Cuddlesaurus Rex!

*please note that the above painting was made by Tom O' Hare, owner of the Stagedoor Cabaret and Coffee house in Mt. Shasta, CA. I used to work there and it was so much fun!*

Cuddlesaurus Rex

A Children's Book

by: Nitya Prem

Mirabelle has a secret... and it's a whopper, but I bet you won't believe me yet. Mirabelle is seven years old and she has an imaginary friend named Snoozle. She still believes in her imaginary friend because he's not imaginary at all, he's very real and has feelings just like you or me.

Peter had an imaginary goat. His name was Mr. Eatsitall. Peter was always very good at naming things. Mr. Eatsitall was definitely Peter's favorite friend because he always ate all the squash that Peter thought was yucky. He lived in the planter by the dinner table. One day Peter's mom told him that he had to eat all his squash so he could grow up big and strong. Peter's mom told him that imaginary friends aren't real and Mr. Eatsitall did not live in the planter and did not eat his squash. Peter's mom told him that she was tired of throwing away squash that she found in the planter every night after dinner. Peter believed her. Now he has to eat all of his squash and Mr. Eatsitall won't speak to him anymore.

Sally's imaginary friend, Tobbs is a flying snake. Tobbs was very good at flying way up high and warning Sally if there were bullies nearby. One day he didn't see the bullies and Sally ran straight into them. She told the bullies that she had a flying snake who would protect her and hiss in their face. The bullies told her that Tobbs wasn't real and threw all her schoolbooks on the ground. The bullies stomped on them and told Sally that she was a silly baby and that imaginary friends are only pretend. Sally believed them and Tobbs stuck his big ol' snake tongue straight out at Sally, hissed and flew away.

I know that Tobbs is still up in the sky flying around and looking for bullies to hiss at. I also know that imaginary friends go away if their child stops believing in them. Would you want to stick around your best friend if they stopped believing in you? I sure wouldn't. I only speak to people who know that I'm real.

Mirabelle, though not as popular as the other kids, was much smarter. That's often the case in elementary school, smart kids get picked on and then they grow up and make lots of friends who are also smart and live very happy lives. The reason Mirabelle is so much more intelligent is that she knows that her imaginary friend is not imaginary at all. Mirabelle knows, all the way down to her toes, that Snoozle is real. He is very real, very loud, very big and then he's even bigger! He's so big, in fact, that Mirabelle sleeps on him every night.

Instead of a bed, Mirabelle is lucky enough to have her own dinosaur friend. Snoozle is of an extremely rare breed of dinosaur. Snoozle is a Cuddlesaurus Rex! I bet you've never heard of a Cuddlesaurus before, and that's ok. Because grown-ups haven't discovered them yet... Or they did and keep confusing them with Tyrannosaurus Rex, who looks much the same but is not as nice and also kinda dumb. T-Rexes have really big heads, but their brain is only the size of a peanut. That's why they're mean, like bullies. Bullies' brains are also the size of a peanut... or a pistachio.

The other really big difference between a Cuddlesaurus and a Tyrannosaurus is that Cuddlesaurus Rexes don't have any scales at all, they have patches. Snoozle, for example has a very comfortable quilted belly. His whole underside is soft and plush and perfect for sleeping. I think Mirabelle has almost the best bed in the whole, wide, world! Sleeping on top of a dinosaur can be really noisy. Nobody knows how to snore like Snoozle. Nobody.

Mirabelle likes Snoozle's snores- they remind her of the ocean waves crashing on the shore and send her straight to sleep every night, snug and sound. The only problem with sleeping on top of a very big and very noisy dinosaur named Snoozle who snores is that Mirabelle's parents sometimes think it's her. They will wake up in the middle of the night and yell from their beds, "Mirabelle, please stop making so much noise. We're trying to sleep!" Mirabelle, of course, cannot hear anything over Snoozle's snores; especially when she's sleeping. Snoozle, hears them though.

Whenever Snoozle hears Mirabelle's parents shouting, he turns over on his side so that he will stop snoring. When Snoozle turns on his side, so do the blankets, and the pillows and the sheets, and Mirabelle. She falls off every time and her parents hear all the noise and yell again, "PLEASE stop making that ruckus! We're trying to sleep!" Mirabelle doesn't mind so much, she loves her parents and she loves Snoozle no matter what. Mirabelle gets up, bundles all the blankets and the pillows the sheets and snuggles up with her Cuddlesaurus Rex. When they are all cozy again, then they both go back to sleep... On their sides.

Maybe one day Mirabelle might stop believing in her imaginary friend, maybe one day Snoozle will forget about his child friend, but I don't think that will happen. I know for a fact that Mirabelle is older now. I know that Mirabelle is almost a grown-up. I also know Mirabelle has a crush on a boy named Patrick. He still believes in his imaginary friend. I know this for a fact because I am Patrick's imaginary friend and my name is Winky. I also, just happen, to be a Cuddlesaurus Rex and I can't wait to meet Snoozle!

The End

and

Goodnight

Not Enough Pillows

This is my children's story :) My friend is illustrating it. Maybe you'll be able to buy it in a shop soonish...

Bunch, pat, poke and fluff! No matter how Laralee squished her only pillow, it just wasn’t right. She did NOT have enough pillows to help her sleep tonight. After wrestling with her blankets, trying to make them round, Laralee gave up and put on a frown. Slowly rumbling, tumbling around, she knocked her pillow under her bed. Stretching, reaching and squirming, she fell underneath. Fell and fell going down, down, down, she wondered where she would land until…

Plop! She found herself in a very big cave on top of an even bigger pile of pillows. Big ones, small ones, striped, spotted and paisley, she had never seen so many pillows in her life! “I wonder who is the lucky person that has all these lovely pillows? Surely they would not mind if I just took a couple.” Laralee grabbed two beautiful pillows, one purple like the sunset and another as white and fluffy as her kitty named Cloud.

Laralee climbed down the mountain and when she reached the bottom, she saw a glowing silver path winding in-between hills and mountains of more pillows than she had ever dreamed of. “Since this is the only path, it must lead home!” Laralee said aloud into the dim light.

Laralee suddenly found herself surrounded by guards and each one of them wore armor made of pillows. One was pink from head to toe, one was red, another was blue, and another green, but each and every one of them looked very, very mean. “Arrest that girl! She’s a thief, stealing from the prince!” The guards took away Laralee’s pillows, one purple and one white and dragged her off into the night.

After walking for what seemed like forever, the guards brought her in front of Prince James. He was just a little bit older than Laralee and definitely in charge. The guards told him how they caught the little girl stealing his precious pillows. Laralee spoke up, “I did not know they belonged to you, I just could not sleep and only took two…” “Silence!” yelled the prince, “You must be punished!” Laralee began to cry and told Prince James how she had fallen from under her bed.

The prince was very curious and asked her all about her home and friends in the land above. “I live in a big house with my dad and my cat, Cloud. I have a bunch of friends and we like to play games.” The prince asked Laralee what kind of games she played and if she would teach him some. “In the Land of Pillows,” Prince James said, “there is a lot of sleep and naps and stories, but not so many games and I get lonely and bored.” Laralee agreed to teach the prince as many games as she knew and followed him to his back yard. Laralee taught him how to play Hopscotch and Tag, she taught him how to play Rock, Paper Scissors and Ring Around The Rosey. They had so much fun that even the guards played with them!

At the end of the night Prince James had so much fun that he told Laralee that if she played King of the Mountain with him, she could go home and have as many pillows as she wants. The guards took Laralee and the prince to the big mountain of pillows that she had fallen on when she first got there. “I have always wanted to play, but I never knew how. If I win this game then I will finally be a King and a prince no more,” said Prince James. In no time at all Prince James was on top of the mountain, throwing pillows down at everyone and no-one else could touch him. Laralee looked up at prince and bowed beautifully, “You win. I now declare you King of the Mountain and King James of the land of pillows!”

After all those games, Laralee was very tired and she yawned and yawned; “May I please go home now, King James? I am sleepy and I do not want my daddy to worry about me.” James gave Laralee a big hug and told her, “If you ever want to come play games with me again, you are welcome to visit any time you like.”

Laralee made a very soft bed on her two favorite pillows. One was as purple as the sunset; and the other was white and fluffy, just like her cat, Cloud. Soon she fell up into a very peaceful sleep.

As Laralee woke up and rubbed the sleepy from her eyes, she remembered a land of pillows, many-colored guards and a prince who is now a King. “It must have all been a dream.” she thought to herself. When Laralee hopped out of bed, she was surprised to her pillows on the floor, one purple and one white, with her kitty, Cloud sleeping right on top. It must not have been a dream after-all!