I
was just sitting down at the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal
when my little brother appeared, clutching his smelly blanket.
“Hey,
G-‐Man, how about
some breakfast?” I asked.
Something
plopped into my bowl,
sloshing milk onto the
counter. Geoffrey’s eyes widened. He pulled his index finger from his
mouth, which was shaped in an O of surprise, and pointed at my breakfast. “Cat?” he whispered.
I
glanced down and nearly fell off my stool. An equally surprised-looking toad was crouched in my cereal,
staring back at me.
“Whoa!”
I cried in astonishment.
Plop.
Another toad joined the first one. The two of them splashed frantically in the bowl, trying to
escape. Geoffrey stared at them, then at me. His face got that worried look it
always does when he’s about to cry.
Or barf.
No way, I thought. Absolutely no way had I just made that
happen! It would be completely
crazy to think that those toads had anything to do with me. And just to prove it, I said my
brother’s name out loud.
“With
a G,” he added automatically as toad
number three tumbled into the bowl…
2013 Oregon Book Awards Finalist
Heather Vogel Frederick is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, ranging from historical fiction to fantasy, fractured fairy tales, contemporary realism, and picture books. Her work has been honored both nationally and internationally and translated into numerous languages. She lives in Portland with her family.