HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
by Dixie Lee Petrokis illustrated by Roberta Collier Morales Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01692-4 ISBN-10: 0-547-01692-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Aww! cried Caroline. Jinks licked my nose! Caroline was holding the cutest puppy she had ever seen. His nose was touching hers. Caroline was rapidly falling in love.
Of course, Caroline fell in love just about every Saturday. That s how often she visited the Westport Animal Shelter. The shelter was Caroline s favorite place in the world. One week she d be enchanted by a shy cat, the next by a playful dog. Every animal was special in its own way. But Jinks was the most special of all. As soon as she met him, Caroline knew he was the pet for her. Can I take Jinks home with me? Caroline asked Ms. Preston, the woman in charge of the shelter. He can t go home with anyone quite yet, said Ms. Preston. His leg is injured, and it will take time to heal. Jinks had been hit by a car, so he had a cast on one leg. Once he got better, he would need a new home. Caroline s friend Maria was petting a cat nearby. You probably should ask your parents before you adopt a dog, anyway! said Maria. Not a bad idea, said Maria s mother, Mrs. Alvarez, who had driven the girls to the shelter. I know they ll say yes! said Caroline.
4 As Mrs. Alvarez drove Caroline home, Caroline tried to imagine walking Jinks through the neighborhood. Having her very own dog would be a thousand times better than going to visit the shelter! As soon as she walked in her front door, Caroline started babbling to her mom about Jinks. Well, I sure hope Jinks gets better soon, said Mom, who was fixing a shelf in the kitchen. Ms. Preston told me the shelter is about to close. What? asked Caroline, her voice rising with alarm. When? I ran into her at the hardware store yesterday. Janice said the shelter can t afford to stay open, Mom explained, as she drove a screw into the wall. Oh, no! Caroline cried. But the shelter can t close. What will happen to all of the animals there?
Suddenly, Caroline brightened. We ll just have to raise the money to save it! she said, with a smile spreading across her face. Mom smiled back and shook her head. You re quite the determined one, aren t you? she said over the noise of the drill. 5
6 That afternoon, Caroline met with her friends to figure out how to save the shelter. Everyone had a suggestion. Maybe we could have a lemonade stand! said Maria. Or how about a pet-sitting business? asked Lai May. I think a dog-washing service! said Victor. Or what about a bake sale? said Caroline. She paused for a moment. I know! she said excitedly. We can do them all! We ll hold a Save the Shelter Fair! Everyone thought that was an awesome idea.
The kids met all week to plan the fair, which would happen a week from Saturday. Lai May and Caroline put up posters. Maria contacted the local TV news and newspaper to get more publicity for the fair and for the animal shelter. Caroline had a surprise in mind for the bake sale. She created a brand-new cookie recipe. True, she had never baked cookies or anything before. But she just had a special feeling about these cookies. It was as if Jinks s happy spirit was in every one. What do you think I should call my cookies? Caroline asked her mom, who was helping her. How about Caroline s Treats? said Mom. 7
By the day of the fair, Caroline had made hundreds of cookies. She and her parents wrapped the cookies in small bags and tied them with a bow. Caroline carefully wrote Caroline s Treats on every single bag. It was a beautiful, sunny day. A big crowd showed up. Everyone brought pets. There were dogs, cats, snakes even a couple of parrots. Everything was a big success except Caroline s bake sale! No one was buying Caroline s Treats!
What s in these, anyway? asked Dad, as he was taking a bite. He made a funny face as he tried to chew. Umm, I can t remember, exactly, said Caroline. Oats and a little milk and some grated carrots and stuff like that. Don t you like them? Well, they re very unusual, Dad said. They re just a little hard to chew.
10 Just then, Mr. Larson came by with his dog, Bowser. Dad tossed Bowser the rest of the treat, and in no time, Bowser had finished it and was looking around for more. Great doggie treats! said Mr. Larson. I ll take a bag. No, make that three bags. Mr. Larson must have told other people about the treats, because before long, more and more people with dogs were stopping by. Soon customers were lining up around the block to buy Caroline s Treats for their dogs! (Mrs. Alvarez even bought some for her cat, Bruno.) After just an hour, Caroline was almost out of cookies, and customers were still lining up.
Then a woman with a microphone and a TV camera crew came over to the bake-sale booth. It was Sarah Lockwood from the Evening News! She asked Caroline about her doggie treats, the fair, and the animal shelter. You ll be on the news tonight! said Sarah as she and her crew were leaving. 11
12 That night, Mom, Dad, and Caroline were exhausted. They flopped down on the couch to watch the local news. First came a story about the town s new fire trucks, which were equipped with extralong hoses. Hoses, schmoses! said Caroline. What about the fair? Be patient, Caroline, said her dad. Then there was a story about the biggest pumpkin in Rhode Island. Then came the weather report. Caroline was discouraged. I guess that reporter was wrong. They re not going to show the fair at all. And we really needed that publicity. I m sure we didn t earn enough money ourselves. Now it s all going to be a big waste of Just then, Sarah Lockwood appeared on the screen. The final story was about the fair! There was Caroline on TV, surrounded by happy dogs munching her treats!
The next morning, Caroline got a phone call. Hello, is this Caroline Roberts? said a man s voice. This is Peter Petsky of Petsky s Pet Palace. I saw you on the news. I d love to sell Caroline s Treats in my stores! I d also like to contribute money to the Westport Animal Shelter. Caroline s heart pounded as she told Mom and Dad the news. Sounds like you just saved the shelter! they said. 13
14 The next Saturday, Caroline made her usual stop at the shelter. But it was anything but a typical visit. A big crowd had gathered there to see Caroline give Ms. Preston a check for the fair money, and to celebrate the shelter s survival. Peter Petsky was there, too. Thanks to all of you, said Ms. Preston. And Caroline, I have a special surprise for you. Ms. Preston opened a door. Out ran Jinks, with his leg completely healed. He jumped right into Caroline s arms! Now this is the best treat of all! Caroline said.
Responding TARGET SKILL Understanding Characters What do you think about Caroline? Copy the chart below. List story details and your ideas about why Caroline acts as she does. Story Details Caroline is very caring.?? My Experience??? What I Think??? Write About It Text to Self Caroline works hard to help save the animal shelter. Write a personal narrative about a time when you worked to help someone. Be sure to describe your thoughts and feelings about what you did. 15
TARGET VOCABULARY afford block contacted customers earn figure raise spreading ExpANd YoUR VoCAbUlARY contribute determined discouraged exhausted publicity suggestion survival TARGET SKILL Understanding Characters Tell why characters act as they do. TARGET STRATEGY Analyze/Evaluate Think about what you read. Then form an opinion about it. GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events that could happen in real life. 16
Level: R DRA: 40 Genre: Realistic Fiction Strategy: Analyze/Evaluate Skill: Understanding Characters Word Count: 1,184 3.1.3 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01692-4 ISBN-10: 0-547-01692-1 1031554