The Thinking Cap is gone!
The rousing sequel to Apple Island, or the Truth About Teachers!
The Thinking Cap has been stolen, and Bradley Zimmerman, by request from the Gods of Education on Mount Academy, must take another long and perilous journey to try and retrieve it. Not only that, he must first rescue his class (again) from Flunk, God of Failure and Lord of the Underschool!
Too Hot To Hoot
The earthquake split Bradley’s classroom in two. The wide crack in the classroom floor swallowed his class and teacher.
Moments before, Bradley Zimmerman had been sitting at his desk, taking a science quiz on the planets. His arms stuck to his desktop. His armpits were sopped, and his feet squished in his sneakers. A bead of sweat rolled off his chin and plopped onto his test paper.
“It’s too hot to take a test,” Bradley told himself. “It’s too hot to think. It’s too hot to hoot.”
The next quiz question read:
5) What planet is closest to the sun?
Bradley checked the thermometer outside the window. “It’s too hot to remember,” he said. “The mercury is going to burst out of that thing.”
He guessed at the answer and wrote it on the blank in his usual scribbly handwriting. Then he
reached into his desk and tore off the end of a Mars Bar. The next question read:
6) What planet is called the ‘red planet’?
“How should I know?” he said, popping the candy into his mouth. “It’s just too hot to take a test.”
After taking another guess, Bradley looked out the window. On the playground, ripples of heat rose off the asphalt. The effect reminded him of a lake, which reminded him of water, which reminded him of the drinking fountain in the hallway, which reminded him of his terrific thirst.
He waved his test paper before his face. “Would the teacher let me get a drink in the middle of a test?” he wondered. “Not a chance. So I’ll try something else.”
Miss Smartt, his young, no-nonsense teacher, sat behind her desk, grading papers.
“Miss Smartt? The Boys’ Room. I gotta go,” Bradley called out. “It’s an emergency. Urgent. I can’t wait.”
The teacher shook her head. Instead of answering Bradley, however, she addressed the entire class. “Class, what happened?” she said. “I’ve been checking your spelling tests, and you made many careless mistakes. Something’s wrong. Some of you missed every word. So let’s put on your Thinking Caps and try harder on this science quiz. OK?” Then she looked at Bradley and said, “Bradley, make is snappy.”
Bradley hurried out the door. The drinking fountain stood halfway down the hall. As he hastened toward it, he heard the hum of its motor, keeping the water icy cold.
“It’s too hot to listen to teachers,” he said. “It’s too hot to try. It’s too hot to hoot.”
Once at the fountain, he pressed his bare legs against the frosty, metal sides. He pushed the silver button on top. A worm of frigid water spouted out. Bradley leaned over. He puckered his parched lips as if to kiss the cascading stream.
“I’ll drink the reservoir dry,” he said. “I’ll drink until my belly bursts.”
Closer and closer he drew to the nozzle. The water wet the tip of his nose before touching his parched lips.
That’s when the earthquake hit.
Bradley's Odyssey
WT Melon Publishing
$6.99 150 pages paperback/e-book
Ages 7 and up ISBN 780615693460
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Contents
Too Hot to Hoot
The Earthquake
Pen
The Silver Bus
The Board Room
Super
The Creation of Teachers
The Odyssey Begins
Lost and Found
Land of Rules and Unruly
The Tempest
The Three R’s
Show and Tell
The Sub
EZ School
The Underschool
Bully
The Great Pedagog Legend
Meeting the Worm
The Thinking Cap