By Linda Porter Carlyle Joseph Anderson Donetti stared at the ceiling from where he sleepily lay on the living room rug. He gave a contented sigh. Rain drummed against the side of the house, but the woodstove filled the room with comforting warmth. He heard a tiny rustling sound as G.M. turned a page of
Joseph Anderson Donetti hurried down the hall to his classroom. He hoped he wasn’t late. He hated being late.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans watched a large brown maple leaf drift down to the sidewalk. She promptly stomped on it and grinned at the crunching sound. Autumn was her favorite time of the year. And leaf stomping was one of her favorite autumn activities.
By Linda Porter Carlyle Hannah Maria Estevez tugged at her mother’s sleeve. “What are those ladies doing?” she whispered. Mama looked up from the can label she was reading to see two women gesturing excitedly with their hands farther down the aisle. “They are talking to each other in sign language,” she explained. “The women
Trevor Paul Monroe sprawled across the bed on his stomach. He chewed the end of his stubby pencil while he read the story problem in his math book. Story problems! Trevor sighed. He wished story problems had never been invented. “If Tom sold his outgrown roller blades to Mitch, how many birthday cards did Jenny receive?”
Joseph Anderson Donetti felt his face grow red. “I’m never going to get this!” he exclaimed.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans bounced on the seat of the school van. “This is so great!” she exclaimed. “I can hardly believe Miss Binney is taking us hiking! I love hiking! Can you believe we’re actually going hiking instead of sitting in school?”
Trevor Paul Monroe dug through his sock drawer. There they were! He sat down on the floor and yanked his thick hiking socks over his bare feet. Then he scrambled on his hands and knees over to the bed and pulled his hiking boots out from underneath it.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans stared at Joseph. “Why not?” she asked. “Why don’t you want to join a book club? It sounds like fun! I would love to join a book club! I like reading books! I like giving book reports! And I like listening to other people’s book reports too!”
