Almost a Winner
Page 15
“I thought he was here,” I say.
Right then, The Destructor walks in. He’s covered from head to toe in old tin cans and duct tape.
“Call me Can Boy!” he says. “I’m saving the world by recycling!”
The smell of the old food from the cans stinks up the aviary worse than any pigeon poo ever could, and the racket those cans make scares all the birds. They fly up and around the loft, and just as Paploo flies over my head, he poos right on me.
There are people who would get really bothered about getting pooed on. There are people who think it’s the grossest thing ever, and others who would call me a loser because I got pooed on.
But after everything I’ve been through, trying to break records, making an invention, losing the aviary, and almost losing my friends, I know that getting pooed on is no big deal; it doesn’t make me a winner or a loser, it just makes me dirty (and it might bring me good luck).
And strange but true, I’m fine with that.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1.Fantastic family—Sean, Adelaide, Georgia
2.Stupendous sister—Sarah
3.Fabulous friends—Near and far, you know who you are
4.Awe-inspiring agent—Tina Wexler
5.Phenomenal publisher—Katherine Tegen
6.Exceptional editor—Maria Barbo
7.Oh-so-talented HarperCollins team—Amy Ryan, Aurora Parlagreco, Bethany Reis, Mark Rifkin, Alana Whitman, Ro Romanello, Carmen Alvarez, Jean McGinley, Alpha Wong, Sarah Ought, Sheala Howley, Molly Motch, Patty Rosati, Kelsey Horton, Rebecca Schwarz.
8.Illustrious illustrator—Trevor Spencer
9.Marvelous MFA—Hamline University faculty and students
10.Tremendous teachers, librarians, and booksellers—You rock!
11.Remarkable record breakers—all the people who break records, and who try to break records, and The Guinness Book of World Records for keeping track of them all
TEDDY’S LISTS
TEDDY’S REASONS TO RECYCLE
1. Saves space (less trash).
2. Saves air (less pollution).
3. Saves life (more of everything).
TEDDY’S ADVICE FOR INVENTORS
1. Be curious.
2. Be imaginative.
3. Be collaborative.
TEDDY’S TIP-TOP INVENTORS
1. Thomas Edison: holds patents for 2,332 inventions. (Shunpei Yamazaki holds even more!)
2. Nikola Tesla: invented a lot of cool stuff that we still use today, like X rays. (More important, he really liked pigeons!)
3. Lonnie G. Johnson: invented the Super Soaker. (This might be the best invention ever.)
4. Marie Van Brittan Brown: inventor of the home security system. (Could use one in my room.)
5. Garrett Morgan: inventor of the traffic signal. (We need one of these, specifically for the bathroom!)
TEDDY’S TOP TEN PIGEON FUN FACTS
1. They’re old: Pigeons have lived alongside humans for a really long time (at least since about 5,000 years ago).
2. They’re sporty: Pigeons can fly for hundreds of miles in one day, some can do back flips, and they can even play ping pong!
3. They’re fast: They can fly up to 100 miles per hour!
4. They’re helpful: They carried messages for the ancient Greeks during the Olympics, for Genghis Khan, for armies during World War II, and even for regular people who couldn’t get mail any other way.
5. They’re smart: They have been taught to recognize the letters and numbers.
6. They’re artistic: They have been used to take aerial photographs and can see more colors than humans can!
7. They’re adaptable: They can live anywhere—except the North and South Pole.
8. They’re lifesavers: Pigeons have been used to find people lost at sea.
9. They’re loving: Both male and female pigeons sit on the eggs, and both feed their young.
10.They’re adorable: No explanation needed.
BACK ADS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Photo by Adelaide and Georgia Greene
MOLLY B. BURNHAM has been a dog walker, ice-cream scooper, and elementary school teacher. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two daughters, and a dog named Pepito. Pigeons really do live next door to her. Sadly, Grumpy Pigeon Man does not. Molly earned an MFA in children’s writing from Hamline University. She has not broken a world record—yet! Visit Molly online at www.mollybburnham.com.
TREVOR SPENCER loves animated films almost as much as Teddy Mars loves world records. Trevor fills his days with making toys and drawing books with his lovely wife in California. His evenings are dedicated to bringing Teddy Mars to life, and he couldn’t be happier. Visit Trevor online at www.alkemystudio.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
BOOKS BY MOLLY B. BURNHAM
TEDDY MARS BOOK #1:
Almost a World Record Breaker
CREDITS
Cover art © 2016 by Trevor Spencer
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
COPYRIGHT
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
TEDDY MARS BOOK #2: ALMOST A WINNER. Text copyright © 2016 by Molly B. Burnham. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Trevor Spencer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burnham, Molly B.
Almost a winner / Molly B. Burnham; illustrations by Trevor Spencer. — First edition.
pagescm. — (Teddy Mars; 2)
Summary: “When Teddy’s whole class decides to break a bigger, better world record, friends turn into enemies, and Teddy is forced to do something he’s never done before—try not to break a world record”— Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-06-227813-5 (hardback)
EPub Edition © March 2016 ISBN 9780062278159
[1. World records—Fiction.2. Family life—Fiction.3. Schools—Fiction.4. Friendship—Fiction.5. Humorous stories.]I. Spencer, Trevor (Artist), illustrator.II. Title.
PZ7.B93515Al2016 2015015670
[Fic]—dc23 CIP
AC
* * *
16 17 18 19 20 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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