by Mike Thaler
O
#17
BY
MIKE THALER •
ILL
USTRATED BY
JARED LEE
17
SUMMER VACATION
BLACK LAGOON
THE
FROM THE
®
®
Everybody loves the last day of school, but
all this free time? His friends are away, Mom
THE
SUMMER VACATION
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
®
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from the Black Lagoon
by Mike Thaler
Illustrated by Jared Lee
SCHOLASTIC INC.
THE
SUMMER VACATION
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
®
To Alex & Betty Wagner
for bringing up Patty so well.
—M.T.
To Jody Greer.
—J.L.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication 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 the publisher. For information regarding
permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557
Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-37561-0
Text copyright © 2010 by Mike Thaler
Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC, LITTLE APPLE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. BLACK LAGOON is a registered
trademark of Mike Thaler and Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lexile is a registered trademark of MetaMetrics, Inc.
First printing, May 2010
Contents
Chapter 1: Summer Bummer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2: Summer Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3: Time on My Hands . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 4: Chores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 5: There’s No Place Like Foam . . . . . . 18
Chapter 6: Odd Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 7: If Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade 24
Chapter 8: A Sweet Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 9: Open For Business . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 10: Mind Over Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 11: Bored Out of My Gourd . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 12: Call of the Wild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 13: Time-out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 14: A Flightmare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 15: That’s Call, Folks . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 16: Waiting on a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 17: A-musing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 18: On My Way! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
CHAPTER 1
Summer Bummer
Well, it’s the first day of summer
vacation. It is going to be the
longest day of the year. I lie in
bed thinking about what to do.
Should I go right back to sleep?
Should I get up?
Should I brush my teeth, my
hair, or my dog?
Should I clean my hands, my
face, or my room?
6
All of my friends are at camp.
Eric went to baseball camp with
Derek. Freddy went to chef camp,
Randy went to space camp, Doris
went to dance camp, and Penny
is in boot camp. They all have
plenty to do, and many to do it
with.
I’m all alone, I’m bored, and it’s
only the first day of summer.
I think I’ll go back to sleep.
8
CHAPTER 2
Summer DREAM
I’m crossing a very big desert.
I wish I had another “s”—then it
would be a dessert.
9
There are no signs, so I don’t
know where I am, or where I’m
going. Actually, it doesn’t matter;
it’s the same in every direction—
lots of sand, space, and sun. I wish
I had a big lemonade and a little
shade. Maybe my own parade.
I’d still be hot . . . but I wouldn’t
be alone.
10
11
CHAPTER 3
TIME ON MY HANDS
I wake up again. It’s only eight
o’clock. I could get up and brush
my teeth. That won’t take all day.
I could go have breakfast, then
brush my teeth.
12
I think I need a more significant
project. I could make something:
a car, a boat, a plane, a mess.
I could build the model I got for
Christmas. But I think I lost some
of the parts.
13
I could exercise. I think I have
all of the parts—arms, legs, and
feet.
I could keep a diary, but then I
still have to think of something to
do so I can write about it.
was easier going to school.
14
15
CHAPTER 4
CHORES
I go ask Mom for something to
do. Big mistake!
She has lots for me to do. Clean
my room, wash the dog, wax the
car, take out the trash, mow the
lawn, etc., etc., etc.
16
Come on, Mom—this is my
vacation!
Besides, I’m busy trying to think
of something to do. Wow, that was
close.
17
CHAPTER 5
THERE’S NO PLACE
LIKE FOAM
I know—I’ll shine my bike.
I’ll wash and wax it. It will be
beautiful.
18
I fill a bucket with water and
look for soap. Mom’s got all kinds
of soap: dish soap, laundry soap,
face soap, bath soap, but no bike
soap. Well, I guess bath soap will
do—they both begin with “b.” I
pour it in . . . boy, there are lots of
bubbles! Uh-oh, it’s foaming out
of the bucket.
19
I’ve created the bubble monster
from the Black Lagoon. Well,
now I have one thing to write in
my diary.
CHAPTER 6
ODD JOBS
I guess I could get a summer
job.
But summer better than others.
I could be a lifeguard . . . but I
can’t swim.
I could deliver pizzas . . . but I
don’t drive.
21
I could be an astronaut . . . but
I’m afraid of heights. I have a very
short résumé and no degree,
even though it’s very hot today.
My only skills are picking my
nose and crossing my eyes. These
are not big in the job market.
22
CHAPTER 7
IF LIFE HANDS
YOU LEMONS,
MAKE LEMONADE
I could go into business for
myself and become a captain of
industry.
24
Let’s see . . . I could cut lawns—
nope—too hot; wash cars—I’ve
got the bubbles; open a lemonade
stand—you’ve got to stand for
something.
25
That’s it! I’ll start with one
stand—then open another, and
another, and another. I’ll have an
empire! I’ll be Julius Squeezer,
the lemon king.
26
27
CHAPTER 8
A Sweet Spot
What do I need for my stand?
Lemons. Yes, I’ll need lemons for
sure.
I ask Mom if she has any. She
points to her car.
28
“No, Mom—the fruit kind.”
She looks in the fridge. In the
very back of the fruit bin are two
shriveled lemons. They look like
little shrunken heads. Well, it’s a
start.
29
I get a pitcher (not a catcher)
and squeeze the lemons. Then
I add water. Lots of water. Mom
says to put in some sugar. So I
pour in a whole bag.
Then I stir it all up. Time to
taste it. I pour a little in Tailspin’s
bowl.
He comes over, sniffs it, and
walks away.
Everyone’s a critic. I guess
it needs more sugar. I pour in
another bag. When I try to stir
it, the spoon sticks. It’s almost
solid now. Maybe I should make
Popsicles instead.
31
CHAPTER 9
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Well I’m in business—almost.
I get a box and make a sign:
POPSOCLES 25¢. I put it on the
sidewalk in front of my house,
get a folding chair, and I’m in
business. All I need now are
customers. It’s a little slow
this morning. Nobody’s out on
the street. Maybe the whole
neighborhood has gone to
camp. Maybe I should move my
location.
32
Location is everything. I
relocate to the corner. Now I’ve
got four streets. Four empty
streets. Where is everyone?
I’ve also got eight Popsicles
that are beginning to sweat. I’m
beginning to sweat, too. Business
is harder than I thought. I change
the sign.
34
There’s not a rush. A garbage
truck drives by. Mr. Debris, the
garbage man, waves as he turns
the corner.
The sun is hot. The Popsicles
are wet. I change the sign.
POPSICLES 15¢
One car drives by.
The Popsicles are melting.
POPSICLES 5¢
They’re dissolving.
They’re puddles . . . victims of
global warming.
I change the sign.
LEMONADE 25¢
36
CHAPTER 10
MIND OVER MATTER
Well, so much for business. I
know what I’ll do—I’ll get a book
and improve my mind.
37
I close shop and clean up. It’s
not a toxic waste site, but it’s
very sticky. I get on my bright
bike and pedal to the library. Uh-
oh—it’s closed. There’s a sign
on the door. I hope it doesn’t say
LEMONADE 5¢. No, it says SUMMER
HOURS –CLOSED MONDAY. Today is
Monday.
The first day of summer
vacation.
Eight weeks to go. I hate
summer.
39
CHAPTER 11
BORED OUT OF
MY GOURD
Well, I’m back to square one.
It’s a big square.
An empty square.
A square square.
40
I go back to my room and lie
down. I guess I’m on rectangle
one. I need to think. Ideas just
aren’t coming. My mind has
gone on vacation, too. Maybe it’s
at camp. I hope it’s having a good
time.
I hope it sends me a postcard
with an idea on it.
41
CHAPTER 12
CALL OF THE WILD
The phone rings. Maybe it’s my
mind calling.
“Hello?”
“Who’s this?”
“Hubie.”
“Hubie who?”
“Hubie cool.”
“Is Gladys there?”
“Gladys who?”
“Gladys Pinbottom.”
42
“No, I think you have the wrong
number.”
“If I got the wrong number,
why did you answer the phone?”
Click!
You know, this just proves that
however bad things are, they can
always get worse.
43
CHAPTER 13
TIME-OUT
I think I’ll take a nap. A summer
nap. A siesta.
At school y
ou can’t take naps,
unless you’re sick and go to the
nurse’s office. But the bed in there
44
is too hard. It’s more like a board.
I guess that’s what they mean by
room and board. And the pillow—
forget it. It’s a pill that is too hard
to swallow.
Well, my bed is soft and my
pillow is fluffy. I guess life’s not
so bad after all.
45
CHAPTER 14
A FLIGHTMARE
During my nap I have a dream.
I’m in a rocket ship. It looks like
a lemon. It is a lemon.
I guess I’m an astronaut, or a
lemonaut.
46
Anyway, we’re headed straight
for the sun. My lemon is melting.
It’s getting smaller and smaller.
47
It’s gone and I’m falling through
space. I land in my room, right
on my own bed. I wake up. Well,
here I am—maybe it really
happened.
I know what I’ll do—I’ll write
a story about my summer
vacation.
48
I’ll get some paper and a pencil,
so at least there’ll be a record in
case I die of boredom.
49
CHAPTER 15
