Hannah and the Hunt for Purple Park

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Hannah and the Hunt for Purple Park

(COVER ART)

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This is a story about a girl named Hannah, she was ten years old.

Picture of Hannah

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Hannah loved drawing and painting. She had a little desk in the corner of her room where she kept stacks of

paper and cups full of markers, crayons, colored pencils and paints. And she had a wall full of pretty pictures.

Picture of Hannah sitting at a desk in her bedroom ; there’s a

stack of paper and cups of markers and colored pencils. She

has lots of pictures she drew on the walls.

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One time, Hannah’s Mom showed her how to make a color wheel. She took a blank piece of paper and three

markers, red, blue and yellow.

Picture of Hannah’s mother standing next to Hannah, who

sits at her desk. Hannah’s mother picks up three markers;

red, blue and yellow.

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Picture of Hannah’s mother

drawing a red circle on a piece of

paper.

She drew a red circle near the top of the paper.....


drawing a blue circle on a piece of

paper.

.....a blue circle further down and to the right.....


drawing a yellow circle on a piece

of paper.

.....and a yellow circle to the left of the blue

one.

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drawing an orange circle between

the red and yellow ones.

“Now watch this,” Hannah’s Mom said. “Red

and yellow make orange.” She drew an

orange circle in between the red and yellow

circles.


drawing an green circle between

the blue and yellow ones.

“Blue and yellow make green.” She drew a

green circle in between blue and yellow

circles.


drawing an purple circle between

the blue and red ones.

“And red and blue make purple,” She drew a

purple circle in between the red and blue

circles. “That’s the color wheel.”

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The color wheel fascinated Hannah, and for the next couple of months everything she drew or painted had a color wheel

in it.

She painted color wheels with finger paints.

Picture of Hannah painting a color wheel with finger paints.

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She drew color wheels with scented markers and drew a fruit for each color: a strawberry for red, a blueberry for

blue, a lemon for yellow, a mint leaf for green, an orange for orange and a grape for purple.

Picture of Hannah coloring a color wheel with magic markers (see description below).

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She drew color wheels with different shapes.

Picture of Hannah coloring a color wheel with magic markers with a different shape for

each color.

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And when she colored pictures she used all the colors of the color wheel in whatever the picture was. When she

drew a picture of a house, she colored the house red, the sky blue, the sun yellow, the grass green, the flowers orange

and the driveway well......purple (she had to fit it in somewhere).

Picture of Hannah coloring a house with a yard (see below).

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One day, Rachel did something really weird.

Another thing Hannah really liked to do was go to the park by her house. It was called Hanover Park.

Picture of Hannah riding her bike to a playground with red

equipment.

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There was another park called Birchwood Park that was closer to Hannah’s house, but she never went there

because the park was run-down and needed repairs. The equipment was old and rusted. The swings were broken. Both

slides had big gashes and their entrances were sealed up with planks of wood so the children wouldn’t slide down and cut

themselves on the sharp edges. It wasn’t a nice place to go.

Picture of Hannah riding her bike past a playground that’s

run down and in bad need of repair.

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But Hanover Park was just fine, only Hannah didn’t call it Hanover Park. She called it Red Park because the slides

were red, the ladders were red, a plastic tube that connected the swirly slide to the monkey bars was red, the teeter

totter was red, all of the park’s equipment was red. So there you go, Red Park

Picture of Hannah standing in front of the red park on page

11. The slides, ladders, plastic tubes and the teeter totter are

visible in front of her, and they’re all red (see below).

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Then one day, Hannah went to visit her cousin who had just moved to a town nearby. Right down the street from

her cousin’s house was a yellow park. The swings were yellow. The slides were yellow. The jungle gym and the maze

were yellow. The bridges were yellow, and there was even a yellow tic-tac-toe game. Hannah saw that the park was

called Watson Park, but she decided to call it Yellow Park.

And then she got an idea.

Picture of Hannah standing in front of the red park with

yellow equipment (see below).

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“This is kind of like the color wheel,” she thought. “I have Red Park by my house, and Yellow Park by my cousin’s

house. I wonder if there’s a Blue Park, a Green Park, an Orange Park and a Purple Park?”

There was only one way to find out.

Picture of Hannah with two dream bubbles; one has a color

wheel drawn on a piece of paper; the other has miniature

pictures of red park and yellow park.

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For the next few weeks, Hannah went park hunting with her Mom and Dad whenever they had the time. They

would all hop on their bikes and ride around their town and the towns next door looking for a Blue Park, a Green Park, an

Orange Park, and a Purple Park.

Picture of Hannah riding her bike with her Mom and Dad on

a bike trail.

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They found Blue Park right away. It was in a neighborhood not all that far from where Hannah lived. Hannah and

her Dad were riding their bikes and there it was. It had blue slides, blue monkey bars, blue steps, and a blue airplane

that you could ride. It was called Cedar Park, but Hannah called it Blue Park. One down, three to go.

Picture of Hannah and her Dad on their bikes. They’re

parked in front of a park with blue playground equipment

(see below).

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The next weekend, Hannah and her Mom rode their bikes to another town. They heard the sweet music of an ice

cream truck so they followed the sound and came upon.....Green Park! It was shaped like a giant rocket ship made out

of green bars with green ladders and green signs. It was called Rocket Park, but to Hannah, it was Green Park.

Picture of Hannah and her Mom parked on their bikes by an

ice cream truck; in front of them is a park with green

playground equipment (see below).

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Orange Park was a little bit harder to find. It took Hannah almost a month, and she found it completely by

accident. It was a warm Friday afternoon in June. Hannah had just gotten out of school and decided to celebrate the

first day of Summer Vacation with a ride on a bike trail through a forest. Hannah and her Mom and Dad rode down the

trail, through the woods, and when the trees and bushes cleared, there was Orange Park. It was a big jungle gym in the

shape of a tree with orange bars, orange slides, a big orange canopy and orange swings. It was called Tulpen Park, but

to Hannah it was Orange Park.

Picture of Hannah and her Dad parked on their bikes on a

bike trail; in front of them is a park with orange playground

equipment (see below).

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After she found Orange Park, Hannah got real excited. Her color wheel was almost complete! All she needed was

Purple Park.

And that turned out to be the hardest one to find.

And she didn’t really find it, she kind of......well, let me explain.

Picture of Hannah with two dream bubbles; one has a color

wheel drawn on a piece of paper; the other has miniature

pictures of red park, yellow park, blue park, green park and

orange park. Hannah looks excited.

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Hannah and her parents rode around for hours, whenever they had the chance, in their hunt for Purple Park. They

even drove to other towns that were too far away to get to by bike. But they just couldn’t find Purple Park, no matter

how hard they tried. The hunt began to look hopeless and Hannah was ready to give up.

Picture of Hannah riding bikes with her parents. She looks

dejected.

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Then one day, Hannah rode her bike past Birchwood Park. As she looked at the run-down park where no one was

playing, she got an idea.

“Why don’t I ask my parents if we can fix up Birchwood Park and paint it purple? Then I’ll have a Purple Park.”

So Hannah headed home and asked her parents.

Picture of Hannah riding past the run-down Birchwood Park.

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“Oh I don’t think so Hannah,” Dad said. “That park is not ours to fix. It belongs to the Village.”

“To the Village? What do you mean?” Hannah asked.

“The Village government,” Dad replied. “You know, the Mayor, City Council. They’re the people that run things

here in the Village.”

“Then why don’t we ask the Mayor to fix the park?” Hannah suggested.

“You want to talk to the Mayor?” Mom asked.

Picture of Hannah talking to her parents at the dinner table.

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Mom and Dad thought about it. “You’re right!” Mom said. “We can go see the Mayor. I’ve always wanted to see

that park get fixed up, so we might as well go and ask him.”

So Hannah’s Dad called up the Mayor and made an appointment. A few days later, Hannah and Mom and Dad

went in to meet with him.

Picture of Hannah and her

parents meeting the Mayor at

a fire department open house.

Sure,” Hannah said. “We can go see him right?

We met him at the Fire Department’s Open House.”

Picture of Hannah’s Dad

shaking the Mayor’s hand at

a 4th

of July Parade.

“And I remember you shaking his hand at the

Fourth of July Parade. Why don’t we go to where he

works and ask him to fix the park?”

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“Hello there Hannah,” the Mayor said when they walked in. “Your Dad told me you’d like to see Birchwood Park

fixed up. Is that right?”

“Yes sir,” Hannah said.

“Well I can’t say I blame you,” replied the Mayor. “That park has been in a horrible state for quite awhile. I

wanted to fix it up, but unfortunately, the Village doesn’t have enough money to do it.”

“What do you mean the Village doesn’t have enough money?” Hannah asked.

“Well,” the Mayor answered. “Do you know what taxes are?”

Picture of Hannah meeting the Mayor in his office; her

parents stand behind her.

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Hannah knew a little bit about taxes. She knew that whenever she bought some something at the candy store, it

cost a little bit more than the number on the price tag. That little bit more was tax. “Kind of,” Hannah replied.

Picture of Hannah in a candy store at the cash register

buying a candy bar. The price tag says $.99. The amount on

the cash register says $1.04

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“Well,” the Mayor explained, “All the people who live here in the Village pay taxes. The reason they pay taxes is so

we can pay for things this Village needs, like schools, roads, the fire department, the police department, the library and of

course, the parks. The trouble is, sometimes we don’t collect enough taxes and because of that, there are some things

we just can’t pay for. Fixing Birchwood Park is one of those things we can’t pay for, sorry to say.”

Picture of the Mayor talking to Hannah; he has dream

bubbles with a police officer, a fire truck, a library, a school ,

a street and a park.

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When Rachel got home her Grandpa George and Grandma Pat were helping set the table in the dining room. It

“Oh,” Hannah said. Then she had another thought. “What if I got the money?”

“How would you get the money?” asked Hannah’s Mom.

“I could ask people for it. I’ve seen people on the road collecting money in those little cans to help people who are

sick. Can I do the same thing for Birchwood Park?”

“Yeah but that kind of thing takes a lot of time,” Hannah’s Dad said.

“Well I can do it,” Hannah said. “I’m on Summer Vacation, so I have a lot of free time, and I can have you and

Mom help me when you’re not working.”

“It will take awhile,” the Mayor said. “But it can be done. Do you want to do it?”

“Absolutely,” Hannah said.

Picture of Hannah talking to the Mayor and her parents.

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“

Picture of Hannah and her

parents and the Mayor

talking.

Picture of the Mayor at a

bank.

“Okay,” the Mayor said. “Here’s what we

have to do. First, I have to find out how much it’s

going to cost to fix the park. Once I find that out,

you’ll know how much money you’ll need to collect.

That’ll be your goal. Once you’ve reached your goal,

we can start fixing the park. Sound good?”

But what does she do with the money she

collects?” Hannah’s Mom asked.

“I’ll set up a special account in the bank,” the

Mayor replied. “At the end of each day, you put the

money in an envelope and drop it in the Village’s

Hall’s lock box. It’s right by the front door to the

Village Hall. I’ll deposit the money in the bank the

next morning.”

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Picture of the Mayor at his

desk typing on his computer;

there’s a spreadsheet on the

screen.

Picture Hannah and her

Mom taking flyers out of a

printer. Hannah’s Dad is

nearby taping signs to jars.

A few days later, the Mayor found out how

much it would cost to fix Birchwood Park and told

Hannah and her parents.

Hannah’s Mom printed up a bunch of fliers

that explained why they were collecting money. “We

have to let people know what they’re donating

money for,” Hannah’s Mom explained. Hannah’s

Dad went out and bought some plastic jars, and

taped signs that said “Help Fix Birchwood Park” on

the front.

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The next day they got started. They stood outside the library from ten in the morning to five in the evening

handing out fliers and collecting money. Some people donated, some didn’t, but at the end of the day, they had a pretty

good sum of money. They dropped it all off in the Village Hall lockbox and went home.

Picture of Hannah, her Mom and Dad standing outside a

library with collection jars.

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The next day they stood outside a grocery store.

Picture of Hannah, her Mom and Dad standing outside a

grocery store with collection jars.

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The day after that, Dad had to work, but Hannah and her Mom stood outside the Post Office.

And on it went.

Picture of Hannah and her Mom standing outside a post

office.

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Picture of Hannah and her Mom

in front of the library with

collection jars; the sun is setting.

Sometimes they were able to stay out all

day.


standing in front of the grocery

store with collection jars;

Hannah’s Mom looks at her

watch.

Sometimes they could only stay out for a

couple hours.

Picture of the front of the Post

Office; Hannah and her Mom

aren’t there.

Sometimes they couldn’t stay out at all.

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After a month, the Mayor called Hannah and told her how much they had collected. It sounded like a lot of money

to Hannah, but it was nowhere near the goal. Hannah got discouraged, but her Dad told her it wouldn’t be easy, and she

had to tell herself to keep at it and not give up. So on she went.

Split-screen picture: the Mayor talking on the phone on one

side. Hannah talks on the phone on the other side. Hannah

looks discouraged; her Dad has his hands on her shoulders.

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outside a gym. Hannah and her Mom collected money

outside a gym.


outside a restaurant.

They collected money outside a restaurant.


outside Village Hall.

They collected money outside Village Hall.

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outside an ice cream shop. They collected money outside the ice cream

shop.

Picture of Hannah and her Dad

outside a police station.

Hannah and her Dad collected money

outside the police station.

Picture of Hannah and her Dad

outside the fire department.

And they collected money outside the fire

department.

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Picture of the collection jar stuffed

with bills and coins. Some days they’d collect lots of money.

Picture of the collection jar with

just a little bit of money.

Some days they’d only get a few coins.

Picture of Hannah stuffing an

envelope with money.

But they always got something.

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Hannah worked all through the summer. When school started up, Hannah had even less time to collect money for

Birchwood Park. But still, she never gave up. She collected through the chilly days in autumn. She even collected in the

freezing days of winter.

Montage picture: Hannah collecting money in front of a park

with kids playing; Hannah collecting money in another park

in an autumn scene; Hannah bundled up and collecting

money on a ski hill.

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Finally, when spring came around, Hannah got a call from the Mayor. They had reached their goal. Hannah was

so happy she cheered out loud. A few days later, the Mayor hired some workers to fix up Birchwood Park. But before

they got started, Hannah asked the Mayor for a favor.

“Can we can paint the park purple?” she asked the Mayor.

“Purple?” the Mayor asked. “I don’t see why not. After all, you were instrumental in getting this park fixed. I

think letting you choose the color is perfectly reasonable.”

Another split-screen picture: the Mayor on the phone on one

side; Hannah on the phone on the other.

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A few days later, Hannah went to Birchwood Park and watched the workers repair the slides, install new swing

sets, and they even put in a new jungle gym and a sand pit with some little toy excavators.

Picture of Hannah and the Mayor watching construction

workers rebuilding the park (see below).

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Then they covered the equipment with a coat of nice, bright purple paint. They painted the jungle gym purple, the

slides purple, the plastic tubes purple. They even painted the park benches purple.

Picture of the workers painting the equipment purple.

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After the paint dried, the park reopened. The Mayor held a dedication ceremony and Hannah got to cut the

ribbon. Soon, kids from all over the neighborhood came to Birchwood Park to play. But Hannah didn’t call it Birchwood

Park. What do you think she called it?

You guessed it, Purple Park.

Picture of Purple Park. It’s a dedication ceremony and

there’s a crowd there. Hannah cuts the ribbon.

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Hannah stood in front of Purple Park with her Mom and Dad. Her color wheel of parks was now complete, and she

was happy as can be.

“You should be proud of yourself,” Dad told Hannah. “Not only did you work hard, you made a difference.”

“And that’s not an easy thing to do,” Mom added.

“But it can be done,” Hannah replied.

It was a long hunt and a tricky hunt but with hard work, patience, and knowing that even a little girl like her could

make a difference, it all worked out in the end.

THE END

Picture of Hannah and her parents standing in front of

Purple Park.

Hannah and the Hunt for Purple Park

Documents

red circle

picture of hannahs mother

markers red

orange circle

purple circle

house red

color wheel fascinated

green circle