Author: Aaron Gott There are a lot of lessons you can learn from Wonka. It’s a story about how ingenuity, determination, selflessness, and teamwork can overcome the oppressive adversity of a system that serves entrenched interests. But it’s also a story about a chocolate cartel. And that offers its own…
Author: Molly Donovan For adults, it’s the worst idea imaginable for a holiday, but for second graders, Valentine’s Day is great—decorating mailboxes, making paper cards and distributing treats to all your friends. This year the second graders had an idea for making Valentine’s Day even better: a contest to see…
Author: Molly Donovan At Argo Elementary, a group of kids gathers daily at lunch to buy and sell candy. The trading activity is a longtime tradition at Argo and it’s taken very seriously—more like a competitive sport than a pastime. Candy trading doesn’t end once a 5th grader graduates from…
Author: Molly Donovan You may remember Gordon—in many ways, he was dominant in the 5th grade, and though his behavior was questionable at times, he was very popular. I’m writing this story because Gordon is starting a new school year and has ascended to MIDDLE SCHOOL. Very cool, but very…
Authors: Molly Donovan & Luke Hasskamp You may recall Liv, age 8—the new kid. Last we heard, Liv was getting pushed around by Paul, Greg and Adam (“PGA” for short) because she dared to build a mini-golf course in an attempt to challenge PGA’s longstanding position as the best and…
Author: Molly Donovan Olive (named for the fruit) is in eighth grade. She’s a very good inventor. For the science fair, Olive developed a simple device that allows students, each morning, to pre-select lunch items, ensuring each student’s preference is available in the lunch line later that day. It’s a…
Author: Molly Donovan Gordon was recognized as dominant in the 5th grade class. He had the greatest share of friends and ran the fastest. He was the smartest and won the most academic awards at the end of each school year. He was always chosen as the lead in every…
Author: Molly Donovan You might recall that Max and Margie are next-door neighbors on Lemon Lane. In a strange turn of events, after Max was found liable for an illegal hub-and-spoke conspiracy against Margie, she let bygones be bygones and hired Max to procure materials for her lemonade stand and…
Author: Molly Donovan Every Pricer in Priceville liked Christmas a lot. But the Government, eastward in DC, did NOT! The Government hated the whole of the season! Please don’t ask us why. No one quite knows the reason. Whatever the reason, they could have been nicer,…
Author: Molly Donovan Nathan is nine. His grandmother makes excellent meatballs using an age-old family recipe. Together, Nathan and grandma decide to can the meatballs and sell them to their neighbors on the north side of town—just in time for the holidays as a turkey side dish. Things went great…