Chicken Writer Cartoon at bottom of page....

Drawing by Tim Stiles

These story excerpts and poems are all written by Verlie Hutchens . All work is copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Reproduction or other use without prior written consent is prohibited.

Please enjoy reading them. Feel free to offer feedback or comments to the email address below.

• PENELOPE & PINKLE TOES

  Penelope, a little girl with big dreams of grand adventures, feeds those big vitamins her mother gives her to her skinny little pink-toed pigeon friend every day. She and Pinkle Toes, the resulting giant pigeon, deepen their friendship as they fly around the world in search of the right sort of home for Pinkle Toes. They visit Machu Picchu, Annapurna, and the Kalahari. In the end they settle on a circus that features other giant birds – the 'Cirque de Voler'. PENELOPE & PINKLE TOES is an 1100-word picture book for 5-9 year olds. It might inspire a kid to open an atlas or look at a globe. I would be happy to provide a few paragraphs about each location for inclusion in the back of the book.

• TROLL

  is a story about a homely little fairy princess named Esmerelda, dealing with the taunts of some mean kids at school. She spends her weekend moping and feeling sorry for herself, not noticing all the good things she does for the people around her, or the love they lavish on her. A humorous flurry of palace personnel try their best to cheer her up. By the end she has learned on her own about her value in the world and has gained new strength to face her harassers. This 1300 word book is written for 4-8 year olds, and is a story/picture book. It is funny and charming, with plenty of magic and a cast of memorable characters.

• JONNY'S SECRET

  is a first mystery story about what happens after Jonny goes to the circus and begins behaving in strange ways. He's grown fond of salad all of a sudden. It sounds like he's practicing the trumpet in the garage. Flowers get trampled in the night. He eats three dozen muffins for breakfast. The mystery is solved when Mom peeks through the garage window and sees that it's not Jonny who is trumpeting after all, but an elephant. JONNY'S SECRET is a 220 word picture or board book for 2 ½ - 5 year olds. Children will enjoy following the clues, solving the puzzle, and identifying with Jonny and his well-kept secret.

• ALL NIGHT LONG

  is a cumulative story about what happens when kids get the pets of their dreams with ever-escalating results. An ill-fated zebra whirls and zips and does back flips until the hippopotamus bounces on it. The nanny goat munches its way through laundry and more. The elephant saves the day at the end while the hamster runs 'round and 'round in a little wheel, squeaking, all night long. ALL NIGHT LONG is an 700-word picture book for 3-7 year olds. It is a progressive story with plenty of patterns, wordplay, and variations to explore and lots of room for energetic illustrations.

• SNOT!

  This story is rated CG13 (Not for adults -- child guidance required.) It is a 6000 word chapter book for 7-12 year olds. Snot! answers that age old question, "Where does all this snot come from anyway?" It is a messy, slimy romp through a magical night in the company of the Snot Fairy, a bumbling klutz, new at his job and not very good at it. Snot! appeals to a child's delight in 'gross stuff' and adventure, while sneaking in an unexpected dose of heart. Ultimately it's a story about friendship and compassion for people who are different and not very appealing at first. And it's about growing up.

• SPOON

  is a 200 word board book for one year olds and their ever-so-tolerant parents. The story supports children in their struggles to conquer the illusive powers of the spoon while learning lots of physics along the way.

• Proving Santa

  A story about a child's efforts to prove Santa is real, for children and adults.

Writing Support Groups

The WriteThing is a group that originated through a Virtual University class. It is a large structured group, including a larger range of ages. The main objective for the WriteThing email list is to create an environment where works in progress can be passed around and critiqued, to help us improve these works and to improve as writers. In addition to several regular activities (including writing exercises, discussion topics, and sharing of articles about writing), members may post anything and everything to the list that they would like others to read and critique, and in return critique the works of others. Discussion of any topics relating to writers and writing is also encouraged.

To learn more about the WriteThing:

4WSky is a kid lit crit group. We are all children's writers, writing in a wide variety of children's genres from picture books to young adults. We are a small group, restricted in size, and requiring approval of the group for membership. If you would like to belong to a group of children's writers who critique one another's work in a private email and online setting, please introduce yourself. Click on the the yahoo groups button below to put in your request, and write a note of introduction to Verlie@concentric.net Please tell us what you could contribute to our group and what you would like the group to do for you. Tell us about your writing experience, and perhaps something about your current works in progress. :-)
To request membership in 4WSky:

For writers who choose to study on their own I have discovered a wonderful software package for writers, The Writer's Software Companion. If you order this software through me you will get a 6% discount on the price. It also comes packaged right now with a bonus pack of 57 freeware and shareware programs for writers, the Dreampack. The programs in the Dreampack have all been prescreened and found to be both functional and very useful by the writers of the Writer's Software Companion.

For detailed information about The Writer's Software Companion

Feedback? Please contact me.Email Verlie@concentric.net.

Links to other children's writers and writing resources