The author gratefully acknowledges
Stephanie Calmenson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 Holidays
2 Special People
3 Dinosaurs, Beware!
4 Amazing!
5 The Promise
6 Secrets
7 Help!
8 The Rescue
9 Ring, Ring! Ding-Dong!
10 Nightly News
11 Can I Have Your Autograph?
12 A Reward!
13 The Shopping Spree
14 Hero-of-the-Month
15 Telling the Truth
16 Good News
17 Not-So-Very-Merry Christmas
18 A Walk and a Talk
19 Secret Santas
20 Happy New Year!
About the Author
Also Available
Copyright
Holidays
“Do you want to come to my house for dinner tonight?” asked Nancy. “It is the last night of Hanukkah. You can help light the candles.”
“That will be fun!” I replied. “I will have to ask Mommy first. But I am sure it will be okay.”
It was a Saturday afternoon in early December. Nancy and I were up in my room at the little house. Nancy Dawes is one of my two best friends. My other best friend is Hannie Papadakis. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. That is because we like to do everything together.
“I always feel sad when holidays end,” said Nancy.
“You should not feel too sad,” I said. “After Hanukkah comes Christmas. I celebrated Hanukkah with you. You can celebrate Christmas with me.”
I love celebrating holidays with my friends.
Hi! My name is Karen Brewer. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. I wear glasses, too. I have a blue pair for reading. I have a pink pair for other times. (I do not wear any glasses when I am in the bathtub or sleeping.)
“Do you know what you want for Christmas?” asked Nancy.
It took me no time at all to answer. I knew just what I wanted.
“Ice skates!” I replied. “My old ones pinch my toes.”
I closed my eyes tightly and crossed all my fingers.
“What are you doing?” asked Nancy.
“I am wishing very hard for new skates,” I replied. “We have to be quiet for one whole minute while I wish.”
“Okay,” said Nancy. “I will close my eyes and wish with you.”
Nancy closed her eyes tightly and crossed her fingers just like me. We were quiet for about ten seconds before we burst out laughing.
“I hope you get new skates,” said Nancy. “Then the Three Musketeers can go skating together.”
“I passed the pond the other day. It is already starting to freeze,” I said. “And the weatherman said it is going to be cold all week.”
“Karen! Nancy!” called Mommy. “I am making hot cocoa for Andrew. Would you like some?”
I looked at Nancy. Nancy nodded yes.
“We will be right down,” I answered.
When we got downstairs, Andrew was already at the table. Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five. Sometimes he can be a pest. But mostly I like him a lot.
“I want mushmallows in my cocoa,” said Andrew.
“You mean marshmallows,” I said.
“No. I mean mushmallows,” said Andrew. “I like to mush them up in my cocoa.”
“Me, too,” I said. “But they are still called marshmallows.”
“Big ones or little ones?” asked Mommy.
She held up two bags of snowy white marshmallows.
“I will have one big and two little, please,” I replied.
“Nancy?” asked Mommy.
“Three little ones, please,” said Nancy.
“Andrew?” asked Mommy.
“One bag of each.” Andrew giggled. He thought that was very funny.
Andrew got one big marshmallow and two little ones.
We sat together in the kitchen sipping our cocoa. Christmas was weeks away. But it already felt like a holiday.
I decided this holiday needed a name. I thought and thought. Then I lifted my cup and said, “Happy Cocoa Day!”
Special People
Some holidays I am at my little house. Some holidays I am at my big house. I will tell you how I got two houses.
A long time ago when I was little, I lived in a big house with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting a lot. Andrew did not like that. I did not like that. And Mommy and Daddy did not like that.
Mommy and Daddy said they loved Andrew and me very much. But they could not get along with each other anymore. So they got a divorce.
Mommy moved with Andrew and me to a little house. Daddy stayed at the big house. (It is the house he grew up in.) Both houses are in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Andrew and I switch houses every month. One month we live at the little house. The next month we live at the big house.
After the divorce, Mommy met a man named Seth. He is very nice. He and Mommy got married. Now Seth is my stepfather. He lives with us at the little house. There are pets at the little house also. They are Rocky (Seth’s cat), Midgie (Seth’s dog), Emily Junior (my pet rat), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).
Daddy met someone new after the divorce, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She and Daddy got married. Now she is my stepmother. Elizabeth was married once before she married Daddy. She has four kids. They are my stepbrothers and stepsister. Now we all live at the big house together. The kids 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.
I also have an adopted sister. Her name is Emily Michelle. She is two and a half. (I love her so much I named my pet rat after her.) Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from a faraway country called Vietnam.
Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. She moved into the big house to help take care of Emily Michelle. Really she helps take care of everyone. She is a very wonderful step-grandmother to have.
Those are all the people in the big house. Now I will tell you about the pets. They are Shannon (David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy), Boo-Boo (Daddy’s grouchy tiger cat), Crystal Light the Second (my goldfish), and Goldfishie (Andrew’s horse). I’m just kidding! Goldfishie is a you-know-what. Emily Junior and Bob live at the big house, too. They go wherever Andrew and I go.
I have special names for Andrew and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I thought of those names when my teacher read a book to my class in school. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.)
The reason I call us two-twos is because we have two of so many things. We have two houses. We have two families. We have two sets of clothes and toys and books. I have two stuffed cats. (Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house.) There are two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. I keep one piece at each house. And I have my two best friends. (Nancy lives next door to the little house. Hannie lives across the street and one house down from the big house.)
Wait. There are two more special people in my family I have not told you about yet. I love them a lot. And in two days they are coming to visit.
Who are they? They are Granny and Grandad. Granny and Grandad are Seth’s mother and father. I went on a plane all by myself to visit them once. They live in Nebraska. Now they are going to take a plane all the way to Connecticut. They will spend the whole month of December with my little-house family.
I can hardly wait for them to get here!
Dinosaurs, Beware!
“Good morning, class,” said Ms. Colman. “Please take your seats now. We have a
lot to do today.”
It was Monday morning. I went up front to my desk. I used to sit in the back with Hannie and Nancy. Then I got my glasses. Ms. Colman moved me up front. She said I could see better there.
“Hi, Natalie. Hi, Ricky,” I said.
Natalie Springer and Ricky Torres sit in the front row with me. That is because they wear glasses, too. (Ricky is my pretend husband. We got married on the playground one day at recess.)
“Karen, would you take attendance this morning?” asked Ms. Colman.
“Sure!” I replied. Taking attendance is one of my favorite things to do.
I stood up and looked around the room to find out who was present and who was absent. Whoever was present got a little check in the attendance book. Whoever was absent got an x.
Hannie, Nancy, Ricky, Natalie, and I got checks right away. Addie Sidney waved hi to me from her wheelchair. I put a check next to her name. Pamela Harding, my best enemy, made a funny face. Check. Jannie Gilbert and Leslie Morris giggled when they saw Pamela’s funny face. They are Pamela’s friends. Check for Jannie. Check for Leslie. Bobby Gianelli was making a paper airplane. Bobby lives near the little house. He used to be the class bully. But he is not so bad anymore. Check for Bobby. Hank Reubens was sharpening his pencils. Check. We have a set of twins in our class. They are Terri and Tammy Barkan. Both of them were present. Check, check. I made a few more checks for the other kids in the class.
“Everyone is here,” I said.
“Thank you, Karen,” said Ms. Colman. “Today we are going to continue our unit on safety.”
Hurray! This was a very exciting unit. We were learning what to do in case there was a fire, or a power failure, or if someone was choking. The most important thing we had learned was to remember three numbers. The numbers were 911. Those are the numbers to dial on your phone in a real emergency.
“I have brought in a book that might help us,” continued Ms. Colman. She held up the book for us to see. I liked it right away. There were dinosaurs on the cover. The book was called Dinosaurs, Beware!
“Since it is December, I thought we would talk about the special dangers of winter,” said Ms. Colman. “We will read about some in the book, but I would like to get your ideas first.”
Bobby’s hand shot up.
“It could be dangerous if you slip and fall on ice,” said Bobby.
“Or if you get so cold you cannot move,” said Addie.
“Those are two good examples,” said Ms. Colman. “Can anyone think of another?”
Hmm. The only thing I could think to say about winter was that it was fun. I did not think that was the right answer, so I did not raise my hand.
Natalie raised her hand. Natalie is a big worrier. So she is very good at thinking about dangers.
“If you tried skating on ice that was not frozen enough, you could fall through,” said Natalie.
“That is very important. I hope everyone was listening,” said Ms. Colman.
Natalie got my attention the minute she said the words ice and skating.
“Today we have identified some of the special dangers of winter. Later in the week we will learn what to do if you should find yourselves in an emergency situation,” said Ms. Colman.
Hmm. My ice skates were too small for me and they pinched my toes. I wondered if that was an emergency. I would have to ask Ms. Colman after class.
Amazing!
“The guest room is ready, Mommy,” I said.
It was late in the afternoon on Saturday. We had all worked hard to make the room look nice. We wanted Granny and Grandad to feel right at home.
Seth had vacuumed. Mommy had put clean sheets on the bed. Andrew had dusted. And I had made crepe paper flowers and a beautiful banner that said WELCOME, GRANNY AND GRANDAD.
“The room looks great,” said Seth. “I am going to the airport now. I will be back later.”
Andrew and I had jobs that day. Mine was to help Mommy cook a special dinner. This was our menu: green salad, lasagna, bread and butter, chocolate pudding. This is what I was supposed to do: wash the lettuce, spread the lasagna noodles in the pan, stir the chocolate pudding. (Mommy had to watch while I stirred the pudding because it was on the hot stove.)
Andrew’s job was to set the table.
When my kitchen job was done, I went upstairs to dress.
“Granny and Grandad are going to be here any minute,” I said to Goosie. “I want to look extra pretty.”
I put on a navy dress, red tights, and navy shoes. I put red barrettes in my hair. I twirled around in front of the mirror.
Ding-dong! Seth rang the bell to let us know he was home.
“They are here! They are here!” I cried. I raced downstairs to greet our visitors.
Granny and Grandad scooped me up in a big hug.
“I am so happy to see you! How was your trip? Do you like my dress? We are having lasagna for supper. Come see your room!” I said all in one breath.
“Let’s help Granny and Grandad get settled. We will have plenty of time to talk at supper,” said Mommy.
We helped them up to their room.
“This looks beautiful,” said Grandad.
“It is so cozy,” said Granny. “I love these pretty flowers.”
Granny winked at me. She guessed that I had made them.
Granny and Grandad rested a while. Then it was time for supper. All the food was dee-lish-ee-o-shoss!
“I have an idea about giving Christmas presents,” said Seth after dinner. “I think each of us should have a Secret Santa this year.”
“Yippee!” I cried. I love Santa Claus. And I love secrets.
“I have written down everyone’s name on a piece of paper. The papers are in this hat,” said Seth.
He held up Mommy’s yellow straw hat.
“Ready, everyone? Pick a name from the hat. Do not tell anyone whose name you got,” said Seth.
“We decided that the gifts have to be homemade,” said Mommy. “You cannot buy them at a store.”
“This is fun!” I said.
I closed my eyes and picked a name. I picked Seth. I wanted to think of something really special to give him.
“Speaking of gifts,” said Grandad, “we happen to have a couple of gifts in our bags for Karen and Andrew. They are winter gifts. They will be very unhappy if they have to sit around waiting to be opened.”
“We would not want unhappy gifts in our house. Right, Mommy?” I asked.
Mommy smiled. “You are right. We want everyone and everything in this house to be happy.”
Guess what Andrew got. A shiny new sled. He was very happy.
I got ice skates! My Christmas wish had already come true.
A visit from Granny and Grandad was the first wonderful present. Now I had brand-new ice skates. Amazing!
The Promise
After breakfast on Sunday morning, I raced outside to show Nancy my skates. Nancy was not the only one outside. There were other kids, too. Kathryn and Willie were there. Kathryn is six. Willie is five. They live across the street from the little house. Bobby Gianelli was there. So was his sister, Alicia. She is Andrew’s age. I was glad there were lots of kids. I needed a big audience for my news.
“Look, everyone,” I announced. “I got new ice skates for Christmas.”
“But Christmas is three weeks away,” said Willie.
“That is okay,” I said. “They are from my granny and grandad. They can give me Christmas presents any time they want.”
“They are neat skates, Karen,” said Nancy.
I held them up high so everyone could see.
“Hey, let’s go see if the pond is frozen,” said Bobby. “Maybe we can go skating today.”
“That would be so great,” I said. “I can hardly wait to try my new skates.”
I told Mommy where I was going. Then I headed down to the pond with Nancy and Bobby. When we were practically there, we started running. We did not want to wait another minute to find out if the pond was ready
.
Darn. It was not ready yet. There were clumps of ice floating across the pond. But mostly it was water.
“Too bad,” said Bobby.
“Maybe it will be frozen by next weekend,” said Nancy.
“Sorry, skates,” I said. “You will just have to be patient.”
I swung my skates over my shoulder. Then we headed back to our houses. I wanted to spend time with Granny and Grandad anyway.
“See you later,” I said when I got back home.
The day was fun even if I could not skate. I showed Granny how to make the crepe paper flowers. We put some on the table in the dining room.
“It is always nice to have flowers on a table,” said Granny.
Later, I played checkers with Grandad. I won two games. He won three.
We had leftover lasagna for dinner. It tasted even better the second night.
“I hear you went down to the pond this morning,” said Seth. “Was there much ice yet?”
“No, there was not too much,” I replied. “Maybe next week the pond will be ready to skate on.”
“How will you know when it is ready?” asked Andrew.
“I can teach you what I know about ice and ponds and skating,” said Grandad. “But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What is it?” Andrew and I asked together.
“You must promise me you will not go on the ice when there is no grown-up around,” said Grandad.
“But if you teach me everything about ice, I will not need a grown-up,” I said.
“Ice is a very tricky thing. You can know a lot and still not know enough,” said Grandad. “Now you promise me. I do not want to be worrying about the two of you.”
“All right,” I said. “I promise.”
“Andrew?” said Grandad.
“I promise, too,” said Andrew.
“It’s a deal, then,” said Grandad. “I will teach you everything I know.”
Secrets
“Today we are going to learn how to rescue a person who has fallen through ice,” said Ms. Colman. “As Natalie told us last week, this is one of the special dangers of winter.”
Rescuing someone was an important job. I decided to pay close attention.