was less a building and more a giant, sprawling library. She was carrying a small tray with two glasses of cold milk and a small plate of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies.

"I don't know any big words," Clara muttered to the empty room. "And nothing exciting ever happens in this house." janice campbell

As she wrote, the pencil began to move faster. The blank white paper didn't look scary anymore. It looked like an open door.

"I did it," Clara said breathlessly. "I wrote a story about a girl who lives in a giant tree and talks to the birds." "And how does it feel?" Janice asked. Inspired by her actual philosophy that reading and

Clara picked up her pencil. She didn't try to use big, complicated words. Instead, she wrote about the rough bark of the tree against her sneakers. She wrote about the cool, green light filtering through the leaves and the sweet, sticky taste of the summer peach.

"Yes," Janice said, her eyes twinkling. "You just need to give people a little bit of sugar, and they will keep coming back for more. You don't need fancy, fifty-cent words to tell a beautiful story. You just need to look at the world around you and write down the small, sweet things that matter." She was carrying a small tray with two

"Good," Janice said softly. "Now open your eyes and tell me about it on the paper. Don't worry about spelling. Don't worry about being perfect. Just let the lion out of its cage and see where it runs."