The author gratefully acknowledges
Diane Molleson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 The Big House
2 A Long Dinner
3 My Big Family
4 Ms. Colman’s Second Grade
5 Oink! Oink!
6 David Michael: Major Pest!
7 A Lecture
8 Dungeons and Monkey Stew
9 The Grand Tour
10 Grandparents’ Day
11 Punch and Pumpkin Pie
12 Packing and Planning
13 Party Time
14 A Castle
15 The Parade
16 Un Deux Trois
17 A Truce?
18 An Idea
19 Opening Night
20 Snow and Stars
About the Author
Also Available
Copyright
The Big House
“I love fall,” I said to Moosie and Andrew. Moosie is my stuffed cat. He did not answer me. But my little brother Andrew did.
“Why?” he asked. He climbed up on a chair to look out my bedroom window.
“Because of the leaves — and Halloween, of course,” I added.
“But Halloween is over,” Andrew pointed out. “Does that mean fall is over?”
“No. Fall lasts until December twenty-first,” I said. “Besides, as long as there are leaves on the ground, it is still fall.”
“Oh,” said Andrew. He is little enough to believe almost everything I tell him.
“You know, Andrew, it is November now,” I said. (I do most of the talking when I am with Andrew.) “Do you know how I know that?”
“Because we are at the big house,” Andrew answered. Our parents are divorced. We spend every other month with Daddy at the big house. The rest of the time we live with Mommy at the little house. (I will tell you more about my two houses later.)
“Karen, Andrew,” Nannie called from downstairs. “I am making hot chocolate. Would you like some?”
“Sure!” we shouted. (Nannie is our stepgrandmother. We love her a lot.)
“Nannie, can I have marshmallows in my hot chocolate?” I asked when we ran in the kitchen.
“Of course,” Nannie answered.
“Say please, Karen,” Daddy reminded me. Daddy is around during the day because he works at home. He sat at the big kitchen table with Emily Michelle. (Emily Michelle is one of my sisters. She is only two and a half.)
“Choo-choo!” Emily Michelle cried. (She was trying to say chocolate.)
“Yes, you may have some,” Nannie answered.
“Mmm, something smells good in here,” someone said. The kitchen door opened. I looked up and saw Kristy.
“You are home early,” I said. I was very pleased to see her. Kristy is my stepsister. She is also one of my favorite people ever.
“You probably smell the pot roast we’re having tonight,” Nannie told Kristy.
“Or the hot chocolate,” I added.
Kristy poured some hot chocolate into her favorite mug. (It is shaped like a baseball.) Then she sat down next to me. I was looking forward to telling her about my day at school when David Michael barged in the door. Boo and bullfrogs!
David Michael is one of my stepbrothers. He can be a real pest. In fact, he has been such a pest lately that we have not been getting along too well.
“How was Play-by-Play?” Daddy asked David Michael. Play-by-Play is an after school club at David Michael’s school. Kids put on plays and learn all about the theater. David Michael loves it.
“Great,” answered David Michael. He squeezed his chair between Kristy and me. (See what I mean about being a pest?) “We’re putting on Winnie-the-Pooh.”
“Cool!” said Kristy.
“And you know what?” said David Michael. He made sure he had everyone’s attention. “I am going to be Piglet.”
“Piglet!” I squealed. “You are going to play a pig?” I could not stop laughing. David Michael gave me a dirty look.
“Congratulations!” said Daddy. He patted David Michael on the shoulder. “Piglet is a very big part. I am proud of you. I am also pleased your schoolwork has been improving lately.”
David Michael beamed. (It was lucky for him his schoolwork had been improving, or he probably could not be in the play at all. But Piglet?)
I was still chuckling, but everyone ignored me.
“To David Michael’s new part,” said Kristy. She held out her mug of hot chocolate.
“To David Michael,” everyone said, except me.
November was going to be a long month.
A Long Dinner
I have a big family. Dinners at the big house always take a long time because there are so many of us, and everyone has so much to say.
David Michael told us — again — about playing Piglet in Winnie-the-Pooh.
“We know,” I whispered to my napkin. But Kristy heard me.
“Karen,” she whispered back, “not everyone has heard David Michael’s news.”
I nodded. Then I began giggling. I thought about the costume David Michael would wear. Probably something shiny and pink with a snout. And I laughed even harder.
No one else was laughing. Elizabeth was telling David Michael how relieved she was that his schoolwork had been improving. “Oh, and I’m so proud of you for getting this big part,” Elizabeth was saying. I rolled my eyes. (Elizabeth is David Michael’s mother, my stepmother. She is usually pretty cool.)
Nannie said she would sew David Michael’s costume. Kristy wanted to bring all her friends to watch his play.
I was happy when Elizabeth changed the subject. “David Michael,” she began, “we have a surprise for you.”
“You do?” asked David Michael. I sat up a little straighter. What could it be? I wondered. The others quieted down.
“Yes,” Elizabeth continued. “We want to send you to Stoneybrook Academy. I have sent in your application.”
“What?” I was horrified. Stoneybrook Academy is my school. I didn’t want my pesky stepbrother in my grade with my friends. I looked at David Michael. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
“Thanks, Mom,” David Michael finally said. “But I like Stoneybrook Elementary. And I love being in Play-by-Play.”
“We know,” Elizabeth said. “But Stoneybrook Academy should be better for you. If you get in, you will receive more attention and you should do even better in class.”
David Michael shrugged.
“Now I have a surprise for everyone,” Daddy said. He put his fork down and cleared his throat. “This year we are going to spend Thanksgiving weekend in New York City.”
“Yippee!” I shouted. Andrew and David Michael cheered. This was great news. Andrew and I were supposed to go to New York last year for Thanksgiving. But we did not.
“Will we see the parade?” I asked.
“Yes,” Daddy answered. “We are going to stay in a hotel along the parade route. That way we can see the parade from our windows.”
“Cool!” said Andrew.
“We have made reservations to eat a special Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant,” Elizabeth said.
“I have to phone the little house,” I said. “I want to tell Mommy.”
“You can call after dinner,” said Daddy.
I was too excited to finish eating. But I did take a few bites.
Right after dinner Andrew and I called the little house. That is where Mommy and Seth live. (Seth is our stepfather.) Mommy answered the phone. She sounded happy to hear from us. She sounded even happier when we told her our news.
After we hung up, Andrew and I went upstairs to pack. Thanksgiving was only three
weeks away. We wanted to be sure we were ready.
My Big Family
Remember I told you I had two houses? Now I will tell you more about them.
When I was very little, Andrew and I lived with Mommy and Daddy in one house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting — at first a little, then a lot. Finally they got a divorce. They told us they still loved Andrew and me very much, but they did not love each other anymore. So Mommy moved out of the big house. (It is the house Daddy grew up in.) She moved to a little house, not far away. Then Mommy married Seth. Daddy married again too. He married Elizabeth.
Here is who is in my little-house family: Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Rocky and Midgie (Seth’s cat and dog), Emily Junior (my very own rat), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).
Here is who is in my big-house family: Daddy, Elizabeth, Kristy, Charlie, Sam, David Michael, Emily Michelle, Nannie, Andrew, me, Shannon, Boo-Boo, Goldfishie, Crystal Light the Second, Emily Junior, and Bob. (Emily Junior and Bob go back and forth when Andrew and I do.)
Kristy, Charlie, Sam, and David Michael are Elizabeth’s children. (She was married once before too.) That makes them my stepsister and stepbrothers. Charlie and Sam are old. They go to high school. David Michael is seven like me. Kristy, as I told you, is one of my favorite people ever. She is thirteen and she runs a baby-sitting business with her friends from school. Emily Michelle is my adopted sister. (I love her very much, so I named my pet rat after her.) Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from the faraway country of Vietnam. Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. She helps take care of the big house and all us kids. The pets, too. We have a lot of them. Shannon is David Michael’s puppy. Boo-Boo is Daddy’s fat old cat. And Goldfishie and Crystal Light the Second are goldfish. They belong to Andrew and me.
I made up special nicknames for my brother and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I thought up those names after my teacher read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) Andrew and I are two-twos because we have two of so many things. We have two houses and two families, two mommies, two daddies, two cats, and two dogs. Plus I have two bicycles, one at each house. (Andrew has two trikes.) I have two stuffed cats who look exactly alike. Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie stays at the big house. And we have two sets of clothes, books, and toys. This way we do not need to pack much when we go back and forth. I even have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket.
I also have a best friend near each house. Hannie Papadakis lives near Daddy. Nancy Dawes lives next door to Mommy. Hannie, Nancy, and I are all in Ms. Colman’s second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. We love Ms. Colman’s class. (I hope David Michael does not end up in my classroom with my friends!)
Being a two-two is not too hard. Sometimes Andrew and I miss the family we are not staying with. But mostly we are very lucky. Think how many people can celebrate Thanksgiving with us!
Ms. Colman’s Second Grade
“Do you know what Linny did yesterday?” asked Hannie. (Linny is Hannie’s brother.)
“What?” asked Nancy.
“First he was spying on me. Then he followed me all over the house. And he kept repeating everything I said.”
I shook my head. “Brothers can really be pests,” I said. (I was thinking of David Michael.)
The three of us were sitting on some desks in the back of the room talking, as we do every morning. We were waiting for Ms. Colman, our gigundoly wonderful teacher.
“Good morning, class,” Ms. Colman said when she came in the room. “Please take your seats.”
I hopped off the desk and went to sit in the front row. I have to sit there because I wear glasses. I sit next to Ricky Torres. He is another glasses-wearer. He is also my pretend husband. We were married on the playground at recess one day.
“Karen, would you please take attendance?” asked Ms. Colman.
“Sure,” I answered. I love to take attendance. It is an important job.
I stood up and started checking off names in the attendance book. I put a check next to my name first. Then I checked off Hannie and Nancy because they are my best friends. I checked off Ricky and Natalie Springer. (Natalie also wears glasses. She sits in the front row, too.)
I checked off the twins, Terri and Tammy Barkan. And Bobby Gianelli. (Bobby Gianelli used to be a bully, but he is not so bad anymore.) I checked off Pamela Harding, my best enemy, and her friends Jannie Gilbert and Leslie Morris. I checked off Addie Sidney. (She was moving her wheelchair away from our class computer and closer to her desk.) I checked off Chris Lamar, Hank Reubens, and Audrey Green.
I made a few more checks in the book and handed it back to Ms. Colman. Everyone was in class today, and that was good. I like my class just the way it is. We do not need any extra kids, especially not my stinky brother David Michael.
“Class, I have an important announcement to make,” said Ms. Colman.
I sat up straighter. I love Ms. Colman’s Surprising Announcements.
“Thanksgiving is only three weeks away,” she said. “We are going to spend this month working on a special project. I want you to paint a big banner for the school’s main hallway.”
“Cool!” shouted Bobby.
“Please raise your hand, Bobby,” said Ms. Colman. (Ms. Colman always has to remind Bobby not to call out in class.) “The banner will show the school what life was like for the early American settlers. It will be a big picture of a New England town more than two hundred years ago. To paint this banner, we will need to study how people dressed, what they did, what their houses and farms looked like, and what they ate.”
Ricky raised his hand. “I want to study what they ate,” he said.
“All right,” said Ms. Colman. “I will be dividing the class into small groups of two or three people. Each group will study something different about the town. We will work on this project every afternoon after recess.”
I raised my hand.
“Yes, Karen?”
“Can it be fall in this town?” I asked.
“Good question,” said Ms. Colman. “Yes, it can.”
Hurray! That meant I could draw lots of colorful leaves.
“Could we put a Thanksgiving feast in the picture?” asked Chris Lamar.
“Certainly,” Ms. Colman replied. “You can draw feasts, houses, farms, schools, trees, animals, and people.”
“What about trains?” asked Chris.
“There were no trains or cars then,” said Ms. Colman. “That is why we will study the early American settlers first. We need to find out more about how they lived.”
I could not wait to begin. We spent the next hour dividing into groups and deciding what to study. Hannie, Nancy, and I were in the same group. We like to do everything together. That is why we call ourselves the Three Musketeers. We decided to study what early schools were like.
I could not even imagine David Michael in my class with my friends.
Maybe David Michael could be in Mr. Berger’s class. That was the other second-grade class in the school.
Ms. Colman’s class was the best. I wanted to make sure it stayed that way.
Oink! Oink!
“Andrew, catch!” I called. I threw the red Frisbee high in the air. Andrew raced toward it. But Scott Hsu caught the Frisbee instead. (Scott and his brother, Timmy, live down the street from the big house. They often come over to play in Daddy’s backyard.)
“No fair,” said Andrew.
“The wind blew it right to me,” said Scott.
“Can we play too?” Melody called from across the street. Her brother, Bill, was with her.
“Sure,” I answered. (I like playing with Melody. We are good friends.)
Soon Hannie and Linny came over too. We made a big circle and practiced throwing the Frisbee higher and higher. We were better at throwing than at catching. Then Scott grabbed a bunch of leaves and threw them at Timmy. Timmy grabbed an even bigger bunch and threw them at Scott. I threw leaves at Hannie. She threw some
at Linny. Red, orange, and yellow leaves swirled through the air.
I was having so much fun, I did not see David Michael pull into the driveway with Charlie in the Junk Bucket. (That is what everyone calls Charlie’s car.)
“Hey, David Michael’s here!” shouted Bill. He raced to the car. So did Linny.
“Hi, guys! I just came from rehearsal,” David Michael announced. “I have a very big part in the school play.”
“Cool,” said Bill.
“Yeah, guess what the part is,” I said.
“What?” asked Linny.
“He plays Piglet. A pig.” I made sure to say the word pig very clearly.
“You do?” asked Bill. He did not sound impressed.
“Yes,” I said. “He has to learn to grunt and squeal and go ‘Oink, oink.’ ”
Everyone laughed, except David Michael. He looked mad. He looked even madder when Scott and Timmy started yelling, “Oink, oink, oink.” And when Hannie and Andrew began to snort.
“Pigs squeal, like this,” I said. I performed some high-pitched squeals.
“Okay, Karen,” said David Michael. His face looked a little red. “Why don’t we play Frisbee?”
“Okay, Piglet. Anything you say,” answered Bill. He grabbed the Frisbee and threw it toward David Michael. Linny joined them.
“Maybe we should pretend to be pigs,” I shouted to the others, “to help David Michael with his part.”
“Oink! Oink!” cried Scott. (I guess that meant he liked my idea.) Scott, Timmy, and Melody tumbled in the leaves, squealing and snorting.
I decided to make up a song. I sang to the rhythm of a rap tune I heard on the radio.
David Michael is a pig.
David Michael does a jig.
David Michael wears a wig.
Oink, oink, oink, oink, oink!
I thought my song was pretty good. The other kids joined in. Soon everyone, except David Michael, was singing. Even Bill and Linny. That made David Michael even more mad, since he is good friends with Bill and Linny.
“You guys are not funny!” cried David Michael.
“Yes we are,” said Scott. “Oink, oink, oink, oink, oink.”