Karen's Toys Read online

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Stephanie Calmenson

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 Changes

  2 Being a Two-Two

  3 The Space Game

  4 Toys

  5 Important News

  6 Signing Up

  7 Big House Overnight

  8 The Toy Store

  9 Caught!

  10 Used Toys

  11 Good Work

  12 New Neighbors

  13 An Invitation

  14 Action!

  15 A Brilliant Plan

  16 Something Good

  17 The Toy Drive

  18 The Painting War

  19 Working Together

  20 The Contest

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Changes

  “I am going outside to play! See you later,” I called to my family as I ran out of my house.

  It was a sunny September afternoon. I was at the little house. (I have two houses — a little house and a big house. I will tell you more about them later.)

  When I got outside, I saw my friends. They were standing together looking down the block.

  “What is going on?” I asked.

  “The Jessups are moving away,” replied Nancy Dawes.

  Nancy is one of my two best friends. My other best friend is Hannie Papadakis. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers.

  These are the rest of the kids who were outside: Bobby Gianelli, who used to be a bully, but is not so much of a bully anymore; Bobby’s sister, Alicia, who is good friends with my little brother, Andrew (they are both four going on five); Kathryn Barnes, who is six; Kathryn’s little brother, Willie, who is five.

  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 have two pairs. I wear my blue pair for reading. I wear my pink pair the rest of the time.

  I took off my glasses and wiped them on my T-shirt. I could see everything better after that.

  Just then, Andrew ran outside.

  “Let’s go say good-bye to our neighbors,” I said.

  I did not know the Jessups very well. But I was still sorry to see them go. I always feel sad when someone moves away.

  We marched down the street to the Jessups’ house. The movers had just closed up their truck. Mr. and Mrs. Jessup were walking to their car.

  “Wait! Don’t go yet,” I called. “We came to say good-bye.”

  “That is so nice of you,” said Mr. Jessup.

  “Where are you going?” asked Andrew.

  “We are moving to Florida,” replied Mrs. Jessup. “It is warm there and we will be near our children and grandchildren.”

  “Good luck in your new house,” said Nancy.

  The Jessups thanked us and climbed into their car. As they started down the block, we waved and they waved back. Then they turned the corner and were gone.

  “We forgot to ask them who is moving into their house,” said Kathryn.

  “Maybe some new kids will move in,” said Bobby. “That would be cool.”

  We decided to walk around the neighborhood to see what else was going on.

  Nothing much was happening on the next block. Or the block after that. Then we heard drilling and hammering. We raced ahead to see where the noise was coming from.

  On the next block workers were moving heavy equipment onto a big construction site. They motioned for us to stay back.

  “What are you building?” called Willie.

  No one answered him. I do not think they could hear him over the noise. My friends and I decided to help him. On the count of three we shouted, “What are you building?”

  The workers still could not hear us. They did not even look our way. Oh, well.

  We headed back to our street. Things were getting exciting in the neighborhood. A lot of changes were going on. People moving out. Buildings going up. I could hardly wait to see what happened next.

  Being a Two-Two

  Remember when I told you I have two houses? Now I will tell you why.

  A long time ago when I was really little I lived in one big house here in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting a lot. They explained to Andrew and me that they love us very much, but they could not get along with each other no matter how hard they tried. So they got a divorce.

  Mommy moved with my brother and me to a little house not too far away. She met a nice man named Seth and they got married. That is how Seth became my stepfather.

  After the divorce, Daddy stayed at the big house. (It is the house he grew up in.) He met someone nice, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She was married once before and has four children. She and Daddy got married. That is how Elizabeth became my stepmother.

  Andrew and I switch houses every month — one month we live at the little house, the next month at the big house. We live at the little house with Mommy, Seth, Rocky (Seth’s cat), Midgie (Seth’s dog), Emily Junior (my pet rat), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).

  We live at the big house with Daddy, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s four children, who are my stepsister and stepbrothers. They are Kristy (she is thirteen and the best stepsister ever), David Michael (he is seven, like me), and Sam and Charlie (they are so old they are in high school).

  I have another sister at the big house. Her name is Emily Michelle. She is two and a half. Emily was adopted from a faraway country called Vietnam. I love her a lot. That is why I named my pet rat after her.

  The other person living at the big house is Nannie. She is Elizabeth’s mother. She is a gigundoly wonderful stepgrandmother. She came to help take care of Emily. But really she helps take care of everyone.

  Wait. I forgot to tell you about the pets at the big house. They are Shannon (David Michael’s Bernese mountain dog puppy), Boo-Boo (Daddy’s cranky cat), Crystal Light the Second (my goldfish), Goldfishie (Andrew’s you-know-what), and Emily Junior and Bob (they go wherever Andrew and I go).

  I have a special name for Andrew 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.) I gave us those names 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 each have two sets of clothes and toys and books. I have two bicycles. Andrew has two tricycles. I have two stuffed cats. (Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house.) And you already know about 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. It is easier to switch houses when we have two sets of things because we do not have to carry so much back and forth.

  Being a two-two works well for me most of the time. But little things can be a pain. For example, sometimes I want to see a movie when I am at one house. But everyone already saw it while I was at the other house.

  A new movie was opening soon. Andrew and I really wanted to see it.

  “Can we see The Space Game when it opens?” I asked.

  “Is it supposed to be good?” asked Seth.

  “The commercials on TV look exciting,” I replied.

  “We have not been to the movies in awhile. So let’s all go together when it opens,” said Mommy.

  Andrew and I gave each other the thumbs-up sign. Space Game, here we come!

  The Space Game

  At breakfast on Wednesday, Mommy and Seth were each reading part of the newspaper. On the back of Seth’s paper was a big advertisement. It said:

  “Look! The movie we want
to see is opening on Friday. Can we go to it?” I asked.

  Mommy and Seth looked at each other and nodded.

  “Yes, we can,” said Mommy. “Friday is a good time to go because there is no school the next day.”

  “Karen, you have been to the movies a few times with Hannie and Nancy. So you can invite them to come as our guests if you would like,” said Seth.

  “Yippee! I will call them right now,” I replied.

  Hannie and Nancy were so excited. We made a plan to meet at my house on Friday at seven o’clock.

  After school on Friday I got dressed up for my movie date. I wore new blue leggings, a white sweater, and a blue and white vest. Hannie and Nancy showed up right on time.

  When we arrived at the theater, Seth bought tickets for Mommy, Andrew, and himself. Then he gave me money to pay for my friends and me so we could feel very grown-up.

  “Three tickets to The Space Game, please,” I said.

  We found six seats together in the middle of the theater. First the previews came on. Two of the movies looked funny. One looked bor-ing!

  Next some eerie music started playing. A green spaceship with purple and red rings sailed from the top of the screen down to the bottom. The Space Game was starting.

  You know what? It was scary. The newspaper ad said to expect excitement, action, and adventure. But it forgot to say it was scary. Hannie, Nancy, and I were holding hands. Andrew was hanging on to Seth.

  “Watch out! Look behind you!” we shouted.

  The space creatures were called Tryops. They had three eyes each. One eye was in back of the heads. They had wheels instead of feet. They rolled backward or forward. The Tryops were heading toward some people on a picnic. They were getting closer and closer. We did not know yet if the Tryops were friendly or mean.

  Ooh, scary! I hid my head in Mommy’s lap. Hannie and Nancy were covering their eyes. Then I saw them peeking through their fingers. I sat up and peeked with them.

  “Girls, are you sure you want to stay?” whispered Mommy.

  “Yes, we are sure,” we whispered back.

  The movie was scary. But it was fun! I was glad my friends had come along. If they had not, Mommy and Seth would probably have taken Andrew and me home.

  Zap! Zap-zap! New space creatures called Gorgones had landed. They planned to take over Earth. They went after the Tryops with zappers.

  Blam! Wham-blam! The Tryops shot back at them with ray-sprayers. They were trying to protect Earth from the Gorgones.

  “Go, Tryops, go!” we cheered.

  In the end, the Tryops chased the Gorgones away. The kids in the audience clapped and cheered as the friendly Tryops sailed home to their planet.

  The lights came on and the credits rolled. I hummed along with the theme song. La-dee-dah-dee! La-dee-dee!

  “Blam! Wham-blam!” said Andrew. He blasted an imaginary ray-sprayer as people left the theater.

  “Andrew, please stop that,” said Mommy. “That is not nice.”

  Andrew stopped his game.

  “Who wants ice cream at the Rosebud Cafe?” asked Seth.

  “Me!” we all replied.

  Wow! A movie and ice cream, too. La-dee-dah-hooray!

  Toys

  “Tonight we are truly lovely ladies,” I said to Hannie and Nancy.

  Mommy and Seth let us have our own table at the Rosebud Cafe. We felt gigundoly grown-up. We each ordered an ice-cream sundae. But we asked for different flavors. I got Chocka-locka-Chocolate. Nancy got Banana-Dana-Twirl. Hannie got Cookie Crumbles ‘n’ Cream. Yum.

  “I really liked that movie,” said Hannie. “It was exciting.”

  “The Tryops were so cute,” said Nancy.

  “I wish they could move into the Jessups’ house. Then we could play with them all the time,” I said.

  We talked and laughed and ate our ice cream. We were noisily scraping the bottoms of our dishes when Seth said it was time to go home. On the way to the car we passed the Unicorn Toy Store. It was closed, but we looked in the window.

  “Wow, look at that!” I said. “The store is filled with Space Game toys.”

  There were games, T-shirts, mugs, and posters, too. Everything in the window was from the movie.

  “I see a real ray-sprayer,” said Andrew. “Blam! Wham-blam!”

  “There is a zapper,” said Hannie. “It looks just like the one in the movie.”

  “Can we buy some toys, Mommy? Can we, please?” I begged.

  “I want a ray-sprayer! I want a ray-sprayer,” said Andrew.

  “I am sorry,” said Mommy. “But these toys are all weapons. We do not allow them in our house.”

  “But that zapper just blows bubbles,” I said. I pointed to the tag that said “bubble-shooter.”

  “It still looks like a gun,” replied Seth. “That is bad enough.”

  We could not buy toys then anyway. But maybe we could come back when the store was open. I had to find a way to convince Mommy and Seth to let Andrew and me buy a toy. Just one toy each. That was all.

  “Can I buy something with my own money?” I asked.

  “Only if it is not a weapon,” said Mommy. “I do not even want to see a picture of a weapon.”

  I looked at the things in the window. Even the mugs and T-shirts had weapons on them.

  I thought the no-gun rule was a very good one. But I wanted a Space Game toy badly. They looked like so much fun. And I knew all my friends would have them. I decided to ask one more time.

  “Can we break the rule just this once?” I said. “I know real guns are bad. But these are only toys. They will not hurt anyone.”

  “I am sorry,” said Seth. “Your mother and I feel very strongly about this. We will not break our rule.”

  Boo and bullfrogs. I could tell it was time to go home.

  Important News

  By Wednesday, everyone in my neighborhood had seen The Space Game. And everyone had Space Game toys. Everyone except Andrew and me.

  “Blam! Wham-blam!” said Bobby as he ran down the street. “Run for your life, you wicked Gorgone.”

  “Zap! Zap-zap!” said Nancy. Nancy’s parents did not like guns, either. But even she was allowed to have a Space Game toy.

  Andrew and I stood off to the side and watched everyone playing. We felt very left out.

  After awhile, Nancy said to me, “Do you want to try my zapper?”

  “Thanks,” I replied. “But I better not. If Mommy sees me with it, she will be angry.”

  Nancy went back to the game. The kids were all running around, shouting and laughing, aiming and firing. I thought about joining the game without a toy. But Andrew and I are not even allowed to point our fingers as guns.

  I thought the kids would get tired of playing the game after awhile. But they did not. I got tired of watching, though.

  “Um, Nancy, do you want to take a walk with me?” I asked.

  “I am having fun playing,” Nancy replied.

  “But I cannot play with you. I am bored. You can bring your zapper. Maybe you will see an enemy space creature on the way,” I said.

  “Well, okay,” replied Nancy. “I will go with you.”

  We walked past the Jessups’ house. No one had moved in yet. We kept walking until we reached the construction site. Wide wooden panels were being put up around it. Soon the site would be hidden behind a wooden wall. We still did not know what was being built.

  The site was pretty quiet and no dangerous machines were around. So we walked over to one of the workers. She was taking a coffee break.

  “Could you tell us what you are building?” I asked.

  “We are building some townhouses for people to live in,” she replied. (She wore a nametag that said Sally Riley.)

  “Why are you putting up a wall?” asked Nancy.

  “It is a safety requirement,” replied Sally. “Also a construction site can get pretty messy. We think a wall will be better for people in the neighborhood to look at.”

  “We are going to ha
ve a contest to make the wall look even nicer,” said another worker. (His nametag said Bill Grant.)

  “Really? What kind of contest will it be?” I asked. “Can we enter?”

  “You sure can. We are going to put up signs about the contest tomorrow. But we can tell you about it now,” said Sally.

  She explained that anyone, or any group of people, could sign up for the contest. The panels would be assigned on a first come, first served basis.

  “You will have three weeks to paint or decorate your panel,” said Bill. “Then the panels will be judged and prizes will be handed out.”

  “That way the people in the neighborhood will have a beautiful wall to look at while we are working,” said Sally.

  Hmm. This contest sounded interesting. Maybe our friends would want to sign up. If we made our panel really beautiful, we could win a prize.

  “Thanks for telling us about the contest,” I said. “We have to go now. ’Bye!”

  Nancy and I waved to Sally and Bill. Then we ran back to our block to tell our friends the important news.

  Signing Up

  “Hey, everyone!” I called. “Something exciting is going on at the construction site.”

  Nancy and I took turns telling our friends about the contest.

  “Let’s sign up for a panel,” I said. “We can all work on it together.”

  Everyone wanted to join the contest. But no one wanted to think about it until we had signed up.

  They were only interested in playing with their Space Game toys. I would be happy when we started working on the contest. Then Andrew and I would not be left out of the fun. I decided to sign us up the next day.

  At home, I told Mommy about the contest.

  “Will you help me sign up?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Mommy replied. “We can do it tomorrow after school.”

  When we reached the construction site the next day, Sally and Bill and a few other workers were hanging up fliers about the contest.

  “Hi!” I said to Sally. “I am back to sign up for the contest. I am going to enter with my friends.”

  “That is terrific,” said Sally. “The applications are in that trailer over there.”