Lothrop

THE WHOLE THIRD FLOOR Steam curled up from the brown-sugar mountains. I stirred my oatmeal, cut a slushy valley through the middle, and then whipped it around again fast. The whirlpool sucked at the galactic prisoners clinging to my spoon. They waved their tiny neon arms as they sank. "Harvey,"...

T BALL I slammed the front door, jumped the steps, and tossed my old red kickball across the yard to Nick Rossi, who lives next door. We had twenty-two minutes to get to school. "I've got the moustache," I told him, clutching its long spidery hairs in my coat pocket. "Did you bring the bow...

X had, don't gulp your cereal. School doesn't start until eight-thirty," Mom said. Chad looked at the kitchen clock and ate faster. Biggie, the Garcias' brown Labrador retriever, was ready to have her puppies, and Chad wanted to check on her before school. "What's the rush?" Dad asked. "It's...

l^Into the Woods A^W by himself. The red-brown Welsh corgi puppy ventured through the English countryside, into the heart of the woods in search of adventure. His short legs moved faster and faster as he raced gaily along the paths and bounded through the dense ferns, trying to catch a blackbird...