Susanna Leonard Hill is a picture book author who loves to invite other writers out to play. She also loves holidays. (Check out her darling Groundhog Day themed book, Punxatawney Phyllis!) To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Susanna is hosting a Valentiny writing contest (“Valen-tiny because the stories are not very long and are written for little people 🙂.”)
The Contest: write a Valentines story appropriate for children (ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words (get it? 2/14?) in which someone is confused!
I love opportunities like this, because sometimes it’s fun to let go of the ‘work’ of writing and remember what fun there is in the ‘play.’ Here’s my entry!
Operator? (213 words)
Psst. Jax is giving Pax some candy fish for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jax is giving Pax a sandy fish for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jack is giving Pax a squishy fish for Valentine’s Day? Pass it on.
Jack is giving Max a fishy squish for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jack and Max are going to fish and twitch on Balancing Day? Pass it on.
Jetpacks are going to switch and mix on Ballet Dance Day. Pass it on.
Jet and Pax are doing a special trick for Valley Trance Day. Pass it on.
 Jester Flax is giving a species talk for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jack is giving Max several purple socks for Valentine’s Day? Pass it on.
 Jax is giving Pax seven people’s snacks for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jax is giving Pax some peculiar facts for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jax is giving Pax some spectacular flips for Valentine’s Day. Pass it on.
Jax is giving Pax some cinder block fish for Valentine’s Day. Now, what did you hear?
I heard: Jax is giving Pax some squished black fish for Valentine’s Day. Huh…interesting choice. If I were Jax, I’d give Pax some candy fish. Those are his favorite!
Happy Valentine’s Day, whatever you get!
Nothing like a Valentiny version of Telephone, Nancy! What fun 🙂 And certainly a cause for much confusion! Nicely done! Thanks so much for joining in the Valentiny shenanigans!
Love the telephone game, Nancy…and you made it into a Valentine’s Day story with the perfect amount of confusion…well done!
Fun and unique!
Fun play off the game telephone.
Brings back great memories. This was so fun! Good luck!
I just love telephone, and I love the words you you chose for your story, very fun to read!
Oh that game always gave me anxiety! Love that there are “fish” in both of our stories! Happy Valentiny!
Enjoyable and funny, it kept me reading to see what it would turn into next. I wish you well with this story.
This reminded me of elementary school, which was many moons ago. Good luck!
Love it Nancy!! ❤️
What a great story! Telephone use to be a favorite of mine and it’s a clever way to send a valentine message.
Love it! We called it “Telephone” but what a great kid’s game!
Dewey is getting screwy from reading your Valentiny story! Love you, Nancy Jean!
Fun Valentiny take on telephone! Good luck! 🙂
Love it! I used to play this game growing up too 🙂
I enjoyed this! Super cute and funny! Great job and good luck!
This is great! You are very creative – I would not have thought of telephone! I didn’t get mine together in time so I will cheer for yours!
Thanks, Chrissy. How fun that you shared it. Special-ed teachers need and deserve sabbaticals!
Thanks, Katelyn. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks. Swedish fish are the best, aren’t they?
I just loved that game as a kid. Thanks for stopping by!
Sweet!!!!
I’ve sent it on to my daughter-in-law who is a grade school special ed teacher on sabbatical.
Hi Nancy, I love this! It just begs to be whispered aloud! Wonderful job and good luck to you :-).
I love those candy fish! I hope that’s what Pax ends up getting from Jax! Great story!
Love the wordplay with the game of telephone. I can tell you enjoyed writing this! Good luck in the competition!