Second Grader Youngest Ledyard Student To Be Published In Magazine

Anna Graul, a second grader, is one of Ledyard Center School’s young published writers after her story, Turtle Shell, was selected by the Connecticut Writers Project to be published in the its 2012 magazine.

Graul’s submission to the magazine reveals how turtles came to have a shell and what their lives were like before they had shells. Graul said, her teacher gave her class two writing prompts to use in the story but other than that, she wrote the rest of the story.

Graul said she spent a whole weekend writing the story, which was easy, but her hand hurt from writing by the end of the story.

The seven-year-old said Turtle Shell is the second longest story she has written so far.

Graul was one of three students in the school's Writers' Club who were recognized by the publication as excellent student writers. Fifth grader profile was published last week and a profile on Chloe DeMaio, a fourth grader, is coming soon.

Turtle Shell by Anna Graul

Many moons ago the turtle did not look like the way he does now.  The turtle did not carry his home on his back.  He did not have a shell.  

The turtle was a sad creature because he was always lonely.  He was lonely because he had no way of protecting himself from weather or other animals. The turtle was as slow as the slowest river and as quiet as two tip toeing feet. 

The turtle was the color green like the green in lima beans.  His skin was soft and was wrinkly as a silver rock.  The turtle wondered for shelter day and night. 

He had found a humongous rock shaped like a fat pencil without a tip to protect him but it was not good shelter.  The depressed and lonely turtle felt worried that he would not find a shelter ever. 

On a hot summer day, the lonely turtle found a man painting the jungle so the turtle went under his stool.  The sun was not hitting his wrinkly green skin anymore.  He felt happier now that he had found the right shelter. 

Suddenly, the man saw the turtle.  The man was allergic to turtles! When the turtle saw the man, he slowly tried to run away.

But the turtle was so slow that he could not get away before the man started to sneeze!  The man sneezed on the turtle and boogers came flying out of his nose.  The boogers landed on the turtle’s back. 

The turtle kept on walking until he was far away from the sneezing man.  He had walked for a long time.  He felt so tired that he needed to rest.  He quickly fell asleep. 

The next day when he woke up he noticed that the boogers had hardened.  He now had a shell!  He was so proud of his new home that he invited some animals from the jungle to a party. 

The monkey, the lion, the jaguar, and a cheetah all came and congratulated him.  He now had found new friends and he was not lonely anymore. 

So if you see a turtle with a little bit of boogers just remember that is how the turtle got his shell.