Karen's Island Adventure Read online

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Stephanie Calmenson

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 New Month, New House

  2 Being a Two-Two

  3 Getting Ready

  4 Up, Up, and Away!

  5 Welcome to Palm Isle

  6 Signing Up

  7 A Surprise Tour

  8 The Island Club

  9 Shopping for Souvenirs

  10 Sandy’s Secret

  11 A Delicious Day

  12 My Island Club Friend

  13 Emily the Fish

  14 Friends

  15 Snorkeling

  16 The Big Secret

  17 The Golf Tournament

  18 Party Plans

  19 Happy Birthday, Daddy

  20 Pen Pals

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  New Month, New House

  “Karen, breakfast is almost ready!” called Mommy.

  “I will be downstairs in a minute,” I replied.

  I jumped out of bed and got dressed. I wanted to wear an extra nice outfit in honor of moving day. You see, it was the first day of March. That meant I was moving from my little house to my big house. (I will tell you later why I have two houses.) I put on a light blue shirt with my green and blue striped tights. Then I put on my green corduroy jumper.

  I looked in the mirror.

  “Perfectamento,” I said to myself.

  In case you are wondering, my name is Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. I have two pairs of glasses. I wear the blue pair for reading. I wear the pink pair the rest of the time.

  There was one more thing I wanted to do before breakfast. I wanted to say good-bye to my little-house dolls and pets. I said a special good-bye to Goosie, my stuffed cat.

  “Thank you for being a very good February friend,” I told him.

  I had needed all the friends I could get in February. It had been a hard month. First of all, my grandad died. I loved him and miss him very much. He and Granny had been living with us since before Thanksgiving. After Grandad died, Granny moved back home to her farm in Nebraska. I talk to her on the phone all the time. But I still miss having her around.

  So I was glad it was a new month. I was glad I was going to a new house. And I was glad it was going to be a new season soon. At the end of March, it would be spring.

  At the beginning of March, my school will have a spring break. Guess what I am doing with my big-house family. Just in case you cannot guess, I will tell you.

  We are spending the week at Palm Isle, a resort on the island of St. Philip in the Caribbean. I am gigundoly excited about the trip.

  “I wish I could take you with me, Goosie,” I said. “You could use a vacation. But if I take you along, I have to take everyone. And there is not enough room in my suitcase for everyone.”

  Goosie did not look like he minded too much. He is a homebody at heart.

  “Karen? Are you coming?” called Mommy.

  Oops. It was getting late. My good-byes were taking longer than I thought. I ran downstairs to the kitchen.

  “I am here!” I said. “Good morning, Mommy! Good morning, Seth! Good morning, Andrew!”

  Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five. Seth is my stepfather. I do not know exactly how old he is.

  I sat down at my place. A bowl of Krispy Krunchy cereal with sliced bananas was waiting for me.

  “Do you have all your things packed for your move to the big house?” asked Seth.

  “I think so,” I replied.

  I do not need to carry too many things back and forth. That is because I am a two-two. Wait. You do not know what a two-two is. I guess I have some explaining to do.

  Being a Two-Two

  A long time ago when I was little, I lived in one house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting a lot. They tried to work things out. But they just could not do it. They told Andrew and me that they love us very much. But they did not love each other enough to live together anymore. So they got divorced.

  Mommy moved with Andrew and me to a little house not too far away from the big house. Then she met Seth. Mommy and Seth got married. That is how Seth became my stepfather. So here is who lives at the little house: Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Midgie (Seth’s dog), Rocky (Seth’s cat), Emily Junior (my pet rat), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).

  The house I am going to after school is the big house. Daddy stayed there after the divorce. (It is the house he grew up in.) After the divorce Daddy met someone new, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She and Daddy got married. So now Elizabeth is my stepmother. Elizabeth was married once before and has four children. They live at the big house also. They are David Michael, who is my age; Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever; and Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school.

  Two more people live at the big house. One of them is my sister, Emily Michelle. She is two and a half. She 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 I did not tell you about yet is Nannie. She is Elizabeth’s mother. That makes her my stepgrandmother. She came to live at the big house so she could help take care of Emily. But really she helps take care of everyone.

  Do you want to know about the pets who live at the big house? I will tell you. They are Shannon, David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Boo-Boo, Daddy’s cranky old cat; Crystal Light the Second, my goldfish; and Goldfishie, Andrew’s alligator (just kidding!). Emily Junior and Bob usually come to live at the big house with Andrew and me. But we left them at the little house this time because of our trip.

  Now I will tell you about being a two-two. Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two are the special names I gave to my brother and me. (I got those names from a book my teacher read in class. It is called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) The reason we are two-twos is because we have two of so many different 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, toys, and books. I have two bicycles, one at each house. Andrew has two tricycles. I have two stuffed cats. Moosie lives at the big house. And you know that Goosie lives at the little house. I have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. Having two of lots of things makes it easier to go back and forth because we do not have to pack as much.

  I also have two best friends. Nancy Dawes lives next door to the little house. Hannie Papadakis lives across the street and one house over from the big house. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers because we like to do everything together. Well, almost everything.

  Hannie and Nancy are not coming to St. Philip with me, of course. That is too bad. Because I know one thing for sure. My island vacation is going to be a sensation!

  Getting Ready

  It was Friday afternoon. I hopped off the school bus and raced down the street. I was on my way to the big house.

  Daddy was outside waiting for me. He scooped me up in his arms.

  “I am happy you are here!” he said.

  “Me, too,” I replied.

  Andrew was already home. He was in the kitchen having a snack with Emily.

  “Karen!” said Emily. She reached up sticky jelly hands. I let her hug me because I love her.

  I waved hi to Andrew. He waved back with jelly fingers and a mouth full of crackers.

  Then I got a big hug from Nannie. “Come join us,” she said.

  I was on my fourth cracker with cream cheese and jelly when
Kristy came home from school.

  “Hi, Karen. Hi, Andrew,” said Kristy. She bent over to give us hugs. But she jumped back as soon as she saw our jelly fingers.

  Sam and Charlie walked in next. They looked at our grape jelly mustaches and started to laugh.

  “Hi, funny faces,” said Sam.

  By the time Elizabeth returned from work, we were all cleaned up. She thought she had the cleanest kids in Stoneybrook. (Ha!)

  At dinner Daddy said, “Our vacation countdown begins tonight. A week from tomorrow we will be on our way.”

  We talked about all the exciting things we were going to do. When we finished dinner, we went into the living room and looked at brochures. They told about Palm Isle. We had seen them all before. But with seven days to go everything looked more exciting.

  “It says the Palm Isle Resort boasts the most activities of any resort of its kind,” read Elizabeth.

  There sure were a lot of activities. There was boating, waterskiing, windsurfing, golfing, snorkeling, volleyball, and tennis. There were movies, singalongs, and shows. There was a library, a game room, and a mini shopping center. There were pages and pages filled with things to do.

  “I want to do some of this,” said Daddy.

  He pointed to a man lying in a hammock under a shady tree reading a book.

  Just then I remembered something important. Elizabeth had reminded us that Daddy’s birthday fell on the last day of our vacation. I wanted to buy him a gigundoly good present while we were there.

  I also wanted to buy souvenirs for my friends and me.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “I am going upstairs now. Good night, everyone.”

  As soon as I reached my room I counted my savings. Not bad. But it could be better. I would have to save my allowance during the week. And maybe I could do a couple of jobs. I knew Nannie would pay me to dust her room. And maybe Elizabeth would pay me to watch Emily.

  The week went by in a blur. I packed a little bit every day. And I saved a little more money for my trip.

  By Thursday, I had three dollars and fifty cents more than when I started. And when I hopped off the school bus on Friday, I found a quarter on the street!

  “Have a great trip,” said Hannie.

  “Thanks. I will see you in ten days!” I replied.

  I raced to the big house. I was finally on vacation. In the morning I would be going with my family to St. Philip.

  Up, Up, and Away!

  It was still dark outside when we woke up on Saturday morning. We were catching a very early flight to Miami.

  We had finished packing the night before. All that was left to do was get dressed, eat breakfast, and drive to the airport.

  At five-thirty in the morning these things are not so easy. First I put my shirt on backwards. Then I could not find one of my socks. Next I spilled orange juice on my lap and had to change my pants.

  But by six-fifteen I was in the van and buckling up with everyone else. As soon as we were on the road, I sang a song to get us into the island spirit. It was a song from Trinidad we sang at school about a very busy donkey.

  “My donkey walk. My donkey talk. My donkey eat with a knife and fork. Tingalayo! Come, little donkey, come! Tingalayo! Come, little donkey, come!”

  Next we all sang “A Hundred Coconuts on a Tree.” This is how we sang it: “A hundred coconuts on a tree. A hundred on a tree. If one of those coconuts fell on me, ninety-nine coconuts on a tree!”

  We were down to the last few coconuts when Daddy pointed out the first airport signs.

  “Remember, we will be taking three different planes today,” said Elizabeth. “The first one goes to Miami, Florida. The second goes to the Bahamas.”

  “Ooh! Can we stop and visit?” I asked.

  Everyone except Nannie and Emily had been to the Bahamas before. That trip was really fun.

  “We will not have time,” said Daddy. “The third plane will be waiting to take us to St. Philip.”

  Daddy parked the car in the airport lot. Then we piled our bags into carts and wheeled them inside to the baggage check-in counter.

  I have been on airplanes a few times already. So I know all about airports and checking in.

  But this was Emily’s first airplane trip. She started crying at the baggage counter. She did not want anyone taking our bags away.

  “You do not have to worry,” I said. “Our bags do not want to sit with us anyway. They will be much happier traveling with the other bags going to St. Philip. They will meet us there.”

  Emily stopped crying and waved good-bye to the bags.

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth whispered to me.

  Then came the announcement for our plane.

  “Flight One-oh-one to Miami, Florida, now boarding at Gate Sixteen.”

  “Let’s go,” said Daddy.

  We walked to our gate. A big crowd of people was waiting there. As soon as the ten of us arrived, the crowd was even bigger.

  “We sure picked a popular flight,” said Kristy.

  It took awhile for everyone to board the plane and find their seats. My family took up one whole row. In each row were three seats, an aisle, four seats, another aisle, then three more seats. Here is how we sat: In the first group, David Michael, Sam, and Charlie. In the center group, Daddy, Elizabeth, Emily, and Nannie. In the last group, Kristy, Andrew, and me. (I got to sit next to the window.)

  We listened to the flight attendant make a speech about safety. Then we all held hands straight across the row. The plane rolled down the runway and started to rise. Soon we were up, up, and away!

  The first plane was big. It flew to Miami. The second plane was smaller. It flew to the Bahamas. The third plane was tiny. The ride was noisy, bumpy, and fun! By the time we touched the ground in St. Philip, I was so excited I could hardly keep still.

  “Hello, St. Philip!” I cried. “I am gigundoly happy to see you!”

  Welcome to Palm Isle

  The first thing I noticed when we stepped off the plane was the temperature. It was hot. And the sun. It was bright.

  I dug into my knapsack and pulled out my new sunglasses. They had yellow frames with white speckles. When I put them on I felt like a glamorous movie star on a tropical vacation. I held my arms out wide and lifted my chin in the air.

  “Halloo, dahlings,” I said. “which way to Palm Isle?”

  Beep! Beep! A van with “Palm Isle Resort” written on the side was waiting at the curb. The van was turquoise with brightly colored fruits painted on the side.

  The driver had very dark skin and a big friendly smile. He welcomed his passengers to St. Philip.

  “You must be the famous movie star from the States,” he said when I got on the bus.

  I laughed and peeked at him from under my glasses.

  “I’m really just Karen Brewer,” I replied. “But maybe some day I will be famous.”

  “Welcome to the island, Karen,” said the driver. “My name is Robert. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  I hoped Robert was going to talk some more. His words sounded very pretty, almost as if he were singing.

  The ride in the van was even bumpier than the plane. I looked out the window. The road was very narrow. I kept thinking we were going to hit a car or a biker. But somehow there was enough room for everyone.

  Around us was lots of tall green grass. Then I saw a glimmer of blue up ahead.

  “Everyone, look!” I said.

  I pointed to the water. It was the prettiest blue I had ever seen.

  “That is the Caribbean Sea,” Robert said. “On the other side of the island is the Atlantic Ocean. The Caribbean is nice and smooth. No waves.”

  “You can go swimming later if you want,” said Daddy.

  We passed by trees with bright birds and fruits.

  “Look at those houses,” said Kristy. “There are no houses like that in Stoneybrook.”

  They looked like gingerbread houses. They were yellow, pink, green, and blue. In almost all the windows white cur
tains were blowing in the breeze.

  Emily waved to a little girl sitting on the steps of her house with her mommy. The girl waved back.

  I liked St. Philip. It was a friendly island.

  Beep! Beep!

  “We are here,” said the driver. “Welcome to Palm Isle.”

  We drove onto the hotel grounds. The resort looked like nothing on the rest of the island. The grass was neat and trim. I could see the golf course, the tennis courts, two pools, lots of beach chairs and umbrellas, and a snack bar.

  I thanked Robert for the excellent ride. Then we went into the air-conditioned lobby to check in.

  Daddy got the keys to our rooms. The ten of us filled two elevators. It took three porters to wheel our bags upstairs.

  I was sharing a room with Kristy and Emily. It was pink and white and beautiful. We could see the water from our window.

  I dropped my knapsack on the floor and threw myself onto one of the beds. I felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

  Signing Up

  When we finished unpacking, my big family and I piled back into two elevators and went to the hospitality desk.

  “Welcome to Palm Isle,” said the man at the desk. “I am Ron, your hospitality director. I would like you to meet Laura, your host for the week. She will show you around and answer any questions you may have.”

  Laura smiled at us. “Hello, everyone!” she said. “My, this is a big family. I just love big families.”

  Laura was very bubbly. She looked a little older than Sam and Charlie, but not as old as Daddy and Elizabeth.

  “Hi, Laura,” I said. “I’m Karen.”

  “Hi, Karen,” replied Laura. “I will do my best to remember all your names. But if I forget, you will have to help me out.”

  “Do not worry,” I said. “I will help you.”

  One by one the people in my family introduced themselves. Then Laura took us on a tour of the grounds. While we were walking around she told us about Palm Isle.

  “We have two clubs for children,” said Laura. “Two-to four-year-olds can spend weekday mornings at the Dolphin Club. Five- to twelve-year-olds can join the Island Club. For anyone over twelve we have all kinds of lessons, activities, tournaments, and water sports.”