(This is a story by my son Ethan, who is 8 years old.)
Chapter 1
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved to swing.
One day he swung so high that he slipped of and flew though the air! Then a peregrine falcon stuck him down flying the fastest he could! He fell and […]

(a poem by Gabrielle Koetsier, age 10)
Children sitting, solemn, silent.
Bell rings! Screaming, yelling, violent!
Running, rushing, up the stairs.
“Children, wait!” nobody cares.
School’s out! It’s summer! Time to play!
No more teachers! Run away!
We are going to the pool.
Perfect way to keep us cool.
Let’s go buy some lemonade!
We will drink it in the shade.
Our skin is brown, our […]

I just put Aidan to bed. His bedtime story was an impromptu one that Gabrielle and Ethan also sat in for … about Frank. It was the first time I’ve made up an entirely new story for the kids for a long time … perhaps since The Wonderful Colorful House.
After the story, and after our […]

Tonight Teresa and I said goodnight to our two-year old son for the last time.
I sang the goodnight prayer with Aidan, and then I told him a “Jerry Ant” story - made up on the spur of the moment.
He read me his favorite book du jour, Buenos Noches, Gorila. And we talked, for a while, […]

sparkplug9.com and Sparkplug 9 would like to congratulate Gabrielle Renee Koetsier, age 8, on winning the prestigious Scholastic Canada Lucky’s Magic Treehouse Be An Author Contest!
One of only 10 recipients in Canada, Gabrielle (who recently turned 9) received a Magic Tree House Bookshelf Collection—complete with 28 books from this favourite series and a treehouse bookshelf […]

Some nights, my two older kids - Gabrielle, 8, and Ethan, 4 - beg me to make up and tell them a story. I used to quite often spontaneously make up and tell a new story, but I haven’t done it for a long time. Tonight I did, and this is the tale that I […]

This is a children’s story that I’ve been working on for some time. It started as a story that I told to my daughter Gabrielle just before bedtime.
Seriously and soberly, I think it’s publication-worthy and am searching for a publisher … so if you know one or are one, let me know!
It’s written for kids […]