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50 Precious Words – 2026

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Middle School can be such a tough time for kids! While it seems everyone is trying so hard to grow up fast, some girls just want to be a kid a little longer. This story is dedicated to them. It’s part of Vivian Kirfield’s 50 Precious Words contest. If you’d like to submit a story, the link is below.

SIXTH GRADE

Oversized shirt. 

Head down. 

Tangerine locker.

“Lip gloss?” asks Lily.

“I don’t wear makeup.”

Cayden blocks me. “Are we dating?”

“NO!”

“Kay-la, Kay-la,” his friends chant.

My face burns.

In class, I doodle like a kindergartener.

Bunnies. Puppies.

At lunch I share.

Friends empathize.

We create bunny comics.

We play.

THE #50PRECIOUSWORDS 2026 INTERNATIONAL WRITING CONTEST IS OPEN!!!

#50PreciousWords 2025

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I was inspired to write this small story for Vivian Kirkfield’s #50PreciousWords contest and went for it! If you are interested in entering, the deadline is EOD on March 3rd, 2025. Best of luck!

CAR RIDE
by Karen LaSalvia

I’m in the middle.

They said, “Because you’re small.”

My arms are pinched down.

Big kids talk boring stuff 

over 

my head.

It’s not fair.

And if the baby’s diaper smells?

I’m the one without a window!

It stinks being small.

I will show them.

I’ll outgrow them all!

The Ugly Doodles – Perfect Picture Book Friday

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Copyright 2020 Valeria Wicker, JIMMY Patterson Books

Title: THE UGLY DOODLES
Written By: Valeria Wicker (Author & Illustrator)
Publisher: JIMMY Patterson Books, July 2020, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-6
Themes/Topics: Making art, Fixing mistakes, Perfectionism

Opening: One trip to the museum was all it took for Raven to fall head over heels in love with art.

She wanted to turn her bedroom into a gallery of her own masterpieces…. If only she could make one. Just one masterpiece.

Copyright 2020 Valeria Wicker, JIMMY Patterson Books

Brief Synopsis: Raven wants to create art masterpieces like the ones she sees in the museum, but everything she makes turns out as an ugly doodle. When she tries to hide the doodles away, they come back to haunt her until she figures out what they need.

Why I Like This Book: I love this message that creating art is not something that happens on your first try, but after revisions. It’s reassuring for kids who often think they simply “lack talent” if it doesn’t come out right the first time. My kids loved the little bit of spookiness when the drawings keep moving to new locations on their own. Where were they were going to pop up next and could Raven get rid of them? The illustrations in the book are fabulous! I love how Raven is drawn and the color choices and feel of the book. The doodles and the masterpieces look like something a child could do. All in all, THE UGLY DOODLES is inspiring to young artists, as I witnessed with my 7-year-old daughter. She immediately wanted to color and create masterpieces to hang on the wall after reading the book!

How cute is this?! Copyright 2020 Valeria Wicker, JIMMY Patterson Books

Links To Resources: Hanging your kids’ artwork ideas from Pinterest. This can be really simple and inexpensive. Here’s how we do it in my house (below). We use string, secured with pushpins to the wall and tiny clothespins to hang the art.

Where to buy THE UGLY DOODLES:
IndieBound
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles
Larger List of Retailers

I hope you enjoy THE UGLY DOODLES as much as my family and I did! For more Perfect Picture Book Friday books, check out Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog on Perfect Picture Books.

2020 Fall Writing Frenzy!

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I’m participating in the #FallWritingFrenzy contest!! Whoo hoo!

How it works…
Write a KidLit story under 200 words that is inspired by one of the provided images. It’s for any age of KidLit AND the contest is still open (Update: closed now) if you are interested! Find out more here.

Also a quick thank you to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for hosting the contest!

And now, onto my entry!
I chose this image because it tickled my funny bone. (Please keep reading despite that joke.)

Image 9, courtesy of Unsplash

136 words
Twitter: @kelasalvia

Dem Bones

“Hey, Sam! The leg bone’s connected to the…”
“I’m not singing that song again, Bart.”
“Aw come on, pleaasssee?”
“Fine! The leg bone’s connected to the… thigh bone.”
“YES! And the thigh bone’s connected to the… back bone. The back bone’s—”
“You really love that song, don’t you, Bart?”
“Well, it’s all about skeletons and—”
“And we’re skeletons. Yeah I get it, Bart.”
“Lotta kids this year, Sam. But where are all the skeleton costumes?”
“Times are changing. They’re dressing like square people with swords now.”
“Well, at least we still have our song. The neck bone’s connected to the—”

“What the! A talking skeleton!”

WHOMP!

“SAM! HELP ME, SAM! That kid took out my leg with his sword!”
“Yeah, Bart. Looks like the leg bone’s not connected to the… thigh bone.”
“That’s heartless, Sam. Heartless.”

My First Poetry Friday!

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Hello all! This is my first time participating in Poetry Friday. Yay! I recently heard about it from one of my wonderful critique partners, and I’m excited to read new poems and share my own as well! (More about Poetry Friday here.)

This Friday, there is also a giveaway for the lovely picture book, NIGHT WISHES!! It is open until September 30th. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to read it! There are also many other poems to read if you follow the giveaway link.

And now for my first shared poem! *drum roll* I hope it will uplift you! 🙂

SHINE

I am tiny, gritty, worn-
one piece of sand on a vast beach.
My presence is lost to all,
but those nearest.

And no matter how loud I shout,
the waves drown my voice.
The salt parches my throat.
The water pushes me down.

But I am no piece of dirt.
I am a remnant
of a great crystal
hardened in the magma of the Earth.

And small though I be,
washed and beaten,
stepped on and wind-tossed,
my facets shine.

And though you are worn,
and tiny,
drowned out,
and held down,
the angling sun unites us
And we sparkle,
together.

Halloweensie 2018 Entry!

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It’s here! One of my favorite new Halloween traditions: Susanna Leonard Hills’s Halloweensie Contest!

There’s still time to enter! The contest closes at 11:59pm on Halloween. Details here. Good luck to all — especially my wonderful critique partners!

And now, my entry …. coming in at 97 words (and after about 97 candy corns):

The Misunderstood Ghost
By Karen LaSalvia

As a ghost, trick-or-treaters often misunderstand me.
When I smile …
“Help! It wants to swallow me!”
When I hug …
“Ahhh! It’s sliming me!”
And when I say, “Hi, I’m Hauntington,” they hear, “Howwlll Haunnnntttt!”
I give them the heebie-sheebie shivers.
But then …
“Meow. Hi, Hauntington.”
“You understand me?!”
“I speak three languages, including Ghost.”
“Vanishing vapors! But why are you hiding in a cauldron?”
“Kids say I’m a bad-luck black cat. Oh no, I’m seen!”
“Stand back. I got this!”
I smile, hug, and speak to each trick-or-treater.
“You scared them with kindness!”
She totally understands me.