Small But Mighty.

I need you to meet someone whom I know you'll love.  

I am overjoyed to welcome a very special guest to this blog: Ms. Brooke E. Webster. Brooke is the recent winner of the 2013 SoMIRAC Young Authors Contest in the category of Short Story, Grade 3. She will be recognized alongside other winners at this year's SoMIRAC (State of Maryland International Reading Association Council) Conference in April and will be honored at a special luncheon with award-winning children's author Gary D. Schmidt.

Many of us are celebrating World Read Aloud Day this Wednesday, March 6th and I can't think of a better story to share! Brooke's Small But Mighty speaks to the strength we have within ourselves to overcome other's perceptions and recognize our own great potential. 

I interviewed our guest of honor below with a little help from Kristie and Lucas, her parents, but want to make sure you had a chance to read her amazing story first. 

Enjoy.

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Small But Mighty

by Brooke E. Webster

            I am eight years old but some five year olds are taller than me.  Everyone thinks that since I am small, I cannot do what taller people can do.  People are always teasing me about my height.  “You’re so small, you look like you’re in Kindergarten” a boy in my class once said to me.  “You’re smaller than a midget” another kid in my class meanly said to me.  I hate it when people say things like that to me.  It makes me feel like an ant.  I feel like I want to cry sometimes and it makes me really angry.  However, one day everyone’s thoughts about me changed.  

I play softball.  It was the first game of the season.  “Go Kaitlyn!  Go, go, go Kaitlyn!  GO!” Morgan, Isa, Joelle and I cheered.  Luci was on deck.  Kaitlyn was up to bat.  “Strike 3!  You’re  out!” yelled the umpire.  Kaitlyn walked off of the field to the bleachers.  “Cheer up” I said, “you did great.”  “Go Luci!  Go, go, go Luci!  GO!” the rest of the girls screamed.  “Looks like I’m on deck.  Wish me luck” I said to Kaitlyn.  “Good luck” she said gloomily.  Luci hit a line drive right to Short Stop.  The crowd went wild screaming, “Yeah Luci!  That’s how it’s done!”  I was up.  When I stepped into the box, I could hear my teammates faintly yelling “Go Brooke!  Go, go, go Brooke!  GO!”  I could feel the pressure rising up in me.  “C`mon, Brooke!” said my coach.  I saw the ball coming at me and I swung and missed.  “Strike 1!” said the umpire.  “That’s alright!  That’s okay!  We’re gonna beat them anyway!” the girls screamed.  Then I noticed that all the girls on the other team in the infield started to move in, closer to home plate.  I felt so embarrassed because that hadn’t happened to anyone else on my team.  That meant that they thought I was weak and I wouldn’t hit the ball very hard.  Suddenly, I felt some anger inside of me that made me feel very strong.  The ball came at me again.  “I can do it, I can do it!” I said in my head.  I swung as hard as I possibly could and … OUT OF THE PARK!!  The crowd screamed! “That’s how we do it!  Yeah!  Alright!”  I ran to first and started to make my way to second.  “Run Brooke, run!” my teammates screamed.  I turned my head and looked at the scoreboard:  My team, 23; other team, 23.  If I got to home plate, I could score the winning point!  I started to run faster.  I wouldn’t stop saying to myself, “I can do it, I can do it!”  I made my way to third base.  “C`mon Brooke!” my parents yelled.  I touched third and was running home.  I got so tired.  “Catcher!  Catcher!” the other team screamed.  The Pitcher threw the ball straight to catcher.  The catcher caught it, but I slid and, you will not believe this, but … I made it!!  The crowd went super wild!  “Yeah Brooke!  Alright Brooke!”  I, Brooke E. Webster, the smallest girl on the team had scored the winning point.

I definitely showed them, although I did feel a little bad for the other team.  They looked pretty upset.  My team was going crazy for me.  “Woo hoo!” yelled my coach.  “Twenty-three to Twenty-four!  Alright!  Nice job!  Put your hands in everybody!”  My coach put his hand in the center of us.  The rest of us put our hands in.  “On three…one, two, three!  GO TEAM!!” we all screamed.

The next day at school, all of my teammates were talking about me and how I scored the winning run at the game.  Everyone who teased me was very shocked at my performance.  From that point on, no one teased me about my size ever again.  I was so relieved that I didn’t have to deal with that anymore.  I proved that just because I’m small doesn’t mean that I am weak and can’t do things that taller people can do.  My nickname at school was now Small But Mighty and I loved it.  I really was small, but mighty.

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So, Brooke, how does it to win a HUGE award for your writing?

Awesome and exciting. I was surprised because I wasn’t expecting it at all.

I can only imagine your initial reaction. What a great feeling. What is the first story you can remember writing? 

It was called, “A Puppy Tale”.  It was about a girl named Lily who got a surprise pet puppy that stirs up some trouble her parents don’t know about.

Hmmm. I wonder if that was based on any actual events. Maybe I should ask your parents :) Outside of writing, what's something you love to do?

I play softball and I swim.  Softball inspired me to write that story.  I love to play piano and sing and dance in my free time.  I love writing songs as well, and I have written many recently.

School Bulletin Board announcing Brooke's win.

A writer, an athlete, and a musician? You should combine talents to create Softball: the Musical. I bet it would be a MASSIVE Broadway hit! But for now, why don't you tell me some of your favorite authors.

I love Rachael Renee Russell who wrote the Dork Diaries series.  I like Andrew Clements, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s picture books and the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo.  I also love the Secret Zoo series by Bryan Chick.

Great choices! I can tell you learn from the best! I think I might know the answer to this already, but I can't help but ask... What is your dream job?

Well, obviously, I want to be a famous author and a good softball player and an entertainer.

"Small But Mighty" is a pretty awesome moniker! What other nicknames have you earned?

My family calls me Brookie or Brooklyn.

Nice! I was thinking maybe you could start going by "The Singing Slugger"and your T-shirt logo could be you hitting a home run with a giant microphone instead of a bat! 

What advice do you have for teachers about getting kids to write?

Well, usually, for me, I just sit down and let my thoughts start flowing. I think about personal things that have happened in my life, then I write down what I’m thinking. I usually keep a journal close by, school or home, so I won’t have to wait or forget my idea.

 

Sound advice for any teacher. Anything else you want to share with the world?

Just remember, to all my small friends out there, don’t ever give up, don’t stop believing, and you are always SMALL, BUT MIGHTY!!

I don't think there's too much more I can say to that! Brooke, it's a pleasure to be your Library Media teacher and to see your talent and passion for writing, among with many other gifts. Thank you for sharing your story with us and enjoy being honored at the SoMIRAC Conference in April. 

If you would like to leave a comment for Brooke, her parents, or her teacher, please feel free to do so in space below. I'll make sure your words make it back to our guest.

Consider sharing Brooke's story or one of your own this Wednesday in celebration of World Read Aloud Day.