by Abby Klein
by ABBY KLEIN
illustrated by
JOHN MCKINLEY
To Dani and Josh,
You finally got to experience
your first snow day! Yeah!
Lots of Love,
Mooka
I have a problem.
A really, really, big problem.
I have to compete in
the Snowshoe Race in the
first-grade Winter Olympics,
but I’ve never been on
snowshoes in my life!
Let me tell you about it.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Dear Reader
Chapter 1: Good Sports
Chapter 2: The Bet
Chapter 3: You What?
Chapter 4: Training
Chapter 5: The Big Day
Chapter 6: Team Captain
Chapter 7: Go, Team!
Chapter 8: The Race
Freddy’s Fun Pages
FREDDY’S SHARK JOURNAL
WINTER OLYMPICS TRIVIA
MARSHMALLOW SNOWMAN
SNOWFLAKES
Freddy’s Other Adventures!
Copyright
DEAR READER,
When I was little, my elementary school held an Olympics competition every year. I grew up in California, so we couldn’t do any winter sports like Freddy and his friends did. We had running races, a hitting and pitching contest, and even special events like a hopscotch tournament.
I loved playing hopscotch. I used to play it with my friends every day at recess. When I was in fourth grade, I decided to enter the hopscotch tournament in the Olympics, and to my surprise, I came in first place!
Does your school have an Olympics competition or a Field Day?
I hope you have as much fun reading Ready, Set, Snow! as I had writing it.
HAPPY READING!
CHAPTER 1
Good Sports
“Boys and girls,” said our teacher, Mrs. Wushy, “Friday is a very special day.”
“Oh, I know it is,” interrupted Chloe. “My big ballet recital is on Friday. I can hardly wait! I am the star!”
“Does she really think everything is about her?” I whispered to my best friend, Robbie.
“Yep,” Robbie whispered back. “Chloe Winters is the center of the universe. Didn’t you know that?”
I giggled.
“No one cares about your stupid recital,” barked Max, the biggest bully in the whole first grade.
“Max,” said Mrs. Wushy. “What did I tell you about using the word stupid?”
Max stared at the ground. “You said I wasn’t allowed to say it.”
“That is correct. I told you that I don’t ever want to hear that word. You need to apologize to Chloe, and you will have a time-out on the bench at recess.”
“But … that’s not fair,” groaned Max.
“It’s very fair,” replied Mrs. Wushy. “Now tell Chloe you’re sorry.”
Chloe turned to Max. “I’m waiting …”
Max just glared at her.
“Mrs. Wushy said you have to say you’re sorry, so … I’m waiting.”
Max mumbled something that no one could hear.
“What did you say?” Chloe asked. “It’s not an apology if I can’t hear you.”
“Max,” said Mrs. Wushy, “you’re wasting our time. You need to apologize nicely to Chloe right now, or I’m sending you to Mr. Pendergast’s office.”
I guess Max was not in the mood to have a little chat with the principal, so he quickly spit out, “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, Max. Now I’d like to get back to telling you all about our special day, if everyone is ready to listen.”
“We’re ready! We’re ready!” we all chanted.
“This coming Friday, we are going to have a contest with Room 4.”
“A contest? What kind of contest?” asked my friend Jessie. “Do we get to race?”
Jessie was really good at sports. She could probably beat most of the kids in the whole first grade, boys and girls.
“We are going to have a mini Winter Olympics.”
“Winter Olympics,” said Chloe. “I love the Winter Olympics. The ice-skaters look so beautiful in their fancy costumes. I have a costume just like that I can wear on Friday.”
“Ice-skating? Costume? Where does she come up with this stuff?” Robbie whispered. “Does she understand that we are going to do this at school?”
I twirled my finger by my head, making the cuckoo sign.
“I’m sure your costume is beautiful, Chloe, but you won’t need it on Friday. Our Olympics are not exactly like the real Olympics.”
“Bummer,” grumbled Max. “That doesn’t sound like very much fun.”
“Oh, it will be lots of fun,” said Mrs. Wushy. “Our two classes will compete in different events, and whichever class wins the most events will be the winner.”
“What are the events going to be, Mrs. Wushy?” asked Jessie.
“Let’s see … there is the Snowball Toss, where we see who can throw a snowball the farthest.”
“I can throw snowballs really far,” said Max. “That will be a piece of cake.”
“There’s the Sled Pull, where you are in teams of two, and one partner sits on the sled while the other person pulls him or her around the track. The first team to cross the finish line wins the race.”
“Cool,” said Max. “I’m really strong. I know I’ll come in first.”
“There’s the Snowshoe Race, where you have to put on snowshoes and do one lap around the whole school.”
“No problem,” said Max. “I’m really fast on snowshoes.”
“And there’s the Snowball Pileup, where we see how many snowballs you can pile on top of each other before the stack falls over.”
“I bet I can pile up more than twenty,” said Max.
“You can stop bragging now,” said Chloe.
“I am not bragging,” replied Max.
“Oh yes you are!”
“Oh no I’m not!”
“Yes you are!”
“No I’m not!”
Mrs. Wushy clapped her hands together. “That is enough, you two. You both need to be quiet. Now, Max,” continued Mrs. Wushy, “each student will only be competing in one event. Remember, our class is a team. We need to work together. We are competing against Room 4, not each other. And I expect everyone to show good sportsmanship. Who knows what that means?”
Jessie raised her hand.
“Yes, Jessie.”
“Showing good sportsmanship means that you are a good sport. You play by the rules, and you play fair.”
Robbie raised his hand.
“Yes, Robbie.”
“You try to win, but if you lose, you don’t whine or complain. You always congratulate the other team.”
“Excellent, Robbie,” said Mrs. Wushy. “Anyone else?”
Chloe’s hand shot up.
“Here we go again,” Jessie whispered.
“Being a good sport means you don’t brag to the other team, and you don’t call people names,” Chloe said, glaring at Max.
“You are all right,” said Mrs. Wushy. “And on Friday you will all get a chance to show me what good sports you are, win or lose.”
“We’re gonna win!” we all chanted. “We’re gonna win!”
“I’m glad you are all so excited about it.”
“I want to do the Snowshoe Race,” Max blurted out.
“I’m sorry, Max, but we’ve run out of time. We have to get to lunch. I will have the signups ready after lunch, so you all have a little bit of time to think about what event you want to compete in.”
I let
out a sigh of relief. At least I wouldn’t be in a race with Max. There was no way I was signing up for the Snowshoe Race. I had never been on snowshoes in my life. For once, things seemed to be going my way.
CHAPTER 2
The Bet
As soon as we sat down to lunch, everyone started talking about the Winter Olympics.
“I can’t wait until Friday,” said Jessie. “I don’t know what I’m going to sign up for. All the events sound like so much fun!”
“Well, you can sign up for anything,” I said to Jessie, “because you are so good at sports.”
“You are, too, Freddy.”
Max snorted. “Are you kidding me? Him? Good at sports?” he said, laughing and pointing his finger at me.
“Why are you laughing, Max?” said Jessie. “For your information, Freddy is the best dodgeball player in first grade.”
“No he’s not. I am.”
“Yeah, right,” I muttered under my breath.
Max whipped his head around. “What did you say, wimp?”
I froze. He wasn’t supposed to hear me. Did he have some kind of supersonic hearing? “Uh … uh … uh …” I stammered.
Max grabbed me by the shirt. “I said, ‘What did you say?’“
“Nothing,” I squeaked.
“You said something, and I want to know what it was right now, or else!” he said, tightening his grip on my shirt.
“Or else what?” Jessie butted in. “Let go of him, Max, you big bully.”
“And what if I don’t?”
Jessie got right in Max’s face. “Let go of him … right … now, or you’ll have to deal with me. Got it?”
Max looked at Jessie. Then he looked at me, and then he looked back at Jessie. Something in her eyes must have told him it would not be a good idea to mess with her, so he slowly let go of my shirt.
I scooted over closer to Robbie.
“Boy, Jessie is so brave,” whispered Robbie.
“I know. I wish I could stand up to Max like she does.”
“So, Freddy,” Jessie continued as if nothing had happened, “what do you think you are going to sign up for?”
I took a bite of my peanut-butter sandwich. “I’m not sure yet,” I said, licking the peanut butter off my fingers. “How about you?”
“I think I’m going to sign up for the Sled Pull,” Chloe interrupted. “Do you want to be my partner, Jessie?”
“You’re going to pull Jessie?” Max said, laughing. “I can’t wait to see that!”
“I’m not going to pull her, silly. I was just going to sit on the sled and let her pull me.”
“Figures,” Robbie mumbled.
“My nana got me a handmade scarf and mittens from Sweden. I could sit on the sled and look cute.”
“Is she for real?” said Robbie.
Jessie stared at Chloe for a minute and then said, “Sorry, but I was planning on signing up for the Snowball Toss.”
“That’s for boys.”
“Says who?”
“Throwing snowballs is like throwing a baseball, and everyone knows that only boys play baseball,” said Chloe.
“Well, little Miss Know-It-All, I play on a baseball team, and I am the pitcher. I can throw the ball better than any of the boys on my team.”
Chloe stared at Jessie for a minute. “Oh,” she said. “Well, then. I guess I’ll just have to find another partner.”
“Good luck with that,” Robbie muttered under his breath.
“So, Freddy, you still haven’t told us what you’re going to sign up for,” said Max. “I bet you’re going to do the Snowball Stack. That’s an easy thing for a wimp like you.”
“You first, Max,” Jessie said. “Why don’t you tell us what you’re going to do?”
“I’m going to do the hardest thing in the whole Olympics.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“The Snowshoe Race. I bet no one else in the class can do that, so I’ll have to win that event for our class.”
“Why do you think you’re the only one who can do that?” asked Jessie. “Freddy is really fast on snowshoes.”
I kicked Jessie under the table and whispered, “No I’m not.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he thinks he can beat you,” said Jessie.
“Oh really?” Max said, smiling. “Hey, Shark Boy, wanna bet?”
I gulped. I did not know how to use snowshoes, but I didn’t want to seem like a wimp in front of Max. If I didn’t take the bet, he would keep teasing me. “Uh … sure … What do you want to bet?”
Robbie tapped me on the leg. “Are you crazy? You don’t even own a pair of snowshoes. What are you doing?”
I ignored Robbie.
“I bet you your dessert for a whole week,” said Max.
My dessert for a whole week! Dessert was my favorite part of my lunch, and I really didn’t want to watch Max eating it.
“Earth to Freddy. Earth to Freddy,” Robbie said, waving his hand in front of my face. “What are you doing? You cannot beat Max Sellars.”
“So, Freddy, is it a bet or not? I don’t have all day,” said Max.
“It’s a bet!” I said quickly before I could change my mind.
“Oh no!” Robbie groaned softly. “What did you just do?”
“I’m not sure,” I whispered. “I’m not sure.”
Jessie pumped her fist in the air. “Way to go, Freddy!”
I smiled. Then I turned to her and whispered, “There’s only one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve never been on snowshoes in my whole life!”
CHAPTER 3
You What?
That night at dinner my mom asked, “So, anything interesting happen at school today?”
“Freddy made a bet,” my sister, Suzie, blurted out.
I stared at her. “What?” I asked, trying to sound as if I had no idea what she was even talking about.
“Freddy made a bet with Max Sellars.”
“Why did you make a bet with Max Sellars?” asked my mom.
“Who said I made a bet with Max?”
“Julie, that brown-haired girl in your class, told me today after school.”
Boy, news travels fast! Why did Julie have to go blab to my sister?
“So, Freddy, is this true?” said my dad. “Did you make a bet with Max?”
“I … uh … I … uh …”
“It’s a simple question. Yes or no. Did you make a bet?”
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“What’s the bet?”
“I bet that I could beat him in the Snowshoe Race in the first-grade Winter Olympics.”
“Ha, ha, ha.” Suzie laughed hysterically. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”
“What’s so funny about it?”
“You’ve never even been on snowshoes.”
“So?”
“So you expect to race the biggest, toughest kid in first grade and win when you don’t even know how to put the snowshoes on? Ha, ha, ha.” She was laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall out of her chair.
“Stop laughing!”
“But … but … it’s so funny.”
“Be quiet, brat!”
“Ha, ha, ha.”
“Stop it!”
“All right. Enough, you two,” said my dad. “Suzie, you need to stop laughing at your brother, and, Freddy, you need to start from the beginning, and tell us what this is all about.”
“Well,” I began, “the first-grade Winter Olympics is on Friday.”
“What’s that?” asked my mom.
“Don’t you remember, Mom?” I said. “Suzie did it when she was in Mrs. Wushy’s class.”
“Yeah,” said Suzie. “Room 3 and Room 4 compete against each other in some silly snow games, and whichever class wins the most events wins the trophy.”
“Oh yes, I remember now,” said my dad. “When you were in Mrs. Wushy’s class, you did the snowball stacki
ng game.”
“Yep.”
“How many snowballs did you stack before they fell over?”
“I stacked eleven snowballs.”
“Wow!” I said. “That’s a lot!”
“I thought for sure I was going to win, but then Dani Klein from Room 4 stacked twelve and won.”
“So, Freddy,” said my mom, “why didn’t you sign up for snowball stacking? I’m sure Suzie would have helped you practice that.”
“I was going to, but then Max started teasing me at lunch.”
“It seems like that’s all that boy ever does,” said my mom.
“You can say that again,” I said. “Anyway, he kept laughing at me and calling me a wimp.”
“Why don’t you just ignore him, honey?”
“I was trying to, but Jessie was really mad that he kept teasing me. When he bragged that he was better at snowshoeing than I was, Jessie told him that I could beat him any day. I tried to tell her that I have never even been on snowshoes, but she just kept right on talking.”
“So now what are you going to do?”
“I don’t have a choice. I have to learn how to snowshoe in three days, or I’ll never be able to show my face again at school.”
“How are you going to do that, genius?” said Suzie. “You don’t even own a pair of snowshoes.”
“Robbie said I could borrow his, and he and Jessie are going to come over after school tomorrow and teach me.”
“That’s very nice of them to do that.”
“Ugh,” I groaned, putting my face in my hands. “I’m never going to be able to learn in three days.” Just then my elbow slipped, and my face fell in my plate.
Again, Suzie started laughing hysterically. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
My mom rushed over and pulled my head out of my plate. “Oh my goodness, Freddy! Look at you!”
My face was covered in mashed potatoes and gravy, and there were little pieces of corn stuck in my hair.
“Stay right there. Don’t move. I’m going to get something to wash you off.”