Personification is when authors give non-human things human traits. This is a really fun tool to use in writing! My students got to think about what it would feel like to become an object for a day. What would it feel like to be a pencil and get sharpened? What would it feel like to be an apple tree with apple "children?" What would it feel like to be a paper and a marker, working together? How about when peanut butter, jelly, and bread come together to make a sandwich? Read these stories to find out!
Apple Tree and Apple
Appelina’s Journey
by Olivia (6th grade)
It was a horrible cold afternoon in July and my mom grounded me because I threatened to jump off of her branches. I am her favorite child out of all my hundreds of siblings because I am the most shiny and beautiful of all of them. It doesn't feel like I am the most loved apple in my family because why would my mom ground me if I am her favorite child? I am really angry and annoyed that my mother keeps me so close when she could have just picked a different apple to be her favorite instead of me.
While I was supposed to be thinking about how bad I was, I saw a man coming with a bucket. He had a mustache as big three of my siblings combined. I remember how sad Mom was when he came last year because he picked off so many of my siblings including my twin brother. Without him, I have nothing to do but be mischievous.
The man is walking over with his bucket at his side. I can smell the sweat from the man all the way up here. He must have been working really hard today. He starts to climb up the ladder beside my mom, and then I realize that my siblings and I are in danger. My mom is being cruel to not let me jump off and run away, though I do not have any legs and therefore couldn’t get too far.
The man is starting to pick bunches and bunches of my sisters and brothers. I feel sorry for them, and angry that a man with such a big mustache would be so cruel. My mom covers me with leaves to protect me, but the man sees me and says, “My, that's a very shiny apple, I shall eat it right now.” I know that he must mean me because I feel drips of tears spilling on me from my mother. Her tears are as cold as ice.
The man is twisting me off, and as much as it hurts, I know my life is ending soon and there's nothing I can do about it. The man is bringing me closer and closer to his mouth, and I fear I will never see my mother again. He bites me with his stinky breath, and I feel grossed out. There is juice spilling out of me. He takes another bite, and another, and another, until I am almost out of juice and I am losing breath. I feel light headed, and I know I am dying. The beautiful blue sky and green leaves are getting all blurry and black. I am almost gone and I can feel tears coming out of my eyes.
I die.
Tree’s perspective
by Juliet (6th grade)
It was a cold afternoon. I looked around at all my kids. But as I looked around I saw my favorite kid, attempting to jump down from me. I quickly moved my branch and scolded her. “Appleina! What on earth are you doing?” I squealed madly. Appleina shrugged and went back to her corner.
I kept looking around to make sure my apples were all there. Suddenly, I saw the worst sight. I blinked a couple of times to make sure it was real. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I remembered the wise words that a human told me: ‘It’s apple season in July!” I recalled a few days ago that I saw fireworks..... Which means it’s apple season!
There was a man with a large red bucket walking right toward us! I tried to use my leaves to cover my beautiful kids. The man stopped a few feet from my trunk.
“Wow! These apples look amazing!” the man said with a smile. He started to pick my kids! He yanked and pulled on my arms and apples. My muscles were getting weaker. He twisted and pulled hard. This was absolute torture!
“Ahh Mama, help!! Owwwwwww!” Appleina screamed. I tried everything I could do. But I just realized that it was useless. After all, there was nothing I could do to stop this evil man. I AM only a tree, and can’t really move. I felt faint and nervous.
With his HUGE mouth he took the biggest bite of an apple. Thank goodness it wasn’t Appleina!! But still, even though I have hundreds of kids, I felt sad. “Noo don’t eat my child!” I screamed nervously.
I felt dizzy and dreadful watching the man eat my kid! As I watched the man pick more of my apples, I was so worried about my poor child, Appleina. She was the shiniest apple, and in no time, he would be sure to discover her.
“Hey! Look at this shiny apple!” he happily said as he picked Appelina off of my brown, exhausted branches. The man quickly picked her out of my arms, and took a big bite. Applina shrieked as he took another bite.
“Mama please I need help!!!” she squeaked. I looked at her sadly, knowing this was going to be the end of her short, shiny life.
The man walked away with hundreds of my kids. He walked into his house, skipping with a huge smile on his face. I couldn’t believe my eyes; Appleina was gone. I felt angry and depressed...I wanted revenge!!
Paper And Marker:
A Marker’s Journey
By Nirav (5th grade)
As I sit in the storage, bouncing in this house as the human carries us into the room, I wonder which of my brethren will be used today. When the human opens the storage door, one of my siblings exclaims, “Yay! We are finally going to be used!” I hum with excitement as the hand reaches into our storage.
Then, I feel an itching sensation. “Quit shoving me!
” I complain to my siblings, but the itching doesn’t stop. It takes a few seconds to realise that I am being held in the hand of a human with skin as dry as death valley! As I look into the storage window, I notice several other markers. I begin to think, why me, of all markers? Why do I have to be chosen for a project?
When we return to the wood meadow outside my storage, the human sets down a white, flat thing and removes my head. I worry because she exposed my fragile ink vessels! She tilts me towards the white thing and starts giving me orders for what to draw. I start to disobey orders, but the human holds me tight and forces me back to the picture. She directs me to move in certain directions, although I can’t hear or see a thing because she has the nerve to remove my head. I keep thinking, why does she have to order me to draw specific stuff? The white smooth surface tickles me as I continue following orders.
Suddenly, there is a jolt. Without my head, I can’t see or hear what is happening, but all of a sudden I am sliding across the white thing and over the wood. I fall off my platform and onto a sea of soft stuff. Despite the softness, it feels like what one of my brethren had described when he was broken in half. At least another human is kind enough to reattach my head, but only partially.
As I sprawl on the sea, I watch the human walk over and toss the paper into a storage basket. “Why did you do this to us?!” I scream at the top of my lungs, but the human ignores me. I think, she will likely leave me until my vessels run dry, so I say, “I regret that I was chosen in the first place.” However, a bell rings and I get caught in a stampede and am nearly trampled!
As I sit here, I think to myself, being a marker is only fun with an expert guiding you!
Paper & Marker
The Paper’s perspective
By Seoyoon (3rd grade)
Hi! I’m a piece of paper that belongs to a bright art classroom full of art projects hanging on the wall. I sit at the shelf on top of the back counter, and I have never been used. Despite the slight setback of never being chosen, I’m on the top of the shelf. This means I’ll be used today! I am a little worried that I’ll become dirty, but I have to try!
The door opens, and I see the 4th grade beginner artists walking to their desks. I swallow my giggle, and I keep watching.
“Good morning, class! Today, you're going to draw a picture that will be in the art show next Thursday. When I say go, you will grab a piece of paper from the back counter and start creating your masterpiece! Ready? Go!” The art teacher announces.
I gulp when I saw the artists rushing towards me. I close my eyes, and I feel a light lift and a flight to somewhere. I also feel something spiky but smooth... probably a person’s hand.
When I open my eyes, I see an artist that has a name tag that says ‘Gail’ attached on her shirt. I watch her get out a black marker, and remove the cap. The marker comes closer and closer to me.
Ouch! I feel a sharp touch as the tip of the marker brushes across my paper flesh. Then it starts to tickle me.
The tickling does not stop, and I also feel myself getting wetter. Probably because of the ink in the marker. If I were to see myself in the mirror, the wet places would create a drawing of a waterfall. Only the background of the waterfall, people looking at the waterfall, and the color is missing in the story.
Then, finally, I feel the movement of the marker stop. Then I hear a “Thump!” noise. The marker has fallen to the floor. I can’t see it, but it sounds like that might have been a big fall!
”Ugh! Gilly, why did you push me?” I hear Gail angrily say.
“It was an accident. Sorry, Gail. Nice picture though, haha!” Gilly laughs at the mistake Gail made, and goes back to her seat.
There is a big hump in the background like a hill! It is supposed to be all grass! Also, a big, thick line is crossing in the middle of the waterfall. How upsetting!
“I don’t like this drawing. I’m gonna throw it away!” I feel Gail’s hands touch me and lift me up. Then she crumbles me into a ball. I feel so angry when she crumbles me! It hurts and it feels tight! Then Gail throws me into the dark, deep trash can. I am so mad that I get dirty, but worse, my pride is hurt. I was once such a beautiful white sheet of paper! Why was I not perfect enough for her?
The worst thing on top of it all: I’m thrown into the trash can, not even the recycle bin. This was a very big mistake, Gail! I don’t want to hurt the environment!
Now I realize that life as a paper is the worst thing in the whole universe. There is only one chance to live. The only thing left in my life is getting piled up with dirty things near the ocean. What a tragic end!
Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Bread
Peanut Butter
by Vanessa (5th grade)
We began at a supermarket, checkout aisle three. As my peanut butter label got scanned, by a red-ish laser, I was thrown into an empty plastic bag. Plop! It was a rough landing.
I looked up as a peachy jar dropped right next to me! It had some kinds of seeds in it with peachy clumps! Right after that jar dropped, another thing dropped right next to that peachy-clump jar! It looked rectangular, soft, tan, fluffy, and thick.
After a rough journey with some bumps and clucks, I got thrown into a dark room full of random things as the door slammed! I felt very crowded and was feeling an object touching me in the butt! I hated this room. It was very scary and dark! I had no personal space either!
Me, Flower Jam, and White bread got placed on a counter right in front of a window. I got opened up and a sharp object scooped a part of me up and smeared me on the white bread! It kind-of tickled me a little. Then I saw Flower Jam get opened up and smeared on the other piece of White Bread! I bet it tickled her too.
The next thing I knew is that we were getting smooshed together! “Personal space, where you at!” I mumbled. I was so uncomfortable.
I hear a voice mumble, “ I’m sorry, but I have no way of getting out of your personal space!”
Another voice mumbled, “Why, isn’t this wonderful, we are together now like a family!”
I replied angrily, “What do you mean like a family? This is horrible!”
Then, we got picked up and got placed somewhere. Then the annoying voice replied, “Look at that! We are getting placed in a lunch box! Hi there red thing!”
The other voice said, “Well, maybe being in a family is not that bad. No?”
I think this family thing is the worst. I’m in for troubled days ahead!
Jelly
by Fiona (5th grade)
On top of the rollercoaster of aisle three, I bumped into something. Before I lost consciousness, I read “Creamy Peanut Butter.” As I regained my senses, a soft and squishy item bumped into me. When I turned around, I saw a humongous giant shadow over me. Without making a sound, I turned back around trying to forget about the giant behind me. I wonder what it is? I felt the roller coaster stop and an oily hand slid me onto a clear platform. I felt really self-conscious as red light enveloped me. As I was put in a tiny, cramped, and noisy bag, I suddenly was dropped, and I fell onto the “Creamy Peanut Butter” and lost consciousness, again.
After I had awakened from my deep sleep, I was put into a dark room with a lot of layers of holes. I heard the human call it a “pantry room.” I had no idea what that was, only that it was very scary and dark. I bet that there are ghosts of the past jams here, a jam graveyard. I got put on a shelf and once again bumped into others and lost consciousness. When I once again woke up, I saw the door open. Light started streaming in and I saw the words “Creamy Peanut Butter” on the jar next to me; it seemed like fate wanted us to be together. As fast as it opened, the door closed again. I fell asleep due to exhaustion, and because why not. I awaited my fate.
As I woke up, I was picked up and put next to the window. The light blinded my eyes and I fell asleep. I started to wonder if I have narcolepsy? Right after I woke up, I was opened and I saw the glint of light on the butter knife. It was surprisingly soothing as the knife cut through me and scooped part of me out. I felt myself being smeared on a very soft and squishy thing. It felt very familiar somehow, like it had happened before. I was mushed against something else and everything turned black.
A muffled voice called out, “Personal space, where you at!”
“I’m sorry, but I have no way of getting out of your personal space,” I replied.
Another voice sounded, “Why! isn’t this wonderful, we are together now, like family!”
The muffled voice replied angrily, “What do you mean like a family? This is horrible!”
We got lifted and put somewhere. The other voice said, “Look at that! We are getting put in a lunchbox! Hi there, red thing!”
I looked at the muffled voice and said, “Well, maybe being in a family is not that bad, no?” I smiled as I thought about the days ahead with this unique family.
Bread, by Ella (5th grade)
As I was gliding along the magic carpet, a hand suddenly picked me up and pointed a glaring red light towards my behind. “Hey! That’s private property!” I spat as the light scanned me. Afterwards, I was thrown into a plastic bag with two other objects. One was a frightened purple jam jar with colorful splotches. The other was hazelnut colored with scribbles on his belly.
Oh no! Uncle Wheat said that if I ever see these two objects I’m toast! He told me that I will become a part of something called a “Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.” It sounded awfully terrible. But that was before I knew Dave was actually Killer bread. So, maybe times have changed, maybe I am not toast after all. I finally decided to try to make friends with the objects. Brother Dough said, “If you ever end up with them, you must know that the brown one is Peanut Butter and the other is Jelly. But, you can call them PB and J.” But, as soon as I was about to greet them, I was pulled away from the bag and jammed into a dark room.
Once I finally calmed down, I looked around and saw dark shadowy objects surrounding me. This must be my consequence that Auntie Brioche told me after I made fun of Glutino, the gluten-free bread. But, once I looked around more, they were actually nice-looking. On the left of me there was a tall clear container filled with greasy, crisp, delicate slices. On my right side was a hard, grey wall.
After a while I got bored so I started talking to the container. His name is Tainer. I asked him what was in him and he said, “chips.” I didn’t know what they were, but he said they tasted good. He seemed quite nice. Every now and then the front of the room opened and a “human” came and picked something from the room. Tainer told me that the “human” sometimes took him out and put him on the counter top. Then they would open his head and grab some of the chips. After, they screwed his head together again and put him back in the room. I thought he was so brave. I wondered if I would ever get out of the room too.
Finally, the day came when the human took me out of the room. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Questions bubbled in my head like a pot of boiling water. What is the human going to do to me? Am I going to become a peanut butter jelly sandwich? Will I see PB and J? And am I going to see Tainer again?
After a few seconds I was being opened by a human. While this was happening, I noticed PB and J curiously looking at me. I glanced back at the human and saw her holding a very sharp, silver tool. Quickly she cut through me. I screamed in horror, but somehow, I felt no pain. She then put me into a silver room with a window. I felt the room getting hotter and hotter by the seconds. It was so hot that I was getting burn marks on my now tan skin. Was this human trying to heat tan me?
Finally the human opened the window and laid me down on a pearl white plate. Then, to my surprise she opened PB and J. She stuck the same sharp tool into them. PB was smushed into my face, while J was smeared onto my back. Suddenly, my face and my back side were getting forcefully pushed together. As I was starting to feel uncomfortable, a conversation erupted.
A voice suddenly spoke with annoyance from behind me and yelled, “Personal space, where you at!”
Another voice replied, “ I’m sorry, but I have no way of getting out of your personal space.”
Loudly I said, “Why! isn’t this wonderful, we are together now, like family!” The words sounded like they were my mother’s.
The annoyed voice shot back, “What do you mean like a family?. This is horrible!”
After this rude comment I tried to keep quiet but we swiftly got moved into a smaller room. “Look at that! We are getting put in a lunchbox! Hi there, red thing!”
I knew that I would be stuck with this guy forever, so I had to at least try to be friends with him. Although, J seemed quite nice. So, maybe this family won’t turn out so bad afterall.
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