Summer stories: My first car

2014 Write a Story contest honourable mention Story by Nageb Sulaiman Surrey, BC This story is by one of our honourable mentions. Click the link to read this story.

Summer stories: Arriving in Vancouver

2014 Write a Story contest honourable mention Story by Sonia Wang Vancouver, BC This story is by one of our honourable mentions. Click the link to read this story.

Summer stories: My favourite memory

2014 Write a Story contest honourable mention Story by Harlei Kelliher Osoyoos, BC This story is by one of our honourable mentions. Click the link to read this story.

On This Day: A world record flight

On August 7, 1982, two pilots from Canada made a world record flight. They flew around the world in six days and 7½ hours in a single-engine plane. They flew 36,500 kilometres in a Cessna 210. Don Muir was 26 years old. He was a bush pilot from Sioux Lookout, Ontario. André Daemen was 22 years….

Nora the piano cat

Nora is a smart cat. She plays the piano! She is very popular on the Internet and has her own website. You can watch Nora playing the piano here. Visit Nora’s website, Nora the Piano Cat. Do you have a talented pet? (Source: norathepianocat.com)

Summer stories: The nature of wilderness

2014 Write a Story contest honourable mention Story by Rick Edmonds Prince George, BC This story is by one of our honourable mentions. Click the link to read this story.

Canada Post honours C.D. Hoy

Level 3 Canada Post has seven new stamps. A famous Canadian photographer is on each stamp. See the stamps here. C.D. Hoy is on one of these stamps. Hoy was a famous photographer. He lived in Quesnel, B.C. B.C. road trip The Westcoast Reader editor and Nancy Carson drove to Quesnel, B.C. in 2012. It was summer. They went to the Quesnel and District…

A big hug

2014 Write a Story contest winners Story by Stella Kong Vancouver, BC This story is by one of our four winners. Click the link to read the story.

A childhood phase

2014 Write a Story contest winners Story by Bobbi Earl Summerland, BC This story is by one of our four winners. Click the link to read the story.

The real me

2014 Write a Story contest winners Story by Alberto Holz Osoyoos, BC This story is by one of our four winners. Click the link to read this story.

Edythe Culling shops for shoes

Adapted from The Province Level 1 Edythe Culling is shopping for shoes. It is a special shoe sale. The shoe sale happens every year. Read the PDF and do the exercise Edythe Culling shops for shoes Visit the link Look at these photos of the sale.

Peak to be named for Tim Jones

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 Tim Jones loved Mount Seymour. He walked his dog there. He rescued people there. He died on Mount Seymour. He was 57 years old. Thousands of people came to Tim Jones’ funeral. Police, firefighters, mountain rescuers, hikers, climbers and skiers came. People lined the street to watch the procession….

Hero rescues family from fire

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 Trevor Yellowbird is a hero. Trevor and his sister, Robin, saved three people from a house fire. Trevor lived in a basement suite. Robin was visiting. Robin smelled smoke about 3 a.m. Gurbux Dhanjal was Yellowbird’s landlady. She lived upstairs with her daughter, father and mother. The fire…

An accident can change a life forever

Adapted from The Province Level 2 Trevor Philips walked home from a concert. A car hit him. Philips broke both his legs. He crushed his ankle. He broke his ribs, collarbone and backbone. He may lose the sight in his left eye. Philips was an active person. He worked in a restaurant. He ran a company…

A special day

Adapted from a story printed in the December, 2013 edition of The Westcoast Reader I’m Angela. I’m originally from China Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Wenzhou is a coastal city, it means “song and dance of the rural.” I’m a professional dancer and I used to dance in a troupe in Wenzhou. I was also a dance teacher in an…

Pilot crash-lands a glider

Adapted from The Province Level 1 A young cadet is lucky to be alive. He crash-landed his plane on the roof of an apartment building. Read the PDF. Try the exercise. Pilot crash-lands a glider Watch the videos: Flying in a glider 1 Flying in a glider 2 Learning to fly a glider

Olesia dances in her wheelchair

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 1 Olesia has cerebral palsy. She is 35 years old. Olesia has difficulty speaking. People thought she was not very capable. They were wrong. Olesia dances in her wheelchair. Read the PDF. Try the Exercise. WheelchairDancing Visit the links: A dancer invented a new wheelchair just for dancing. There are wheelchair dance…

The perfect picnic

Level 2 A picnic is a simple way to eat outdoors. You can picnic in a park. You can picnic in your own backyard. Spread a blanket on the ground. Lay your food out.  Eat your lunch. Have fun. Read the PDF.  Try the Exercise. The perfect picnic-PDF Visit the links: VanDusen Gardens 5 Perfect…

Rowing the Northwest Passage

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 Four men are rowing a boat from Inuvik, Northwest Territories to Pond Inlet, Nunavut.  The boat is 7.6 meters long.  They left Inuvik in early July.  They hope to arrive in Pond Inlet in early fall. This route is called the Northwest Passage. It is a very dangerous…

Shipwrecked in BC

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times Colonist by Nila Gopaul Level 2 September 2011 For six days in early June, Elaine Campbell was alone on a rocky beach in Haida Gwaii, B.C. Earlier, Elaine and her husband, Fred, were exploring the island. They were in a small boat. Suddenly, a large wave tipped…

Walked the world

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 1 December 2011 Jean Beliveau was not a happy man. He needed a change. On August 18, 2000, Jean tied his shoes and said good-bye. It was his 45th birthday. Jean decided to walk around the world for peace. And he walked, for 11 years. He travelled 75,000 kilometres…

66 years in love

Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level 1 February 2012 Zoe and Bob Longshaw are in love. The two married on May 18, 1946. Bob is 87 years old.  He was a mechanic. Zoe is 86 years old.  She was a hairdresser. Together, they raised five sons. Bob and Zoe like to go out. They…

Hannah writes about Jonah

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 1 January 2012 Hannah Christensen is 12 years old. She wrote a book called Sock Wars to remember her brother. Jonah died three years ago. He was six years old. Sock Wars is a fun story about a girl and her brother. The girl washes clothes. Then she folds…

Race with a thief

Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level 1, December 2010 Otto Haas was a famous runner in Germany. He ran 100 metres in 12.5 seconds. And over 70 years later, he raced again. Otto, his wife Josefine, and her sister, Trudy, live in Kelowna. They visited Vancouver in 2009. In a parking lot, a young…

Blind Beginnings

Adapted from the Georgia Straight and the website of Blind Beginnings Level 3 Shawn Marsolais, 38, has had a very interesting life. Like many people, she has had ups and downs. In 1999, Shawn got her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia. At 25 years old, she went to England to…

Climb every mountain

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and The Province by Nancy Carson Level 1 Esther and Martin Kafer are 85 and 84. They are active seniors. They hike, climb and ski. The Kafers have climbed more than 500 mountains. They have named over 73 mountains. Why?  They were the first to climb these mountains. Read the…

A game in Kenya

Level 1 It is one year ago. I go to a city called Kakamega. This city is in western Kenya. Visit the links: Rules of the marbles game, video Game on the street 30 games for outdoor play Hopscotch How to play jacks Work in Kenya I am going to teach teachers. English is a…

Sharing good news makes you more happy

Adapted from The Vancouver SunLevel 1 Do you have good news? Do you share it with others? Tell someone good news twice a week. And you will feel more happy with your life.

I feel happy when I dance

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 Jesula McCallum lives in Chilliwack, B.C. She is ten years old. And she loves to dance. Visit the links: The story of Jesula Irish dance concert

A house of Baba Yagas

Adapted from CBC.ca radio by Nancy Carson Level 1 Thérèse Clerc is in her 60s. She lives in Paris, France. She knows she is getting old. She thinks where will I live? How will I live? Who will live with me?