Adam's first chapter book

As you know from a previous post, we've decided to homeschool Adam. It took a few weeks to get in a routine, but are now feeling settled. I am having a total blast. Yesterday we got a little off track from our schedule because we were very engrossed in writing a chapter book for Adam. Adam dictated everything. He really loves mysteries ever since Rob read the Egypt Game to him. He's also been very interested in writing his own stories.The other day, he was asking his dad how one makes a book. Rob explained the process of writing and sending to a publisher to get printed and so forth. So it was very important for Adam to have it in chapter book format. He still has to do the illustrations so we can send it to the "printers". But here is what he has so far:

Adam’s Jack-in-the-box
Written by Adam Brandt
Illustrated by Adam Brandt

Chapter 1
The missing Jack-in-the-box
When I was 23 years old I had a birthday. I got a present. When I opened it there wasn’t anything in it. I was sure that this would be a mystery. And then I went into my room and looked everywhere around my room. I couldn’t find the Jack-in-the-box anywhere. And then I went in my brother’s room and I looked around my brother’s room. Thirty days later my Mom died. Then I went with my Grandpa and Grandma to their house.

Chapter 2
The Terrible Cries
When I got to Grandma’s house, I looked around the room that I was going to sleep in. And I looked at the strange pictures and one of them was like an old man crying and smiling at the same time.

Chapter 3
The Secret Room
When I came out of the room I was going to sleep in, I found that one of the flashlights was knocked down from the shelf. And then, the door closed behind me and when I looked around, no one was standing there!

Chapter 4
The Ghostly Picture
When I passed the flashlights it was knocked down from the shelf. I found another flashlight. It was knocked down from the door. And then I looked at the door and I expected more flashlights to be on there but there were none but an old old flashlight. I heard a story that a ghost that lived in an old man’s house. And when I went to the room that I was going to sleep in, I slept for a long time. And when I woke up, there wasn’t any strange pictures there anymore. It was like somebody had cut them off. And then I saw that it was like that because it was on the floor. And I saw somebody standing by my bed. But when I looked back there wasn’t anybody there. Then I saw Grandma it seemed like it was floating. And when I thought that, there was a cry heard. But I didn’t know, and it seemed like Grandpa was crying. But it was nearer in Grandpa’s office and it was more far away in the house from my room. And then I walked out of my room. Then I saw my ghostly shadow turn over my door when somebody closed behind me. It seemed like somebody was trying to play a trick on me but it was a ghost. And I saw Grandpa but his face was scowling like he was really mad that I was here.

Chapter 5
The Ghostly Shadows
When I walked out of Grandpa’s office, I saw another strange door and heard a slam when I turned to walk to the other door. But when I saw it, it wasn’t closed. It was like it was slamming to eat someone. Then I ran away but I heard another slam from the same door. This time it was closed but again when I turned it was slammed. This time it was open and it shut, but a little shut and a little open. It was strange that this house was kind of haunted when I read another story of ghosts that I felt more familiar that this was haunted a long time ago. Then I woke up from my bed. Then Grandpa called me to go to his work. And when I got to his work, it seemed like there was nothing but the church thing. But, there was churches surrounding us. The only airplanes we could see is the airplane that Grandpa built. It wasn’t a real one it was a fake. But it was used for flying but it wasn’t used for people to fly it.

Chapter 6
The Mystery of Grandpa’s work

Grandpa told me that I could look around Grandpa’s huge office because he would find some clues where his Jack-in-box was but he had a Jack-in-the box but it wasn’t his. He said that somebody sent a package to him. When he opened the door there was noone there. It was a person that Grandpa thought was a boy who sent the package. But Grandma sent the package.

Chapter 7
A Fake and Real Tornado
When I was working on building a fake tornado, but suddenly there was a complete smash like there was a real tornado. But when I looked out the window there was no tornado. Then I went and searched around grandma and Grandpa’s house. And I came to the door of my room and I turned it and it was locked. And then I went to Grandpa’s office and the door was locked. And I tried all the doors upstairs and downstairs and they were all locked.

Chapter 8
The Beginning of One Mystery
When I had my second birthday, I had to do another mystery. But then I was the mystery that I was just going on. And I figured out that the picture was really floating. But it wasn’t real and it had nothing on it. Just a blank picture. Then I figured out that who was making the mystery happen was Grandpa and Grandma. They were the ones who locked the doors. They were the ones who made the fake airplane. And they were the ones who builded all of the churches to surround us as Grandpa’s work. But the only thing that I was not sure that my mystery wasn’t done, was where was my Jack-in-the-box? And I figured that my Jack-in-the-box was in Grandpa’s office. Grandpa was the one who kept the secret of him really selling the package. He wanted to get away from every thing that children have so that he could give children who didn’t have enough toys a lot of toys. Grandma was the one who locked my door. She was keeping a secret that she cut all my pictures. Because she wanted all the pictures to be in the neighbor’s house. And put the neighbor’s pictures in our house. But when I woke up, the pictures were hot wheels pictures in my room and there were airplanes in Grandpa’s room and houses in Grandma’s room.

THE END