Post by cblevins on Jul 14, 2022 12:46:40 GMT -5
“Wake up, wake up, the sun is up. The dew is on the buttercup,” Mrs. Candy sang brightly as she opened the door to her daughters’ bedroom.
Winnie finished the tune with, “Come on, come on, get up, get up. Today is your best day!” And it was true. It was Winnie’s best day! Not even her big sister, Josie, who groaned, stuck her head under a pillow, and told Winnie to be quiet could ruin the magic of Meet the Author Day at school.
By the time Mrs. Candy opened the blinds, Winnie had already jumped out of bed and raced into the bathroom. “You are exhausting!” Josie called out after her.
“Well, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle exhausting,” Winnie yelled back. If she didn’t get to the bathroom first, she would be stuck at the end of the line. She didn’t have all morning to wait for Josie and their brother, Elliot, to finish up in the bathroom. Being late to school wasn’t an option, especially today.
Winnie Candy was a third-grader at Culpepper Elementary School, where her mother and father were both teachers. Mrs. Candy taught fourth grade and Mr. Candy taught sixth. They all went to school in the same car. Winnie was glad she didn’t have to ride the bus like Josie and Elliot. Josie was a freshman in high school and she thought she was all that and a bag of chips. Elliot was in the seventh grade and he didn’t think about much of anything. But carpooling with teachers meant Winnie had to get there early and stay late. They were there so much that the family jokingly called Culpepper Elementary, Candy Land.
Today, Winnie didn’t care that she had to be the first kid at school. In fact, she had been counting down to M.T.A. Day for months. All of the first through sixth graders were getting out of class in the morning to go to a special assembly with a famous children’s book author. Ordinarily, that would have just been good news. The thing that made it the best news in the whole wide world was that the author they were meeting was none other than Mrs. Candy’s sister, Winnie’s Aunt Lauren.
Aunt Lauren had agreed to sign copies of her new book and Winnie figured some of the kids were bound to want her autograph, too. She pulled on her Readers are Leaders T-shirt, jelly bean leggings, and a rainbow-colored tutu skirt. She hoped it would serve as a subtle reminder of the Candy family’s connection to the author. Books and candy, together forever!
“Whoa, there,” said Mr. Candy after Winnie ran down the stairs and skidded to the breakfast table in her sock feet. “Is something chasing you?”
Winnie giggled and shook her head. “Uh-uh, Daddy. It’s Meet the Author Day!”
Winnie finished the tune with, “Come on, come on, get up, get up. Today is your best day!” And it was true. It was Winnie’s best day! Not even her big sister, Josie, who groaned, stuck her head under a pillow, and told Winnie to be quiet could ruin the magic of Meet the Author Day at school.
By the time Mrs. Candy opened the blinds, Winnie had already jumped out of bed and raced into the bathroom. “You are exhausting!” Josie called out after her.
“Well, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle exhausting,” Winnie yelled back. If she didn’t get to the bathroom first, she would be stuck at the end of the line. She didn’t have all morning to wait for Josie and their brother, Elliot, to finish up in the bathroom. Being late to school wasn’t an option, especially today.
Winnie Candy was a third-grader at Culpepper Elementary School, where her mother and father were both teachers. Mrs. Candy taught fourth grade and Mr. Candy taught sixth. They all went to school in the same car. Winnie was glad she didn’t have to ride the bus like Josie and Elliot. Josie was a freshman in high school and she thought she was all that and a bag of chips. Elliot was in the seventh grade and he didn’t think about much of anything. But carpooling with teachers meant Winnie had to get there early and stay late. They were there so much that the family jokingly called Culpepper Elementary, Candy Land.
Today, Winnie didn’t care that she had to be the first kid at school. In fact, she had been counting down to M.T.A. Day for months. All of the first through sixth graders were getting out of class in the morning to go to a special assembly with a famous children’s book author. Ordinarily, that would have just been good news. The thing that made it the best news in the whole wide world was that the author they were meeting was none other than Mrs. Candy’s sister, Winnie’s Aunt Lauren.
Aunt Lauren had agreed to sign copies of her new book and Winnie figured some of the kids were bound to want her autograph, too. She pulled on her Readers are Leaders T-shirt, jelly bean leggings, and a rainbow-colored tutu skirt. She hoped it would serve as a subtle reminder of the Candy family’s connection to the author. Books and candy, together forever!
“Whoa, there,” said Mr. Candy after Winnie ran down the stairs and skidded to the breakfast table in her sock feet. “Is something chasing you?”
Winnie giggled and shook her head. “Uh-uh, Daddy. It’s Meet the Author Day!”
