Jacky Joe's Halloween Party: The Beginning

[Headnote: If you have done much rummaging in "Googie's Attic," you know I like to experiment with different writing formats.  That's why, in the course of a little over a year and a half now, you have seen poetic, dramatic, epistolary, and question-and-answer sides along with the regular diet of essay or what I prefer to call "creative nonfiction."  Until now, I have never tried my hand at fiction, at least, with the idea that anyone else would read it.  However, when a local writing contest included a category in children's short story, I wrote one and entered it just for fun.  This past weekend, I read the story to Sooby and Pooh, and Sooby decided she liked the idea of being an "illustrator."  It was a joy to see how, at age five, she visualized  characters and  brought scenes to life with nothing more than a pencil, crayons, and scrap paper.  I thought it might be fun to record the story along with her drawings here in the blog. This post features the story's beginning and the first couple pictures.  Sooby and I hope you enjoy it and will continue to follow it through the next two blog posts.]

Jacky Joe's Halloween Party

 

When Jacky Joe's mama tucked him into bed on the night before Halloween, he felt a little bit scared.  "Mama?" he asked.  "What if a ghost flies by my window and hollers "BOO!" and tries to haunt my room?"

 

"You won't be scared," Mama said, smoothing the wrinkles out of Jacky Joe's top blanket.  "Just invite him to your party."

Jacky Joe thought about the Halloween party he was planning for the next day.  He was looking forward to wearing his dinosaur costume.  He was looking forward to bobbing for apples and eating chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting.



But did he really want a ghost at his party?  Jacky Joe wasn't sure--so he thought some more.

"Mama?" he asked.  "What if a witch rides by on her broomstick and cackles and covers the moon with her scary black shadow?"

"You won't be scared," Mama said, bending down to give Jacky Joe a good-night kiss on the forehead.  "Just invite her to your party."

Jacky Joe wondered what it would be like to have a witch at his party.  She might dip her broom right into the sparkling orange punch.  Worse yet, she might let her black cat eat all the chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting.

 

Did he really want a witch at his party?  Jacky Joe didn't think so--but he thought some more.

"Mama?" he asked.  "What if a spider tiptoes across my pillow in the dark, and his eight tickly legs crawl right through my hair?"  The thought that this might happen scared Jacky Joe the most.  But his mama remained calm.

"You won't be scared," she said, turning to leave Jacky Joe's room.  "Just invite him to your party."

Jacky Joe definitely did not want a spider at his party.  That would be just too creepy, and it might scare all his friends away.  Why, that spider might even bite him right through his dinosaur costume!  Just as he was beginning to think some more, Jacky Joe fell into a troubled sleep.

To Be Continued . . .