“I would like you to do a research project,” said Ms. Colman.
Research! That sounded like grown-up work to me. It sounded like the kind of grown-up work Sam and Charlie and Kristy did.
Research. I wrote the word in big letters in my notebook. I wanted to do a gigundoly good job. I wanted to get an A. No, an A +! No, an A + + +!
Ms. Colman was still talking. I decided to listen carefully. It was the grown-up thing to do.
“Each of you will work with a partner. You are to find out about a holiday that is not already familiar to you,” continued Ms. Colman. “You will write a brief report and make a presentation to the class. The presentation may be in any form — a skit, or an art project, for example. Are there any questions?”
I could not think of a grown-up question, so I didn’t ask anything at all.
“All right, then, I will assign partners and you may choose a holiday to work on,” said Ms. Colman.
Ms. Colman assigned me to Natalie. Natalie’s socks droop all the time. And she is pretty clumsy. But I like Natalie. I decided we would have fun together.
I turned to a clean page in my notebook and took out my best, sharpest pencil. I asked Natalie (nicely) to please pull up her socks.
“We have got to do everything right,” I explained.
“I have a question,” said Natalie. “How can we pick a holiday we do not know about?”
“I have an idea. We will ask Ms. Colman if we can look at her calendar. We will find a holiday there,” I said.
Ms. Colman told me that was a very good way to begin our research.
We started at January and turned the pages. We passed Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day. We passed April Fool’s Day and Easter and Passover.
“Here is a holiday I don’t know about,” I said. I was pointing to May Day.
“I do not know about that holiday either,” said Natalie.
We decided to research May Day. By the time we finished, we would know everything there was to know.
Mr. Kelly
“Hi, Mommy! Hi, Andrew! Hi, Hyacynthia!” I called when I saw Mommy’s car pull up at school.
“Hi, honey,” said Mommy. “Are you ready to go to Mr. Kelly’s?”
“I’m ready,” I said. I climbed into the back seat with Andrew and Hyacynthia. Hyacynthia was in a basket. A blanket was wrapped around her. I had given her a bag with three oatmeal raisin cookies, and a tiny book of poems. I had made sure she was all ready for her trip, even before I went to school.
“The address is six-oh-six Reade Street,” said Mommy. “Everyone, please buckle up.”
First we drove past our house. Andrew and I waved. Then we turned right on one street. Left on another. Right. Left. I felt as if we were going in circles.
“Are you sure you know the way, Mommy?” I asked.
“We are almost there,” Mommy replied.
Soon we were in a neighborhood with dark old houses and great big trees. I hoped Mr. Kelly did not live here.
“Ooh. Spooky,” said Andrew.
“Shhh!” I whispered. “You’ll scare Hyacynthia.”
I wondered if Morbidda Destiny’s relatives lived here. (She is the witch who lives next door to Daddy’s house.) If anyone who looked like Morbidda Destiny answered Mr. Kelly’s door, I was leaving.
“Here we are,” said Mommy. “Six-oh-six Reade Street.”
We stopped in front of a big, gray house. It looked like a perfect house for a mystery. A monster mystery! If a monster answered the door, I was leaving.
I hugged Hyacynthia close to me as we walked up the steps. Andrew hung on to the back of Mommy’s coat while she rang the bell.
Ding-ing-ing-ing. Dong-ong-ong-ong. (Ooh, creepy.) I took a step back. We waited and waited. Then the door creaked open.
A man with bright white hair, round wire glasses, and a big smile peered out. He said, “I am Mr. Kelly. What a pretty doll you have there!”
I liked Mr. Kelly right away. I already had plenty of grandfathers. But if I needed a new one, Mr. Kelly would be perfect.
“Hi!” I said, stepping up to the door. “I am Karen Brewer. And this is Hyacynthia.”
After everyone said hello, Mr. Kelly took us inside. Nobody else was in the house. I guessed Mr. Kelly lived by himself.
He led us to a big room upstairs.
“This is the toy repair room where I do most of my work,” he said.
“Oh, boy!” cried Andrew. There were toys everywhere.
We walked through the toy room to another, smaller room. “This is where Hyacynthia will stay,” said Mr. Kelly. “This room is just for dolls.”
“It really is a doll hospital,” I said.
Mr. Kelly lifted Hyacynthia out of her basket and examined her carefully.
“Yes, I am sure I can fix her. I will replace her leg and repaint her face. But you will have to leave her with me, maybe for a few weeks,” said Mr. Kelly.
“Is that all right with you, Karen?” asked Mommy.
I hated to leave Hyacynthia. But I knew I had to.
“Okay,” I said.
“You can call me any time you feel worried,” said Mr. Kelly.
“Really?” I asked.
“Really,” Mr. Kelly replied.
I kissed Hyacynthia’s chipped cheek. “Don’t you worry,” I said. “I am leaving you in very good hands.”
The Toy Man
It was a big-house weekend. Mommy dropped Andrew and me off at Daddy’s just before dinnertime.
“How is Hyacynthia feeling?” asked Daddy.
“Mr. Kelly said she was fine, but that was at three-thirty,” I replied. “I will go call him again!”
“Whoa, young lady. One call a day is plenty,” said Daddy. “But I can take you to see her tomorrow.”
“All right!” I cried. I could hardly wait.
Daddy said he knew Mr. Kelly when he was a boy. He said the kids called Mr. Kelly “The Toy Man.” Mr. Kelly even fixed Daddy’s fire truck once.
After dinner, I made three different get-well cards for Hyacynthia. Then I cut a heart out of red felt, and wrote I Love You on it with glitter.
The next morning, I called Mr. Kelly. He said to come over any time. Daddy drove me over right after breakfast.
Ding-ing-ing-ing. Dong-ong-ong-ong. Mr. Kelly’s bell did not scare me anymore. But we still had to wait and wait. That is because Mr. Kelly is old. It takes him a long time to go up and down stairs.
“Hi, Mr. Kelly!” I said when he opened the door.
“Welcome,” said Mr. Kelly. “Hyacynthia has been looking forward to your visit. And so have I.”
Daddy introduced himself and thanked Mr. Kelly for fixing his fire truck when he was a boy.
When we got upstairs, Daddy stopped in the toy repair room. I went to the doll hospital with Mr. Kelly.
“Hyacynthia! I have missed you so much!” I cried.
The bottom half of Hyacynthia’s leg was still missing. But her right cheek was bright and rosy again. She looked very happy to see me.
I gave her the cards and the heart I made. Then we all sat down by the window to visit.
“Daddy says when he was little, the kids called you ‘The Toy Man,’ ” I said.
“Yes, they did. I was very proud of that name,” said Mr. Kelly. “You see, when I was a boy, I grew up in a country called Ireland. A war was going on there. That is something I hope you will never know about. Toys were hard to come by. The few toys I had were left behind when my family moved to safety.”
“That is very sad,” I said. “I would never, ever want to leave Hyacynthia, or Moosie, or Goosie, or Terry.”
“Toys are important to children. That is why, when I came to America, I started to fix toys. Now I mostly fix the toys no one wants anymore. I make them look like new so I can give them to needy children at Christmas,” said Mr. Kelly.
“You’re just like Santa Claus!” I said.
“If I could be anyone else, anyone at all, Santa Claus is who I would w
ant to be,” said Mr. Kelly.
All of a sudden I noticed a twinkle in Mr. Kelly’s eye. For a minute I thought maybe he was Santa Claus.
We talked until Daddy said it was time to go.
“You are welcome here as often as you like, Karen,” said Mr. Kelly.
“Thank you,” I said. “I will be back very soon.”
I gave Hyacynthia a kiss on her shiny, new cheek. I gave Mr. Kelly a kiss on his cheek, too.
When I got home I called Hannie and Nancy. I told them about my visit. They were so glad that Hyacynthia was going to live. They forgot all about fighting.
I was gigundoly happy. Hyacynthia was getting well. And Nancy and Hannie were friends again.
Natalie’s Maypole
“I think we picked the coolest holiday,” I said to Natalie.
We were at the little house working on our research project. We had just finished a very grown-up snack of cheese and crackers and olives. (The olives were my idea. I asked for coffee, too. But Mommy said no.)
“Do you girls need any help with your work this afternoon?” asked Mommy.
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “We want to do this project all by ourselves.”
“Well, just call if you need me,” Mommy said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Engle,” said Natalie.
“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Engle,” I said in my most grown-up voice.
After school, Natalie and I had done a lot of important research at the library. We had borrowed three books on holidays. And we had copied the page about May Day from the encyclopedia.
I picked up one of the books and began to read out loud to Natalie. “May Day (May first) is a celebration of spring. Some people think that May Day celebrations began in ancient Egypt and India.”
“I want a turn to read,” said Natalie.
“Okay,” I said. “You read and I will take notes for our report.”
Natalie continued reading where I had left off. “Children often gather spring flowers. They make May baskets and have May Day parties. People gather in villages to dance around a Maypole and sing May Day songs.”
Natalie looked up. “Did you get all that?”
“Flowers. Baskets. Parties. Maypole. Dancing. Singing. That’s it!” I replied.
“Ka-ren!” said Natalie. “Those are not good notes.”
“I got the important parts,” I told her. “Does it say what a Maypole is?”
“Umm … It says here that a Maypole is a pole with brightly colored ribbons hanging down from the top. People dance around the Maypole while holding the ribbons. As they dance, the ribbons get wrapped around the pole.”
“Is there a picture?” I asked.
“I don’t see one,” replied Natalie.
“We will have to do more research,” I said. “Can you go to the library with me again tomorrow?”
“Sure,” said Natalie. “And when we find out what a Maypole is, I could make one for us. A real one. I am very good at arts and crafts.”
“I will write the report. I am very good at spelling. And I will use my best hand-writing,” I said. “This will be the most grown-up research project in the history of second grade!”
“I hope I don’t have to buy too many things for the Maypole,” said Natalie.
“I will help you pay for them,” I said. “But we have to use our own money. That is the grown-up thing to do.”
“This is so much fun!” said Natalie. “I’m glad you’re my partner, Karen.”
“I’m glad you’re my partner, too,” I said. And I really did mean it.
The Good-as-New Doll
Ring! Ring! It was Tuesday night at the little house.
“Karen, it’s for you,” said Seth. “It’s Mr. Kelly.”
“Mr. Kelly!” I cried.
I had visited Mr. Kelly three more times since the day I went there with Daddy. And I had called him every day. But he had never called me before. Maybe … just maybe …
“Hello, Mr. Kelly,” I said. “How are you? How is Hyacynthia? Is she ready to come home?”
Mr. Kelly said Hyacynthia was ready. Yes!
I asked Mommy if we could get her the next day. And I asked her if Nancy and Hannie could come with us. Mommy said yes to both things.
“See you tomorrow!” I said to Mr. Kelly.
I called Nancy right away. Her mommy said she could come with us. “I hope Hyacynthia recognizes me,” said Nancy.
Then I called Hannie. She could come, too. “I cannot wait to meet Mr. Kelly,” she said.
The next day after school, the Three Musketeers piled into Mommy’s car. We reached Mr. Kelly’s house in no time at all.
“Mr. Kelly, these are my two best friends, the ones I told you about,” I said proudly. “This is Nancy Dawes. And this is Hannie Papadakis.”
“I am honored to have a visit from the Three Musketeers,” said Mr. Kelly.
I wanted to go to the doll hospital to see Hyacynthia. But first I had to give Hannie and Nancy the grand tour.
“This is the repair shop where Mr. Kelly fixes all the toys,” I said. “Do you see how many toys there are? After they have been fixed up, Mr. Kelly gives them to needy children at Christmas.”
I could see that Nancy and Hannie were impressed.
“Here are Mr. Kelly’s tools,” I said, opening a cupboard door. I knew everything about Mr. Kelly’s Toy Repair Shop.
“And now I will take you to the doll hospital,” I said. “Please try to keep your voices down. Some of the dolls are very ill. They need their rest.”
I led the way to the small room where the dolls were kept. Hyacynthia was not in her usual spot.
“Where is Hyacynthia?” I asked Mr. Kelly.
Mr. Kelly pointed to a bench.
“She is with the good-as-new dolls,” he explained.
We hurried over to Hyacynthia.
“She looks perfect!” said Nancy.
“She looks like she was never hurt at all!” said Hannie.
I hugged Hyacynthia to me. “I am so happy you are all better,” I said. “I hope you said thank you to Mr. Kelly.”
Hannie and Nancy paid for the repairs just as they promised. While they were paying, I whispered something important in Mommy’s ear. Mommy nodded. I turned to Mr. Kelly.
“Mr. Kelly,” I said. “Would you like to come to the little house for dinner on Friday?”
“I would love to, Karen. Thank you for asking,” Mr. Kelly replied.
I left Mr. Kelly’s Toy Repair shop with Mommy, my two best friends, and my good-as-new doll cradled in my arms.
Karen’s Doll Hospital
“We’re back!” I announced to Goosie and Terry and all of Hyacynthia’s friends.
My room looked gigundoly beautiful. I had decorated it the night before when I found out that Hyacynthia was coming home. There were streamers (left over from Andrew’s birthday party). And I had made a big banner that said: WELCOME HOME, HYACYNTHIA!
“Now don’t everyone crowd around at once,” I warned. “Hyacynthia is still recovering. She needs her rest.”
“Mommy says when someone’s been sick, they need three R’s,” said Hannie.
“Reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic?” asked Nancy.
“No,” said Hannie. “Rest, relaxation, and um … um …”
“Raisins!” I exclaimed. That sounded like good food for a recovering patient.
I gave Hyacynthia some make-believe raisins. Then we tucked her into her cradle.
“Go to sleep now, Hyacynthia,” said Nancy. “You’ve had a long day.”
“Psst,” I whispered. (I did not want to disturb Hyacynthia.) “Let’s go get the dolls from boarding school and bring them here. They can keep Hyacynthia company while she is getting well.”
“Good idea,” whispered Nancy.
We tiptoed out of the room. I told Mommy we were going over to Nancy’s house.
Nancy’s and Hannie’s dolls were having a study period.
“Your former classmate, Hya
cynthia, has been ill,” Hannie told them. “Who would like to visit her?”
All the dolls wanted to go. We filled up three pillowcases with dolls and stuffed animals, too. We brought them back to my room.
“Make yourselves at home,” I said. “I am sure Hyacynthia will be glad to see you when she wakes up.”
“Oh, look,” said Hannie. “My Doll Sister has a scratch on her cheek.”
“Poor Kerry,” said Nancy. “I hope Pokey didn’t scratch her.” (Pokey is Nancy’s kitten.)
I ran to the bathroom and got a Band-Aid to put on Kerry’s cheek.
“This is perfect,” I said. “We can open a doll hospital here while Hyacynthia is getting better. She will have lots of company. We can pretend we are doll doctors.”
“And animal doctors,” added Hannie.
“We can use shoe boxes for beds,” I suggested. “Mommy and Seth have lots of those.”
“We have to make separate wards for dolls who have something catchy,” said Hannie.
“You are right,” I said. “I just heard a doll sneezing over in the corner. That will be the catchy ward.”
Mommy gave me lots of shoe boxes. And she let me have a thermometer and two empty aspirin bottles to put on the shelves. By the time we were finished my room looked like a real doll hospital.
“It is time to make our rounds,” I said.
We looked in on Hyacynthia, our sickest patient, first. She was recovering very nicely, thank you.
The First Patient
On Thursday, Ms. Colman made an important announcement about our research projects.
“I would like you to begin sharing your projects next week. The written reports will be due on Thursday. Your presentations will be made on Friday,” said Ms. Colman. “Will any of you have trouble being ready then?”
I shook my head hard so Ms. Colman could see I would have no trouble at all.
“I will give you some time now to work with your partners,” said Ms. Colman. “I am here to help if you need me.”
I pushed my chair over to Natalie’s desk so I was sitting right beside her. Natalie pulled up her socks. We were ready to begin.