children

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Installment 6 of “Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie,” a Children’s Chapter Book

Here, finally, is Chapter 6 of the children’s Chapter Book we are blogging. Our great-grandson, Leland, who just turned 12, is acting as a consultant on the story to let us know if the story reads appropriately for kids ages 7 – 12, and our great-granddaughter, Hannah, age 7, has consented to draw some pictures to go with each chapter. We’re looking forward to hearing from them.This photo of a newborn baby bird will give Hannah an idea of how the baby bird first called “Thing” might have looked.   raven chick ugly

This blogging has taken longer than we had hoped but the blogger (Gayle) is still on crutches recovering from left hip replacement surgery on February 7th. I hope to be off the two crutches in another week and a half and then on to one crutch for a short time and working into walking with a cane. All is going well but doing anything takes a great deal of time and I also spend a lot of time doing my exercises. Deanna, my physiotherapist just paid another house visit today and left me with a new set of a bit more difficult exercises – very helpful but a bit exhausting, too.

We hope you will continue to enjoy the story. Please give us any feedback you think helpful as the book is still in the pre-publication phase.

“JAKE, LITTLE JIMMY AND BIG LOUIE”

by Ian Moore-Morrans

edited by Gayle Moore-Morrans

Copyright © 2012

CHAPTER SIX

“Thing” Becomes “Louie”

raven chick hungryIt was good that the owner of “Bill’s Budgie Barn” knew all about caring for baby birds, not just budgies—but even wild birds.

(The rest of the chapter’s contents has been deleted prior to publication.)

Picture suggestions:

A black chick with its mouth open (see photo sample above).  or

Jake holding and feeding the baby chick some water from an eye dropper, while little Jimmy is perched on Jake’s shoulder.

Installment 4 of “Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie,” a Children’s Chapter Book
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Installment 4 of “Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie,” a Children’s Chapter Book

The story we’ve been posting is about a boy raising birds. Just so that you know I have had some experience raising a bird in the past, Gayle is posting a photo I took around 2000 of my late poodle, Peppy, playing with my bird, Jimmy, whom I gave to friends with children when we moved away. Now you see where I got the name for my wingless budgie in the story “Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie.” Unlike the budgie in my story, my Jimmy had wings, was bigger than Little Jimmy and, as you can see, he was a cockatiel rather than a budgie. He did a lot of things that Jimmy the budgie learned to do. For instance, he loved to sit on my shoulder and he did learn to “talk” after I repeated words to him over and over. He also learned to whistle, as I was always whistling around the house at that time.

Peppy and Jimmy-2000

 

 

Poodle

Peppy

and

Cockatiel

Jimmy

 

 

 

Finally, we have another chapter of my children’s chapter book to post. We’d love to get some feedback from anyone who has read the beginning four chapters of this book, especially feedback from children who have read it or had it read to them. All you need to do is post a comment at the end of this posting.

In this chapter, Jake runs into a bit of trouble as you can see by the chapter’s title.

“JAKE, LITTLE JIMMY AND BIG LOUIE”

by Ian Moore-Morrans

edited by Gayle Moore-Morrans

Copyright © 2012

CHAPTER FOUR

Little Jimmy is Lost!

Spring break was soon over. As the weeks went by, Jake hurried straight home from school each day, immediately heading for his bedroom. Every day, as he opened the door very slowly (in case Jimmy was close to it), he would say, “Hi Jake, hi Jake, hi Jake,” so that, hopefully, Jimmy would hear and copy it.

Jake had been saying “Hi Jake!” and “Jimmy’s a good boy!” over and over to Jimmy in the past weeks, hoping that he would repeat something. Then, one day as he slowly opened his bedroom door while saying, “Hi, Jake,” a little high voice from somewhere over there said, “Hi Jake, hi Jake.”

Jake was thrilled. ‘Wow, neat!’ he thought. ‘My little bird can speak. Cool!’

Jake looked around and discovered his pet on the pillow. He went over to the bed and sat on the edge. Jimmy immediately hopped onto his lap and started to climb up Jake’s sweater. Using his beak and claws, he gradually pulled himself up until he was perched on Jake’s left shoulder, saying, “Hi Jake, hi Jake.”

Well—Jake couldn’t have been happier. This little bird of his was certainly the best little budgie in the whole world! “Hey! Who needs a dog or a rabbit? Not me!” he laughingly told his little pet.

~*~

One day his parents came home from shopping with a small travel cage for Jimmy. They had seen it at a flea market and thought that it may be useful if Jake ever wanted to take Jimmy to the vet or out to the back yard. Jake agreed that it was great and would come in handy.

After a few trips to the back yard, Jimmy learned to hop right into the travel cage when Jake put it beside him. It seemed to Jake that Jimmy knew when he was going to go outside to the grass, because he rushed to get into the cage as soon as Jake opened the door for him. That was when Jake remembered Bill saying that Jimmy was a “smart little guy.”

Then Jake got braver, or maybe sillier, judging by what happened next. When his best pals, Brien, Eugene, and Eugene’s one-year-younger sister, Tiffany, came over, the four of them would head to the park with Jimmy in his travel cage. They would sit in a little circle on the grass with Jimmy’s small cage in the middle. Jake would open the cage door, allowing Jimmy to come out and hop about the area among them. Their usual spot was close enough to the pond to watch the ducks, but far enough away from the water so that Jimmy was in no danger. They did this quite often when the weather was nice and they all agreed that Jimmy enjoyed it as much as they did!

~*~

One day, during the early part of September, the four “amigos,”—with Jimmy wandering around them—were sitting enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon on the soft grass at their usual spot in the park. Suddenly they heard a woman’s voice shouting, “Stop him; stop that boy. He’s got my purse.”

As their heads turned in the direction of the voice, they saw a boy, not much older than they were, running along the path at the edge of the pond and almost in their direction, clutching a lady’s handbag.

“C’mon, you three. Let’s get that guy.” Brien shouted as the thief ran past them. With that, the four of them jumped to their feet.

There wasn’t enough time to put Jimmy into his cage, so Jake scooped him up and tucked him into his jacket pocket. They then started racing as fast as they could after the thief.

Twisting around bushes, trees and flowerbeds while running over a large section of the park, Jake gradually outdistanced his friends because of his longer legs. He was quite a bit in front when suddenly the thief, who knew that he was soon going to get caught, threw away the purse. Jake didn’t let up. He was just a very short distance behind the thief when the boy suddenly turned on him, putting his fists up, ready for a fight. Two seconds before they were about to clash, Jake quickly bent over and with his head lowered, rammed the thief in the middle of his chest.

The thief was taken by surprise; all the wind was knocked out of him. They both fell to the ground, wrestling as they rolled around. The next thing Jake knew was that Tiffany had joined the scuffle, grabbing hold of the thief’s hair. Battling the pair, the thief didn’t have much strength to fight after Jake had plowed into him. This made it easy for Jake and Tiffany to hold him down until Jake’s two other friends and two nearby adults arrived on the scene.

Since the trio had finished off their skirmish by rolling into one of the flowerbeds, Jake and Tiffany’s clothes were very dirty. Getting to his feet and, beginning to clean himself off, he suddenly thought, ‘Jimmy’. In all the excitement, Jake had forgotten all about his little pet. His hand flashed to his jacket pocket. It was empty!

Jake panicked, his heart missing a beat and tears filling his eyes. He’d lost his best friend! Had Jimmy been crushed when Jake was rolling on the ground? Was he close by or nearer to where they’d started running? Where could Jimmy be? Was he still alive? Had some passerby stepped on him? All of these questions raced through Jake’s mind, making him fear the worst.

They had covered a lot of ground, running here and there and around bushes as they chased the thief. Jimmy could have fallen out anywhere in between. Not only was Jimmy tiny; he was also mostly green—a perfect camouflage, making it very difficult to see him in the grass!

“Hey guys, I’ve lost my Jimmy.” Jake called out. He found it hard to talk, to tell them to be careful where they stepped in case they would hurt him. They had covered a lot of ground and Jake knew it would be very difficult to retrace their actual route.

Eugene took over. “Okay guys, we’ll spread out and slowly go back to where we started. Don’t worry, Jake; we’ll find him for you.”

The four started to retrace their steps, going back gradually to where they had been sitting. They zigzagged back and forth, all the time quietly calling “Jimmy, where are you? Jimmy?  ——— Jimmy?”

During the search, Tiffany approached a group of boys and girls about their own age who were playing in the area, and asked them to help look for the little bird. She explained what Jimmy looked like and with the extra help, Jake felt a bit better. The five extra pairs of eyes could make a difference and the more people that were looking for Jimmy, the more confident Jake became that they would soon find him.

“Jimmy, where are you?” Jake called out continuously. He had a strange lump in his throat and felt so terrible to have lost his little friend that he could scarcely get out the words.

It was more than an hour later and they were almost back to where they had started the chase and still there was no sign of Jimmy. When they reached the spot, Jake got another shock; Jimmy’s cage was gone!

“Hey guys, look—Jimmy’s cage has been stolen. This is where we were, isn’t it?” he said, turning around and around, looking, and trying to confirm their spot. “It is where we were, isn’t it?”

“This is where we were, for sure,” Brien said, “but we should slowly go back again to where we started the search—to where we caught the thief. We should search again and again ‘til we find him. Maybe we’ll get the cage later.”

“Yes, you’re right, Brien; but why would anyone steal Jimmy’s little cage?”

They found some more kids nearby who also joined the search. There were now fourteen young people searching everywhere for Jimmy and not a trace of him could be found. They looked again and again all over the area where they had chased the thief, but eventually had to give up because it was beginning to get dark.

~*~

“Somebody has stolen Jimmy,” his dad stated. “You searched the whole area for two hours and didn’t find any trace of him, right? You know that Jimmy was trained to go into his cage, right? This tells me that Jimmy must have fallen out as soon as you put him in your pocket, and when he couldn’t see you, he headed for ‘home’. He went into his cage, where he felt safe. Someone must have come along, picked up the cage with Jimmy in it and just kept on going. Either that or a passer-by, seeing no one around, found him and thought he’d been left there intentionally.”

“Oh, Dad, that’s awful! How can we get him back? Do you think we can?”

“First thing we do is go to the police station and let them know what’s happened. We’ll find out when we go there if he’s been turned in. Next thing we do is put an ad in the paper, hoping someone reads it that knows of a person who has just acquired a wingless budgie, or even just any budgie. We may get some sort of response—at least it’s worth a try. I’ll do it right away.”

After they visited the police station and wrote out a report, Jake felt better, hoping it would do some good.

~*~

A week later, Jake’s dad walked out the back door with a great big smile on his face. He was grinning widely as he approached Jake, Brien and Tiffany, who were playing in the back yard.

“Big news, guys, what do you think? There’s been a call from a man who knows someone who has just become the owner of a budgie in a little cage. It seems like the ad in the paper has paid off.” This, of course, caused the three to jump up in the air with glee and hug each other.

Mr. Moore then called the police to report the phone number of the person who had called him. The police sergeant at the desk had informed Jake’s dad that they would investigate and get back to him as soon as they found out anything.

~*~*~

Picture suggestions:

Three boys and one girl sitting on the grass in a circle, with Jimmy in his travel cage in the middle of the circle.

Jake chasing the thief, who is holding a lady’s purse.

Jake wrestling with the thief.

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Merry Fifth Day of Christmas, plus Installment 3 of “Jake, Little Jimmy & Big Louie,” a Children’s Chapter Book

We’re sorry for the delay in blogging this next chapter of Ian’s children’s chapter book entitled “Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie,” but, as you know, Christmas intervened between Chapters 2 and 3. Gayle and I wish all of you blog readers a very Merry Fifth Day of Christmas. So far we’ve had a nice quiet celebration with church on Christmas Eve, followed by a delicious and traditional (to Gayle) Swedish Christmas supper to which we had invited friends. We slept late on Christmas Day and ended up opening our presents that afternoon. The next two days have been spent eating, playing with our new dog Misty, lazing and watching a number of movies that we received as Christmas gifts, reading from some of the books we received and, of course, listening to Christmas music. Gayle has finally found time to edit the next chapter of the story we are posting and I’ve approved the edit so here goes with Chapter 3. Please give us any feedback you may wish to pass on. As you know, the book has not yet been published except here in this blog. We are still hoping to have some drawings sent in on JPGs from our great-granddaughter or from any children that might read this story or have this story read to them. We are including suggestions for drawings at the end of each chapter. We’d like to include some of the drawings in the published book and would give credit to the artists. Here is a nice cartoon rendition of a budgie’s head as a model for Little Jimmy.

budgie head cartoon

“JAKE, LITTLE JIMMY AND BIG LOUIE”

by Ian Moore-Morrans

edited by Gayle Moore-Morrans

Copyright © 2012

CHAPTER THREE

Jake and Jimmy Become Friends

As they headed home, Jake and his dad chatted about their visit to Bill’s Budgie Barn and all they had seen there. When the car was in the garage, his dad took the birdcage from the back seat and began heading for the house, carefully carrying it by its handle.

(The rest of the chapter’s content has been deleted prior to the book’s publication.)

* ~ * ~ *

Picture suggestions: Jimmy in his cage

Jimmy sitting on Jake’s folded hands

Jimmy hopping down a ramp

The drawings below were done by Ian some years ago to illustrate how he pictured the ramp set-upRamp to chair 001 in Jake’s room.

Jimmy's ramps 001

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Blogging a Book for my Great-Grandchildren – “Jake, Little Jimmy & Big Louie,” a Children’s Chapter Book

Budgie cartoon

As a Christmas gift for my great-grandchildren, especially for the oldest two, Leland (11) and Hannah (7), we are going to begin blogging a children’s chapter book for ages 7-12, that I wrote some years ago but have not yet published. I’m hoping that Leland and Hannah will enjoy reading it, will give us some feedback on the story and perhaps even read it to their younger siblings and cousins. We have seven great-grandchildren in Manitoba (the two oldest named above, plus Caleigh (5), Madison (2 1/2), Logan (2 1/2), Brayden (17 months) and Lexi (7 months) as well as a young grandson in Norway, Gustav Sebastian (20 months). [The other grandchildren are in their late 20s and 30s as are Gayle’s children. My children are in their 50s.] We’re hoping they will also like the book, even though it was originally written for children. Grandma Gayle liked it and she is 70!

Readers of this blog are also invited to share the story with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, if they are lucky enough to have some. We’re hoping that Hannah, who is a wonderful little artist, may even want to draw some pictures that may eventually go into the published book. Anyone else who would like to try their hand at drawing and colouring pictures that tell some of the story of the book are also invited to send them in to us. We will add a few suggestions for pictures with each section of the book. If you draw hard enough so that the picture is very clear, please do so on a half sheet of normal 8 1/2 by 11 inch (216 mm by 279 mm) paper, have it scanned in and send it to us on a JPG to our email address: gayleian@gmail.com. Any artist whose picture is chosen to go into the published book will be given credit in the book.

“Jake, Little Jimmy and Big Louie” is about an 11-year-old boy in Winnipeg who adopts a handicapped budgie bird and then an ugly rescued baby chick who eventually grows into a huge raven. Jake learns to help Little Jimmy feel like a very special bird and, though he didn’t want Louie at first, he soon realizes that Louie has become an important part of the family who comes to the rescue when Jimmy gets into dangerous situations. One adventure follows another and the three become fast friends who really love each other.

Here is the first installment:

“JAKE, LITTLE JIMMY AND BIG LOUIE”

by Ian Moore-Morrans

edited by Gayle Moore-Morrans

Copyright © 2012

CHAPTER ONE – Jake wants a Pet

Jake was 11 and would have loved a puppy for company—something he could have fun playing with when he got home from school. But he knew that his wish would never happen because of the scare his mother got when she was a little girl. She had been bitten by a dog and, since that attack, had always felt nervous and uncomfortable whenever any dog, big or small, happened to come close to her. Even tiny dogs upset her.

Finally, Jake had resigned himself to getting some other kind of pet. “Maybe a rabbit,” he thought. He also hoped he’d get the rabbit soon. Whenever he hinted to his mom and dad about getting a pet, his dad would say, “We’ll have to wait and see.” It seemed to Jake that he had been “waiting and seeing” for ages.

With spring break coming up fast, Jake knew that getting a pet before then was an absolute must. It was a “now or never” sort of thing, so he decided to ask his dad just as soon as he saw him.

Jake was taller than normal for his age, with dark brown, almost black, curly hair. His family lived in a newer section of Winnipeg. A big plus for Jake was that their house had a big, fenced-in back yard— just ideal for his plans. He didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so sometimes he felt lonely when he was not having fun with his pals. A pet, in his own words, “would be cool.”

~*~

“Mom, do you know where Dad is?”

“He had to go visit a friend, then he was popping into the hardware store on his way home, and–” Jake’s mother glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, “seeing that it’s almost twelve-thirty, that’s likely where he is right now.

“Will he be long?”

“I don’t think so; he knows that lunch will be going on the table soon. Why; what do you want your dad for?”

Jake put on his best begging face. “Mom, would you ask Dad when he gets back if I can get a rabbit? I’ve asked a whole bunch of times and he keeps saying that he’ll think about it. He knows I’ve been saving my allowance to buy a pet. Could you ask him for me—please, Mom?”

“No way, Jake. It’s between you and your father and I don’t know what he’ll say.”

Jake didn’t really listen to what his mother was saying; instead his mind filled with thoughts of a pet and the possibility of his father agreeing. He dreamily carried on, “I’d like to get one of those fluffy, white ones. You know the kind—they’re called Angora—I think.” Then he brightened up a little. “I know it wouldn’t be nearly as good as having a dog; but it would be okay—I guess. At least better than not having anything—and it wouldn’t bother you the way a dog might, would it?” Then quickly, he added, “But a rabbit would be all right, wouldn’t it, Mom? Nobody’s scared of rabbits; are they?”

~*~

Jake’s father arrived home just as lunch was ready. After washing his hands he sat at the table, telling Jake’s mother about something funny that had gone on at the hardware store. Jake sat in silence while his mother dished up the food. His father then said grace, thanking God for the meal and immediately started talking about something else. Jake was pleased to see his father was in his usual good mood, for there was a lot of laughing going on.

He also knew his mother was well aware of what was on his mind and he hoped she would begin talking about a pet for him. She looked at Jake a few times during the meal but he wasn’t sure if she was doing so for a particular reason. He decided to wait.

When they had stopped eating but were still chatting, Jake became a little impatient, thinking, ‘I’m going to say something as soon as I can.’

Suddenly there was a lull in their conversation and he jumped in, again using his best begging voice. “Dad, you promised me a while ago that you’d think about letting me have a pet rabbit. Are you still thinking? You said to wait a little—and I haven’t been bugging you, so do you think I could have one—please, please? I’d really look after it and take care of it—and I’d like to get it before spring break. Please, Daddy.”

“Hmm—well, young man, you know, I actually have given some thought about you getting a pet. But I don’t know about a rabbit. They take quite a lot of looking after. There was an article in the paper just the other day about rabbits, mainly about the Easter Bunny. It told how lots of kids want a little bunny at Easter-time and then they’re left to die weeks later—after the newness wears off and the interest dies down.”

“I wouldn’t do that, Dad; I’d really look after it—forever and ever!” Jake said excitedly.

“Forever?” his dad said with raised eyebrows. “Well, do you know the newspaper said they can live for about twelve years? That’s a long time. Are you willing to look after it that long? What happens when you are, say, eighteen or nineteen, and you want to go out and spend a lot of time with your friends or go on a date with a girl friend?”

There was an uneasy silence when no one spoke. Thinking about what his dad had said made Jake look quite glum.

“So,” his dad continued, looking over at Jake’s mom and then back to Jake, “your mom and I have talked about this a few times since I read that article and we both know rabbits are not as easy to care for as people think. Would you consider getting a pet that isn’t so much trouble, maybe something your mom and I wouldn’t mind looking after when you get older—possibly a little budgie?”

“A BUDGIE?” Jake blurted out, a little louder and with more feeling and a good deal louder voice than he had intended. Then, after a few seconds’ silence, with his voice still loaded with emotion, he appealed to his father, “Oh, Da-a-ad, I don’t want a silly budgie; they’re no fun. You can’t take it for walks or throw sticks for it to fetch like you can with a dog. You can’t even play with it in the back yard like you would a rabbit; it’ll fly away!”

Jake certainly didn’t feel very good about what his dad was saying. He was thinking, ‘budgies are silly things that might be all right for girls, or maybe grown-ups, but not for boys.’ He watched his dad shuffle in his chair and sip his coffee. He was waiting for some kind of indication that he didn’t really have to get a budgie.

But, to his dismay, his dad continued, “A little bird like that is really no trouble to look after, you know. It’s much easier to care for than a rabbit. A budgie can be a lot of fun, too. Do you know, for instance, that you can teach budgies to say things? They don’t understand what is being said, mind you; but with a little patience you can have them say things like, ‘My name is Joey’; ‘Hello Jake’—and more.”

Jake was wide-eyed. “Are you serious, Dad? They can talk?”

“Well, not really. What you have to do is to keep repeating the same thing over and over, and some day, usually when you’re not expecting it, the little budgie will come out with a few of the words you’ve been saying to it.”

Jake was not too thrilled with the idea of looking after a “silly bird,” but, knowing that his chances of getting a rabbit were not good, he thought he would play for time and ask his father some questions about budgies.

“Well, Jake, the best person to talk to would be Bill. He’s a friend of mine who owns Bill’s Budgie Barn. There he raises hundreds, maybe thousands, of budgies for a living—and he treats them all as if they were his own children. I’m sure he’ll have all the answers for you.”

“He has that many budgies—hundreds or thousands?” Jake was wide-eyed.

“He certainly does. He ships them all over the country,” he paused slightly, then smiled and continued. “Tell you what, Jake, we should take a drive out to see him. Then you can talk to the expert yourself and get a better idea what it’s all about. How about it?”

“Okay, Dad,” he replied, pretending he was interested so that he could get in his pitch for a rabbit later. “When can we see them?”

Jake wasn’t prepared for his father’s reply. “Let’s go now. It’s only a short drive to Bill’s place and he’s always home on a Saturday.” With that said, his dad got up from the chair and headed for the back door. “Coming?” he asked, as he took his hat from a coat peg and lifted the car keys off an ornamental key shelf. Opening the back door without looking at Jake or waiting for an answer, he headed out to the car.

Jake’s mind was working fast, looking for a way out. ‘Hey,’ he thought, ‘I guess I’d better go for now. Don’t know what else I can do.’

~*~

(Picture suggestion: Jake thinking of a rabbit and his father thinking of a budgie. The photo above shows a cute little budgie.)