New story: 'Go Find Your Thing'

Hi again from 320 Sycamore Studios

Hiya, it's Jeff.

I'm the creator of 320 Sycamore Studios.

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that! Anyway, I wanted to give you a heads-up that I’ll be posting here again once or twice a month.

Why?

Well, mostly because I still think that reading with kids can change the world for the better.

To support that lovely idea, I'm going to do two things:

• share great articles and tips and recommendations about kids books and reading.

• post original read-aloud stories each month.

To start, I've got a short little story called "Go Find Your Thing." You can read the text below, or listen to an audio version.

I hope you like it.

— Happy reading

Jeff

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“Go Find Your Thing”

Life whizzes busily morning and night,
bursting with razzle and dazzle and spark.
Everything's bangly and jangly and bright.
All through the daytime and deep into dark.

Lights blinking bright day and night fill the air.
Sounds pound the ground and then rebound around.
Once you look here then it's time to look there,
then here again, there ... ooh, what was THAT sound?

Everyone's clicking! Everyone's clacking!
Everyone's looking at whatever's new!
Yet there seems to be some-something lacking.
Something that's wild and different and YOU.

Maybe you hear it on mornings in May,
or when you read books, or wake up from dreams,
or play in the woods, or swim in the bay,
a voice calling out, "There's more than it seems."

Take heed of that voice. Go look for its source.
Drop anything that you might be doing.
Turn off the TV. Get off of that horse.
Spit out that broccoli. Don't finish chewing.

Go out to the yard. Go into the wood.
Trust the odd tickle you feel in your gut.
If you feel tingly you're doing it good.
FYI: Sometimes you'll fall on your butt.

Whatever happens, keep going, just go.
Go through the autumn and winter and spring.
Go when you're wearing bare feet in the snow.
Go and keep going till you find Your Thing.

Now ... when you find it, your Thing might surprise.
It could look different than you think it should.
But look with your heart, kid, not with your eyes.
That's when you'll know it, "Hey, this Thing is good."

Your Thing may wear horns. Or stink bad like skunks.
It may be lumpy or bumpy or shy.
Maybe it likes to chant chants like those monks.
Maybe Your Thing just does one thing: Ask "Why?"

It could be massive! It could be nervous.
Your Thing may be gentle ... shhh ... like a fawn.
It could salute and shout, "At your service!"
Maybe it's outside right now on the lawn.

People may giggle 'cause your Thing has phlegm.
People may laugh 'cause it's shaped like Vermont.
Who cares what they think? Your Thing's not for them.
Hey, you've got Your Thing! What more could you want?

Oh, I should warn you: Life's not always sweet.
Your Thing won't make you famous or clever.
But it's the one thing that makes life complete.
Once you have it, you have it forever.

So let people have their hullabaloo.
Let all the chasers go chase shiny stuff.
You listened, you searched, you found something true.
You found Your Thing. And that's more than enough.

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Audio version of “Go Find Your Thing”