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"My name is Stella. I’m a Cocker Spaniel and I love to play. I wagged my tail and looked at her with sad eyes hoping that she would take me out. “Do you want to go out, Stella?” asked my master. “Bark, bark, bark,” yes please. I responded wagging my tail frantically. “Ok then, let’s go! I was finally outside running after Vilma. She didn’t notice me so I decided to call out to her. “Bark, bark, bark!” Vilma wait for me, I said to her. She turned around and wagged her tail as she saw me running towards her. “Hi Vilma,” I said. Vilma was female like me. She had white fur with a few tan coloured spots on her chest. She had lovely brown eyes. “Hi Stella,” she said. “Hey, do you like my new collar?” Vilma asked me. It was a pink collar with sparkly white stones. “It’s beautiful!” I said. “Oh, I hear my master calling me. I have to go but let’s try to meet again later.” “Ok, I’ll see you later,” said Vilma. My master took me for a walk in the park near our house. The park was full of birds and it was a good place to meet friends..."
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¡Hola! ¡Stella!
(Stella - Lovable
Cocker Spaniel Travels)
By G. R. Calcagni
Is your dog an important part of your family? Do your children love having him or her around--perhaps even to travel with you? Then you just might want them to meet Stella!
When Stella was old enough to start traveling with the family, she decided to write books to share with other children and, hopefully, their own friends! Stella lives in Italy, but their first trip will take them to Spain! She's so excited to be able to tell you about her trip! Oh yes, first... Hola, Stella!
Hi! I'm so happy to visit! I travel with my Master, the pack leader and two pups! These animals walk on just two legs so they are much taller than me, but they always want me close! Especially when we travel... Please be sure you always stay close to your family when you are outside too!
And would you believe we go in a moving house! Yes, the pack leader does what is called driving and my master sits in the navigator seat(? - I'm not sure what that means 'cause most of the time she just sits there and sometimes lets me sit on her lap!)
Once we got there, the pups pulled out a lot of cloth and strings and stuff and I was amazed to see what happened to it! Pretty Soon, there was a little house, called a tent, and we went in to take a nap!
The older puppy was telling the younger one what to do. “Ali, pull the sheet so that we open it up and lay it flat on the ground,” she said. “Ok, now extend one of the sticks so that we can slide it through one of the slits in the sheet,” she continued.
I watched as they extended all three sticks and then slid them through the first sheet. “Ok, now we need to each take one end of each stick and place it in the ring at the edge of the sheet,” she explained. Soon they had the ends of each of the three sticks inserted into the rings. The tent was up. I went closer to get a better look.
“Stella, watch out. We’re not finished yet,” said the older puppy. I sat and continued to watch them. They took some of the metal pegs and with another tool they called hammer, they hit the metals peg into the ground. Then they opened the second sheet and placed it on top of the tent. This sheet had strings attached which they pulled and fastened to the ground with more metal pegs. They stood back and looked. “That wasn’t too bad,” said Megan.
The tent was long and tall. Meg grabbed an end of the tent and opened the mouth. She stepped inside. Ali then stepped inside and I followed. Wow! It was big inside. Meg, who was a tall puppy, could stand inside. She went to one side and opened the mouth which lead to another room. “Ali, now we need to get the mattresses and inflate them,” Meg said. Ali went outside and I followed her to see what this mattress was. Ali walked back to the big white box and pulled out two boxes and another strange looking stick. She took these back to the tent and they pulled out from each box other sheets. They then connected the stick to a little hole on each sheet. Then as they held the stick upright, they kept it from moving with their feet and pulled the stick up. Then they pushed it down.
Then they pushed it up again and then down. They did this several times and all of a sudden the sheet was taking another form. It was growing. I couldn’t explain what was happening but the sheet became bigger and bigger. It was almost as tall as me!
When they finished with the first sheet they did the same with the second sheet. Then they each took one of these mattresses and brought them into the tent. “Ah, now we can relax,” Meg said laughing as she and Ali threw themselves down on these sheets. I moved closer and as I was within reach of Ali, she grabbed me and said, “Amore, come and try Ali’s bed.” Soon they were fast asleep. I closed my eyes and listened to the noises outside.
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We were now in Barcellona at a
place called La Rambla and
there were so many strange
and wonderful smells! And I even
got to eat some of them!
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Anyway, off we went! I have a lot of friends who I talk about in my book; but this time I have too much to tell you about where we went and, oh, my, was I scared one time when I heard barking but all I could see was a great big box! It was spooky! A lot of animals around me were laughing like they do, but, I did not feel like laughing, I can tell you!
That was probably one of the highlights of my trip, 'cause you know it's fun to be scared, especially when you're with your family!
There are so many other things I was setting along with my family that I had never seen before. Some were so big that I couldn't even see the whole thing...like La Sagrada Familia. My master and her pups would go inside some of these places while the pack leader stay outside with me. I guess he wanted them to see the most stuff and wanted them to enjoy what they called a vacation...
And it was really great fun...but, honestly, I was quite glad to be home again...
But don't forget that I've told you alllllllll about our trip--practically every little thing we did, including how the pups washed dishes after we ate!
So, I'm so happy to have the opportunity to visit here at Book Reader's Heaven. I hope you liked my stories enough to want to know more, 'cause we'll be traveling again soon!
Oh, yes, I'm supposed to tell you that my book is BRH recommended for children and their families too!
Stella!
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My Master is C. R. Calcagni
I brought these pictures over from my Facebook site! Find Me There!
Also on Book Blogs |
An Allegory based on a true story...Beside a house on a large lake, blue-green waves gentle lapped against the shoreline. This was where Beth and her little brother Paul lives. They would play on the sandy beach for hours. When the sun came out, they would swim in the fresh water and splash each other. The warm days of summer were the children's favorite time of year. Paul would take a stick and dig in the wet sand to look for lake clams. Wearing a scuba mask and snorkel, Beth would lie still in the shallow water. If she didn't move, tiny fish called minnows would swim right up to her nose!
The only place the children did not go was near the swampy reeds. Here the weeping willow dipped its long, leafy branches into the lake. If Beth and Paul weren't careful, their feet would get stuck in the mud. But that was not the only reason the children avoided the reeds. Once, while walking along the beach with their dad, Paul found a dead fish on the shoreline. "Ewww!" cried Beth. "Daddy, look! That's the ugliest fish I've ever seen!" Paul poked it with a stick...
I wasn't surprised that this children's book is based upon a true story--one that any family who lives by water... and cares...would do. That is, to set out to save some trapped fish! The story is about a family, with a young boy and girl, together with their parents who live beside a large lake. And have the opportunity to enjoy living with nature day after day and learn about God's creatures! And, while you are reading their story, a special friend of theirs, I named after Waldo, who can be found on almost every single page of the book, so you can play "find Waldo" as you read! There he is on the corner of the front cover!
Irish Beth Maddock (nee Fell) was a columnist for two local newspapers, had stories published in Reader's Digest Canada, and broadcasted on 100 Huntley Street, CHBC Television and CBC Radio.
