Liz added that part of the park had lots of milkweed growing in it.
“If the milkweed is cleared out to build stores,” Amy said, “the pollinators who need it might not survive.”
The woman seemed very interested. She listened carefully to every word. Then she nodded.
“I’d love to see this milkweed for myself!” she told the girls. “Could you show me?”
The girls looked at one another in surprise.
“Sure!” said Amy. “Right this way!”
The girls turned and led the woman and her dog down the path, across a footbridge, and through the trees. They even passed by the spot where they’d had their picnic.
Along the way, the girls introduced themselves—first Ellie, then Marion, Liz, and Amy. “We go to Santa Vista Elementary,” Amy added.
“Pleased to meet you,” the woman replied. “My name is Martha Gomez. I know some of the teachers at SVE!”
Martha Gomez? thought Amy. That name rings a bell. Amy didn’t recognize her, but then again, she did see lots of names when she helped do the filing at her mom’s vet clinic. Maybe this woman took her dog there?
“Do you know Mrs. Sienna?” Ellie asked suddenly.
“Ruth Sienna? Yes, I do!” the woman said.
Amy was surprised to hear Mrs. Sienna’s full name and even more surprised that this woman knew her. “Are you a teacher too, Mrs. Gomez?” she asked.
The woman smiled and shook her head. “I’m not. But I’ll give you a hint: Instead of Mrs. Gomez, many people call me Mayor Gomez.”
“Mayor?” said Marion.
The woman nodded. “I’m the mayor of Santa Vista,” she said.
The Sting of Defeat
For a moment Amy was too shocked to speak.
They were talking to the mayor? She had never met a mayor before.
But Mayor Gomez seemed like just a regular person, out walking her dog. And she seemed like a nice, regular person.
“I’m very impressed by you all and your petition,” the mayor was saying. “This is clearly an issue you care about very much. When the town council voted to build those stores here, I was all for it. But I want to understand your objections.”
They reached the clearing where the girls had first noticed the milkweed.
“Here it is,” said Liz, pointing out the milkweed patch.
It was just as busy as it had been the other day. Bumblebees, wasps, and butterflies circled the pink blooms. Luckily, there were plenty of flowers to go around.
“It really is growing everywhere, isn’t it?” the mayor said. She moved closer to one of the flowers. “I can see why they like it. It’s beautiful, and it smells lovely too.”
Amy smiled at Ellie, Liz, and Marion. The mayor seemed to be getting their message.
And if the mayor agreed with them, maybe they truly could save the milkweed!
“We have thirty-seven signatures so far,” Marion said, holding up the petition. “And we’re going to try to get more.”
Mayor Gomez nodded. “Well, girls,” she said. “I admit I did not know very much about milkweed. I’ve learned a lot today.”
A yellow jacket buzzed over from one of the flowers. It circled the mayor’s head. She gently waved at it and kept talking.
“I will bring this up with the town council. I think we might need to reconsider—OW!”
The mayor winced and covered her ear with one hand. The yellow jacket flew away.
“Oh no!” cried Ellie. “A bee sting! Are you okay?”
Suddenly, Mayor Gomez’s dog started barking at all the insects flying around.
“I’ll be all right,” the mayor said, rubbing her ear. “But I think we’d better go. Come on, Charlie.” She gave her dog’s leash a tug and they hurried away.
In a matter of seconds, she was gone.
Amy groaned. “Oh no. That was going so well,” she said.
Was the mayor going to want to save the milkweed now?
Hummingbird Central
Amy took another bite of her cereal. Across the table, her mom held the Saturday paper open as she read to herself. On the back page was an ad for a chain of children’s bookstores.
Ugh, thought Amy. She could hardly stand to think of it—all those milkweed plants, just gone.
“Mom?” Amy said. “Could we plant some milkweed in our backyard?” If she couldn’t save the milkweed in the park, at least she could plant more.
“Of course we can, sweetheart,” Amy’s mom replied. She peeked over the top of the paper. “But don’t give up on your petition. You and the girls can get more signatures.”
Amy sighed. She knew her mom was right; she shouldn’t give up. But getting signatures was going so slowly. By the time they had enough, it might be too late!
It made Amy feel better to visit Ms. Sullivan’s hummingbird feeder. She and Ellie, Liz, and Marion stopped by there on Sunday morning.
“Since I planted the milkweed, it’s been nonstop hummingbirds!” Ms. Sullivan reported.
They were all sitting out on her back patio. They kept their eyes glued to the feeder, hoping a hummingbird would pay a visit.
They did not have to wait long. A tiny bird zipped out of a nearby tree and rocketed toward the feeder.
“Whoa,” the girls all whispered.
They watched as the bird hovered inches from the feeder perch. Its wings beat so fast they were a blur. Without landing, the bird stuck its beak into the feeder.
That’s when a second hummingbird dove out of the sky. The first bird darted away, back to the tree. The second bird took sips from the feeder. It moved to the milkweed. It visited all the flowers one by one.
Then the first bird returned from the tree. It joined the other bird in the milkweed.
“Two at the same time!” Ms. Sullivan whispered. “They seem to like the feeder. But they love the milkweed.”
“Mom and I are going to plant some in our backyard,” Amy whispered. She looked at Ellie, Liz, and Marion. “Hey, maybe you three want to plant some, too? If everyone planted a little bit . . .”
Amy’s voice trailed off.
Then she stood up suddenly. The startled hummingbirds flew away.
“Oh! Sorry, birds!” Amy called after them. She hadn’t meant to scare them off. But she had an idea. “If we can’t save the milkweed in the park,” Amy began, “maybe we can do the next best thing.”
“Yes!” Ellie cried out enthusiastically. Then she frowned. She leaned toward Amy. “What is the next best thing?”
“Maybe,” Amy said, “we can get everyone to plant milkweed!”
A Surprise for Amy
The next morning Amy got to school early. She headed for the principal’s office. Ellie, Liz, and Marion were going to meet her there. They wanted to talk to the principal, Mrs. Young, about their idea.
Inside the office, the waiting chairs were all empty. Guess I’m the first one, Amy thought.
Amy knocked on the principal’s door.
“Good morning!” said Mrs. Young from her desk. “Can I help you?”
Right away, Amy felt her face turning red. “Oh hello,” she replied. Amy always got a little nervous talking to the principal. But this is important! Amy told herself. She took a deep breath.
“Mrs. Young,” Amy began, “could we do some planting here at school?”
Mrs. Young’s face lit up with a big smile. At the same time, Amy heard the office door open behind her. Oh, thank goodness, thought Amy. Her friends had arrived. Without turning to look at them, Amy kept on talking. She felt like she was off to a good start.
“We’d like to plant something that’s good for pollinators,” Amy said. “It’s a plant called—”
“Milkweed?” said a woman behind Amy.
Amy turned. Her friends were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, standing in the doorway was a woman in a navy-blue suit. Her hair was pulled back and she was wearing red glasses.
Amy almost didn’t recognize her . . . until she sm
iled.
It was Mayor Gomez! She looked so different all dressed up in her work clothes.
“Well, good morning, Mayor Gomez!” Mrs. Young said in surprise. “Welcome to Santa Vista Elementary!”
“Thank you!” the mayor replied. “I’m sorry to just drop in, but—”
The office door opened again. In walked Liz, Ellie, and Marion. Their eyes went wide when they saw the mayor standing there.
“Oh good! You’re all here,” Mayor Gomez said. “I’ve come with some news that I wanted to share with you, girls. I remembered you said you were students here.”
“What news?” Ellie asked.
“Well,” said the mayor, “I called a special meeting with the town council over the weekend. We talked a lot about milkweed. We did some research. And we came to a decision.”
The mayor paused.
Amy held her breath. What was she going to say?
“We’ve found a good spot for the stores in another part of town,” Mayor Gomez announced. “The park will stay just as it is—milkweed and all!”
Amy couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just news—this was great news.
“So . . . we’re saving the park and getting a new bookstore in town?” Amy asked, just to be sure.
“Yes!” Mayor Gomez replied happily.
This was even better than Amy could have imagined!
“Thank you so much, Mayor Gomez!” all the girls exclaimed.
“After that wasp stung you, we thought . . .” Amy trailed off. “Well, we weren’t sure how you felt about milkweed!”
The mayor laughed. “My ear still hurts a little bit,” she said. “But I know how important pollinators are.
“What I did not know is what an important plant we had in our park.” The mayor looked around at all the girls. “And I have you to thank for teaching me.”
The girls beamed.
“And I was wondering,” the mayor went on. “Would you four be interested in teaching the rest of Santa Vista?”
A few months later, Amy, Marion, Liz, and Ellie met Mayor Gomez in the park.
There were lots of other people there too: all the girls’ parents, Ms. Sullivan, Mrs. Young, friends from school, a reporter and photographer from the newspaper, and more!
“Welcome!” said Mayor Gomez. “Thank you for joining us for the opening of the Santa Vista Nature Walk!”
Amy, Liz, Marion, and Ellie beamed. After all, they had helped the mayor create the nature walk!
First they’d made a list of the different kinds of plants and trees that grew in the park. Next they’d written a short paragraph about each one.
The mayor had signs made with the information the girls had written. They put the signs up along a new gravel path. It looped around this end of the park, and it was called the Santa Vista Nature Walk!
“Now the people of Santa Vista have a wonderful way to learn about all the plants that grow and all the animals that live here,” Mayor Gomez said, “thanks to the girls of The Critter Club: Amy, Ellie, Liz, and Marion.”
Everyone clapped. Amy smiled as the photographer took a photo of them next to the brand-new Nature Walk sign for the newspaper.
“Come on, everyone. Let’s take the first walk through the Santa Vista Nature Walk together.”
They began at sign number one, titled “Milkweed.”
The mayor motioned for Amy and The Critter Club girls to lead the way. And they were happy to do so!
Read on for a sneak peek at the next Critter Club book:
Ellie Steps Up to the Plate
In the eighteenth Critter Club book, Ellie tries her hand at softball, but it’s harder than it looks! Is she meant only for the stage and not the field? And what happens when Ellie goes searching in the woods near the field for a stray ball and finds . . . an injured baby deer?!
About the Author and Illustrator
Callie Barkley loves animals. As a young girl, she dreamed of getting a cat or dog of her own until she discovered she was allergic to most of them. It was around this time that she realized the world was full of all kinds of critters that could use some love. She now lives with her husband and two kids in Connecticut. They share their home with exactly ten fish and a very active ant farm.
Tracy Bishop has loved drawing since she was a little girl in Japan. She spends her time illustrating books, reading, and collecting pens. She lives with her husband, son, and hairy dog, named Harry, in San Jose, California.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division · 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 · www.SimonandSchuster.com · First Little Simon hardcover edition May 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Laura Roode · The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal Std.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this title is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-9433-5 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-9432-8 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-9434-2 (eBook)
Amy on Park Patrol Page 2