Excerpts From My Stories

Below are excerpts from a few of the picture book stories I have written.

Enjoy! 

Lauri Fortino

 

 

Giddy Up Whoa

I took him by train to the western plains. When we got there he shook his mane.

“Giddy up Whoa,” I said

He looked at me. He looked confused. He wouldn’t budge. He flat refused.

He dumped me on the ground and sat right down. The cattle bellowed all around.

Gum On My Shoe

The cat followed the rat. And Pierre jumped for the cat.

A scuffle took place, during this fur-flying race, above and below and all around Cody’s face.

And when they were gone, Cody lay on the lawn in awful, terrible, utter disgrace.

Laura’s Perfect Pumpkin

Laura took her pumpkin picking very seriously.

She walked slowly up and down each row and around the piles.

Long after the rest of her family had found their pumpkins, Laura was still looking.

It had to be just right.

Sunny Bear Goes Here And There

She lifted the lid to her washing machine and dropped Sunny Bear in.

Water rushed in and surrounded him. Yikes! The washer swished and churned.

When it was done, the woman put him in the dryer. Sunny Bear tumbled around and around.

I’m getting dizzy!

Upside-Down

Dougy tried to sit quietly at his desk and listen to his teacher.

But he couldn’t see the blackboard with his head under the desk.

And his legs flailed around in the air.

His teacher, Mrs. Anderson, said, “Douglas McDoogle, settle down.”

But during arts and crafts, he spilled paint on two of his classmates.

Mrs. Anderson made him stand in the corner for a time out.

But his shoes scuffed up the wall.

That upset his teacher even more and she sent him to the principal’s  office.

The Peddler’s Bed

“I crafted this bed from the hardy oak trees that grow on the other side of the hills.

It’s so sturdy that I guarantee it will never squeak.”

“Never squeak,” said the little man. “All beds squeak a bit.”

“Not this one. Let me show you.”

The peddler slid his oak bed down onto the road.

Then he stepped on top of it and jumped up and down several times.

The fine, strong bed did not squeak, not once.

The Rocking Chair Racers

When it started to get dark, we knew it was time to go home.

Mom would have supper waiting for us.

So Sissy and I turned our rocking chairs around and raced toward home.

We flew back over the giant skyscrapers, back over the deep, dark ocean, back over the tall trees,

the rooftops, the train tracks, the pastures and the cornfields.

And we traveled back down the dusty, dirt road and across the lawn to our front porch.

Finley’s Fabulous Friendship Coat

Finley was a frog who owned a fabulous coat.

Every morning, Finley put on his coat and went outside to do frog things.

But coats get in the way when you’re a frog.

          All of my stories are copyrighted. Please do not use these excerpts without my permission.