Maggie the Cat Book 2
Children's Book
Date Published: October 15th
Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.
Wonderful illustrations bring us back up to Grandpa's mountain farmhouse for a Thanksgiving homecoming. Pip will soon have a Thanksgiving surprise, but what exactly will it be? Will it have to do with the treats in the oven? Pecan pie with oatmeal? Cornbread? Dutch apple pie? Mmmmm, they all smell so good!
Will it have to do with a new park for all of the children to play in, being built at a neighbor's farm? Wow! A brand new park where everyone, and I mean everyone, is working very hard. Will it have to do with little Barney who is the littlest goat ever and who is really working hard and chomp chomp chomping away to make the park soft and free of brush?
Or finally, will it have to do with Pip's best friend ever, Maggie? Read along, and let's find out together. We don't have that long. Thanksgiving is coming very soon!
Happy Birthday to the
New Park!
One More Day Until Thanksgiving
(Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I just can’t wait!)
Grandpa told me to bring my harmonica because we are going to play our harmonicas along with other children who brought their kazoos. We exit the school bus. Pip has a collar with a small rope attached so that Grandpa can help keep him safe.
Mr. Cecil is here from the restaurant. He has made a birthday cake for us. Oh my! Mr. Cecil placed the pretty birthday cake in the middle of the table. On top of the cake was one candle, because today the park was one day old. Mr. Cecil explained how the cake was made with bananas and pineapple. It had a sorta spicy taste of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. On top of the cake was a creamy, creamy cream cheese frosting and some of our very own pecans from Grandpa. Oh my!
Mr. Cecil said the name of the cake was a Hummingbird Cake. Then, he pointed to a large metal sign at the entrance to the park. The sign was covered up with a big pink sheet hanging over the sign. He said, “Under the sheet, there is the name of the new park. What do you children believe the name of the new park will be?”
I thought and I thought and I thought. Then, I yelled, “Wait! I know! I know! I know! It’s named for the tiny, tiny bird I saw here. It’s called Hummingbird Park!”
Mr. Cecil said, “Yes, you are right! Look!”
With that, he removed the sheet, and all of us read the sign out loud. We read together, “Welcome, everyone, to Hummingbird Park.” We clapped and jumped and clapped and clapped and jumped.
So, there!
We all began to play our harmonicas and our kazoos. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Then, Mr. Cecil says, “Okay, everyone, put your instruments away. Now, let’s get in a loooooooong line, and we are going to parade around the park on the sidewalks and sing and clap. All the very small children will get in their wagons and be pulled along at the end of the parade.” Oh my!
“But first …We have a special grand marshal who is going to lead the parade. The special marshal is …Pip!”
Oh my! Pip (with Grandpa’s help) is going to lead the parade. All the children say, “Look at Pip! Look at Pip!” Pip’s eyes get really, really big, and he smiles. Grandpa places a black and white, polka dot bow tie on Pip. Pip is so proud! Then, Pip says, “EWWWWWWEEEEE!”
And he jumps and jumps and starts the parade. He trots all around and around and around the sidewalks, and all the children follow. They clap, they skip, they jump, and they sing, “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Hummingbird Park. Happy birthday to you!”
Fun Learning Games
About that time, Daddy enters the room and says, “Why don’t we go sit in front of the fireplace on the sofa and play our learning games?” I say, “Yes! Yes! Yes! I am good at our learning games.”
Daddy said, “First, remember when we played the fives game?”
I jumped up out of my seat. I said, “I know, I know. We both do it and see who can do it faster.”
“Okay, let me go first,” said Daddy. He stood up tall. He looked straight at me and proceeded to say in a very loud voice, “5, 10, 15, 20.” Then, he paused, and he said, “25, 30, 35, 40.” Again, he paused and finished with 45 to 55 to 65 …all the way to 100.
Then, I stood up. I looked at Daddy and said, “Here I go.” I took a really, really big breath in, and really, really fast went, “5, 10, 15 …100.” I went even faster than Daddy, so I won. So, there!
Next, Daddy said, “Let’s work with the calendar.” He explained to me that Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. We went over to the wall calendar that we had hung near the back door, and Daddy showed me the month of November. He found the first Thursday and put his finger on it, then he went to the second Thursday, then the third Thursday, and finally he put his finger on the fourth Thursday. I learned that Thanksgiving would be Thursday. The calendar also showed all the other months of the year, and I could proudly name them all. I closed my eyes, didn’t look, and I said them all really, really fast.
Here we go!
JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugust
SeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
There you go!
Finally, we decided to go to the kitchen and inspect my latest learning project. I am growing rock candy! We run and look at the corner in the kitchen below the cabinet, and we see it. There is a jar and a string. Growing on the string is my rock candy! Yes, it has a boatload of crystals. That means it is growing. Soon, it will be ready to eat! Oh my!
I look out the kitchen window. I see the little golden leaves continuing to fall. There, by the window, Grandpa has placed a peck of Mutsu and a bushel of Golden Delicious apples. He also has placed a five-pound bag of pecans that he will bring to Mr. Cecil for his Thanksgiving pies later that afternoon. Then, all of a sudden, I hear something very interesting and run to the back door to see what it is. I think I know …
Could it be? Would it be?
Look!
It’s Barney, it’s Barney, at the back door
It’s Barney, it’s Barney, at the back door
Pip loves you so
Please, please don’t go
It’s Barney, it’s Barney, back again at the back door
Can you please stay with us, Barney, forevermore?
Yes, Little Barney was at the back door, again. Grandpa Charlie Green said to me, “Wilhelmina Olive Blessing, you know I’ve got to give a call to Farmer Ted and let him know that Little Barney is here. I feel bad, because it appears that Little Barney seems to really like it here. But we don’t want Farmer Ted to worry.”
So, Grandpa Charlie Green picked up the phone and gave him a call. Very soon after, Farmer Ted arrived in his orange truck, and he hugged little Barney. He then very gently and kindly picked Little Barney up and put him in the truck and took him back to his barn.
After Barney left, Pip came to the back screen door and gently sat down. He just looked out. Pip was sad. I was sad for Pip. So was Grandpa. Pip just continued to look out the back door, and he was very sad.
About the Author
Julia Russo spent many winters in the mountains along with her little dog, Chloe, and her sweet husband, Kent. She continues to live in Atlanta but her heart is really in those woods.
One of her favorite things ever was hearing her first graders read aloud. She sometimes wrote for the government and companies, and later wrote descriptions of homes. She even spent time as what is called a roustabout!
After her debut book, Maggie the Cat Who Came Home for Christmas, released in 2023, Julia is excited to continue the series. She visits her mountainside cabin often. One of these days, she’s hoping to get a little goat.
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