After recess Christina and I found Mr. Berger and Ms. Colman. They were talking together in the hall.
“We have a very good idea for a project,” I said. Then Christina and I told our teachers about the playroom.
“The toys we have collected are very nice,” I said. “But there is a lot more work to be done. We need to fix up the playroom so it does not look so sad and run-down.”
“That is a very good idea,” said Ms. Colman. She smiled.
I knew Ms. Colman would like my idea.
“I think you should talk to the rest of the class,” she said. “I will give you time to talk to them tomorrow.”
Mr. Berger also liked the idea. He told Christina she could talk to her class the next day too. I hurried into the classroom and plopped down at my desk. I was so excited that I almost forgot to be careful.
That night at dinner, I told Mommy and Seth about the new part of my hospital project.
“We are going to fix up the playroom,” I said. “We are going to paint and put up curtains and shelves.” I looked at Seth. “Do you think you could help with the shelves?” I asked. “Are they very hard to build?”
Seth speared the peas on his plate. He took a bite and chewed.
“I could build some shelves,” he agreed.
“And did you say you need curtains?” asked Mommy. “Curtains are not hard to sew. I could make those.”
“Really?”
This was turning out even better than I had imagined. I hoped that my classmates would want to help too.
Karen’s Speech
That night, before I went to bed, I practiced the speech I would give to my class.
Seth poked his head in the door.
“How is the public speaking coming?” he asked.
“What is public speaking?” I asked.
“It is when you stand up in front of a group of people and give a speech,” he said. “Some people are afraid to give speeches. Are you worried about tomorrow?”
“Oh, no!” I said. I looked in the mirror. I spoke more loudly. I gestured with my arms. I had a feeling I was going to be very good at public speaking.
The next day in school, Ms. Colman called me to the front of the class.
“Karen wants to talk to you about something,” she told my classmates.
I looked around at all the faces in the class. I cleared my throat to make sure everyone would pay attention. Then I gave my speech. This is what I said:
“Imagine if you were in the hospital. Imagine what it would be like to feel very, very sick and have nowhere to play.”
Then I paused. I made my face sad so everyone would think seriously. Then I went on.
“Two weeks ago I was in the hospital. The hospital has a playroom, but it is not fixed up. Now we have new toys for the playroom. But the toys are not enough. The playroom is old and dirty. My mother said that she will make curtains. And my stepfather says that he will build shelves. But I think we can all help. Do you have any ideas?”
The kids started to raise their hands.
Ms. Colman stepped up to the blackboard. She told everyone that Mr. Berger’s class would be helping too. Then she wrote down the ideas people had. Some of the ideas were very good. Leslie Morris thought we should paint the walls. Natalie Springer said that we should also paint a picture on one of the walls.
“That is called a mural,” said Ms. Colman. “A mural is a large painting on a wall. What would you like the picture to be?” she asked.
“Children running and playing!” cried Ricky.
I waved my hand. Ms. Colman called on me.
“That might make some children in the hospital feel bad,” I said. “What if they cannot run and play? Or what if they are recuperating? Maybe it is not safe for them to run and play.”
Ms. Colman asked for other ideas.
“Guys playing basketball,” said Bobby.
“Ballerinas dancing,” said Pamela.
“Children playing with animals,” said Hannie.
That seemed like a very good idea to me.
We took a vote. I voted for children and animals. Guess what. That was the idea that won.
“Goody!” I cried out.
Ms. Colman reminded me to wait my turn to speak.
After that we were very busy in class. We had a lot to do. First we had to figure out how we would get the paint we would need.
Then Ms. Colman told us that she would call the hospital. She would talk to Mrs. Silliman and plan a good day for us to come and work.
Suddenly I thought of something. I raised my hand. “I cannot carry big cans of paint,” I told Ms. Colman. “They are too heavy for me. They might bang against my stomach.”
“That is okay,” said Ms. Colman. “Everyone will do what they can.”
Then she told us to take out our paper and pencils. We each made a sketch of what we thought the mural should look like. Everyone was busy. I felt very proud. All of this work was because of me.
Animals, Animals Everywhere
That afternoon, after school, I called Christina. I told her what the kids in my class had decided to do. Christina told me what had happened in her class.
“Someone is going to donate a rug,” she said.
“A rug!” I said. “What a good idea! That will make the playroom very warm and cozy.”
“The rug has pictures of animals on it,” said Christina.
Animals! This was perfect. “Our mural is going to have animals in it too.”
When I hung up, I ran to Mommy.
“Mommy,” I said. “I have an idea for the curtains. I think they should have animals on them. Then everything in the playroom would have animals.”
“That would be nice,” said Mommy. “I am going to the store this weekend. You can help me pick out the material.”
Just then Seth came home.
“Well,” he said, “I have good news for you, Karen. I have made the measurements for the shelves.”
“Excellent!” I cried.
I had a lot of things to tell my class when I went back to school.
The next day I was not the only one with good news to report. Ms. Colman told us that she had talked to Mrs. Silliman at the hospital.
“We will go to fix up the playroom two weeks from now,” she said. “We will go on a Friday morning and stay all day.”
I raised my hand. I told my class about the animal theme. I told them that Seth was working on the shelves.
“Maybe we could paint animal pictures on the shelves, too,” Addie suggested.
Every day we were thinking of more things to do.
Later in the week, Ms. Colman brought in an article she had found in a magazine. It was about people who are sick. The article said that animals often make people feel better. When people play with animals, it helps them get well.
“Maybe our animal pictures will help,” she said. “It will remind people of the pets they have at home.”
See why Ms. Colman is such a good teacher?
On Saturday, Mommy and I went shopping. We headed straight for the fabric store. At first I did not see any fabric with animals on it. I saw bright red fabric. I saw plaid fabric. I saw fabric with checks and fabric with gold threads running through it.
“Oooh,” I said. “This is very beautiful. It would make a wonderful costume for Irina Kozlova. But it is not good for our curtains.”
Mommy asked the saleswoman for help.
“Animals,” she said. She stopped to think. “I have one bolt of fabric with animals on it. It is in the back. I will bring it out for you to see.”
I crossed my fingers and held my breath. The saleswoman came back out with a bright bolt of fabric. It was covered with pictures of monkeys and giraffes.
I grinned at Mommy.
Mommy laughed. “I think that means you like it,” she said.
“I do!” I cried. “I like it very much.”
The Big Day
Finally the big day arrived. My classmates and I ha
d worked very hard. We were ready to fix up the playroom. That morning, I woke up bright and early. I ran to the window and looked outside. Goody! It was not snowing. We would have no trouble getting to the hospital.
Seth was awake too. I found him in the garage. He was loading things into his van. He was stacking up the toys and the long, flat boxes with Mommy’s curtains in them. I waved to him from the door.
“Good morning, Karen,” he said to me. “Better get dressed. We have a big day ahead of us.”
Oops! I was still in my pajamas.
In my room I thought carefully about what I would wear. I should wear old clothes. We would be cleaning and painting. I put on an old pair of jeans. Then I found a long, sloppy shirt that used to be Kristy’s. She had given it to me to play in. I put on my oldest shoes. I certainly did not want to get paint on any of my good shoes.
When I went downstairs to breakfast, Seth came inside to say good-bye.
“I am going to my workshop to pick up the shelves,” he said. “I will meet you at the hospital.”
I put on my coat and kissed Mommy.
“Have fun!” she said as she waved goodbye.
Then I headed for the bus. The sidewalk was still slippery. By now, though, I was very good at taking baby steps. I walked to the bus inch by inch.
At school everyone looked funny. No one was wearing school clothes. Everyone was in old clothes. I spun around to show Hannie my big shirt. It puffed out like a sail. As soon as everyone arrived, we gathered up our supplies. Then Ms. Colman told us to sit down. She told us how we should behave at the hospital.
“We should be very quiet in the halls,” she said. “People there do not feel well. We need to be careful not to disturb them. We should not run and we should not shout.”
I raised my hand to speak.
“Also,” I said, “we cannot visit the children who are sick.”
“That is a good point,” said Ms. Colman. She smiled at me.
I knew all about the hospital. I knew all the rules.
Then we lined up and got on the bus. Mr. Berger’s class got on too.
“We should sing songs,” I said. “Animal songs.”
It was not easy to think of animal songs. But we did. We sang “How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?” We sang “Two Little Ducks.” Then we sang “Teddy Bears’ Picnic.” Before we knew it, we had arrived at the hospital. We got off the bus and walked to the front desk.
Inside the hospital, I felt a little scared. The smell of the building reminded me of being sick. I put my hand over my tummy to protect it. Maybe it was not such a good idea for me to be fixing up the playroom.
Mrs. Silliman was waiting at the front desk to meet us. She introduced herself.
“It is very nice of you to help us fix up the playroom,” she said. “Which one of you is Karen Brewer?”
I shot up my hand.
“Karen,” she said, “you can help me lead your schoolmates to the children’s floor.”
When we reached the playroom, Seth was already there. His shelves were stacked on their sides. His tool kit was open. I could see hammers and saws and drills and nails.
Everyone hurried into the room to get busy. I stayed in the doorway. Suddenly this did not feel like a very safe place for me to be.
Welcome Home!
Seth saw me standing in the doorway. He waved to me. Just then, Mr. Berger clapped his hands. He told everyone to sit on the floor. Then Mr. Berger and Ms. Colman told us all the jobs that needed to get done. They asked for volunteers.
One by one, my friends raised their hands and volunteered for jobs. Nancy wanted to sketch our animal picture onto the sides of the shelves. Christina wanted to hang mobiles by the window. (Her class had made mobiles from cellophane. When the sun shone through them, the light changed color!) Hannie wanted to paint the big, plain wall. She got a paint roller. I was the last one in the circle. I did not volunteer for anything.
“Karen,” asked Ms. Colman, “what would you like to do?”
I had to think of a safe idea.
“I think I will help Nancy,” I decided. “I am very good at drawing.”
The day went by fast. At noon Ms. Silliman brought lunch for us. We ate chicken soup and green Jell-O.
After I finished sketching, I helped Seth screw the shelves into the wall. Then I helped paint them.
Brian the nurse poked his head in the door.
“Hey, Karen!” he called to me. “Hello!”
“Hello!” I cried back. I waved my paint-brush at him. Uh-oh! Paint splattered on the floor and in Nancy’s hair. I grabbed a paper towel and cleaned it up quickly.
Brian laughed.
“I see you are as busy as ever,” he said.
At the end of the day, the room looked beautiful. It was bright and clean and cheerful. The sun streamed through Mommy’s curtains. Pictures of animals were everywhere.
“Congratulations!” I shouted to my friends. “We have done a very good job!”
Ms. Colman tapped me on the shoulder. “Indoor voice,” she reminded me.
Then it was time to help Seth carry in the boxes of toys. They were still in the van. We put on our coats. We paraded out to the parking lot. Seth handed each of us a box or a bag. We walked in a long line back to the playroom.
“We look like a train,” I said.
Hannie giggled.
We could not put the toys on the shelves, though. The shelves were still wet with paint. Ms. Silliman promised us that she would arrange the toys later. Then she gave a speech.
“I want to thank you all very much for coming,” she said. “The playroom looks beautiful. You did a wonderful job.”
Afterward Ms. Colman added a special thanks. It was to Christina and me.
“I am sure we all want to thank Karen and Christina,” she said. “They suggested this project. If they had not, the playroom would still be old and sad looking.”
I felt very proud. I thought of all the children who would use the room. Maybe it would help them get better. I smiled at Christina. She smiled back at me.
The Best Surprise
Finally it was time to go home. Everyone got back on the bus. Everyone except Nancy and me, that is. Ms. Colman said we could go home with Seth. Now that the shelves and the toys were out of the van, there was plenty of room for us.
All the way home, I talked about the playroom.
“The best part is the murals,” I said. “No, wait! The best part is the shelves! No, I mean the curtains! Hmmm.” I could not decide. “The mobiles look cool too.”
“I think the rug looks nice,” said Nancy.
That was true too.
Seth was driving carefully. He was watching the road. I remembered I had better thank him.
“You and Mommy did so much work,” I said. “Thank you very much. We were all very glad you could make the shelves.” (That gave me another idea. Maybe I would ask my class to write a special thank-you note to Seth and Mommy. I was sure Ms. Colman would think that was a good idea.)
Seth pulled into our driveway. I stepped out of the van. The driveway was icy and slippery. Sleet was falling on my glasses. It made everything look smeary.
“How long has it been sleeting?” I asked.
“All the way home,” said Seth.
It had been sleeting and I had not even noticed. And I had not worried all day at the hospital, either. I had been so busy, I did not have time to worry.
I sighed a big, heavy sigh. I did not want to worry anymore. It was hard work to worry all the time.
“Can Nancy stay and play awhile?” I asked Seth.
“Sure,” he agreed.
Nancy and I ran inside to tell Mommy about the day. On the front walk, I slid on the ice. On purpose!
“Look, Nancy!” I cried. “I am skating again!”
Mommy was in the living room, reading a book.
“Mommy! Mommy!” I cried. “The playroom looks beautiful! Your curtains look perfect! There are mobiles at the windows too
! And Brian the nurse came to say hello! I spilled a little bit of paint, but I wiped it right up so it did not matter. And — ”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Mommy laughed. “Let’s get your coat off. Would you girls like some warm cider?”
“Yes,” we cried.
“Oh,” said Mommy. “I almost forgot. A package arrived for you, Karen. It came this afternoon.”
A package? For me? I did not know who it could be from. Christmas was over. And my birthday was not for a long time.
“The package is in the front hall,” said Mommy.
Nancy and I ran to see what it was.
I did not see a return address on the package. I tore open the box. Inside was a present. On top was a letter. It was from Irina Kozlova!
“Dear Karen,” she wrote.
“I am sorry to hear that you had an accident. Soon I will go into the hospital for surgery too. The doctors say I have to have an operation on my knee. You told me you think I am brave, but I think you are brave. When I go into the hospital, I will think of you. It sounds as if you have done very good work collecting toys for the hospital. I am sending you a stuffed animal for your toy drive. I hope it is not too late. Thank you for writing to me. Irina Kozlova.
“P.S. I do not get my costumes at a store. A designer makes them for me. She sews on all the sequins by hand. Good luck to you!”
(Hmm, I thought. Mommy sews. Maybe sometime she could sew a costume for me!)
Nancy and I dug down into the box. Inside was a big stuffed monkey.
“Wow! That is cool!” said Nancy.
“It will go perfectly with the curtains!” I cried.
Mommy called us into the kitchen. Now I had even more to tell her. Our cider was warm and delicious. It had been a very good day.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.