Zeal

By Ms. Willden

Kindness is the Cure for Dark Things

 

Jazz has Zest! After a summ

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magical Page Publishing
• Release date: Aug 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781962478069

Ms. Willden

Ms. Willden writes delightful middle-grade fiction books designed to instill a deep love of reading in readers and learners. Having spent two decades in the classroom as an esteemed educator, Ms. Willden possesses a wealth of experience and a profound understanding of her young audience. Her passion for teaching shines through in her enchanting stories, as she effortlessly combines entertainment with valuable life lessons.Throughout her teaching career, Ms. Willden nurtured the creativity of aspiring writers. Guiding them to unlock their storytelling potential and witnessing their growth brought her so much joy. It was during these moments that she realized her true calling-to create stories that would not only entertain but also ignite a lifelong passion for literature.

Book preview

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Copyright ©2023 by Ms. Willden

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For Emerson,

who inspired me with her Zest

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And Jay,

who motivated me with his Zeal

Contents

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1.Socks

2.School

3.Greetings

4.Choices

5.Zeal

6.Ghoul

7.Recess

8.Bullying

9.Why

10.Lunch

11.Splashy

12.Smoke

13.Meanness

14.Mocking

15.Talk

16.Constructive

17.Unfelt

18.Body

19.Bump

20.Zest

Glossary

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Z

About Author

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Chapter 1

Socks

Jazz threw open her window with one hand. In the other hand, she held a lime-green creature with big eyes and a forked tail. He tried to wiggle free, but she held on tightly. She tossed him out the window. He landed with a THUNK onto the garage roof.

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Stop taking my socks, Jazz told the creature. He stood up on two legs, blinking big eyes to try and show he was innocent. She had caught him red-handed this time. His hands were actually red instead of green. When goblins took things that didn’t belong to them, their hands turned red.

She held up the sock she had taken from him. There was a bite out of the toe and another out of the heel.

Mother is going to think I’ve been playing outside in my socks now, she told the creature. She slammed the window shut. Instead of keeping up his innocent look, the goblin stuck out his tongue and blew raspberries at her. She pulled the blinds shut in his face.

Whisper stretched and yawned on her pillow. She could feel the dragon’s feelings. He did not think it was a good idea to kick goblins out of the house. They will only come back later for more, he thought to her.

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I know. Jazz looked over at her dragon. At the moment, he was only as long as her hand. He was bright teal-blue. "But if Mother finds more of my socks with holes in them, she’s going to make me wear tights instead. And I hate tights."

Whisper thought, You could put your socks in your dresser. That would keep them away from the goblins.

He was right, of course. If Jazz did not leave her socks on the ground, goblins could not get to them. She did not like to be told that she was not so good at cleaning her room. She threw the dirty, holey sock at Whisper. He was too fast for her. He flew into the air before it hit him.

He landed on her shoulder, where clingers liked to be most. She touched his head with a gentle finger. She was always amazed when she thought back to her life before she got a dragon friend. Before she turned nine and got her Zest.

Zest was now the most important thing in her life! Through her Zest, she saw the hidden world that most people could not see: the golden world of goblins and clingers, and thousands of other amazing creatures.

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Her door banged open, and the regular world flooded in as her mother cried, Are you ready yet? If we don’t leave now, you’ll be late for school.

Jazz stepped over to hide the holey sock from her mother’s eyes. Just looking for socks, she said.

Her mother’s eyes missed the sock, but not the dragon on her shoulder. Of course, her mother could not see Whisper for what he was. She had no Zest. What she did see was silly.

Get that hat off your shoulder at once. You are not wearing that thing to school!

Her Zestless mother always saw Whisper as a hat.

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She pulled Whisper down into her hands