if he couldn’t use any
of these Tasty
Tidbits to help
Ned, learning all
these facts made
today one of Einstein’s
BEST DAYS EVER.
The streets in the game Monopoly
were named after real streets in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. More than 275 million
Monopoly games have been sold, and
over 1 billion people have played since
the game was invented in 1935. The
longest Monopoly game on record
lasted for seventy days straight.
CHAPTER FIVE
YoUr ReSeArCh
AsSiStAnT Is ReAdY
Einstein couldn’t wait to show Ned
all his hard work, but as soon as he
saw his best friend’s face, he knew
something was wrong.
“They refused to let us speak at
the town meeting,” Ned said. “We
need to come up with a Plan B.”
“But you’re a citizen!” Einstein
complained. “They can’t stop you
from talking at the meeting.”
“Apparently they can.” Ned pointed
to his notebook. “I had lots of good
information too.”
Einstein was proud of Ned; he’d
gotten so much better at doing
research since they’d become friends.
“You should start a petition,”
Einstein suggested. “Get signatures
from people who want to keep the
library open.”
Bonnie skidded over to Ned. “We
can make a video and post it on the
school’s website. What do you think?”
As much as Einstein loved the
thought of a petition, dreams of
LiGhTs . . .
CaMeRa . . .
AcTiOn
filled his head.
“I like it,” Ned agreed.
“Ms. Moreno does too.” Bonnie
motioned to Ms. Moreno, now asleep
at her desk again. “At least she did a
few minutes ago.”
“Who should be in the video?” Ned
asked.
ME, ME, ME, thought
Einstein.
“Ricky said it
might be fun to use
Twinkles,” Bonnie
suggested.
NO, NO, NO, thought
Einstein.
“He could slither around
the library—it might be cool
and menacing.” Bonnie made some
spooky Halloween
noises.
“Filming Twinkles
is a TERRIBLE
idea,” Einstein said.
“It has nothing to do
with saving the library.”
“Be quiet,” Ned said.
“Are you talking to me?”
Bonnie asked.
“No!” Ned answered.
“But you just told me to be quiet.”
Bonnie did NOT look happy.
“He was talking to me!” Einstein
said. “It’s not always about you,
Bonnie.”
Ned shot Einstein a look to put a lid
on it.
“I think making a video is a GREAT
idea,” Ned said. “Let’s see what the
others say.”
Ned and Bonnie ran out to the
school yard to find their friends.
Einstein looked down at the stacks
and stacks of notes he’d made for
Ned.
“They’ll use that information
someday,” Marlon said. “You did a
lot of good work.”
Einstein didn’t tell Marlon about the
color-coded map of the school he’d
slaved over for hours.
“You don’t think they’ll make a
video with Twinkles, do you? They
should shoot a video of us playing
AnSwEr . . . ThAt . . . QuEsTiOn
instead.”
“It might be hard since Ned’s the
only one who can hear us.”
Marlon did have a point.
The study and art of mapmaking is
called CARTOGRAPHY. Because a map
is graphic, it’s a universal way to convey
facts and figures. You can find out lots of
information about history by studying
maps of a given time period.
Some of the oldest known maps
were made in Babylon in 2300 B.C. on
clay tablets, but now most people use
computers to read them. More than a
billion people have downloaded Google
Earth; scientists in England used it to
locate a virgin rain forest in Mount Mabu,
Mozambique, that was only known locally.
The forest is now referred to as “Google
Forest.”
EVER GET THE
FEELING YOU’RE
BEING WATCHED?
CHAPTER SIX
MeAnWhIlE,
At Ms. MoReNo’S HoUsE
Ms. Moreno stayed up late watching
infomercials and making lots of phone
calls to various shopping networks.
She wanted to get the best deals on
the latest gadgets, and nothing could
stop her—not even sleep.
But what kept her awake tonight
was trying to come up with ways to
save Boerring Elementary’s library.
She knew the town was in a financial
crisis, but a school NEEDED
a library.
As she tried to hatch a plan, she
ran several carrots and apples
through her new juicer. She soaked
her feet in a massage tub, tied her
hair in a French braid with a fancy
clip, exercised along with her
EXTREME CARDIO DVD, riveted
rhinestones onto the new vest she
quilted, applied a cucumber facial
mask, ground some fresh peanut
butter, and sharpened all her knives
and scissors. By early morning, she
didn’t know how she’d save the
library; she just knew she was tired.
“I’m determined to raise the
money,” Ms. Moreno said to herself.
“It might be difficult but—wait, is that
a new purse organizer? For just
$19.99?” She jumped off the couch
and ran to the phone. “What a
bargain!”
Scientist and inventor George Washington
Carver was born into slavery in Missouri in
the 1860s. When slavery was abolished,
he went to school, eventually getting
his high school, college, and master’s
degrees. He taught agriculture for forty-
seven years at Tuskegee University in
Alabama, an all-black college.
He encouraged farmers to grow
peanuts as an alternative to cotton after
the boll weevil destroyed most of the
South’s cotton crops. He developed more
than three hundred uses for peanuts
(which are legumes, not nuts). Believe
it or not, two American presidents were
peanut farmers: Thomas Jefferson and
Jimmy Carter.
I THINK I HAVE A
PEANUT ALLERGY. . . .
CHAPTER SEVEN
BoNnIe
StEpS In
“Okay, here’s the plan.” Bonnie was
standing next to Ms. Moreno, sound
asleep at her desk. “What kind of
videos alwa
ys go viral?”
“Funny animal videos,” Ricky
answered.
“EXACTLY,” Bonnie said. “Let’s use
the class pets.”
Einstein put down his pencil. Did he
just hear Bonnie right? “Marlon—
they’re going to make us stars!”
Marlon tucked his head farther
inside his shell. “Not everybody wants
to be a star. Some of us just want to
be left alone.”
But Einstein was already getting
ready for his close-up. He quickly
groomed his fur and filed his teeth.
Even if they couldn’t hear him on the
video, at least he’d look great.
Einstein usually was not a hamster
who stared at the clock, but today
was different. He counted down each
minute until school was over and he
could finally take his place in front of
the camera. When he wasn’t watching
the clock, he was daydreaming about
movie stars and red carpets and
Oscars and interviews and Access
Hollywood (the hamster version). This
was going to be amazing!
“Einstein!” Marlon called. “You’re
wanted on the set.”
Sure enough, Ned, Bonnie, and
Ricky were placing a video camera on
a tripod next to Ms. Moreno’s desk.
It was time to make a movie!
During his lifetime, Thomas Edison
held patents for more than a thousand
inventions, but one of his most famous
was the motion picture projector. Other
people also worked on creating machines
that filmed moving images; Edison called
his the Kinetoscope.
The first motion picture ever
copyrighted showed Fred Ott—one of
Edison’s employees—pretending to
sneeze. Edison built a movie studio not in
Hollywood, but in New Jersey. His studio
made The Great Train Robbery in 1903; it
was one of the first Westerns and one of
the first blockbusters in the silent-movie
industry. It cost only $150 to make.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A StAr
Is BoRn
Einstein knew Bonnie liked to sew and
do craft projects, but he hadn’t
realized she was such a competent
director too.
“Okay, let’s get Marlon out here,”
Bonnie said. “A turtle is a great main
character.”
Marlon??? Einstein thought. What
about me? Hamsters are a hundred
times cuter than turtles!
“We can say, ‘Don’t
stick your head in
the sand—libraries
are important,’”
Ricky said.
“Turtles don’t bury
their heads in the sand!”
Einstein screamed. “You’re talking
about ostriches—and even THEY don’t
do that!”
He was happy when Ned
intervened.
“How about Einstein?” Ned
suggested. “People love videos with
hamsters and squirrels.”
Ugh, don’t lump me in with them,
Einstein thought. Squirrels are such
HAMS. They never met a camera
they didn’t like.
“Let’s try Marlon first,” Bonnie said.
“I’ve got a good feeling about him.”
She scooped up Marlon from his
lagoon and placed him on Ms.
Moreno’s desk.
“This isn’t fair!” Einstein said. “He
doesn’t even want to be in your dumb
movie! He HATES videos—unlike me,
who watches them all the time!”
While the others filmed a few test
shots, Ned snuck over to Einstein.
“Calm down. You’re making a scene.”
“You’re the only one who can hear
me,” Einstein complained.
“Yes, and it’s distracting.” Ned gave
his friend a smile. “You’ll get a chance
later, I promise.”
“Marlon’s going to need a thousand
takes,” Einstein said. “He’s not a
professional like I am.”
Ned tried not to laugh as he headed
to the front of the room. He loved
Einstein, but his friend
could be such a
baby sometimes.
Einstein
scampered out
of his tank to get
a closer look. Was
Ms. Moreno feeding Marlon a snack?
“She’s giving him green beans!”
Einstein yelled to Ned. “This is SO
UNFAIR.”
Einstein scurried along the
bookshelf to see what else he was
missing.
“Marlon, you look hungry,” Ms.
Moreno said. “How about some
carrots too?”
“NO, NO, NO!” Einstein shouted. “He
doesn’t want any more snacks!”
“Yes, I do,” Marlon called.
Einstein slumped behind a stack of
books. Why was Marlon getting all
the attention?
“Hey, look!” Ricky said. “Marlon’s
chasing an olive across the desk!”
“Olives have pits! Marlon could
choke,” Einstein cried. “Besides,
turtles are too slow to chase things.”
Bonnie zoomed in with the camera.
The kids all laughed as Marlon chased
the olive across the desk.
“Sure, it’s cute,” Einstein called to
Ned. “But how’s that going to save
the library?”
Ned was too busy praising Marlon
to answer.
Ostriches can go a long time without
drinking water; they get water from the
plants they eat. Ostriches are so strong
that one kick to a lion can be fatal.
An ostrich’s brain is smaller than its
eyeball, which is the size of a billiard ball.
They are the largest, heaviest birds and
unable to fly. Ostriches are fast, though,
outrunning most of their predators at
forty miles per hour. Contrary to popular
belief, they do NOT bury their heads in
the sand. The myth probably got started
because ostriches dig large holes for their
eggs and bend down often to turn them.
Because an ostrich’s head is so small,
from a distance it might appear as if it’s
burying its head.
SO MUCH FOR
BEING KING OF
THE JUNGLE!
CHAPTER NINE
EiNsTeIn’S
TuRn
“How about if we do a backup video
with Einstein?” Ned suggested.
“A BACKUP VIDEO?!” Einstein
shouted. “Like I’m some kind of
understudy for Marlon?” The
situation was completely
unacceptable.
“That’s a great idea,” Bonnie said.
“That way we’ll have some options.”
“Here’s your chance.” Ned set the
camera up in front of Einstein’s tank.
“Break a leg.”
“Don’t say that!” Didn’t Ned know
how difficult it was to treat a
fracture on a hamster?
“Stop being such a
diva,” Ned said.
As much as Einstein wanted his
performance to shine, he also realized
the most important
part of today was to
remember their
goal—saving the
library.
“I’ve got some cherry tomatoes,”
Ricky said. “Let’s see if Einstein’s as
good at chasing things as Marlon.”
That’s not going to happen,
Einstein thought. Let me show you
something better.
To warm up, Einstein started with
a few impersonations—Elvis Presley
and Marilyn Monroe.
Then he juggled four kibbles in
the air, faster and faster—until he
realized the clumps he’d taken from
the bottom of his cage weren’t
actually food.
After hurrying to wash his hands,
Einstein took out his notes. He looked
directly into the camera and talked
about how important it was to save
the school library.
“It almost looks as if he’s reading,”
Ricky said. “That’s weird.”
“He’s got a lot of skills for a
rodent,” Ned added.
Bonnie looked at Ned suspiciously.
“How do you know so much about
Einstein? Are you guys friends now?”
“Yeah, my best friend’s a hamster,”
Ned joked. “We have sleepovers all
the time.”
Einstein stopped reading. Was Ned
Einstein the Class Hamster Saves the Library (Einstein the Class Hamster Series) Page 2