For this year’s National Day on Writing on October 15, AE/MS chose the subject “My Favorite Toy.” Here is a sampling of the writing from the AE/MS community.

My favorite toy without a doubt was my Boba Fett action figure. He is the only toy from my youth that I still have. What set him apart was his ability to fly. A rocket on his back made him superior to all other figures. Add in a dart gun on his wrist, knife on the ankle, and armor system, clearly a no-contest to any nine-year-old.

The greatest part, that same toy, upgraded a bit in its mechanics, has become my son’s favorite toy. We get to experience the joys of play together … the Boba Fett Connection. PS: Boba Fett still kicks butt!

– Mr. Murphy, Middle School Science Teacher

My favorite toy growing up was my basketball. It was my favorite toy because basketball is my favorite sport. Growing up every day I would go outside with my basketball the size of my head and shoot on one of those Little Tykes plastic basketball hoops.

This was my favorite toy because it made me realize that I want to play basketball for the rest of my life because it is something I love to do and will always love to do.

– Kaitlyn French, Grade 8

My favorite toy was a Godzilla action figure my grandfather gave me. I loved it because the arms and legs could pop off. When I was younger I used to play dinosaurs versus action figures with my cousin, and I always won.

I thought that Godzilla was the best toy ever. I still have my Godzilla. My grandfather passed when I was younger, so the Godzilla is special to me, and it’s like I have a part of him with me.

– Brandon Richardson, Grade 8

My favorite toy that I still have is a toy boat made out of wood. It is called “Mount Washington.” This is important to me because I bought this boat in a gift shop on that boat. It was my birthday, and my mom and dad had bought it for me. It was the best toy ever to me. It was just so detailed and was handmade.

Now it is sitting straight up on a desk in my room. Whenever I am in my room and my mom or dad say, “Come on, we have to go somewhere,” I always look at that boat and say to myself, “I am so glad that toy is mine.”

It wasn’t just any toy. It was really well made and was very breakable, but if you put it in water it would float. You could get a huge ice cube and put it in the water and have the boat crash into it like the Titanic. That is why that toy boat is so important to me.

– DJ Rankins, Grade 6

My favorite toy is a stuffed doll I got when I was born. The doll was given to me by a family friend. It was my best friend. I brought it everywhere … the dirt bike races, friends’ houses…. I always had it with me.

By the time I was five, the doll was really dirty. Even though my mom washed it all the time, it never came clean.

To this day I still have my doll. Sometimes when I pick it up, the memories of old times come back. Like the first time I lost my tooth or when I learned to ride my bike. The doll will always have a special memory with it.

– Chelsea Thompson, Grade 8

My favorite toy is my dolly. My brother gave it to me. Her name is Dolly. I sleep with her. I can’t go places with her. If I do, I might lose her. She is so special.

– Kalee Keyser, Grade 2

I love my toy dog because it has floppy ears.

– Ellie, Grade 1

My favorite stuffed animal is a turtle. It is named Turbo. It can unfold into a pillow. It will be my turtle forever.

– Wyatt King, Grade 1

My favorite stuffed animal is Thumper. I love Thumper. He sleeps with me. I play with my Thumper every day.

– Moriah Sirois, Grade 1

My favorite stuffed animal is a lizard. It is so special because I can hug it.

– Colton Howe

My favorite toy is my stuffed lamb. I used to carry it around everywhere I went. The reason it is my favorite toy is it means a lot to me. The reason it means a lot to me is because it was given to me when I was born. I remember one time when I lost it, we were looking for it for a month, and then we finally found it.

When I lost it, it was Christmas time and I got a new one. But, of course, it wasn’t the same.

– Dylan Jewell

When I got my toy I was excited. A few months before my mom and dad bought it at the store. When they got home they wrapped it for my brother’s birthday. A few months later, my brother gave me his toy. It was a toy police station. I said, “No,” but he snuck it in my room and put it on my bed.

My toy police station is special to me. One thing that makes it special is that my brother gave it to me. I play with it a lot with my brother sometimes. Sometimes I play with it by myself and sometimes I play with it and so does my sister and brother. That toy I got is a fun thing to play with brothers and sisters. I take a tiny person from my brother and I play with it. I pretend that the boy is saving the world by arresting bad people.

– Aurora Przybyla, Grade 3

My favorite toy is my stuffed dog! His name is Greenie. Lilly gave him to me when we first met. He is soft and he has green softballs all over him, and he has footballs on his ears. He has small black eyes and a small black nose. He is special because I have almost had him for my whole life and one of my best friends gave him to me

– Katie Bent, Grade 4

My favorite toys are my toy soldiers from the American Revolution. They are my favorite because I can create my own battles with them and I can build forts for them outside in the dirt. They are also my favorite because I can bring them on trips when my family and I go to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, and places like that. I also picked them as my favorite because I still use them and have not gotten too old for them. One last reason I picked them to be my favorite is because I played with them every day when I was little.

I got my toy soldiers when my family and I went to Mount Vernon in Virginia about 6 years ago when I was 4 years old. My soldiers are blue for the Continental Army, white for the French Army, red for the British Army, black for the Hessian missionaries, and detailed colors for the Indians.

When I have battles with them, I go outside if it is not raining and get sticks and a garden shovel so I can dig trenches. I also grab the sticks and stick them in the ground so I can make a fort. When I start my battles, I grab a little plastic ball or a tiny rock, and throw it at the soldiers. I know the battle is over when all the men die or the protection falls or gets destroyed.

I have lots of accessories that go with them, along with 3 forts and a few trench works. That is why my American Revolution toy soldiers are my favorite.

– William Furtkamp, Grade 5

My favorite toys were toy cars. When I was little, I used to line them up and have fake races. When I was 8, I took nail polish remover and took the paint right off and I would take sharpies and design my own cars. I also took cardboard and made tracks. Sometimes I made a ramp and pushed them off and I had them jump into the living room and crash. Some cars I kept and didn’t put a scratch on them because they were important and worth money. So that was my favorite toy. The end.

– Chase Keyser, Grade 6

Wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes are what I saw first. Once I saw the doll, I thought about what my doll would do with me. First, we would ice skate on a beautiful pond. Then we would have a formal tea party with tea sandwiches and very flavorful tea. Then we would go to the movies and Angie would pick it out. I told Angie that she could explore the house. Pulling my boots on, running to the workshop, ready to tell Dad what I wanted for Angie’s bed. We got started and it took about two weeks. This was my favorite toy.

– Brianna Tilton, Grade 6

My favorite toy is a Thomas the Tank Engine Train. It is my favorite toy because I love trains. Another reason why it is my favorite is because I used to like the show Thomas the Tank Engine. I also like Thomas because my middle name is Thomas. That is why Thomas is my favorite toy.

This is what Thomas looked like. He had six small blue wheels. Thomas had red stripes on his light blue coat of paint. Thomas also had magnets on the front and back of him, and he had a hole for people to get in and out. He also had a bright yellow bell. So that is what he looks like.

I remember when I could take up a medium sized room and fill it up with trains and railroad tracks. I would push the train around with my brother Trey. Pushing those metal trains around made me feel like a conductor.

– Trever Lima, Grade 5

Cousin, the Stuffed Animal Pig

By Cedar Kiedaisch, Grade 4

I got Cousin for Christmas when I was one from my Uncle Justin.

He’s all fuzzy like fleece and tan like a roasting marshmallow with a white tummy. When I was little I would dress him up in doll dresses.

I was two in the car with my mom and her cousin Aunt Jess. She asked me what his name was. My mom had been calling Aunt Jess “cousin,” so my answer was “Cousin”! That is how I got my stuffed pig’s name.

Now I cannot sleep without him. The reason he’s so special to me is because when I sleep, Cousin guards me from bad dreams.

Teddly Shmeddly The Magic Bear

By Jay Hubbard, Teacher, Grade 3

The bald back side of one of those baboons, that’s what my teddy bear Teddly looked like after years of love. Teddly was given to me when I was just a little boy. I don’t remember how he became mine, but I do know he knew all my secret thoughts. I told him everything.

My Teddly was the toughest inanimate object in the universe. Every night he would sleep with me and protect me. He was huge (he took up almost all of the bed) and no one ever messed with me or him.

As I slept, he would always battle the monsters that inhabited the underside of my bed. If you don’t believe he fought for me, then you are totally wrong. Why else would he wake up on the floor?

One day I woke up and Teddly was gone… I was so upset. I had to find him. I noticed a trail of Teddly stuffing pills leading out the door. I followed them. They continued outside the house. I followed that stuffing like Hansel and Gretel.

When I got outside I found not Teddly, but my brother Craig at the end of the trail. He told me Teddly got up on the roof. How cool was that. Not only was my bear a fighter, he also was a flier. I was not surprised.

Teddly stayed up on that roof until the day we had a cool windy storm (he must have gotten cold). When I found him on the ground, he was wet and matted, and I loved him even more.