The author gratefully acknowledges
Stephanie Calmenson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 The Perfect Pumpkin
2 Karen’s Stories
3 I Will Be Right Back!
4 Making Plans
5 Baby-sitting for Emily
6 Karen’s Good Idea
7 Emily’s Itchies
8 An Important Job
9 Emily’s Chicken Pox
10 Karen’s Worries
11 Staying Away
12 “Abracadabra!”
13 Just a Little Cold
14 Spots!
15 Getting Even
16 Karen Brewer, Germ Queen
17 No Ghost
18 Apologies All Around
19 A Special Prize
20 A Happy Halloween
About the Author
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Copyright
The Perfect Pumpkin
“Hey! You bumped my arm,” I said.
“Sorry,” Natalie replied.
I was sitting at my school desk drawing pumpkin faces. Natalie Springer sits next to me. She was bending down to pull up her socks when she bumped my chair. (Her socks droop a lot.)
I looked at the pumpkin face I had been working on. Thanks to being bumped, my pumpkin now had a big, jagged line down his cheek. He looked very spooky.
I needed to draw a really excellent pumpkin. I will tell you why. But first I should tell you who I am. My name is Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. I am a glasses-wearer. I even have two pairs. The blue pair is for reading. The pink pair is for the rest of the time.
I am in the second grade at Stoneybrook Academy. My two best friends are in my class. They are Hannie Papadakis and Nancy Dawes. We all used to sit together at the back of the room. But I had to move up front when I got my glasses because my teacher, Ms. Colman, said I could see better there. Now we all wave to one another a lot.
Ms. Colman is the best teacher, by the way. We always do interesting things in her class. And she hardly ever raises her voice. (Sometimes she has to remind me not to raise my voice. I get excited in class and call out. That is when Ms. Colman says, “Indoor voice, please, Karen.”)
Anyway, the reason I was drawing pumpkin faces was that Ms. Colman had brought our class a pumpkin to carve and keep in our room for Halloween, which was just a few weeks away. We would each put one favorite drawing into a witch’s hat. Then Ms. Colman would pick a drawing out of the hat and carve our class pumpkin to look just like it. So I needed an excellent pumpkin in case mine got picked.
“Hey, Karen, how many pumpkins are you drawing?” asked Ricky.
Ricky Torres sits on the other side of me. (He is my pretend husband. We got married on the playground at recess one day.)
He had three pumpkins. I counted mine.
“Seven,” I said. “I want to make sure I have plenty to choose from.”
“Class, you have just a few minutes left to work,” said Ms. Colman.
Uh-oh. I quickly finished the face I was working on. Then I spread out all my drawings. I had friendly faces, silly faces, and spooky faces. It was time to choose one.
There was no contest. The beady-eyed, pointy-nosed pumpkin with seven snaggly teeth, crooked eyebrows, and the big, jagged line running down his cheek was perfect.
“Thanks, Natalie,” I said. “Your bump gave me the perfect pumpkin.”
Karen’s Stories
“Hi, Karen. How was school?” asked Nannie.
“Karen home!” said Emily. She held out her arms to give me a hug.
Nannie is my stepgrandmother. She was holding my little sister, Emily Michelle, on her hip. (Emily is two and a half.) I had just walked into the house after school, and they were happy to see me.
For the month of October I was living at my big house. Last month I lived at my little house. That is right. I have two houses. I will tell you how that happened.
The story starts when I was very little. Back then I lived only in the big house here in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. I lived with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. (Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five.)
Then Mommy and Daddy started having troubles. They argued a lot. It was awful. They tried their best to work things out, but just could not do it. So they explained to Andrew and me that though they love each of us very much, they could not live together anymore. Then they got divorced.
Mommy moved with Andrew and me to a little house not far away in Stoneybrook. She met a very nice man named Seth. She and Seth got married, which means that Seth is my stepfather.
Daddy stayed in the big house after the divorce. (It is the house he grew up in.) He met a very nice woman named Elizabeth, and they got married. Elizabeth was married once before and has four children. They are David Michael, who is seven, like me; Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever; and Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school. When Daddy and Elizabeth married, Kristy, David Michael, Sam, and Charlie became my stepsister and stepbrothers.
Emily joined the family a little later. Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from a faraway country called Vietnam. That is when Nannie came to live with us. Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. She came to help out with Emily, but she really helps everyone.
Now Andrew and I switch houses almost every month — a month at the big house, a month at the little house. Back and forth. That way we get to spend time with each of our two families. That is a good thing because I love both my families.
Also, there are pets at both houses. Emily Junior, my pet rat (I named her after Emily, of course), and Bob, Andrew’s hermit crab, go back and forth with Andrew and me. At the little house are Midgie, Seth’s dog, and Rocky, Seth’s cat. The pets at the big house are Shannon, David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Pumpkin, our new black kitten; Crystal Light the Second, my goldfish; and Goldfishie, Andrew’s hedgehog. (Just kidding! He’s a fish.)
Andrew and I have two of lots of our things because it makes going back and forth between our houses easier. We each have two sets of toys and clothes and books. I have two stuffed cats. (Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house.) We each have two bicycles. (I taught Andrew to ride a two-wheeler!) And you know about my two best friends, Hannie and Nancy. Hannie lives across the street and one house over from the big house. Nancy lives next door to the little house. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers because we like to do everything together.
Because Andrew and I have two of so many things, I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. I thought up those names after my teacher, Ms. Colman, read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
So that is the story of my houses. Now it was time to tell another story. Nannie and Emily wanted to hear the story of my day. So over cookies and milk in the kitchen, I told them.
I Will Be Right Back!
Halloween was coming closer and my friends and I still had not decided what costumes we would wear. At recess one day we had a serious talk.
“Clowns! We should be three circus clowns,” said Hannie.
“I do not know about clowns,” said Nancy. “But we should be three of something.”
“We could go as the real Three Musketeers,” I said.
“Or the Three Blind Mice,” said Nancy.
“Maybe we should be three things that go together but are not the same,” I said.
“Good idea,” said Hannie. “We can be three animals. We can be jungle animals.”
“Or farm animals,” said Nancy.
Ringgg! The bell rang, ending recess.
<
br /> “To be continued,” I said.
Hannie and I continued our conversation on the school bus that afternoon.
We promised to call Nancy if we had any bright ideas.
“We could be vehicles,” I said. “I could be a school bus.”
“I could be an airplane,” said Hannie.
“I will call Nancy when I get home to see what she would want to be,” I said.
By the time we got off the bus, we had several good ideas. I ran into the house to call Nancy. But Sam was on the phone. (Lately he had been on the phone a lot.)
“I will be right back!” I called to whomever else was at home.
“Where are you going? You just walked in,” said Daddy, coming out of his office. (Daddy works at home most days.)
“Sam is on the phone and I want to call Nancy,” I said. “I am going to Hannie’s house.”
“Cross carefully, please,” said Daddy. “And come right back after your phone call.”
“I always cross carefully. And I promise to come right back,” I said.
I ran out of the house. I really do always cross carefully. I stopped at the curb and looked both ways before I walked across the street. Then I ran up Hannie’s walk and rang her bell.
“Sam is on the phone. We need to call Nancy from here,” I said when she opened the door.
We told Nancy our ideas. She had three more of her own. I ran back home.
“Are you ready for a snack?” asked Nannie.
“Yes, thank you. I am really hungry,” I said.
That gave me another idea. I wanted to call Hannie and Nancy and tell it to them. But Sam was still on the phone.
“I will be right back!” I said.
“Where are you going?” asked Nannie.
I explained about the phone calls.
“Your snack will be waiting. Don’t stay long,” said Nannie.
I went back outside, stopped at the curb, looked both ways, crossed the street, rang the bell, told Hannie my ideas, called Nancy, and came back home.
A plate of peanut butter on crackers and a glass of apple juice were waiting for me. When I finished my snack, Sam was still on the phone. I hoped Hannie and Nancy were not trying to call me.
“I will be right back!” I said.
I ran to Hannie’s house again to see if she had any new ideas. She was on the phone with Nancy. They both had more ideas for our costumes. By the time I had to leave to start my homework, we had a long list.
Making Plans
“It is time to vote,” I said.
It was Thursday. I was on the playground at recess again with my friends. It was time to decide what we were going to be for Halloween. We had narrowed our list down to two choices: farm animals or wacky vegetables. We agreed to vote by making sounds. Animal noises, or crunches and squishes. (Some vegetables are crunchy and others are squishy.)
“I will count to three,” said Nancy. “One, two, three!”
We answered at the same time.
“Cluck!”
“Moo!”
“Baa!”
We started giggling.
(Pamela Harding and her friends, Jannie Gilbert and Leslie Morris, gave us meaniemo faces. Pamela is my best enemy. She likes to make fun of me every chance she gets.)
“I am not surprised we all want to be animals,” I said.
“I am glad we each picked a different animal,” said Hannie.
Hannie was going to be a cow. Nancy was going to be a sheep. I wanted to be a chicken. Cluck!
“A grown-up is going to have to come trick-or-treating with us,” I said. “I think whoever comes should wear overalls.”
“Like Old MacDonald!” said Nancy.
Back in our classroom we had more Halloween planning to do. Ms. Colman said we could have a class party.
“I am going to pass around a sign-up sheet,” said Ms. Colman. “Please write down what you will be able to bring to the party.”
I wrote down two things. One was “witches’ brew.” That was soda or juice. The other was “bat cakes.” That was chocolate cupcakes. They are one of Nannie’s specialties.
Did I tell you that Nannie has her very own candy-making business? She works at home in the second kitchen, which used to be a pantry. I am her very good assistant. I even helped her win the Cocoa-Best cooking contest once. So “witches’ brew” and “bat cakes” would be easy.
“Our party will be on the Friday before Halloween. That is a week from tomorrow,” said Ms. Colman.
This was so cool. A party at school and Halloween on Sunday. Halloween on a weekend is the best. There is plenty of time to have fun!
Baby-sitting for Emily
I was still in a great mood by the time I got home. I burst through the door.
“Hi, everyone!” I called.
“Hi, Karen,” said Andrew.
I heard another voice say “Hi.” It was David Michael’s. I followed his voice to the kitchen. Nannie and Emily were there too.
“Did you have a good day?” asked Nannie.
“I did,” I replied. “I will need your help making bat cakes. They are chocolate cupcakes.”
I told everyone about my Halloween plans.
“I will be happy to help out,” said Nannie. “Can you help me out this afternoon? Emily is not feeling very well. She has a little bit of fever, and her head hurts. I need you to look after her while I am cooking dinner.”
I had noticed that Nannie had not put Emily down since I walked in. Emily was resting her head on Nannie’s shoulder. I patted Emily on the back.
“I will take care of you,” I said.
Bringgg! Nannie answered the phone. It was Elizabeth. She was asking about Emily.
“I do not think we need to take her to the doctor yet,” said Nannie. “I think she just has a little cold.”
When I finished eating my snack, I took Emily into the den. Andrew came with us and watched cartoons for awhile. Then he went upstairs to look for Pumpkin.
I turned off the TV.
“Do you want to sing some songs, Emily?” I asked.
“Karen sing to Emily,” Emily said.
First I sang “Bingo the Dog.” After “Bingo” I sang “Where Is Thumbkin?” I helped Emily wiggle all the right fingers. Then I sang “Old MacDonald.” That made me think of my Halloween costume.
“I am going to sing the song again,” I said. “Listen carefully and guess what animal I am going to be on Halloween.”
Emily guessed every animal in the song.
“I am going to be only one animal. I am going to be a chicken,” I said. “What do you want to be for Halloween?”
Emily said something that sounded like “gote.”
“What was that?” I asked her.
“Gote,” said Emily loudly.
“Oh, a ghost. That is a good idea. I can help you make your costume. Would you like that?” I asked.
“Karen help Emmie,” said Emily.
“That is right. I will help you. I promise,” I said.
Karen’s Good Idea
Nannie made one of my favorite dinners. Spaghetti with meatballs and a salad.
While we were eating, I told the rest of my family my Halloween news. I was not the only one with interesting news. Sam had some too. (Sam usually manages to stay off the phone at dinnertime. That is because he likes to eat.) Did I tell you that Sam is president of his class? Well, he is. That means he has important jobs to do all the time.
“I am organizing a fund-raiser for Halloween weekend,” said Sam. “But that is Homecoming weekend. There is going to be a football game and a dance. Practically everyone I have asked to help me has said they will be too busy. And if we do not raise money, we will have to cancel our class trip this spring.”
“What kind of fund-raiser are you planning?” asked Elizabeth.
“I wanted to hold a bake sale. Those usually do well,” said Sam. “I figured if just a handful of kids at school baked some things, we would be all right. But I cann
ot find even a handful to help.”
Hmm. I had an idea. I decided it was my day for helping my family.
“Does it matter who does the baking for the sale?” I asked.
“No, just as long as the food is good and we have enough,” said Sam.
“I am in charge of making bat cakes for my class. Those are cupcakes, in case you did not know. We could make cupcakes for you too,” I said. “If the whole family helped, we could make lots of things!”
“I will do some baking,” said Kristy.
“Me too,” said Charlie. “I already promised to help with the selling. But I will help with the baking too.”
“Thanks a lot, Karen,” said Sam. “I did not think about asking you guys, but why not? We have some of the best bakers in town right here at this table.”
The phone rang, and Sam jumped up to answer it.
The next thing we knew, crash! Emily knocked her cup of milk to the floor. She started to cry.
“That is all right,” said Daddy. “We can get you more milk.”
Elizabeth picked up Emily to soothe her, but she was crying hard and would not stop.
“Poor baby,” said Elizabeth. She touched her lips to Emily’s forehead. “She definitely has a fever.”
Daddy brought a fresh cup of milk. But Emily did not want it. It seemed that all she wanted to do was cry.
Emily’s Itchies
On Friday after school, Nancy’s mother picked up the Three Musketeers. We were going to the crafts store downtown to buy what we needed for our costumes.
First we stopped at the Rosebud Cafe for a snack. I had waffles with strawberries. (I am glad I am not really a chicken. They do not get to eat snacks like that!)
We talked about what we would each need to buy.
“I am going to be a black-and-white cow,” said Hannie. “I will wear white clothes and iron black patches on them.”
“You should get a bell to wear around your neck,” I said.
“Good idea! Thanks,” said Hannie.
Nancy said she wanted to be a party sheep.
“I am going to wear colored ribbons. That will make my costume more fun,” she said.