Karen's New Bike Read online

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Stephanie Calmenson

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 Surprising Announcements

  2 The Bike Parade

  3 Two Houses, Two Bikes

  4 A Talk with Daddy

  5 Stationery for Sale

  6 Just Like E. T.

  7 Karen’s Announcement

  8 Karen’s New Bike

  9 I Love My Bike

  10 The Safety Bee

  11 Taking the Test

  12 Important Numbers

  13 Missing!

  14 The Police

  15 Detectives

  16 You Are Under Arrest

  17 Found!

  18 Hooray!

  19 Good News

  20 The Bike-a-thon

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Surprising Announcements

  Miss Mary, Mack, Mack, Mack

  All dressed in black, black, black

  With silver buttons, buttons, buttons

  All down her back, back, back!

  I was on the playground at recess with my friends, Hannie and Nancy. We were singing silly songs as loudly as we could.

  Hannie Papadakis and Nancy Dawes are my two best friends. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers.

  Who am I? I am Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. Oh, yes. I wear glasses. I even have two pairs. I have a blue pair for reading. I have a pink pair for the rest of the time.

  Ringggg! It was time to go back to our second-grade class.

  I waved good-bye to Hannie and Nancy when we reached our room. They sit all the way at the back. I sit at the front with the other kids who wear glasses. On one side of me is Ricky Torres. (He is my pretend husband.) On the other side of me is Natalie Springer. For a minute I did not see Natalie. Then she popped up from under the desk. She must have been pulling up her socks. Natalie’s socks are always drooping.

  “Please settle down, class,” said Ms. Colman. “I have an announcement to make.”

  Oh, goody! I love Ms. Colman’s Surprising Announcements.

  “What is it?” I called out.

  “Karen! You must have forgotten our rules,” said Ms. Colman.

  “Sorry,” I replied. “But I really do remember the rules. I just forget to follow them sometimes.”

  I recited the rules for Ms. Colman. They are no calling out, and please use your indoor voice.

  Ms. Colman smiled at me. She is a very wonderful teacher. Even when I get excited and forget to follow the rules she does not yell or get mad.

  “This month is Bike Safety Month,” continued Ms. Colman. “Everyone in school will be learning how to ride their bikes safely. We will learn traffic rules. We will learn about the important safety gear we need to wear. And we will learn how to keep a bike in safe working order. But that is not all.”

  Oh, boy. I wanted to call out again, but I did not. I bounced up and down in my seat instead. Keeping quiet is hard work.

  “Our town will also hold a bike-a-thon this month,” said Ms. Colman. “We need to raise money for the Stoneybrook Medical Center. I know all of you will work hard to help out.”

  I turned to Hannie and Nancy and made the thumbs-up sign. Raising money for a good cause is always fun. And the Three Musketeers need to know about bike safety. We ride our bikes all the time.

  These were very good Surprising Announcements.

  The Bike Parade

  “Do you want to come over this afternoon?” I asked Hannie. “We could ride our bikes in honor of Bike Safety Month.”

  We were walking home from the school bus. This month I was living at my big house. Next month I would live at my little house. (I will tell you about my two houses later.)

  “Sure,” replied Hannie. “I will get my bike and bring it over. See you soon.”

  When I walked in the door, Nannie was waiting for me. Nannie is my step-grandmother. I love her.

  Emily Michelle was hanging onto Nannie’s dress. Emily is my little sister. She is two and a half.

  “Hi, Karen!” called Andrew. Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five. He was coming out of the kitchen with a stack of crackers in his hand.

  “Why don’t you wash up and come to the kitchen, Karen. I have a snack ready for you,” said Nannie.

  “Okay. But I will have to eat fast. Hannie is coming over,” I said.

  I dropped my knapsack in my room and washed up. Then I went to the kitchen. I gobbled up some crackers and cheese. I washed my snack down with apple juice.

  Ding-dong! The doorbell rang. It was Hannie.

  “I will see you later,” I said to Nannie. “We are going outside to ride our bikes.”

  “Please do not ride too far. Wear your

  helmets. And be sure to watch for cars in driveways,” said Nannie.

  “You do not have to worry,” I replied. “This is Bike Safety Month. We will be extra, extra careful.”

  Hannie and I went out to the garage. That is where I keep my bike. It is powder blue with scratches and rust. It is a hand-me-down bike that used to belong to Kristy.

  “Hannie, do my tires look flat to you?” I asked.

  “I do not think so. Your tires look the same way they always do,” replied Hannie. “But one of the spokes on the back wheel is bent.”

  My bike looked awfully old. I was afraid if I stared at it too long, it would fall apart in front of my eyes. But maybe it looked this way all the time. Maybe I was just noticing it today because of Bike Safety Month.

  “Let’s ride down the street and see who is around,” said Hannie.

  I put on my helmet. Then I sat on my bike. As soon as I did, I noticed something else. My bike was too small for me. My knees practically touched the handlebars when I put my feet on the pedals.

  Oh, well. It was not the greatest bike. But it still worked. It would get me up and down the street.

  Toot toot! I squeezed the horn as I rode down the driveway.

  Lots of kids were out riding their bikes. David Michael was riding with Linny. David Michael is my stepbrother. He is seven like me. Linny is Hannie’s brother. He is nine years old. We tooted our horns and waved.

  Then we saw Melody and Bill Korman. Melody is seven. Bill is nine.

  Next Andrew came zooming along the sidewalk on his tricycle.

  “I have an idea!” I said. “We can have a bike parade. Everyone who wants to be in it, follow me!”

  Toot toot! I rode up the street and everyone followed. I love being the leader. But I know I cannot be the leader all the time. So we turned our bikes around. Then David Michael was the leader. We took turns until everyone had had a chance. We rode up and down and round and round. Toot toot!

  The bike parade was fun. I decided that Andrew and I should have a bike parade with our friends at the little house sometime. I started thinking about my little-house bike. It was old, too. It came from a second-hand store.

  I had two old bikes at two different houses. Do you know what? I have two of lots of things. I will tell you why.

  Two Houses, Two Bikes

  The reason I have two houses and two bikes is because my parents are divorced.

  When I was very little, I lived in one big house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started to fight a lot. They said they loved Andrew and me very much. But they did not love each other anymore. So they decided to get a divorce.

  Mommy moved out of the big house with Andrew and me. She moved to a little house not too far away. Then she met a man named Seth. He and Mommy got marri
ed. So now Seth is my stepfather. He lives in the little house with Mommy, Andrew, and me. Some pets live with us, too. There is Rocky, Seth’s cat; Midgie, Seth’s dog; Emily Junior, my pet rat; and Bob, Andrew’s hermit crab.

  Daddy stayed at the big house. It is the house he grew up in. He met someone new, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She and Daddy got married. So Elizabeth is my stepmother. She lives at the big house with us. She was married before and has four children. They are my stepbrothers and stepsister. I already told you about David Michael. There is also Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever, and Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school.

  And I told you about my other sister, Emily. But I did not tell you that Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her. She came from a faraway country called Vietnam. Emily is a very good little sister. That is why I named my pet rat after her.

  Nannie came to live at the big house after Emily was adopted. She wanted to help take care of her. But really she helps take care of all of us.

  Here are the pets who live at the big house: Shannon, David Michael’s Bernese mountain dog puppy; Boo-Boo, Daddy’s cranky old cat; Crystal Light the Second, my goldfish; Goldfishie, Andrew’s you-know-what; and Emily Junior and Bob, who live wherever Andrew and I are living.

  I have special names for Andrew and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I got those names from a book Ms. Colman read to our class. It is called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) I call us two-twos because we have two of so many things. We have two houses and two families, two mommies and two daddies, two cats and two dogs. We have clothes and books at each house. I have my two bikes and Andrew has two tricycles. I have two stuffed cats. Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house. I even have my two best friends. Nancy lives next door to the little house. Hannie lives across the street from the big house.

  Now you know why I have two bikes. And since I have two bikes, I guess it is twice as important for me to know the safety rules. I would have to listen carefully to Ms. Colman in school.

  A Talk with Daddy

  “See you tomorrow at the bus stop!” I called to Hannie.

  Our bike parade was over. It was almost time for dinner. Inside the big house, things were a lot busier than before. That was because everyone had come home.

  “What’s for dinner?” I asked Nannie.

  “Pizza and salad,” she replied.

  Yes! One of my favorites.

  The ten of us sat down to eat dinner together. It sounded as though we were all talking at once.

  I wanted to talk to Daddy about something special. But I decided it would have to wait.

  After dinner Daddy went to the living room. I sat down beside him.

  “How was school today?” he asked.

  “I had a really good day,” I replied. “Ms. Colman made two Surprising Announcements.”

  “Oh, really? What were they?”

  I told him about Bike Safety Week and the bike-a-thon. He thought these were both very good things.

  “You know something, Daddy,” I said. “My bikes are very old. I am not too sure they are safe. And the bike I have here is too small for me. Maybe that is dangerous, too.”

  “I have the feeling there is something you would like to ask me,” said Daddy, smiling.

  “I have the feeling you are right,” I replied. “Daddy, can I get a new bike? I know just the kind I want. It is called the Cougar Cat. I saw one that was hot pink and purple.”

  “Bikes are very expensive,” said Daddy. “But it probably is time to get you a new one.”

  “Yea!” I cried.

  “I will make a deal with you. If you pay for part of the bike, I will pay for the rest,” said Daddy.

  “Deal,” I said. I shook Daddy’s hand. Then I gave him a big hug and went up to my room.

  “I am going to get a new bike soon!” I told Moosie. “I have to think of a way to make money to help pay for it.”

  I found some pink paper and a purple marker. I hoped those colors would inspire me.

  My friends and I have had to earn money before. We have been car washers, gardeners, baby-sitters, and lemonade vendors. What else could I do? I looked at my blank piece of paper. And guess what. The blank page gave me a gigundoly good idea.

  “I will make stationery and sell it,” I told Moosie. “Everyone likes to have personal stationery. Whoever orders some from me will have their name at the top. I will make a beautiful drawing at the bottom. Isn’t that a good idea?”

  I could hardly wait to get started. I had lots of colored paper and markers. That was all I needed.

  I decided to begin taking orders right away.

  Stationery for Sale

  The first thing I did was make up a flier.

  I drew a box at the top of a piece of pink paper. Then I wrote: Your name could be here! I drew an arrow pointing to the box.

  Next I made a circle at the bottom of the paper. I wrote: Name any picture! I will draw it here.

  Last, I wrote in the middle in great big letters: KAREN’S STATIONERY.

  I held it up and looked at it. It needed something. Another word. I knew just the one. I am an excellent speller. But I was not sure how to spell this word. So I looked it up in the dictionary.

  Now the page said: KAREN’S EXQUISITE STATIONERY.

  I held it up again. It still was not right. It needed one more thing. Glitter.

  I added a glitter border around the page. Now my flier was just right. I was ready to be a door-to-door salesperson. I started with Nannie. Knock knock.

  “Come in,” said Nannie.

  I put a big smile on my face and walked into her bedroom.

  “Hi!” I said. “I am selling exquisite personal stationery. Would you like to order some?”

  I handed Nannie my flier.

  “How did you know I needed stationery, Karen? My friend, Sophie, moved to Florida. I have been meaning to write to her for weeks,” said Nannie.

  “Then this stationery is just what you need!” I said. “How many sheets would you like?”

  “Let me see. I have a lot of news to tell Sophie. And I am sure there are other people I have been meaning to write to. I will take ten sheets,” said Nannie. “How much will that cost?”

  I looked down at my flier. There was no price on it. That was because I did not know how much to charge.

  “Um. What would you like to pay?” I asked.

  “How about a dollar a page?” said Nannie.

  “A dollar? Sold!” I said. That was a lot of money for stationery. “What kind of drawing would you like at the bottom? You can get an extra beautiful drawing for a dollar.”

  “Surprise me,” said Nannie. “I am sure whatever you draw will be beautiful.”

  Oh, boy! That was simple. I knocked on Daddy’s and Elizabeth’s door next. I tried my best to sound like the successful salesperson I was.

  “Your neighbor, Nannie, ordered ten sheets of this exquisite stationery at a dollar a piece,” I said. “How many sheets would you like to order?”

  “I am sure we could each use ten sheets,” said Elizabeth.

  “Sometimes we like to write letters together. How about a dollar and a half to put both our names at the top?” said Daddy.

  I was so excited I almost fell down.

  “No problem!” I replied. “What kind of drawing would you like at the bottom?”

  “I would like stars,” said Elizabeth. “All different colors, please.”

  “I would like red roses,” said Daddy. (I was not surprised. Daddy has red roses in his garden.)

  I went from room to room. I could hardly believe it. Everyone ordered some of my stationery. (Except for Emily. She is too little.) A dollar a page is a lot of money. So I gave my brothers and sisters a big discount. A good salesperson has to be adaptable.

  I went back to my room to count up my orders.

  “If I fill all these orders I will have earned plenty of money for my new bike,” I told Moosie.
>
  My new Cougar Cat bike. I could see myself riding it now.

  Just Like E. T.

  In school the next day, I told Hannie and Nancy my news. We were sitting at the back of the room, waiting for Ms. Colman to come in.

  “I am getting a new bike!” I said. “A hot pink and purple Cougar Cat.”

  “That is so cool,” said Hannie.

  “I will have it just in time for the bike-a-thon,” I told them.

  “Good morning, class,” said Ms. Colman. “Please take your seats. Natalie, will you take attendance?”

  Boo. I wish Ms. Colman had picked me. I love to do important jobs for Ms. Colman.

  Natalie was very slow. She kept stopping to pull up her socks.

  When she finally finished, Ms. Colman said, “I want to tell you a little more about Bike Safety Month and the bike-a-thon. I have some booklets on bike safety from the Motor Vehicles department. Karen, would you please hand them out?”

  Yes! I popped up like a jack-in-the-box. I handed out the booklets at top speed. Then I sat down again.

  “You do not have to read the booklets now,” said Ms. Colman. “Just leaf through them so you can get an idea of the kinds of things you will need to know. You will be expected to know basic traffic rules. And you will need to know the bicyclist’s hand signals. They are shown on page ten. Once you have learned these things, you will be given the bike safety test at Town Hall.”

  Wow. This was serious business. I raised my hand.

  “Yes, Karen?” said Ms. Colman.

  “What if you do not pass the test? Does the mayor take your bike away?” I asked.

  “No one will take your bike away. But you might not be allowed to ride until you pass,” replied Ms. Colman. “When you do pass, your name will be printed in the paper.”

  “I am going to start studying right now,” I said.

  “We will prepare together. That way each of you should pass the test with no problem,” said Ms. Colman.

  That was a relief. I did not want to get a brand-new bike and then not be allowed to ride it.

  “The other thing you will do at Town Hall is register your bikes. People will be there to help you fill out the forms. Now, about the bike-a-thon. You will need to get sponsors. These are people who will pay you if you reach the finish line. The money they give you will go to the medical center. Pamela, will you please hand out the sponsor sign-up sheets?”