This book is dedicated to

Victoria, my aunt’s cat.

By the very edge of a coral reef, Sea Star sticks. He is finishing his meal. The golden sun rises, spreading warmth over the ocean. Unseen wind whooshes by. Under the waves fish paddle away, curly seaweed twirls, coral sways, and Sea Star waits for another day to begin.                        

 

Sea Star is warming. The sun is right above it. Swarms of fish glide by. Seaweed sways in the currents. Pink coral decorates the rocks. Sea Star edges off slowly, hoping to attract a fish or two. But all the fish jet away. Soon Sea Star knows why. A large dark figure catches its eyespots. Even worse - it’s heading right for Sea Star!

Before Sea Star knows what is happening, he gets squished up against dozens of fish! His eyespots sense holes, but the holes are too tiny! Sea Star is trapped in a net! The fish squirm and squish, and Sea Star is very uncomfortable. He tries to move, but he only moves one arm at a time. Too soon, Sea Star gives up. Sea Star is very hungry and tired and tries to rest as best he can.

It is twilight by the time the fishing boat reaches the reef. The fisherman has fallen asleep. Sea Star spears the net with his spines. Luckily, the net breaks open. Fish burst out, starving for a big meal. Sea Star sinks to the coral bottom decorated with pinks and purples. In the deep light of the twilight everything looks pastel. As Sea Star falls, he prepares for a long rest… after the greatest adventure of his life.

About the Author

Cecilia Conway is a student in Mrs. Mattson’s third grade. She enjoys bike riding and reading. Her favorite part of school is science. During the collage book process, Cecilia enjoyed making the illustrations and the writing. She hopes she can do another book over the summer.

This is one of the many books that came to life while students in Mrs.

Mattson’s 3rd grade class explored the rich relationship between visual

imagery and the written word. This book was created as a part of Image-

Making Within the Writing Process, a dynamic art-and-literature-based

approach to writing developed by Beth Olshansky at the University of New

Hampshire. Image-Making uses hand-painted textured papers as the raw

materials for creating collage stories and poetry. Unlike a more traditional

writing process, within Image-Making the pictures always come first. This

offers students with diverse learning styles essential visual and kinesthetic

tools for rehearsing, drafting, and revising their ideas long before setting

pencil to paper. Image-Making was validated by the US Department of

Education as an “innovative and effective literacy program” in 1993. Today

children around the world use this process to create books in many

languages.

Spring, 2010