Unknown Tiller, Martin#Kevin And The Seven

Kevin and the Seven Lions

by

Martin Tiller

Copyright 2013 Martin Tiller

All rights reserved.

DEDICATION

To all my teachers that were frustrated with my daydreaming.

To my own students, never lose your imagination

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my parents. Thank you to all of my teachers. Thank you to my wife, Heather for putting up with all the playing on the computer, from which this book was born.

Thank you to Carla Tracy for the breathtaking illustrations, without which Kevin would not exist.

A brief note about the Ebook Version

This story was written as a physical picture book in mind. When formatting it for Ebook readers, I noticed that the text on the page would look different from text on an illustration. In addition when the text was on an illustration it was difficult to read. So I removed any text that is on an illustration in the softcover. This allows an ebook reader to change the size and color of the text. I hope you enjoy this ebook, but it is not just a direct upload of the softcover.

This ebook is designed and best viewed in landscape view, as that mimics the paperback format.

Martin Tiller

Kevin was being chased by dinosaurs. He was in a hurry.

His heart pounded. It hurt inside his chest. He felt the dinosaurs breath on his neck.

Kevin I need your attention, said Mrs. Calvin.

Kevin! Mrs. Calvin spoke louder.

He looked around and didnt see any dinosaurs, he only saw his class.

Kevin went to Holly Hills Elementary School, and he was in the third grade.

Mrs. Calvin was his teacher.

Kevin, thank you for giving me your attention, how many baseballs does a team have if three boys bring three baseballs each?

Nine said Kevin.

Thank you, Kevin.

Kevin was sad to not be chased by dinosaurs.

Math practice isnt as exciting.

His heart raced, but it just isnt the same.

Kevin started his work, and he tried not to daydream the rest of the day.

The submarine was quiet. The lights from the ceiling were the only source of light. Kevin looked out the window. He squinted.

He saw the first tentacle, then a second, and then another. They were huge, and they were getting closer. Then a gigantic eye filled up the window!

Kevin, I need you to finish your writing. Thank you.

Kevin began writing about what he did over the weekend. He wished he had been in an actual submarine.

Writing about cutting the grass didnt hold the same interest.

Kevin liked third grade. But where he went in his head was far better.

Kevin exhausted Mrs. Calvin from time to time, but she did her best to keep him focused.

Kevin put his pencil down. He put his hands in front of him and looked at the wall.

The spaceship came out of light speed, and the sandy red planet floated in front of him. Three fighters came into view from the left side. They did not seem to be friendly.

They looked like three flying bats. Red lights flashed all around him. Sirens blared throughout the ship.

Kevin get back to work, said Mrs. Calvin from her desk where she was reading with other students.

Kevin felt embarrassed, and the spaceship was nowhere to be found.

Disappointed he picked his pencil up and got back to work.

He was beginning to wish he didnt daydream so much.

Mrs. Calvin noticed his embarrassment, and a thought popped into her head.

Kevin I want to know what you are thinking about when you daydream, she asked him later in the day.

Um...Okay. Kevin wanted this conversation to end. Mrs. Calvin would never want to know about spaceships and dinosaurs.

I want you to start writing down what you see when you daydream.

Um...Okay. This was weird.

Promise me you will try this. I am giving you a clean notebook to just write down what you daydream.

When am I supposed to write in this?

Take it home. Write down what you daydream during class. Write down the whole daydream I want to see what happens.

Kevin wasnt sure what to think. Was this a trick? Was he going to be graded on this? Is this going to be shown to his parents?

When Kevin got home he threw his backpack into the corner of his room.

He never thought about the notebook.

The next day Kevin came to school. The notebook was still in his backpack.

He found it, when he pulled out his class binder. He quietly put the notebook in his desk, and Tuesday began normally.

The crowd held its breath. The lion stood on his hind legs. Its front paws swatted at the whip, and it roared loudly. Kevin told the lion to sit on the stool. And the lion jumped up on the stool, sat and then stared at Kevin. He felt a jolt of accomplishment shoot through his body as he turned to the crowd. He went to bow

Kevin I need your attention!

He came back to the real world.

Mrs. Calvin looked at Kevin and realized that Kevin should write down his daydream at that moment. Kevin, take three minutes and write.

Write what?

Kevin, Mrs. Calvin shot him a look.

He got out his notebook. He took three minutes to write about being a lion tamer that had seven lions in his show. After three minutes was up, he closed his book, and went back to sorting simple machines for his science assignment.

That bus ride home was different. He didnt speak to anyone. He was busy being a lion tamer. Seven lions surrounded him inside a black metal cage. Flashbulbs went off behind the lions as the crowd took pictures of the Magnificent Kevin and His Lions.

His friends had to remind him to get off the bus to go home.

When he got home he walked right past his mom, and his little brother who was playing video games. His mom was worried. Kevin always stopped and played video games with Michael.