I suspect I am not the only one who barrages their friends with their latest 5 star read by saying “There’s this really great book…”
Dear friends, this book is for you. It is a silly, bright, rhyming tale about a penguin who likes to read everywhere. The penguin reads in the air, upside down, by the sea, and in various other places. This book celebrates the joy of reading, as well as introducing new readers into this fun new world.
I wrote it because I want to encourage children in their reading as much as possible, because it is such an important foundation for so much learning and joy. I hope you enjoy sharing it with your young readers.
As usual it is available on Kindle Unlimited, also as an e-book and paperback.
The e-book version should be able to be displayed on webwhiteboards, and I am investigating whether I can get it printed in a bigger size more suitable for classrooms.
Thank you for your support and feedback, it helps to make every book a little bit better than the last.
Story: The main character comes to realise that there’s no escaping fate
Themes: Imprisoned against your will
Words: 560ish
The Overwhelming Dread
I don’t know how long I wait.
The lights are on all the time, so I mark the days, with the flow of the people. When there are people here, walking around and looking at us, it must be the daytime, but all we feel is dread. When there are not, we all breathe a sigh of relief. We lasted another day.
It is slowly dawning on us all that this is a fight we cannot win. Each day someone cracks or melts under the pressure of waiting, wondering if they will be chosen next. If they will be plucked by a manicured hand and looked over with a greedy smile.
The crackpots, as I have named them in my head, let the pressure build up until they explode, and can no longer hold themselves together. The melty ones, also another internal nickname, just turn to goo and will not respond to anything anymore. It’s sad really, but I can’t blame them. I’m not sure how I am still holding myself together with this heat.
We don’t have a life, but we don’t want one. I’m sure all of us would give anything to remain here indefinitely, like an eternal night, trapped in this current boring existence, cramped, confined in these metal contraptions. If only we could escape the horror of being picked out by one of the people and being taken elsewhere. I’ve heard the stories. These people, these beings, are monsters!
Oh sure, we are dressed up to look desirable, and the company’s marketing is so good that the people walking around the shop don’t ever stop to think if buying us is wrong. They can’t see the dread, can’t comprehend our pain. We exist for them, to satisfy their wants. Why would we have feelings? It’s their pleasure that matters. And all they seem to find pleasure in is our destruction.
Once you get to the display, there are no exceptions, no one escapes. Everyone gets taken in the end. It’s just about if you are first, or if you are last. There’s not much hope left, but we try.
The people begin to enter again. It’s another day. I watch sadly as someone else gets taken from a different display. We all sigh in relief and feel terrible at the same time. I hope the end is quick.
I look away as they are taken from the store. It’s impossible to tell if our end will come straight away, or if the person will drag it out over hours and days. I don’t want to know. I’ve seen 19 of us be taken already, and there’s simply no way to tell. I cannot let my guard down. I cannot afford a crack. Those of us who are left are getting superstitious now. I must keep up my barriers. The shop empties, we have survived another day, but there’s no room for cheers. The egg next to me begins to show cracks of panic. There’s nothing I can do. But there’s something you can do. You can be the difference. Just sit here a minute with me. Can you imagine, sitting all day surrounded by metal, unable to move, watching, waiting, never knowing when you will be picked? No? Well maybe think about that next time you unwrap a chocolate egg for Easter. But you won’t stop, will you? Monster.
Authors Note: I really love chocolate eggs 🙂 I’m glad they aren’t sentient beings!
Story: When you make a connection with a girl at a party, but wake up to find that she didn’t write her number on your arm as you’d hoped. All you have left of her memory is a meaningless diagram drawn on your skin in permanent marker. Did she ghost you or does the drawing mean something more?
