Only the wind and the chirping birds answered him.
Kicking the dirt, Shawn trudged out of the field. That’s when he saw it. There, leaning against the milk pail, was his original Ernie Banks baseball card. The last time he’d seen it, the card had been ripped into a dozen pieces. Now it was put back together like an old jigsaw puzzle.
Shawn picked up the card and smiled from the inside out. It was like meeting a long-lost friend in an unexpected place. He cupped his hands and was about to cry out again when…
“Shawn, breakfast.” It was Betty calling from the front porch.
“Yeah, come and get it, Cubber,” chimed Joey, still in her pajamas. “Russ made blueberry pancakes!”
“Be right there,” he answered.
Shawn tucked his prized Ernie Banks card into the pocket of his jeans, then raced back into the field to check his mason jar. Empty!
“Hooty-hooooo!” he shouted with a radiant smile. “Hooty-hooooo!” he shouted again. Then, with a final look across the dancing wheat, he headed back to the house for breakfast.
Shawn Frazier was home, at last.
MARK JEAN is an award-winning director, writer, and producer of film and television. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
CHRISTOPHER C. CARLSON lives in Los Angeles, where he writes, teaches, and rambles the Griffith and Elysian hills with his good dog, Molé.
Mark and Christopher have collaborated on several projects, including the screenplay for Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming. This is their first middle-grade novel.
DISNEY•HYPERION
NEW YORK
Jacket art © 2008 by Tristan Elwell
Hand lettering by Leah Palmer Preiss
Jacket design by Christine Kettner
Reinforced binding
Visit www.disneyhyperionbooks.com
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