A Walk in the Words

Question 1

Every day, after playing with my friends, I’d come home and draw stories that I made up.

Answer 1

A walk in the words

Question 2

I would start a long sentence and then my mind began to wander.

Answer 2

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Question 3

But long sentences? No way!

Answer 3

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Question 4

And they were coming for me!

Answer 4

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Question 5

ME EAT PICTURES!

Answer 5

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Question 6

The first ones were friendly, with big pictures and only a few words.

Answer 6

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Question 7

Drawing always came naturally to me.

Answer 7

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Question 8

I drew all the time.

Answer 8

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Question 9

I just did it, like breathing.

Answer 9

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Question 10

It was like diving into my own world.

Answer 10

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Question 11

I liked words, too - one at a time.

Answer 11

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Question 12

When I was reading, I had to picture every single WORD.

Answer 12

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Question 13

I was the slowest reader in my class.

Answer 13

A Walk in the Words

Question 14

When everybody was turning to the next page, I was still on the first sentence.

Answer 14

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Question 15

Nobody knew.

Answer 15

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Question 16

But the books knew!

Answer 16

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Question 17

So many words!

Answer 17

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Question 18

So many pages!

Answer 18

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Question 19

Books weren’t always scary.

Answer 19

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Question 20

Howdy!

Answer 20

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Question 21

But little by little, the pictures got smaller and the text got longer.

Answer 21

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Question 22

You read!

Answer 22

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Question 23

I could pick out the words I knew but the rest looked like squiggles.

Answer 23

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Question 24

It was a rain of terror.

Answer 24

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Question 25

My drawing pad was my safe place.

Answer 25

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Question 26

A whole page of text looked like a wall - keeping me out.

Answer 26

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Question 27

By now, everyone in my class was reading book after book, except me.

Answer 27

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Question 28

What if they found out that I couldn't keep up?

Answer 28

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Question 29

I had to face it: I was alone and lost in a world of words.

Answer 29

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Question 30

Everywhere I looked, there were - big words! strange words! scary words!

Answer 30

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Question 31

One big word was stalking me - overwhelm.

Answer 31

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Question 32

It described the feeling of too many words coming at me at the same time.

Answer 32

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Question 33

It made me want to give up.

Answer 33

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Question 34

But I loved stories too much to quit.

Answer 34

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Question 35

I was good at picturing stuff.

Answer 35

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Question 36

Maybe I could try picturing a way out.

Answer 36

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Question 37

I grabbed overwhelm and broke off over so it just said whelm.

Answer 37

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Question 38

It meant the same thing but more my size.

Answer 38

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Question 39

Now I could whelm the words before they overwhelmed me.

Answer 39

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Question 40

I'd just read at my own pace.

Answer 40

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Question 41

I took time to look for the words I knew.

Answer 41

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Question 42

There they were!

Answer 42

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Question 43

Like stepping - stones leading me onward.

Answer 43

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Question 44

I jumped over the words I didn't know, and let the words I knew lead me into the story.

Answer 44

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Question 45

After a while, I wasn't thinking about reading.

Answer 45

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Question 46

I just wanted to know what happened next.

Answer 46

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Question 47

The was between my fear of reading and my curiosity was over.

Answer 47

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Question 48

Curiosity won.

Answer 48

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Question 49

Books weren't so scary, once I got to know them.

Answer 49

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Question 50

And now that I was beginning to like words, why rush past them?

Answer 50

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Question 51

Read at your own speed

Answer 51

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Question 52

I realized that just because I was slow at reading didn't mean that I had to fear it.

Answer 52

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Question 53

I also learned that many great people were slow readers.

Answer 53

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Question 54

I honored them all...in my slow readers hall of fame.

Answer 54

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Question 55

And I tore down the terrible wall of shame.

Answer 55

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Question 56

Slow readers savor the story!

Answer 56

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Question 57

I experimented with ways to tell me stories.

Answer 57

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Question 58

I could still tell a story with pictures,

Answer 58

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Question 59

Or I could tell it with words.

Answer 59

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Question 60

The monster from Planet Mongo

Answer 60

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Question 61

The monster cornered me.

Answer 61

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Question 62

My gun jammed!

Answer 62

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Question 63

I had to think fast or Earth was doomed!

Answer 63

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Question 64

My favorite way was using both.

Answer 64

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Question 65

The monster attacked the space station!

Answer 65

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Question 66

People ran for their lives!

Answer 66

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Question 67

He saw me!

Answer 67

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Question 68

Yikes! My raygun jammed!

Answer 68

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Question 69

I had to stop the monster before he reached Earth!

Answer 69

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Question 70

I remembered how my horses got better the more I drew them.

Answer 70

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Question 71

My writing would improve too, if I wrote everyday.

Answer 71

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Question 72

A drawing could show what a horse looked like.

Answer 72

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Question 73

But with words, I could bring them to life.

Answer 73

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Question 74

Now they could breathe and snort and carry me on adventures.

Answer 74

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Question 75

I read everyday, in search of new words for my stories.

Answer 75

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Question 76

It was like finding new colors for my art, but now I was learning to paint with words.

Answer 76

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Question 77

There were still times when I felt lost in a sea of words.

Answer 77

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Question 78

My drawing pad was still in my safe place.

Answer 78

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Question 79

Others found music, sports, math and science.

Answer 79

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Question 80

Words had always scared me.

Answer 80

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Question 81

But once I felt free to read at my own speed, they became my friends.

Answer 81

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Question 82

I could unlock the magic of stories and even become a storyteller myself, turning that sea of words into an ocean of possibilities.

Answer 82

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Question 83

Now all I have to do is enjoy the ride!

Answer 83

A walk in the words