Hot Men of Science and You and Your Koala Bear, sat a thin blue book covered with silver stars and moons along the back. A folded list stuck out of the middle of it. “The Book!” I yelled. “Where?” said Fred. Surrounded by books, the Girl looked at us like we were crazy. As I pointed across the room at The Book, I suddenly and sadly realized we were no better off than we had been before, There was no way to get to The Book without going down the stairs, through a pack of very mad characters we had just conked with some very heavy books, and back up over the desk where Teddy Bear was at this moment throwing a screaming tantrum. “I will squash you! I will flatten you like the bugs you are! “ yelled Teddy Bear. “No one ruins my plans. I will be the most famous character in every story! “ “Why do you need that book?” asked the Girl. “It’s magic enough to get everyone out of here and back into their own books,” I said. “But forget it. There is no way we can get there from here.” I figured we were doomed to meet a messy and bookish end at the hands of a crazed teddy bear. I looked over at Fred. And when I saw that look in his eye, and saw him measuring lines and distances, I knew he figured differently. “Give me some cover,” said Fred. “I think a one-eighty monkey plant to an alley-oop fishbrain into a mistyflip rocket air should get me just high enough for a one-handed book grab.” I looked down at the swarming bad guys, then looked back at Fred. “Are you crazy? This isn’t a kung-fu skate movie. As soon as those guys see what you’re up to, they’ll be all over you. “ “That’s why I need you to keep pelting them with books,” said Fred. “Do you think you can make it?” asked the Girl. Fred looked over his route once more. He pulled his Red Wings cap low, then nodded. “So what are you waiting for?” She let out a wild whoop and started firing every book she could get her hands on at the nasty gang below. I gave a yell and started winging books, too. Fred jumped the handrail and slid halfway down before anyone figured out what was happening. Long John Silver stood up to swing his crutch, but I took him out with volume 7 of Junior Classics: Legends of Long Ago. Fred hit the end of the rail, launched a perfect mistyflip over the Devil’s horns, and rocketed up toward The Book. “Stop that boy! “ screamed Teddy Bear. Now I don’t know if everything really slowed down like it always does in those kung-fu action movies, But it sure looked like it to me. Fred’s hand rose to The Book. So did Long John’s parrot. Fred’s hand. The parrot’s beak. Both closed on The Book at the same instant. Fred pulled. The parrot pulled. Fred, The Book, the parrot . . . And that’s when the Girl tomahawked volume 2 of Junior Classics: Once upon a Time through the air. It smacked the parrot and popped it off The Book with a loud squawk and a puff of green feathers. Fred bobbled The Book, pulled the summer reading list out, and then fell into the pileup of Teddy Bear, Devil, Red Queen, White Witch, and Horned King below. The Girl and I looked at each other for one horrified second. We thought Fred was history. Then I saw the wisp of pale green smoke rising from the pile of characters. The wisp turned into a stream. The stream turned into a twisting river. And the river turned into a whirling tornado of pale green mist that sucked up every character and book inside and outside the Hoboken Public Library. I had just enough time to give the Girl a wave of thanks . . . and we were gone.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 05:11:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015