Chapter 2, A Trip to the Library
Location: Yucaipa, California, January, 2014
It was a week after the new year had rolled in, and a dusting of snow covered Yucaipa, California. After the second snow day to fall in one week, due to the lack of snow equipment to clear the roads in time for the kids to go to school, Martha was helping Bobby get ready for bed, as she was reading him his favorite bedtime story.
"The end." Read aloud Martha from the Uncle, the Carb Uncle book by Doctor Bruice, as she closed the book.
"Hey mom, can I ask you something?" Bobby asked, as he turned towards his mom, who was sitting on the side of his bed.
"What is it Bobby?" Martha asked.
"Tomorrow night, can you read me a different book?" Bobby asked.
"But I thought you liked Uncle the Carb Uncle." Martha replied.
"Well yeah, but I have this book memorized, and I'm starting to learn how to read in school. So, I want a new book. And everybody is talking about the new Captain Squash book, Captain Squash's Big Adventure, and I wanna get that book! Please? Please? Pretty please?" Bobby begged.
"Well, I don't know about buying the book, but you know what Bobby? That just gave me a g golly idea now. What if we got you, your very own library card? And tomorrow would be the perfect time to go, as Celeste and Didi are taking Zack, Tommy and Dil to get their first library cards. I'll see if they can take you to get yours too." Said Martha with a smile, as she got up from the bed and gave Bobby a kiss on the forehead.
"Wow! That sounds great!" Said Bobby excitedly.
"Ok then little man, you get some sleep now, and tomorrow, you can go to the library with your friends!" Said Martha, as she turned out the lights and left the room, as Bobby rolled over and went to sleep.
The next day, Didi and Celeste picked up Bobby, and everybody went to the library.
"Tommy, Zack, Dil, guess what? I'm coming with you to the library, and getting a library card!" Said Bobby excitedly.
"That's what we're doing too! And I can't wait to get my firstest library card, and start learning how to read. I may only be one, but I love books, letters and numbers! I hear they have a Super Why learn to read book series, and I wanna check it out!" Said Zack.
"I wanna find a Reptar book, and have a ticket to the world, just like my bestest friend Chuckie and Kimi gots. I came with them when they gotted their library cards, and it looks like fun!" Said Tommy.
"Yeah! Maybe there's a Goober book, or a book about aliums." Said Dil with a smile, as Didi rounded the corner into the library parking lot.
Everyone got out of the car and went inside.
"Yay! We're at the library! We're at the library!" Bobby shouted excitedly, as he hopped up and down upon entering the library.
Didi put a finger to her lips, and looked at Bobby.
"Uh, Bobby, we need to be quiet in the library." Said Didi.
"Oh, sorry." Whispered Bobby, as they approached the librarian, who looked a lot different from the one who was there when Chuckie and Kimi got library cards. This lady looked to be in her mid twenties, had dark brown hair, and her name tag read Mrs. Patterson.
"Hello, I am Mrs. Patterson, the librarian. How may I help you?" Asked Mrs. Patterson.
"I'd like to get a library card for my sons, Tommy and Dil please." Said Didi.
"And I'd like to get a library card for my nephew Zack, and if you could please help me sign his card, as I'm blind, that would be appreciated." Said Celeste.
"And my name is Bobby Generic, and I'm here to get a library card too. My mom said it was ok." Said Bobby.
"Well then, let's get started!" Said Mrs. Patterson, as she typed on a computer and printed out the library cards, at which time, she had Celeste give her Zack's first and last name, so she could write it on his card, then Didi wrote Tommy and Dil's names on their cards, and Bobby wrote his own name on his.
"Now children, before I give you your library cards, let me tell you some important library rules. First, we need to be quiet while in the library. Secondly, no food and drinks are allowed. Third, when looking at books in the library, if you're not going to check them out to take home, please return them to the shelves where you found them, and finally, if you should check out a book to take home, please bring it back on the day it's due. Remember children, the library belongs to everyone, and when you check a book out at the library, you're borrowing the book. It isn't fair to hold the book hostage from your fellow neighbors and friends in the community, others may wanna read it too. And, also take care of your library books with tender loving care. That means, no ripping out the pages, no coloring on them, and no writing all over the books. Do you understand these library rules?" Said Mrs. Patterson when she was finished going over the rules.
Tommy, Dil and Zack all smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I understand." Said Bobby.
"Well then, I shall give you all, your brand new library cards." Said Mrs. Patterson with a smile, as she handed Tommy, Dil, Zack and Bobby, their library cards, and Tommy and Bobby put their cards into their pants pockets, while Zack and Dil stuffed them into their diapers.
Bobby looked around the library, to see several bookshelves lined with a ton of books.
"So how do we find the book we're looking for?" Bobby asked.
"That's a very good library question Bobby. Well, to answer your question, come with me over to the card catalogue." Said Mrs. Patterson, as she led everyone over to the card catalogue computer, at another set of desks.
"Huh? This doesn't look like a catalogue, this looks like a computer, and my mom and dad say I'm never suppose to play with the computer unless they're around to help me. My dad says the computer is used to keep up with the fast paced world of pants, or I guess now, it's used to keep up with the fast paced world of shirts, since he now works for the world of shirts. The last time I fooled with one of these, the world almost came to an end." Said Bobby.
"Oh, don't you worry Bobby, these are special computers, and you have our full permission to use them. They'll help you, and us, find the book you're looking for more easily. Now, are there any books in particular you and your friends are looking for?" Asked Mrs. Patterson.
"Yes, I am looking for Captain Squash's Big Adventure, Tommy wants a Reptar book, Dil wants a Goober book, and Zack wants the Super Why Learn to Read Book Series." Said Bobby.
"Well ok then, looks like we've got some searching to do. We'll start with the Captain Squash book. I'll just type in the name into the search box, click on the red button with the mouse, and in a minute, we should have our results!" Said Mrs. Patterson, as she entered the title into the computer, and a list of all available Captain Squash books came up on the screen.
Some of the books had a red x by them, while others did not.
"Why is there a red x by some of the titles of the books?" Bobby asked.
"The red x signifies that that particular book has been checked out by a user of the library, and hasn't been returned yet. But you're in luck Bobby, Captain Squash's Big Adventure, is available in the children's section." Said Mrs. Patterson.
They continued to search the card catalogue, to find a Reptar book for Tommy, a Goober book for Dil, and the first book of the Super Why Book Series for Zack, was also available, Book One, Learn the Power of the Alphabet, with Alpha Pig! She showed them what the list looked like, and how they could search by title, author, and library reference number if they knew it, and if a book was checked out, back at her desk, she could see who had the book checked out, in the event it was overdue.
"Wow! Neat!" Said Bobby with a grin.
"So, since we've found a book for each of you, ready to go pick your books out now?" Mrs. Patterson asked.
"Yes, we are!" Replied Bobby, as Mrs. Patterson led Bobby, Tommy, Zack, Dil, Celeste and Didi back to the children's section, where they found the books they were looking for.
Bobby found the Captain Squash book, and showed everyone that he was learning to read in school, by reading the title aloud, Didi found a board Goober picture book for Dil, while Mrs. Patterson found a board book copy of the latest Reptar book, Reptar versus the Giant Spiders, which is what Tommy checked out, and then, they found the Super Why books, and while Book Two, Three and Four in the learning to read series were checked out, Book One, The Power of the Alphabet with Alpha Pig, was available! And they even had a board book copy, as most books in the children's section for kids age five and under, had a board book copy and a regular copy with regular pages. Bobby's book was a regular book, since he was five and a half, and could handle a regular book, or though he thought.
Once everyone had the books they wanted, Mrs. Patterson led everyone back to the librarian's desk, where they checked out their books, and she let them know they were due back in a week. Once their books were checked out, Celeste and Didi gathered up the kids, and they left the library.
Over the course of that next week, everybody enjoyed their library books. Dil sat there for hours, looking at the pictures in his Goober book. Tommy had his grandpa Lou read most of the Reptar book to him, that is, until he fell asleep midway through reading it, so while he couldn't read yet, he sat there the rest of the week, looking at the pictures and coming up with the ending of the book himself, based on what the pictures showed, and Zack was having so much fun, as he now knew his alphabet letters, as each page of the Super Why book had a picture, with the first letter of that picture's name up above it. He stood in the corner of Tommy and Dil's playpen, with Tommy, Chuckie, Kimi, Dil, Phil and Lil gathered around him, as he read the book out loud, for what seemed like the bazillionth time that week.
"A is for apple, B is for ball. C is for caterpillar, D is for dog. E is for elephant, F is for frog. G is for goat, H is for hog. I is for ice cream, J is for jog. K is for kite, L is for log. M is for mice, N is for nest. O is for owl, P is for pig. Q is for queen, R is for rock. S is for seashells, T is for turtle. U is for umbrella, V is for violin. W is for water, X is for s-ray. Y is for yoyo, and Z is for zebra." Read aloud Zack, as he turned the book to show the pictures to the others, as they saw all of the pictures, and the letters above each one.
"Wow Zack, you sure do know your alphabet letters." Said Kimi.
"Yep, sure do, and I think I'm ready for the nextest book in the series, The Power of Words with Wonder Red." Said Zack with a grin, as he closed the book and placed it down on the floor, to look over at the Reptar book, laying open on the floor in front of Tommy.
"So Tommy, did grandpa Lou finish reading the Reptar book to you?" Zack asked.
"Nope, he fell asleep, and hasn't been back to visit from the tired home since, but that's ok, as I figured out how the story ends by looking at the pictures. See? Reptar has just defeated the giant spiders in this picture. And then, on this page, everybody is happy that Reptar saved the world again." Said Tommy with a smile, as he turned the page to show everyone smiling and saluting Reptar for his victory.
"Wow! Cool!" Said Kimi.
"Yep, and I can't wait to go back to the library tomorrow and see what other books there are." Said Tommy.
Back at Bobby's house, he was having a snack after school, and reading his Captain Squash book out loud for the tenth time that week, as he was getting really good at reading his new book.
"And that's how Captain Squash saved the day." Read Bobby from the book, as he closed it, then looked up to see that Derek was sitting across from him.
"That's nice." Said Derek.
"Wanna hear it again?" Bobby asked.
"No, I don't wanna hear it again dork. Why don't you go read it to somebody who cares." Derek replied.
"Ok, I'll go out back and read it to Roger then." Said Bobby with a smile, as he got up from his seat at the table, and turned to head outside.
"Well ok, but be careful with your library book." Said Derek.
"Oh don't worry Derek, I'll be extra careful, after all, my library card is my ticket to the world! I know if I'm not careful, well, I'll be in big trouble." Said Bobby.
"Yeah, you'll be in big trouble, and you know what happens to people who turn in library books late, or return them damaged?" Derek asked.
"Uh, no." Bobby replied.
"Their library cards get taken away, and when you don't have a library card anymore, well that means your ticket to the world has been destroyed, and that means, you have to go live in outer space, never to return to the planet earth again." Said Derek.
This caused Bobby to gulp, as he turned to head outside, the Captain Squash book, clutched tight in his hand, as he had an imaginary thought of him floating around in outer space.
He returned to reality, and went out into the backyard, where he found Roger lying in the grass.
"Hey Roger, I'm gonna read my library book to you. It's called, Captain Squash's Big Adventure!" Said Bobby with a smile, as he sat down in the grass next to Roger, opened up to the first page of the book, and started to read.
While in the middle of reading to Roger, Martha called him in for dinner. In his haste to rush inside, Bobby set the book down in the grass and ran inside. While eating, it started to get dark outside, which meant Bobby couldn't go back outside after dinner, causing his library book to end up in some serious trouble. Roger slept outside, and while he stayed outside overnight, he proceeded to chew up the library book, tearing the pages to shreds, and buried it in the ground. Forgetting he had left the library book outside, Bobby got ready for bed and went to sleep. It wasn't until the next morning at breakfast, when it hit him, that his library book had gone missing.
"So Bobby, today your book is due back at the library. Is it ready to go? Celeste and Didi will be here in a little while to get your book from you, as they're gonna drop it off with Tommy, Zack and Dil's books, since you have to go to school." Said Howie.
"Uh oh." Bobby muttered, as he hopped down from his place at the table, and went looking through the entire house for his library book.
He was looking on the coffee table in the living room, when Tommy, Zack and Dil showed up, all carrying their library books.
"Hey Bobby, ready to go to the library to get a new library book?" Tommy asked.
"No." Bobby squeaked, turning his head away, a look of panic on his face.
"What's the matter Bobby?" Tommy asked.
"My library book, it's gone!" Bobby cried.
"Don't worry, we'll help you look for it." Said Zack.
"Good idea! Let's all split up and look for Bobby's library book." Said Tommy, as the three toddlers and Bobby, went in different directions to look for the book.
They all searched the house, but no luck. Upon returning to the living room, Zack asked the all important question.
"Well Bobby, we didn't find it nowhere. Do you member where you had it lastest?" Zack asked.
It then hit Bobby where he had left his book.
"Oh no! The last time I had my library book, I was out in the backyard, reading it to Roger." Cried Bobby.
"Then let's look for it outside, come on." Said Tommy, as he, Zack, Dil and Bobby, all headed outside to Bobby's backyard, where they looked in every inch of the yard for the book.
They almost gave up, when Dil started digging in a patch of mud, and found the book, now all chewed up and covered in mud.
"Uh, is this it?" Dil asked, handing the ruined library book to Bobby.
"Yep it is, but I think I'm in trouble." Said Bobby.
"What happened?" Dil asked.
"Looks like Roger got a hold of my book and chewed it up." Bobby replied.
"Don't worry Bobby, maybe we can fix it." Suggested Tommy.
And this, ends chapter 2. So, will they be able to fix Bobby's library book? And what will happen if they can't? You'll have to wait until the next chapter, to find out!