Contents
* * *
Title Page
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
The Fashion Experiment
The Big Science Announcement
Coders’ Club Science
Molecules Have a Party
The Friendship Experiment
Flying the Coop
Eureka!
Not Enough Data
Some Guinea Pig
Mad Scientists at Work
An Army of Rodents
Bad Scientist at Work
(Not So) Gold Medal Science
Always a Silver Lining
Sample Chapter from THE FRIENDSHIP EXPERIMENT
Buy the Book
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Connect with HMH on Social Media
Clarion Books
3 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10016
Text copyright © 2019 by Cynthia Platt
Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Rea Zhai
All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [email protected] or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.
Clarion Books is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
hmhbooks.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Platt, Cynthia, author. | Zhai, Rea, illustrator.
Title: Parker Bell and the science of friendship / Cynthia Platt ; illustrations by Rea Zhai.
Description: Boston ; New York : Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2019] | Summary: “Parker really wants to win the school Science Triathlon—but first she’ll have to figure out how to keep her BFF from being stolen”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018035176 | ISBN 9781328973474 (hardback)
Subjects: | CYAC: Best friends—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Science—Competitions—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Robots—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science & Technology. | JUVENILE FICTION / Girls & Women.
Classification: LCC PZ7.P7124 Par 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035176
eISBN 978-1-328-63256-2
v1.0419
To John,
who liked to build contraptions,
and to Barbara,
who had to endure them with me.
—C.P.
Chapter 1
The Fashion Experiment
Parker Bell loved science. One day, she hoped to be a world-famous scientist, making important discoveries and engineering robots to help people do amazing and exciting things. But first, she had to finish going to Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School.
And before she did that, she had to get dressed for what was going to be one of the best, most important days of science at school ever.
The getting dressed part was proving difficult.
“Parker, just pick out some clothes. It doesn’t matter which ones!” her mom called. “You’re going to be late.”
“I’ll be right there!” Parker yelled back.
Still in her pajamas, Parker stood in front of her closet and tried to figure out what to wear so she would look strong and smart and scientific. After trying on (and taking back off again) three different outfits, though, she knew she needed a plan.
But where to start? If Parker could use a scientific method of inquiry for her experiments, maybe she could use that to get dressed, too. She figured it was worth a try.
INITIAL QUESTION: What is the perfect outfit to wear for today’s Big Science Announcement?
BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS: Dressing like a fierce animal might show everyone how fierce my interest in science is.
GATHER DATA: In my closet, I have dresses in zebra and leopard patterns, and a black-and-white one that looks like an orca. Orcas are definitely the smartest of those three animals.
USE DATA TO MAKE A PREDICTION: So if I dress like an orca, then my classmates and Ms. Garcia will see how smart and scientific I am. Everyone will notice this and know how excited I am about science and the announcement today!
Okay, so this wasn’t strictly scientific. But at least Parker could get the reactions of her parents and friends to have some evidence to communicate about her experiment afterward. Treating it as an experiment also definitely helped her pick out the right clothes for the day: her black-and-white dress and black boots with tassels on the back. To top off her outfit, she put on a satin headband with tiny orcas embroidered all over it. Because today she needed to be strong and smart, just like an orca.
When Parker stopped to gaze at herself in the mirror, she knew she had a great look going.
Then she saw her favorite scientists staring at her from the posters over her bed. Jane Goodall had a look of gentle disappointment on her face. The same one Parker’s mother had worn when Parker took apart the toaster in her Mad Science Lab last summer to see how it worked. It had frustrated Parker and her mother when Parker discovered toasters are easier to take apart than put back together.
“I know you don’t dress up,” Parker told Poster Jane. “But just because you live with chimpanzees doesn’t mean that I do!”
This didn’t seem to change Jane’s mind in any way, so Parker turned to her other favorite scientist. “You get it, Mae,” she said. “I know you do.”
Mae Jemison smiled down at Parker from her poster, looking pretty amazing herself in her orange astronaut flight suit. Parker could see that Mae understood.
“And you do too, don’t you, Algebra?” Parker knelt by her guinea pig’s cage to scratch the little piggy behind his ears, making him squeak happily. She flicked the lever on the robotic guinea pig feeder she’d built over the course of last summer. She’d attached some of the toaster parts to cogs from her Mad Science Lab. It turned out that the same device that lifted bread out of the toaster was also great for lifting a box of rodent pellets, which then poured through a funnel into Algebra’s bowl. Parker had thought the robotic feeder was a great way to recycle and reuse, but her mom hadn’t been too thrilled about having to buy a new toaster.
And now her mom was calling from down the hall. “PARKER! You’re going to miss the bus!”
“Oops—coming!” Parker called back. She turned to Algebra. “I’ll catch your sweet furry face later.”
She could hear Algebra squeaking loudly as she ran to the kitchen. She paused in the kitchen doorway, waiting for her mom to look up and notice her orca outfit. This was the first test of her fashion experiment, and Parker couldn’t wait to see what would happen!
But her mother looked at her as if this were any other day and any other outfit. “Dad brought these up from the bakery,” her mom said, pointing to two ginormous blueberry muffins. “One for you and one for Cassie. You’re going to have to eat on the bus, though, because you’re so late.”
Parker stayed in the doorway for another second, hoping her mother would say something else. Something maybe about her scientifically chosen outfit.
“What are you waiting for?” her mom said, totally skipping over the important stuff. “The bus is coming!”
Parker’s first test of her prediction was a bust. Her mom totally didn’t notice any correlation between Parker’s clothes and the Big Science Announcement at school. With a sigh, Parker scooped up the muffins and opened the back door, yelling down to the bakery on the first floor, “Thanks, Dad!” before running downstairs to catch the bus.
“Have a good day!” her mom called behind her. Parker still thought she was the most amazing mom ever, even if she didn’t test well with Parker’s scientifically chosen fashion. Or understand Parker’s sense of style in general. Or appreciate her interest in taking apart small appliances in the name of science.
Besides, Parker was very sure her best friend, Cassie Malouf, would understand her outfit and prove that it was scientifically the best she could have worn.
* * *
When Parker got on the bus, though, she didn’t see Cassie in their seat, the sixth row on the left. Cassie was always in their seat.
Instead, Theo Zachary was sitting there, being his extra-tall, big-eared self. Parker was not a big fan of Theo. He had been her science partner once in second grade. He didn’t talk to her at all during the entire class. And he spilled so much water during their sink-or-float experiment that nothing could sink or float in the end. They got a one out of four on that assignment.
Parker Bell had never gotten a one out of four in science before that. Ever. It hadn’t been a good feeling.
Now Theo was on her school bus. Sitting in her seat. Where Cassie should be sitting.
“Parker!” Cassie called. She was sitting in the ninth row on the right, in a seat that definitely wasn’t theirs.
Parker and Cassie had been best friends since the first day of kindergarten. They had read a story in class about a girl and her baby sister, and Parker had gotten down in the dumps on the bus ride home. No matter how much she wanted one, there was no baby sister happening in her family. “And there isn’t going to be one, honey,” her mom would remind her whenever Parker brought it up.
“Having a baby sister isn’t all that,” Cassie had reassured her. “Mine stinks.”
At first Parker had thought Cassie meant she didn’t like having a baby sister.
“No, I mean she smells bad,” Cassie had told her. “Her diapers are the worst of the worst.”
Five-year-old Parker wasn’t convinced. “Even if she’s smelly, she’s still yours,” she’d replied. “I’m all by myself.”
With a shrug, Cassie had said, “It’s much better to have a best friend than a baby sister.”
That had only made Parker feel worse. Not only did she not have a baby sister, she wasn’t all that sure she had a best friend. Or any friends. She mentioned this to Cassie.
“You have me,” Cassie told her. “I’ll be your best friend.”
They had been besties ever since.
* * *
Now Parker rushed past Theo on the bus to find her BFF. “Why’s he on our bus?” Parker asked as she handed Cassie a muffin. “And in our seat?”
“I don’t know,” Cassie mumbled through a mouthful of muffin. “I should have asked when we were talking just now.”
“You were talking to Theo Zachary?” Parker asked. “Why?”
“He’s in the new Coders’ Club with me,” Cassie told her. “We’re going to make a video game together. He’s nice.”
A bad feeling started to brew in Parker’s stomach, as if she’d mixed vinegar and baking soda together inside her and made a fizzy volcanic eruption.
Parker wasn’t in the Coders’ Club for one simple reason: all they ever seemed to do was make online games, and she didn’t like to play them, let alone code them. But Cassie loved playing these games and also trying to make them herself. While Parker knew that Cassie had joined the Coders’ Club, she hadn’t known that her best friend was now gamer friends with Theo. Parker hadn’t known Cassie was friends with anyone other than her.
Cassie didn’t seem to notice that Parker had gone quiet. Now that Parker was thinking about it, Cassie hadn’t noticed her outfit, either. Parker’s scientific fashion experiment had totally failed. No one knew she was a strong and smart orca ready for amazing science announcements.
“Hey,” Cassie said, nudging Parker’s shoulder. Her best friend opened The Big Book of Ginormous Facts. Parker had given it to Cassie for her birthday. Cassie couldn’t put it down.
“‘Orcas are some of the fiercest hunters in nature. How fierce are they?’” Cassie read. “‘Sometimes they play with their food, tossing seals high in the air before eating them. Just to show them who’s boss!’”
“That is fierce,” Parker agreed.
She was wondering whether or not to tell her BFF about her failed experiment when Cassie said, “And your orca outfit is fierce too.”
At last Parker had some good results! She was so happy she’d worn black and white to look like an orca today. She was extra-super happy she had the kind of best friend who noticed things like that.
Sure, her test results were incomplete, but it wasn’t a real scientific inquiry after all. Her mother was a PE teacher who always dressed like she was in PE class (even on Saturdays!), so she probably would never notice good fashion, scientifically chosen or otherwise. Cassie, on the other hand, noticed every tiny detail about everything.
It was one of the reasons Parker loved her so much. And it was almost enough to make Parker forget that Cassie was becoming friends with Theo Zachary.
Almost, but not quite.
Chapter 2
The Big Science Announcement
Waiting was not one of Parker Bell’s talents. She was good at doing lots of things, like being fashionable and taking care of guinea pigs. She was also good at watching Morph-Bots shows and reading Morph-Bots comic books. And she was extra-super good at science and building robots.
But waiting . . . well, that was a struggle. By the time she got through morning meeting, language arts, social studies, and PE, she was losing patience. Even art took too long. All Parker wanted was to hear the Big Science Announcement. She didn’t think it was so much to ask, really. How could Ms. Garcia tell them that there’d be a big announcement on Friday and then make them wait all day to hear it?
Here it was, though, 2:15 in the afternoon and still nothing. Soon it would be time to pack up and go home. And then there would be two whole days of weekend before she could come back to school.
Parker wasn’t just losing her patience. She was beginning to lose her cool. What she needed was a distraction.
The class rules usually helped. Her class had come up with them together on the first day of school. Parker found it calming to read them over and over again, especially rules like “Be Kind with Your Words & Actions” and “Respect Others’ Thoughts & Feelings.” She also liked “Always Tell the Truth,” as any good scientist would always be truthful about her findings.
There was only one rule that Parker didn’t agree with: “Work Carefully, Quietly, and Neatly.” She was 100 percent behind carefully and neatly. But quietly was not for her. Unfortunately, only she and Aidan, Braidan, and Jaidan, the annoying Dempsey Triplets, hadn’t voted for that rule, so it passed.
Just thinking about being on the same side as the Dempsey Triplets got Parker peeved.
So she did the one thing that always helped her find her cool again at school: she started observing Snodgrass, the class lizard. He was a brown gecko and he ate live crickets. He was slowly stalking a cricket in his tank right now. Soon he would open his wide lizard mouth and that cricket would be a goner.
Parker was waiting for her turn to feed Snodgrass. She had a secret plan to eat one of the crickets herself. Just to see what would happen, for scientific purposes. What would it taste like? Would she be able to feel its legs moving as she swallowed it?
Unfortunately, Parker had no way to know yet because it wouldn’t be her turn to feed Snodgrass for weeks and weeks. Ms. Garcia had decided to start at the back of the alphabet for taking turns. She said it was to be fair.
Parker thought it stunk. Because she, Parker Bell, was at the very beginning of the alphabet. Theo Zachary, on the other hand, was at the very end. Which meant he had already gotten to feed Snodgrass. And had totally blown his chance to eat a cricket.
Ms. Garcia had listened closely when Parker explained that this was too long to wait. (She’d left out the
part about eating a cricket for science.) Then Ms. Garcia laid the worst of the worst teacher lines down on her.
“You get what you get, and you don’t get upset, Parker!”
If there was one thing Parker hated, it was getting what she got. Well, also chickens. Chickens creeped her out. And she wasn’t a big fan of cauliflower. Plus, the thought of Cassie becoming friends with Theo didn’t make Parker too happy either.
There were actually a lot of things that got her peeved when she stopped to think about it. But getting what she got was definitely top ten.
“Pay attention,” Cassie whispered to Parker. “You’re going to miss everything!”
Suddenly, Snodgrass and his crickets weren’t half as interesting as they had been. It was finally time for the Big Science Announcement!
“Starting next week, we’re going to have a new school competition,” Ms. Garcia told them as she handed out large packets of papers. “It’s a Science Triathlon, with three events over the course of three weeks.” Turned out that meant a Science Bee (like a spelling bee but with science questions) and an Egg Drop after school, and then Animal Adaptation Presentations at a schoolwide assembly. You’d compete against kids in your class, and from other classes too, and get extra credit. Plus, there were going to be gold, silver, and bronze medals for the winners.
Ms. Garcia smiled at the class. “Anyone who’s interested will have to compete in teams,” she continued. “And I have a packet of information for each of you to bring home and share with your parents.”
Parker sat up straight in her chair. This was the best news ever. She would be on a team with Cassie! Between Cassie’s coding and trivia know-how and Parker’s engineering skills, they’d get extra credit and win a science award. It would be Parker’s first step in becoming a world-famous scientist just like Jane Goodall and Mae Jemison!
Not everyone was taking the announcement as seriously as Parker, though. She glanced over at Aidan and Jaidan and Braidan Dempsey and sighed. They were taking turns kicking their fellow triplets under their desks instead of listening. They were not acting like they were interested in extra credit or scientific gold medals. They probably weren’t going to participate in the Science Triathlon.
Parker Bell and the Science of Friendship Page 1
