The students of Ms. LeCates’s fourth grade class from Braddock Drive Gifted Magnet School came to Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers with all sorts of different interests. One student gave an eloquent analysis of the music of her favorite bands, which included Metallica. Another pair of students explained that they were creating their own Dungeons & Dragons-based roleplaying game. One student was even writing his own astrophysics book! “He is going to be the next Albert Einstein,” a fellow classmate confided to me.
It’s no surprise then that their story, and this week’s Field Trip Book of the Week, is one of the most imaginative and outlandish tales we’ve ever spun here at Barnacle & Barnacle. This adventure involves humans-turned-hedgehogs, partying unicorn police, five hour job application processes, mind-controlling sidekicks met on the subway, and of course a magical amulet that is being used to make sprinkles for a nefarious donut chain. Read on and enjoy the bizarre and entertaining journey that is A Brief History of Donuts: A Hedgehog’s Quest.
A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this book possible, including Art Gardner, Sam Miller, Kristi Willsey, Carly Chevalier, and our intrepid intern Alan Lin.
How would you end this story? Students have the chance to write four endings based on the choices presented at the end of pages 8 and 9. Those pages are collected, bound with the rest of the printed book, and each student takes home a copy of their very own published book, leaving our writing lab empowered as published authors, all in just three short hours.
You have a choice now: If you are a prospective volunteer and you would like to join in on the fun we have here in the 826LA writing lab, please read about our volunteering opportunities here.
If you are already one of our wonderful volunteers, and would like to see what Field Trips to 826LA are all about, email Kenny (Echo Park) or email Mike (Mar Vista) and read more about our Field Trip Program here.
Students participate in Field Trips like these up to four times a week at both of our centers in Los Angeles, and carry the experience of being a published author with them for ages to come. If you are a LAUSD teacher and would like to bring your students in for a Field Trip and an unforgettable writing experience like this, you can find more information here.