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This Year's Winning Entries
Congratulations to four young writers who won The Adventures of Gill Writing Contest –
Laura Bryant, Cahron Thomas, Abby Luedders and Naycole Reed. Gill is Omaha Children’s
Museum’s mascot and each year he experiences different adventures through the stories
written by kids in our very own community. This year, kids 12-and-under wrote fantastic
stories about Gill’s adventures in nature.
The winning authors had the opportunity to work with local children’s book illustrator,
Lara Turco, to bring their stories to life visually. We are proud to feature their work in this
issue and their pictures on the cover of the magazine. They have also been reading their stories
around town at the museum, Omaha Public Library and Henry Doorly Zoo.
This program is sponsored by Omaha Family and Runza Restaurants. Partner organizations include Omaha Public Library,
Henry Doorly Zoo and The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts.
We hope you enjoy these stories and their illustrations.
 The Adventures of Gill
by Laura Bryant, 12
St. Albert Junior High
It was a beautiful, sunny day when Gill woke up one Sunday. Gill had never seen such a
beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a warm breeze. He wondered what it would
be like to be a flower. After he ate breakfast he went outside and sat next to
his fence and watched the flowers grow.
After an hour or so Gill said, “This is boring; I wish I was a real flower.”
As soon as he said this there was a big puff of purple smoke and Gill was
looking at the fence instead of sitting next to the fence.
“What happened?” asked Gill. Then he looked down and saw that instead of legs
he had a stem. And instead of arms he had leaves. He felt his head with his
leaves and felt that his head was a flower head and had petals.
“My wish came true! I’m a flower!” Gill was so excited and he had so much fun.
So many insects came to visit him, like bumblebees, ladybugs, and butterflies.
Gill made friends with all of the insects and had so much fun.
That night Gill was so excited about his first day being a flower that
he didn’t even notice that it was getting dark. Finally, when he did, he got so scared.
“Hello? Anyone there, I need someone to take me inside. Please help me! It’s scary out here.
That’s it, being a flower was cool and all but I didn’t know I had to stay outside. I wish I wasn’t a flower anymore!”
In another puff of purple smoke Gill found himself inside and tucked in ready to go to bed. Gill was so happy to
be back to normal, he had enjoyed being a flower and experiencing nature but he decided he liked his warm, safe bed better.
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 Around the World with Gill
by
Cahron Thomas, 8
Harrison Elementary
Once there was a guy named Gill. He had never gone out of this house to see the world so he decided to take a trip around the world. When he ventured out he saw the beautiful flowers, fresh green grass and lots of people.
He spoke to a person that he didn’t know and said, “I never have seen the world before. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes,” the person responded. They became friends. His name was Sam.
First they decided to go to the scorching desert. It was too hot for them to sit on the sand so they just stood up the whole time talking and taking in the view.
They saw a cactus and Gill decided to touch one of the spines. “Ouch!” he exclaimed. It had poked his finger and it started to bleed. Good thing his new best friend, Sam, brought a First Aid Kit. Sam took out a bandage and wrapped it around his finger.
“Thanks,” said Gill.
“No problem, that’s what friends are for,” responded Sam.
Then they saw a lizard with green and red stripes darting across the desert. Gill had never had a pet before and decided the lizard would be a wonderful one. He named her Lizzy.
Next they went to the ocean. They collected seashells of all different colors, sizes and shapes. Then they met a turtle named Willy. He didn’t have anything to do that day, so decided to come along with Gill, Sam and Lizzy.
The four friends went for a swim in the ocean. They saw the biggest mammal in the whole, wide world. It was the blue whale. They swam with her for a while and then ventured off toward Antarctica.
Thank goodness, Sam brought coats for everyone in the First Aid Kit because it was very cold! As they walked through the snow and ice, they met a penguin named Bill. They all went ice skating and had a snowball fight. They also built a large snowman. A grouchy polar bear came by while they were playing and growled at them and walked away.
They all decided to go somewhere warm next; they had enough of Antarctica. They voted and decided to go to the jungle.
“AAAHHHHH,” Bill cried. “A leopard! Run!”
They all went running as fast as they could and climbed up a tree for safety.
“Hello there,” a voice shouted.
They all turned around and noticed a bug. “I’m Ted,” he said. “Can I come with you guys?” he asked.
“Sure,” they all chimed.
Ted took them through the rainforest and showed them around. It rained and rained the whole time but they kept on going. They played in the puddles and had a water fight. Gill won!
Finally, the day was over. They went back to the city to Gill’s house and went to sleep. Gill, Sam, Lizzy, Willy, Bill, and Ted had a great adventure. Now Gill had new friends to have more adventures. He would never be stuck in his house again…it is too big a world out there!
The End
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 Gill’s Big Trip!
by
Abby Lueders, 8
Ezra Elementary
It all started when Gill first came to the Children’s Museum. The employees of the museum
decided to send Gill on a trip to see if he was good enough to be the mascot. Gill said,
“If you insist.” The employees decided to send him to Colorado. So off he went on an
elephant from the Henry Doorly Zoo. Once he got there, he found his hotel and his room.
He got out his ski stuff and set out. He climbed to the top of the very highest mountain,
Bear Mountain, put his skis on and started skiing like a rocket down the mountain.
Then all of a sudden he ran into a huge black bear! The bear roared his fiercest roar!
Gill was terrified! He wondered, “What shall I do!” Then he remembered he had his magic cap!
He got out a bear treat from his magic hat and threw it as far as he could!
The bear ran after it. Gill was safe! Then he wondered, “Am I done with the big trip?”
So he took out his walkie-talkie and called the employees back in Omaha at the
Children’s Museum and said, “I defeated the black bear, I skied down the highest mountain,
so am I done with the big trip?” They said, “Yes! But first, you have to figure out
how to get back to the Children’s Museum without the elephant. So he took off his
magic cap again and looked inside and to his surprise there was a miniature train.
When he took it out it turned as big as a normal train! He proudly rode it back to
Omaha taking in all of the nature sites along the way. Then the employees of the
Museum and the Henry Doorly Zoo got all the kids in the museum and zoo and they
voted Gill to be the mascot of the museum. That is how Gill’s big trip helped him
become the best mascot in all the world.
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Detective Gill
by
Naycole Reed, 12
Kellom Elementary
Gill was sitting down reading his favorite book when he heard the phone ring.
“RING, RING!”
“Hello this is Gill.”
“I think you should come down here,” a scratchy voice said. It was Mr. Buddy, the sheriff. “Someone stole the letters from the museum,” he babbled.
“Who would do such a thing?” exclaimed Gill.
“No one knows,” said Mr. Buddy, “but we do have some clues.”
“OK. Thanks. I will be right down there in a moment,” sighed Gill. He hung up the phone, put his coat on, and headed out.
When Gill arrived at the scene, Mr. Buddy was standing by the window. “Mr. Buddy, I am here,” Gill said. “What did they steal?”
“The letters over the doorway. The missing letters are E-J-U-L-N-G. Who would want to steal some letters?”
“OK. Maybe we can figure out who did this.” As Gill was leaving he noticed a purple banana peel on the staircase. He thought it was strange. He picked it up and tossed it in the garbage.
When Gill got home he sat down to read a magazine. An ad said, “Join us at the Purple Banana on the Island of Zing-Zang.”
“Wait a minute,” Gill said. “There was a purple banana at the museum.” He called up Mr. Buddy. “We have to go to the Island of Zing-Zang right away!” Gill packed his bag and headed for the island.
As Gill got off the boat, he noticed that the island was very colorful. Gill went into a restaurant. When the waitress got there she told him, “We have a special. The Purple Banana Parfait.”
Gill exclaimed, “Where did you get these bananas from?”
“This guy named E. Sparrow. He sells them to our restaurant.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“No, but my manager does.” When the waitress returned, she had a short man with a bald, shiny head and thick glasses. He gave Gill E. Sparrow’s address.
When Gill arrived at E. Sparrow’s house, he noticed he had purple banana trees all over his yard. He knocked on the door, and a moment later a scrawny little man came to the door. “I am detective Gill and I need to talk to E. Sparrow.”
The man opened the door. “I will get him,” he said.
A man in all black came down the stairs.
“Where are the letters?” asked Gill.
“They are on a sign in front of my banana jungle,” E. Sparrow responded. “You can have them back if you tell everybody how delicious my bananas are.”
Instead, Gill called the police.
Gill returned the letters back to the museum. E. Sparrow was sent to jail and Gill went to work on another case.
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