Green Queen

by Marci Peschke

  “Hey, Lil’ Bit, want to sit on my shoulders so you can see better?” T.J. offers.

  Sometimes it’s great having a big brother. “Yes, please!” I say.

  Ugly Brother whines and cries.

  “Sorry,” I tell him. “There’s no more room up here.”

  We hear the high school marching band before we see them. Just as they come around the corner, the sun comes out, pushing the clouds away. The twirlers come next. They have green ribbons tied onto their batons.

  The café float is next, and as it turns the corner on the square, a giant strawberry rolls out of the big bowl and down Second Street. Ugly Brother starts to chase after it, and Momma has to call him back.

  Next up, we see Daddy’s float. It looks fantastic! The paperboy is throwing papers, and the man next to us catches one.

  I can hardly wait to see the Garden Club float! Finally it appears. Granny is riding right in front of the dogwood tree I made out of flowers. She is wearing a pretty pink sundress and a sash.

  All our hard work has paid off. I’ve never seen a more beautiful float.

  When she gets closer, I call out, “Granny, Granny!”

  Just as the float passes, Granny looks up and I give her my best beauty queen wave, nice and slow, side to side, with a dazzling smile. It sure is good to be a Green Queen on parade day!

  Marci Bales Peschke was born in Indiana, grew up in Florida, and now lives in Texas with her husband, two children, and a feisty black-and-white cat named Phoebe. She loves reading and watching movies.

  When Tuesday Mourning was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. Now, she is an illustrator who lives in South Pasadena, California. She especially loves illustrating books for kids and teenagers. When she isn’t illustrating, Tuesday loves spending time with her husband, who is an actor, and their two sons.

  citizen (SIT-uh-zuhn)—a resident of a particular town or city

  conserve (kuhn-SURV)—to save something from loss, decay, or waste

  contest (KON-test)—a competition

  delicate (DEL-uh-kuht)—finely made or sensitive

  endangered (en-DAYN-jurd)—something that is in danger of becoming extinct

  environment (en-VYE-ruhn-muhnt)—the natural world of land, sea, and air

  equipment (i-KWIP-muhnt)—the tools and machines needed for a particular purpose

  remarkable (ri-MAR-kuh-buhl)—worth noticing; extraordinary

  renew (ri-NOO)—to replace something old with something new

  reserved (ri-ZURVD)—kept for someone to use later

  trough (TRAWF)—a long, narrow container from which animals can drink or eat

  1. Talk about some other ways to celebrate Earth Day. What are some ways you can think of to help preserve our planet?

  2. Kylie Jean’s dream is to be a beauty queen. Granny’s dream is to be Garden Club president. Talk about your own dream.

  3. Imagine that you’re watching the Earth Day parade. Talk about the other floats you might see.

  1. If you could plant a garden anywhere, where would it be? Write a paragraph about it. Make sure to include what you’d plant.

  2. Do you think Kylie Jean’s playground plan was a good one? Come up with your own plan and drawing for a green project, just like Kylie Jean and her friends did.

  3. Make a list of all the things you can do to help the environment. Which of them do you already do?

  From Momma’s Kitchen

  This is the perfect treat for any Green Queen! Just make sure to ask a grown-up for help.

  Love, Kylie Jean

  FLOWER COOKIE BOUQUET

  YOU NEED:

  1 tube of premade cookie dough, sugar-cookie flavor

  Different colors of frosting (pink, green, yellow, and white)

  Wooden cookie sticks or Popsicle sticks

  A flower-shaped cookie cutter

  A rolling pin

  A cookie sheet

  A grown-up helper

  A round piece of Styrofoam

  A round vase or pot

  1. Ask your grown-up to help you roll out the cookie dough into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Use your cookie cutter to cut out flower shapes.

  2. Insert wooden sticks about halfway into the cookie.

  3. With a grown-up’s help, bake cookies as directed, watching to make sure they don’t get too crispy. Cool completely.

  4. Decorate each cookie with frosting.

  5. Push cookies on sticks firmly into the Styrofoam and place it inside your vase or pot. Now you have a cookie bouquet as yummy as it is pretty — enjoy!

  Yum, yum!

  www.capstonekids.com

  Kylie Jean is published by Picture Window Books

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003 www.capstoneyoungreaders.com

  Copyright © 2014 by Picture Window Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Peschke, M. (Marci), author.

  Green queen / by Marci Peschke ; illustrated by Tuesday Mourning.

  pages cm. -- (Kylie Jean)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-2351-1 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-3813-3 (paper over board)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-5957-2 (ebook)

  1. Earth Day--Texas--Juvenile fiction. 2. Playgrounds--Texas--Juvenile fiction. 3. Cities and towns--Texas--Juvenile fiction. 4. Elementary schools--Texas--Juvenile fiction. 5. Texas--Juvenile fiction. [1. Earth Day--Fiction. 2. Playgrounds--Fiction. 3. City and town life--Fiction. 4. Schools--Fiction. 5. Texas--Fiction.] I. Mourning, Tuesday, illustrator. II. Title. III. Series: Peschke, M. (Marci) Kylie Jean.

  PZ7.P441245Gr 2014

  813.6--dc23

  2013028543

  Summary: Earth Day is coming, and Kylie Jean and the other second graders decide that the perfect way to celebrate is to clean up and beautify the school playground — and the whole town.

  Graphic Designer: Kristi Carlson

  Editor: Alison Deering

  Production Specialist: Eric Manske

  Design Element Credit:

  Shutterstock/blue67design