by Holly Anna
To Stella, Luna, Max, Paz, and You—
thanks for reading!
—G. S.
CHAPTER ONE The Magical Kitchen
I, Daisy Dreamer, am making rainbow popcorn in the World of Make-Believe. The WOM is my favorite place to be! And, by the way, the letters WOM stand for “World of Make-Believe.” Obviously.
I’m in the kitchen with my amazing imaginary friend, Posey. We met each other at school one day when I drew a picture of him.
The next thing I knew, Posey jumped off the page and into my life, and things have been pretty magical ever since!
Speaking of magic, everything in Posey’s kitchen is unbelievable. When I open the fridge, it plays a song—same with the oven, the stove, and the dishwasher. Even the teapot whistles a happy tune! It’s like being at a concert!
Posey’s kitchen is beautiful, too. The cabinets are striped and swirled in pastel colors, and the floor is a pink-and-yellow checkerboard pattern.
I play hopscotch on the squares every time I move around. I mean, how can I not?
Then I hear a splashy sound. Plink! Plunk! Plink! Plunk!
It’s Posey dropping dough into the mini doughnut machine. I can’t wait to try one!
But first I have to finish making my rainbow popcorn. Plus, I have a batch of fizzy cupcakes in the oven. They are soft on the outside and fizzy on the inside! Yummers!
Posey and I sing and dance while we work. But I stop as soon as I realize something very silly.
I have no idea why we’re baking all these goodies!
So I tap Posey on the shoulder and ask, “What are all the treats for, anyway?”
Posey tosses the mini doughnuts in the air and catches them all with his antlers. Chocolate sprinkles tick onto the floor.
“You ask the most perfect questions, Daisy!” he says, wiping doughnut crumbs from his fur. “The goodies are for tomorrow!”
“Oh,” I say, because that hardly seems like a clear answer. “What’s so special about tomorrow?”
Posey throws his arms in the air. “Tomorrow is your very own Daisy DREAM DAY!”
My eyes grow wide because I want to know MORE.
“What’s a Dream Day?” I ask.
Posey leaps onto the counter and spins in a circle. “A Dream Day is when the whole World of Make-Believe celebrates a human’s imagination.”
All at once Posey’s words unlock more magic in the kitchen.
SWOOSH!
The oven door swings open—all by itself—and begins to play music. My fizzy cupcakes pop out of their pan and fly to the counter. Whoa!
We watch as the cupcakes are magically frosted and decorated. Finally they settle onto a plate.
That’s when Posey and I are swept up into the air! Wooo-hooo! We swirl around the kitchen in a parade of dancing treats!
I squeal like crazy, because I love to fly!
Posey whizzes up close to me and says, “Get ready, Miss Daisy Dreamer. Because this is only the beginning!”
CHAPTER TWO The Invitation Station
Posey and I sail out of the kitchen and into the Lollipop Garden. There are striped peppermint pops, twisty unicorn-horn pops, jumbo swirly pops, and bubble-gum pops. I pick a pink-and-green watermelon swirly pop.
We land on marshmallow chairs. They’re not sticky, like in a s’more—just squishy, soft, and comfy.
“Do you know the first thing you’ll need for your Daisy Dream Day?” Posey asks.
I slurp my lollipop. “That’s easy!” I say. “We’ll need one Daisy Dreamer!” Obviously.
Posey giggles. “Well, that’s certainly true!” he says. “But you’ll also need invitations to send to your guests!” Then Posey whips out a pad of paper. “Who would you like to invite?”
Of course I pick my best friends, Jasmine and Lily, first. And then I pick my grandmother Upsy next. I can’t forget to invite her!
Then I list all the WOM friends I’ve made on my adventures with Posey. Pretty soon the list is long with names.
“This is fabulous, Daisy!” Posey says. “Now are you ready to pick your party invitations?”
I nod like crazy because I am very ready to pick my party invitations!
“Then let’s head to the Invitation Station!” Posey says. “Shall we go by bus? Or by sleigh? Or perhaps on a scooter or skateboard? Maybe you’d like a dino-vertible?”
“What’s a dino-vertible?” I ask.
“Hmm.” He pauses. “I was hoping you’d know. I have no idea!”
Those are all good ways to get somewhere, I think. Except for the dino-vertible. It may be better to skip THAT magic ride. Then I have the best idea ever.
“What if we rode on… a magic carpet?” I ask.
Posey perks up, and with the snap of his fingers, a real magic carpet with pink hearts and pom-pom tassels appears out of nowhere.
“All aboard!” Posey announces.
I scramble onto the carpet. It’s like sitting on a floaty cloud.
Posey climbs on after me and says, “Hang on!”
And—shwoosh!—we’re off!
The Invitation Station is more like a train station. There are trains parked on different tracks.
We fly through the air and park by a sign that reads DAISY DREAMER. Hey, that’s just like me!
Next to the trains are rows and rows of party invitations.
They have every card imaginable! Sparkly royal princess cards! Golden unicorn cards! Glittery mermaid cards! Ballerinas! Puppy dogs! Kittens! They’re all completely adorable. Obviously.
“Do you see your perfect invitation?” Posey asks.
And that’s when I find it! The card is shaped like a golden palace, and it’s made of real gold paper! When I pick up the card, it trumpets! Then the palace door opens all by itself, and a tiny teddy bear butler announces the details of my party.
“Hear ye, hear ye,” the little bear says. “You are invited to the fantastically magical Daisy Dream Day!”
Posey hops from one foot to the other.
“That’s a bear-y good choice!” he says.
We take the card to the front counter, where a fairy waves her wand over my invitation and guest list.
POOF! Fairy dust bursts into the air like mini fireworks, and the fairy smiles sweetly.
“Your invitations are ready to be delivered!” she says. Then she points to the door. “And your train is waiting!”
We hurry onto the platform and board the train. Instead of a whistle, I hear a familiar voice calling my name from far away.
“Daaaay-zeee! Daisy Dreamer…”
CHAPTER THREE Ditsy Dreamer
“Knock, knock!” Mom says.
“Who’s there?” I answer from under my covers, because it’s morning and I’m still in bed.
“Who,” Mom says.
“Who who?” I moan.
Mom laughs and answers, “Are you an owl?!”
I roll over in bed.
“As a matter of fact, I am an owl,” I say. “And don’t you know owls sleep during the day?”
Then my dad comes in and tickles my toes.
“Wake up, Daisy Dreamer!” he says. “Or you’ll dream the day away!”
I try to hide my toes, but it’s no use.
“Okay, you win!” I giggle. “I’ll get up.”
Then I remember today is my Daisy Dream Day. Or is it? I wonder. Because I’m not in the WOM anymore.
I hop out of bed and drag my blanket with me, like I always do. My blanket is a magical robe that makes me invisible. But oh no! Sir Pounce, my secret spy pet cat, has found me again. And now he’s sunk his claws into my robe.
“Let go!” I shout. “Or you’ll snag my robe!”
I yank my blanket away, and I fall face-first onto the floor! SPLAT! Okay, I’m defini
tely awake now. Obviously.
I hop up and swirl my blanket around me like a fancy evening dress. Time to make my grand entrance.
I glide through the house like an enchanted princess… until my foot gets stuck in the blanket!
I crumple into a pile and wonder if something like that would happen on Dream Day. Probably not.
I leave my blanket in a heap and head for the kitchen. It’s time for Toasty Squares!
But when I shake the cereal box over my bowl, nothing comes out. My Toasty Squares are all gone.
Oh no! That means only one thing. I have to eat my parents’ cereal for breakfast: oat flakes with flaxseed oil.
I open the Dreamer Report to take my mind off things. The Dreamer Report is my very own newspaper, written by me.
But then, oopsy-daisy!
My elbow bumps my cereal bowl, and milk sloshes onto my Dreamer Report. Ink smears all over the place, and my stories are ruined.
Mom runs over with paper towels.
“Don’t worry!” she says, mopping it up. “I’ll help you write a new Dreamer Report after school.”
I sigh loudly. Am I Daisy Dreamer today? I ask myself. Because I feel more like Ditsy Dreamer.
“Well, at least I still get to have my favorite lunch—homemade avocado sushi rolls,” I say.
Then Mom gives Dad a weird look.
“Oh boy. I am so sorry, Daisy,” Dad confesses. “I ate the last avocado before bed.…”
Wow! I think as I sit there, stunned. This is not how I pictured my Daisy Dream Day at all.
CHAPTER FOUR Just a Dream
Clickety-clackety-clickety-clack!
I whiz down the sidewalk on my skateboard. Mom and I are both on our way to school—because my mom teaches there. She’s way behind me, as usual. As I ride, I look everywhere for Posey because I really want my Daisy Dream Day to come true.
Then I hit a crack in the sidewalk.
Uh-oh, I’m going down.
Ka-bonkity bonk-bonk-bonk!
I end up flat on my stomach. Luckily, I land on the grass by the sidewalk.
“Daisy! Are you okay?” says someone.
I look up and see Gabby Gaburp and her sidekick, Carol Rattinger. Gabby offers me a hand and pulls me up. Carol picks up my skateboard. Sometimes these not-so-nice girls can actually be pretty nice.
I check myself over. All I have are grass stains. Everywhere.
“I’m okay.”
Carol hands me my skateboard.
“Well, that’s good!” Gabby says. Then she hands me an envelope with my name on it.
“Would you like to come to my half birthday party tomorrow?” she asks. “I always have a half birthday party to practice for my real one.”
I’m speechless, because number one: Only Gabby would get two birthday parties in a year. And number two: She actually invited me!
“Sure thing,” I say, because I would never turn down a party. Obviously.
Then Gabby and Carol skip toward school to hand out more invitations.
This makes me stop and wonder about my own party. Maybe Dream Day was just a dream.
At recess Lily, Jasmine, and I meet in the Hideout, which is under the slide. We have to crawl through a tunnel to get to it.
Once inside, I tell my friends about my dream and how it felt so real.
My friends laugh.
“You should write your dream in your journal,” Jasmine suggests. “You know, the one your grandmother gave to you.”
I feel my eyebrows shoot straight up. I forgot all about my journal. It’s been sitting in the bottom of my backpack for weeks. I grab my backpack and dig in.
“Found it!” I hold the journal so my friends can see. “This is where I invented Posey in the first place!”
My friends giggle.
“Duh, Daisy!” Lily says. “We know! We’ve been making up stories about Posey for a long time now.”
Jasmine nods, but I just stare at my friends.
What did they just say? That we MAKE UP the Posey stories?
Chapter Five Posey Stories
I flip through the pages of my journal. There are so many Posey adventures! All of them begin with a story starter written by my grandmother Upsy. There are even pictures to go with each story.
“Do you want to read some, Daisy?” Lily asks.
“Yeah, go for it!” Jasmine says.
I open to the story about the snow day and read the story starter. “What would you do with your imaginary friend on a snow day?” Then I whisper, “That was the day Posey and I went bed-sledding.”
Jasmine and Lily suddenly look confused.
“Oh, right. You weren’t there,” I remind them. “A bed-sled is a bed that can sled. Posey and I bed-sledded all over the WOM! We met the Snow-nimals—critters made of snow. Then we visited an ice castle and met a yeti named Naklin. We also had a giant snow-berang fight. Zing! Splat! Poof!”
Before my friends can say anything, I flip through the pages until I find the story starter that reads, “What would happen if your imaginary friend went to the beach with you?”
I laugh, because so much can happen when you take your imaginary friend to the beach!
“This!” I point to the page in the book. “This was the day Posey and I went to the beach and my cat, Sir Pounce, snuck along! Then Posey turned me into a mermaid and turned Sir Pounce into a fish so we could travel underwater. We met a lost octopus named Inky and a whale named Humpfrey, and we found buried treasure!”
Jasmine and Lily just sit there, and I realize that I should remind them about one of their adventures with Posey.
“Okay, this one is for you! It’s a doozy.” I read the story starter, “ ‘What if your imaginary friend decides to go to school with you for a day?’ ”
Now my friends laugh.
“I love this story!” Lily says. “It’s about Posey stowing away in your backpack.”
I nod wildly. “It was a total disaster! Remember when the bag of glitter-litter exploded all over me?!”
Lily laughs. “And then Posey’s WOA friends took over the cafeteria and the playground!”
Jasmine shakes her head. “No, it’s the WOM! World of Make-Believe.”
“Oh yeah, sorry,” says Lily. “It’s hard to keep track of all these made-up names.”
My mouth drops open because I am shocked! These names are not made up!
Jasmine sees my reaction and quickly changes the subject. “Anyway, are you guys going to Gabby’s half birthday?”
“Definitely!” Lily says.
But I’m stuck shaking my head because I’m so mixed up. Of course these stories are real! And Posey and all his friends are real too… right?
Chapter Six Spin-and-Dare
“Daisy!” Mom calls after dinner. “I need your help! Upsy’s coming to visit this weekend, and the house is a mess.”
I run downstairs and look around. Mom’s right. The house is a mess. There are board games out, playing cards on the floor, and two falling-down blanket forts in the middle of the family room.
“My friend Posey could clean up this mess in a snap,” I say. “But he’s not around.”
Mom laughs. “Well, luckily, I have you and Dad!”
We each get to work. I pick up my games, fold the blankets, and play fifty-two-card pickup… by picking up all the cards. Dad empties the wastebaskets. Mom does the dinner dishes. Then we dust and vacuum, and before long I am wiped-out tired!
With a huge yawn and a stretch, I barely make it to bed before I fall totally asleep.
The next day is the most normal day ever. Nothing magic happens at all, but I don’t mind. Some days are like that, I guess. It makes the magic days even more magic.
After school Lily, Jasmine, and I go to Gabby’s party. Every kid I know is there!
“Daisy!” Gabby cheers. “You came! Come over and play. We’re playing Spin-and-Dare.”
I know this game. Players sit in a circle with a bottle in the middle. One person spins the bo
ttle, and if it points to you when it stops, then you have to pick a dare from a basket. If you don’t perform the dare, you’re O-U-T out. Obviously.
“The winner gets a gift card to Icing on the Cake!” Gabby announces. Icing on the Cake happens to be the best bakery around.
“Oooooooh!” we all exclaim. Then Gabby spins the bottle, and it lands on me!
I dig for a dare and read it out loud. “ ‘I dare you to tell a story.’ ”
Lily and Jasmine squeal because they know I love to tell stories.
“Okay, here goes,” I begin. “One day Jasmine, Lily, and I were playing at the park with our magical friend, Posey. Jasmine’s basketball flew over the fence, and we found it by the old well.”
Gabby bounces up and down. “I know that well!”
I nod and continue.
“But did you know that it was a wishing well? Yeah, it was broken, and Posey fixed it by putting a missing stone back in place. And you’ll never guess what happened next.”
Everybody’s eyes grew wide, and they leaned in closer. I had them hooked!
“All the ungranted wishes inside the well”—I paused for effect—“were granted! Hundreds of wishes all came true at the same time. My mom got the pony she wished for when she was a little girl. And Gabby turned into a fairy-tale princess!”
