This is how Tookie Break with Lulu came to life.
Hello! I am Lulu. Yes, I am a real school girl. I live in California with my family, which also includes beagle puppy Art, think eARTh, smART, pARTy, heART..., and chickens Misty Feather, Mrs. Annoying, Road Runner and Royal Orange. I would like to share with you my story about girl I named Sharel. It is about how reaching out can change our world for better.
Once upon a time, there lived girl Sharel. When Sharel started in her new middle school, her mom often hid a surprise in her lunchbox to cheer her up. Sharel was a kind and a generous girl, but, because she was new, she didn’t have any friends. Lunch breaks were particularly lonely. But that was about to change.
One day, when it was time for lunch, Sharel opened her lunchbox and there she found an enormous cookie. It was Sharel’s favorite kind - the chocolate chip with rainbow sprinkles on top only her mom could make! Yuuummmy! Mesmerized by the size of the treat, Sharel could feel a stare from across the lawn. Sharel looked up, and her eyes met with the eyes of a girl sitting alone. Her name was Alliyan.
Sharel got an idea. What if…? Sharel walked over to Alliyan..., but before she had a chance to do anything, Alliyan said: “Why don’t you go and sit with the popular kids?” Sharel paused for a moment, and even panicked a bit, but then Sharel gathered herself and resolutely sat down right next to Alliyan. “I am popular!” Sharel said, and reached out towards Alliyan with the enormous cookie in her hand. The rainbow crystals sparkled magically in the sun. “Would you like to share it with me?” Sharel whispered.
“3… 2… 1!” Sharel and Alliyan shouted as they split the cookie. The crystals burst into a double rainbow. The crumbs fell to the ground. Chipmunks that had been following the cookie for a while, came running. They fought over one particularly large sugary crumb. They kept pulling until it cracked and they flew back in summersaults. Sharel and Alliyan watched the show laughing. Eventually the beautiful rainbow faded into the sky. It was time to return to the classroom. This time Sharel and Alliyan, the newfound friends, went together.
The word about the magic powers of the enormous rainbow cookie spread quickly, and with that Sharel’s reputation for the bravest girl. Ever since that lunch, Sharel has been sharing cookies with children and grown-ups everywhere she goes, and turning strangers into friends.
Two years ago, this Sharel was me, Lulu. I changed schools and I found it very hard to find new friends among students, who mostly had known each other since kindergarten. Then, one day, I gathered my courage and reached out with a cookie my mom surprised me with, just like the mom in my story. And I made my first friend. I, Lulu, did it! I was no longer waiting to be noticed and invited. I approached others and I invited others into my world. I asked, I proposed, I initiated and I shared. I became brave to reach out. I became free, because now, when I feel sad or lonely, or I have an idea I need help with, or I do not understand math, I do not wait to be noticed. I reach out.