Carolyn's Writing
What's Following Ana?
By Carolyn Pfister
“Go away!”
Ana runs.
It follows.
Ana peeks around grandpa and waves.
“Shadow monster,” Grandpa says.
They laugh at the silly shadow.
Grandpa steps on Ana’s shadow.
She steps on his.
Shadow tag!
“Hungry?” Grandpa asks.
“Do shadows eat snacks?” Ana asks.
“Let’s find out.”
“Snack time, Shadow. Let’s go!”
I submitted What's Following Ana? to the 2025 Fifty Precious Words Contest and was honored as one of this year's wining writers. The 50 words I submitted are a condensed version of a longer board book. I'm working on science related back matter for the story now and will be looking for a publishing home for it soon.
I appreciate Vivian Kirkfield, Maria Marshall, and the entire screening team who read all of the 50 Precious Words submissions. What dedication! I'm thankful to Beth Stillborn who edited and made suggestions for another piece of my writing (Two Bus Rides Away) as my prize from Fifty Precious Words.
At the moment, I'm working on several math and science-inspired stories that showcase children using their math and science reasoning to answer kid-sized questions and problems. I'm enjoying getting to know the characters of these emerging stories: an Octopus, four best friends, solitary bees, goats, opossums, a contrary older sister, and an imaginary friend.