Samuel’s Big Day
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1
Sad little Samuel, the fluffy, black and brown little Dachshund sat in his cage wondering why no one wanted him. He was lonely and afraid looking at all the other dogs that surrounded him in their cages at the ranch where they now called home.
Page 2
Saturday was rescue day once again and Samuel and his friends were transported by a big truck to the Pet store in hopes of adoption.
Page 3
Samuel was always excited when he was able to get out and away from the ranch and his small cage to stay in a larger one with two of his playmates just outside the doors of the pet store. He wanted someone to love him, and cuddle him.
Page 4
Samuel whined and barked at the people who walked past him or stopped to look down at him, and he jumped up on the cage to be petted while wagging his long fluffy tail.
Page 5
He watched as a little blonde haired girl walked toward his cage with her parents. “I want this one, Mommy. He’s cute!”
Page 6
The little girl bent down at the cage and Samuel licked her face through the opening. “Oh Mommy he is so sweet can we have him?”
Halloween Town
Book One
Millie the Mummy
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1
“Come down for breakfast Millie! It’s time for school soon!”
Millie’s Mum stood over the stove cooking eggs and bacon.
The scent filled Millie’s nose making her rise up from her nightly
slumber inside her coffin bed.
Page 2
Millie dressed in her favorite purple shirt and jeans with her sneakers.
She wrapped her hair in pigtails then made her way down to the kitchen.
Page 3
Her Dad was sitting with his cup of coffee next to him on the table and reading the morning newspaper, as her younger brother Murray sat and played with his toys along side of him.
Page 4
It was a good day today. Millie was helping to set up the haunted house for the special Halloween party at school!
Page 5
“Good morning Millie!” her Mum said as she smiled. “Are you ready for your breakfast?”
Millie sat in the chair next to her brother as her Mum filled the plate set in front of her.
Page 6
“So, Millie, what are your plans for today?” her Dad wanted to know. Millie smiled up at him, “I in charge of decorating the haunted house at school. I’m so excited!”
Page 7
Millie sat and thought about all the scary things she
could do.
Sally the Spider
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1 and 2
“Sally, please stop weaving your web and get ready for school. The bus is nearly here.”
“I hear you Mom! I will be right down!”
Sally pulled clothes from her closet. In her right hand she held a dark purple skirt and in her left hand she held a pretty pink top. “Settled,” she said to herself and dressed.
Page 3
Her bedroom walls were painted black with white spider webs on them. Her drapes were made out of real spider’s web that she weaved herself and was very proud of. Her bed was made out of spider web netting that her Mom spun for her.
Page 4
Sally made her way down to the dining room where her mother met her with a lunch bag and her backpack which held her school books. “Remember to finish your lunch. Granny Spider made it for you. It’s you’re favorite, Fly stew.”
Page 5 and 6
Outside the bus driver blew the horn. Sally kissed her Mom goodbye and ran out to the bus where she was met by her friends, Millie the Mummy, Wanda the Witch and Victoria the Vampire.
Page 7
On the bus they chatted about the big Halloween party and what Millie had planned.
“I can’t wait for the party! It’s going to be so awesome!” Godrick the Goblin replied.
“Just wait and see what Millie has prepared!” Sally the Spider chimed in.
Page 8
The bus drove to the next stop and Frankie Stein climbed up the steps. He smiled when he saw his friends then sat next to Godrick.
“So what are you talking about?” he wanted to know once he had taken his seat and buckled in.
Elliot Finds a Home
by Amelia Picklewiggle
Elliot was a little puppy who lived in a pet store.
The pet store was not his home, because home is where family is. And Elliot had no family in the pet store.
All the puppies in the pet store were waiting to be bought and have a home.
But Elliot was not like the other puppies. Elliot was different. And everyone saw Elliot was different when they saw him.
Elliot could do things that other puppies could not do, because he was different. That made him special. It made him almost magic.
But no one wanted to buy Elliot because he was different.
So one day the pet store sent Elliot away, to a place for unwanted puppies.
Joseph was a little boy who lived with his Mommy and Daddy.
Mommy and Daddy loved Joseph very much. But Joseph was different.
Joseph had autism. Joseph never spoke. Joseph ever responded. He was alone in his head.
A Day at the Circus
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1:
Today the circus came to town. We saw the colorful big top tent.
Page 2:
We gave the man at the door money to let us in.
Page 3:
Inside we saw clowns, and many animals.
Page 4:
In the cage there were lions and tigers, and the lion tamer used a whip to make them do tricks.
Page 5:
We bought cotton candy and popcorn from the vendor. He was very nice.
Page 6:
We saw the horses come out all dressed up very pretty with people riding on them in the ring.
Page 7:
The Elephants came out next. They were very large. They danced around and stood on their back legs.
Page 8:
Then we watched the trapeze artists high above us on a wire. They did tricks with a bicycle, and walked across holding a long bar for balance.
Andrew’s Counting Clowns
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1
One clown, two clowns, three clowns, four, five clowns, six clowns, seven clowns, more all under the big top tent.
Page 2
This was Andrew’s first visit to the circus and he was very excited to see the clowns. He counted as TWO clowns went into a small car. Then THREE clowns come out of the car waving to all the children inside the circus tent.
Page 3
A third clown joined them as they all stepped into the small car. One moment later FOUR clowns stepped out of the car blowing up balloons.
Page 4
FOUR clowns made their way into the small car. Andrew was scratching his head as he watched. Surely the car was too small to fit all those clowns. Fascinated, he watched as FIVE clowns stepped out of the car.
Tessa’s Special Valentine
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1
“Hurry up Tessa!” Mommy called. “We have to buy something special for Valentine’s Day for Daddy, Sam, Elliot and Penny.” Tessa followed her voice into the living room where Mommy was sitting on the sofa writing the list. Tessa jumped up to join her.
Page2
Inside the store Tessa found stuffed animals to play with, but before long Mommy had to take them away before Tessa pulled them apart. Tessa looked at Mommy very sad because she wanted the toy.
“You can’t have this Tessa.” Mommy scolded and placed it back on the shelf. “I will have to keep a closer eye on you.” Mommy said.
Page 3
In the chocolate isle Mommy found a heart shaped box filled with candy for Daddy.
He liked the ones that were filled with nuts.
Page 4
Tessa jumped up and down on the store floor wanting to get to the candy on the shelves, but Mommy held tightly to her leash. “No Tessa, no jumping!”
Victoria the Vampire
By Amelia Picklewiggle
Page 1
The clouds filled the night sky in an eerie sight as Victoria the Vampire sat in her pink frilly, canopied coffin reading her favorite book, “Dracula.” Her friend Wanda the Witch was spending the night and practicing her spells on Victoria’s pet bat who was in his cozy cage on the other side of the room.
Page 2
“You’re spells won’t work.” Victoria said to Wanda.
“I know but it can’t hurt to try.”
Wanda joined Victoria inside her coffin. “I know! Let’s go out and scare people!”
Page 3
Victoria smiled at Wanda and said, “That sounds like fun how about we dress up as scary ghosts!”
“Wanda went to the trunk in Victoria’s room and pulled out two white sheets. They draped them over themselves and walked downstairs to tell Victoria’s Vampmother they were going out.
Page 4
“Make sure you are in before sunrise Victoria or you will turn into a bat!.” Vampmother scolded while Vampfather sat in his big fluffy chair in the living room reading the Daily Doom newspaper and drinking his favorite glass of wacky red blood juice.
Page 5
Victoria and Wanda giggled as they covered themselves with the sheets made holes for the eyes then walked out the front door of the old rickety house they called home.
Page 6
The girls spotted a few of their school friends walking down the street towards them. Everyone was excited it was nearing Halloween. Victoria and Wanda hid behind a large tree. As their friends neared they jumped out and screamed BOO! Their friends were scared and started to run. Victoria and Wanda stood there laughing and watching them run away.
Peter and the Pumpkin Patch
By PA Cadaver
Copyright 2011
Middle Grade books
Peter glanced out the window of his apartment where he watched the heavy traffic of the busy city. He longed to have a place where he could run and play with his friends, but knew that would be impossible since his mother became ill, and they had to leave the nice, quiet life he had in a rural neighborhood. Her allergies became worse with time, so her doctor recommended they move to the city away from the weeds, pollen, and grass that could one day harm her.
He missed his home and his old friends, the parks, museums, and even the lake where he went boating and fishing with his father and friends. Learning to live in a big city, in a small apartment was all new to Peter. Even though he had made a few friends at school, being the new kid on the block wasn’t easy. The kids in the city were different. They talked differently, acted differently, and had other ways of keeping occupied. They liked to hang around on street corners in front of the candy stores listening to music, or playing video games in the arcades.
Every so often they delighted in playing a game of stick ball on some of the side streets where there was less traffic, and they did ask Peter to play. He learned new games, which he thought was great, but Peter was used to baseball games on the field, ice cream from vendors on a hot sunny afternoon, and going to the movies with his friends. It wasn’t easy getting from place to place for Peter since he had to take public transportation everywhere, including school. He couldn’t even ride his bike like he used to do in the old neighborhood.
Saturday was Peter’s favorite day of the week, and he decided to see what the big city had in store for him.
“Peter, where are you going?” His father queried as Peter shrugged into his coat.
“I think I’ll visit with Missus Kravitch today. I saw her granddaughter, Emily yesterday. We became friends in school, and she said her Gran wasn’t feeling well.”
“All right. Just don’t wander too far and keep your phone handy in case you have to call. I don’t want you out there alone or away from the building, understand?”
Peter’s father went back to reading the newspaper, while his mother rested with a book, in a chair beside him.
~ * ~
Unlocking the front door, Peter stepped into the long corridor leading to the stairs. He climbed up two flights and went to Mrs. Kravitz door, and lightly knocked.
“Hello? Who is it?”
“Um, it’s me Peter, Missus Kravitz. I’ve come to see how you’re doing.” He heard the locks being unlatched and the door opened.
“Hi Peter! I’m glad you could come!”
“Hello Emily. Nice to see you again, too. I’m glad you’re here. I think I would have died from boredom if I stayed in that apartment another minute. How is your grandmother?”
“I just made a batch of Halloween cookies. Gran isn’t feeling well. She’s in the bedroom resting but you can come in the kitchen and help me.”
Peter took off his coat, laid it on a chair, and then followed Emily. The scent of the cookies filled his nostrils the moment he walked into the apartment, and oh, how he wanted to taste one.
Emily was a nice, friendly girl who had many of the same interests Peter had, and he was pleased to find a friend like her. Both had just turned thirteen and in the seventh grade. They also shared the same classes, so Peter didn’t feel alone.
“Here, try this one,” Emily said as she handed him a bat shaped cookie. “I made these special. It’s Gran’s old recipe.”
“Wow!” Peter’s eyes widened with the first bite. “They taste like pumpkin cookies but not like any I ever had.”
Emily laughed as she pushed her blonde hair away from her brow. “It’s a special recipe, come with me and I’ll show you.”
After checking in on Gran, seeing she was sleeping, Emily and Peter put on their coats and locked the door behind them. Down the hall they spied Mr. Crowley making his way into his apartment.
“How is your grandmother feeling Miss Emily? Is there anything she needs?”
“Hi Mister Crowley. I think she will be okay. Mom picked up some medicine for her yesterday and since I’m home for the weekend, I’m staying with her. Thank you for offering.”
Mr. Crowley tipped his hat. “If you’re going outside it’s a bit chilly. You might want to wear a hat and scarf.”
“Thank you,” Peter replied. “But we’re not going too far, I don’t think…”
“C’mon, Peter!” Emily laughed as she grabbed his coat sleeve.
“Where are we going anyway?”
“It’s a surprise.”
They climbed the last two flights of stairs leading to the rooftop, and pushed open the door. The wind blew leaves in a swirl, and the bite in the crisp afternoon air was just perfect.
Emily led Peter to a garden. “This is where we get our vegetables.” She bent down and began moving the leaves away from the fruit.
Peter noticed something covered in the back of the garden by the fence. At closer inspection he saw it was shielded with burlap.
“What’s under this? Can I uncover it?”
“Not yet, Peter. Those are special. Give me a moment to finish up here and I’ll show you. In the meantime, will you take that rake and clean the leaves away from the vegetables?”
Peter nodded, and while he raked, Emily finished picking the vegetables. She placed them carefully into the wicker basket she pulled off a hook on the pole next to the garden. When she completed her task she put the basket down and went to Peter.
“Okay, I want to show you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone, not even your parents.”
