Names by Ivy, age 11


My American Name

Hi my name is Ivy. I was born in 1998 in San Francisco. My name is really special to me because it means a “climbing vine plant” and I love plants. My mom named me Ivy because it’s easy to say and she sometimes has a hard time saying long English words.

My Chinese Name

My Chinese name is Jing Fang and it means “beauty.” My grandpa chose this name for me because he really likes the meaning. I like both of my names because together they mean “beautiful plant,” and they make me imagine myself as a grown-up. When I grow up I want to be a pharmacist because they can cure peoples’ sickness and I just learned that some drugs are made from plants.

The Stars that Blind Us by Tiana & Ivy, both age 11

This “cycle story” by Tiana and Ivy is the first in a series by Room 2 kids inspired by the Argentinian folktale “The Sun and the Snow.”


Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
We are not heartless.
The fog is heartless,
That blocks us.

Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blinds us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless,
The blowdrier is heartless,
that blows me away.

Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The blackout is heartless
that turns me off.

Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The wiring is heartless
that causes the blackout.

Wiring that causes the blackout,
Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
I am not heartless.
The humans are heartless
who plug in too many things.

Humans who plug in too many things,
Wiring that causes the blackout,
Blackout that turns off the blowdrier,
Blowdrier that blows away the fog,
Fog that blocks the stars,
Stars that blind us,
Why are you heartless?
We are not heartless.
The stars are heartless
That blind us.

About the Authors

Hi my name is Tiana. I’m 11 years old and I live in San Franisico. I live with my three sisters, Mom, Dad, and my grandma. I like to ice skate on the weekends with my friends. I want to be good at art someday. When I grow up I want to be a lawyer. The thing that confuses me most is long words like narcisistic and photosynthesis. I wish that one day everyone in the world would get along with each other and never fight. The first book I wrote was When I Was Lost, second was I Hate My Life You, third was Hua Ying Mei, and I also wrote many poems.

Hi my name is Ivy. I am 11 years old and I live in San Francisco. I live with my Mom, Dad, Brother, my grandma, and grandpa. I like to play on my computer and read books at home. I want to be good at math when I get older. When I grow up I want to be Pharmacist. It confuses me when people ask a lot of questions like: How do your parents pay the rent? I wish that everybody were rich an lived a happy life and didn’t have to break in into peoples’ property. I am also the author of My Family, Yu Kun Yu, and many poems.

Bamboo from the Forest by Ivy


China tastes like chow mein
It is a t-shirt I wear when it’s hot
It is a crowded machine I turn on at night
It is the sound of Chinese TV coming from my grandpa
and grandma’s room
It is a flood where every house is covered with water
It is a horse-drawn carriage that takes me home
China is a panda that eats bamboo from the forest
and protects its babies

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun By Trang, Tiana, Ivy & Anna


Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Don’t tell us girls bore you
because we just wanna have fun
Don’t tell us to put a middle-sized white rat in our teacher’s shirt
because we will get in trouble
Don’t tell us to shave our heads bald
because we will be called weirdos
Don’t tell us to smoke
because cancer can kill us
Don’t tell us we’re ugly
because you are bizarre
Don’t tell us to play football
because the ball will land on our stomachs
Tell us you want to race us
because we’ll win