Green Queen

by Marci Peschke

  For the REAL true Granny, with love for Rick —MP

  Table of Contents

  All About Me, Kylie Jean!

  Chapter 1: Recycling Roundup

  Chapter 2: Green Makeover

  Chapter 3: Playground Pride

  Chapter 4: Playground Project

  Chapter 5: Neat News

  Chapter 6: More Trees, Please

  Chapter 7: Going Green

  Chapter 8: Gardens Galore

  Chapter 9: VIPs

  Chapter 10: Parade Preparations

  Chapter 11: Garden Club Queen

  Chapter 12: Earth Day

  My name is Kylie Jean Carter. I live in a big, sunny, yellow house on Peachtree Lane in Jacksonville, Texas with Momma, Daddy, and my two brothers, T.J. and Ugly Brother.

  T.J. is my older brother, and Ugly Brother is . . . well . . . he’s really a dog. Don’t you go telling him he is a dog. Okay? I mean it. He thinks he is a real true person.

  He is a black-and-white bulldog. His front looks like his back, all smashed in. His face is all droopy like he’s sad, but he’s not.

  His two front teeth stick out, and his tongue hangs down. (Now you know why his name is Ugly Brother.)

  Everyone I love to the moon and back lives in Jacksonville. Nanny, Pa, Granny, Pappy, my aunts, my uncles, and my cousins all live here. I’m extra lucky, because I can see all of them any time I want to!

  My momma says I’m pretty. She says I have eyes as blue as the summer sky and a smile as sweet as an angel. (Momma says pretty is as pretty does. That means being nice to the old folks, taking care of little animals, and respecting my momma and daddy.)

  But I’m pretty on the outside and on the inside. My hair is long, brown, and curly.

  I wear it in a ponytail sometimes, but my absolute most favorite is when Momma pulls it back in a princess style on special days.

  I just gave you a little hint about my big dream. Ever since I was a bitty baby I have wanted to be an honest-to-goodness beauty queen. I even know the wave. It’s side to side, nice and slow, with a dazzling smile. I practice all the time, because everybody knows beauty queens need to have a perfect wave.

  I’m Kylie Jean, and I’m going to be a beauty queen. Just you wait and see!

  When I walk outside, I can tell right away that spring is in the air! The bees are a-buzzin’ and hummingbirds are a-hummin’. The leaves on the dogwood trees are covered with delicate white blooms, like blossoms on a bride’s gown.

  Every few feet I see a redbud tree showered with pixie-sized purple flowers. Wildflowers of every kind and color tumble over the greenest grass you’ve ever seen.

  A warm breeze sails through the windows on the school bus, and I smile. It’s spring, all right! And that means that Earth Day is almost here!

  Every year, our town holds a big parade to celebrate Earth Day. Jacksonville loves a parade. A few of our favorite parades are Homecoming, Santa’s Sleigh, Rodeo, Blueberry Festival, Thanksgiving Day, Veteran’s Day, and the Fourth of July, so you see what I mean.

  Just thinking about the Earth Day parade makes me so happy I could sing a sweet song like a white-winged dove.

  I’m quiet for a change as I look at all the spring flowers outside. That’s when I hear some fifth graders in front of me talking about their student council project.

  “A recycling roundup is perfect,” a tall girl says. “We can put recycling cans around school. Some will be for paper, some will be for aluminum cans, and some will be for plastic and glass.”

  “That’s the perfect plan!” the girl beside her agrees. “Especially because it’s almost Earth Day!”

  Hearing about their project makes me want to do something, too, but those big kids never think second graders can do anything.

  As I listen, an idea suddenly hits my brain like dew drops on green grass. I will come up with my own way to celebrate Earth Day!

  The next day at school, I can’t wait to talk to my friends about Earth Day. It’s less than two weeks away! As soon as I walk into my classroom, I spot Cara, Lucy, and Paula.

  “Hey, y’all,” I say. “The big kids are doing a recycling project for Earth Day. I need you to help me think up the perfect second-grade project.”

  My friends are all quiet for a long time. I watch the hands on the clock move slowly. I hope they think of something soon, or the bell will ring!

  I wait and wait. Paula scribbles some notes on her paper. I wait some more.

  Cara suddenly gasps. “I’ve got it!” she shouts, dragging us over to the window by the playground. “What do you see out there?”

  Outside some boys are running around the playground. They jump on the sit-n-spin and run under the slide. If they don’t get to class soon, they’ll be late!

  Lucy shrugs. “A playground,” she says. “What am I supposed to see?”

  I press my face against the window glass, hoping to see what Cara is seeing. But I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for.

  “Our playground is really dirty!” Cara says.

  Cara is right. There are pieces of trash lying on the ground and dead leaves hugging the edge of the fence. On the far side of the playground, one swing is missing part of its chain. It dangles in the wind like an odd bird with a broken wing. And the flower beds are full of dirt, just begging for some spring flowers.

  “We can clean it up for Earth Day!” Cara says.

  Lucy, Paula, and I nod. “Cleaning up the playground is going to be a lot of work,” Lucy says. “It could take weeks to get everything done!”

  “We need some more kids to help us!” I say.

  “I think we need a grown-up to help us, too,” Paula says. “We should go talk to Ms. Corazón.”

  “That’s a great idea!” I say. Paula is so smart.

  We don’t waste a single minute. Our teacher is writing today’s assignments on the board, so I march right up and tap her on the arm.

  “Yes, Kylie Jean?” she replies as she keeps on writing. She doesn’t even look, but she knows it’s me! Maybe that saying about teachers having eyes in the backs of their heads is true!

  “Can we talk to you?” I ask.

  Ms. Corazón turns around and looks at us. “Is everything okay?” she asks.

  “We’re fine,” Lucy says. “But everything is not okay. Our playground is sad and dirty!”

  I add, “We want to give it a makeover for Earth Day!”

  Ms. Corazón walks over to the window. “I see what you mean,” she says with a frown. “Maybe the other second grade class can help us?”

  I exclaim, “Oh, what a great idea!”

  “I told you we needed a grown-up!” Paula says.

  Ms. Corazón sits down at her desk and writes a note. “Will you girls take this down to the principal’s office?” she asks.

  Lucy, Paula, Cara, and I nod. We’re super curious about what the note says, but we don’t peek. We hand it to the school secretary, who reads the note, makes a quick phone call, and writes out another note for us to take back to our teacher.

  “The principal will meet us on the playground during recess!” Ms. Corazón says when she finishes reading the note.

  “Yay!” we all cheer. Our playground project is taking off!

  Ms. Corazón decides to let us work on our playground plan instead of doing our science assignment. My friends and I sit down to brainstorm ideas. We are studying the environment, so we promise to reuse, recycle, and renew items on the playground.

  “We can repair and
repaint the old equipment!” Cara says.

  “And reuse the old wooden trash barrels to make new planters!” Lucy adds.

  “Maybe we could get someone to donate some old grain barrels,” I suggest. “We can recycle them into trash cans!”

  While Cara and I write out the plan, Lucy and Paula work on drawing what we have in mind. Lucy suggests we get some extra barrels for recycling soda cans and water bottles as well. We also want to put new plants in the flower beds and planters.

  “Don’t forget to add stepping stones for a walking path,” Cara reminds me.

  I nod. “How about some benches to sit on, too?” I suggest.

  “I love that idea!” Lucy agrees. “Paula and I will draw them by the flower beds.”

  Right before recess, we show Ms. Corazón our work. “You girls have done a great job!” she tells us. “I’m sure Mr. Johnson will support our playground project when he sees this!”

  We line up and head outside. The principal, Mr. Johnson, is waiting for us by the broken swings. He is wearing a brown suit and a tie with little green leaves on it. “Hello, girls,” he says. “I hear you have an idea to spruce up our playground. Do you have your plans written down?”

  Cara hands him a green folder. “Yes, sir, we do,” she replies politely.

  Mr. Johnson studies our plan and drawings. “Girls, I am impressed,” he says. “You saw a problem and came up with a plan to fix it.”

  My friends and I grin at each other. We are happy as can be about our playground project!

  “Do you have a timeline for getting this done?” Mr. Johnson asks us.

  I nod eagerly. “Yes, sir. The sooner, the better!”

  My friends and I decide Saturday will be our playground-makeover day. That will give us a few days to get ready and get supplies for our project.

  My friends and I call ourselves the Green Team! We are so excited. The best part is, when we’re done, our playground will be a safe place for kids to play, and it will be good for planet Earth, too!

  When I tell my family about my playground plans after school that day, they are so proud of me. “What a great idea, sugar,” Momma says.

  “Where are you going to get the flowers and plants?” Daddy asks me.

  “I’m going to ask for donations,” I say. “That way, everyone can help celebrate Earth Day!”

  I decide to ask Miss Clarabelle, my next-door neighbor, to help. She works at Hillside Nursery.

  “I’m sure we can make a donation,” Miss Clarabelle says. She calls the nursery, and they agree to give us some beautiful flowers.

  Next I call Granny. She’s a member of the Garden Club and has a real green thumb.

  “Of course I’ll help you, Kylie Jean,” Granny tells me. “And I’m sure the rest of the Garden Club ladies would be happy to help plant flowers. I’ll ask them at our next meeting.”

  I smile. My Earth Day project is in full bloom!

  * * *

  When Lucy and I get on the bus on the next morning, I sit in my favorite spot, right behind Mr. Jim, our bus driver. Lucy sits down next to me.

  “Mr. Jim, I need a favor,” I tell him.

  “What do you need me to do?” Mr. Jim asks.

  I smile sweetly. “You’re pretty handy with tools,” I say. “Remember that day the bus broke down and you fixed it? Well, I have some playground equipment that needs to be fixed, and I think you’d be perfect for the job!”

  Mr. Jim scratches his bearded chin. “I reckon I can do that for you kids,” he replies.

  “Fantastic!” I exclaim. “We are having a work day on the playground on Saturday, so please plan to come and don’t forget to bring your tools.”

  Lucy gives me a high five. Then she shares some big news. “I called my uncle last night. When I told him about our playground plan, he offered to donate some old grain barrels from his farm for our trash and recycling containers!”

  I think that good news deserves another high five!

  Later at school, we just keep getting more good news. Paula and Cara were able to get some donations and sign up volunteers, too!

  “I told everyone at church last night about our plan,” Paula says. “The youth group volunteered to paint all of the old equipment! Now we just need to get the paint donated and choose a color.”

  “We already have paint!” Cara says. “My daddy and I went to the hardware store. The owner offered to donate paint that doesn’t smell bad. It’s better for people, animals, and the earth.”

  “I bet I know what color you want, Kylie Jean!” Lucy says.

  Everyone knows my favorite color is pink. “Pink is my best color, but it might not be right for a playground,” I tell her.

  “I think we should paint everything green,” Paula says. “It’s a nature color. Plus, it’ll blend in so we can enjoy the pretty plants and flowers.”

  “Paula, you are a paint-picking genius!” I tell her, and everyone else agrees.

  I wake up bright and early on Saturday morning and put on my pink gardening boots and work clothes. Momma, Daddy, T.J., Ugly Brother, and I all pile into Momma’s van.

  When we pull into the school parking lot, it’s packed. We hear banging, clanging, and scraping. Mr. Jim and the church youth group are hard at work. Paula and her parents are painting.

  Everywhere we look, second graders are helping. It’s hard to find my best cousin Lucy, but finally I spot her standing with Cara.

  “I thought you’d never get here!” Lucy says when I walk over. “We’re picking up trash. Can you help us?”

  I pull my pink work gloves out of my pocket. “I sure can!” I reply. “And I brought a helper, too.”

  I turn to Ugly Brother and ask, “Ugly Brother, do you want to help us?”

  He barks, “Ruff, ruff.” That means yes. Then he fetches an old juice box for me to put in the trash.

  The principal sees us and waves. He is helping Ms. Corazón put down some stepping stones so the grass won’t get trampled.

  Daddy and T.J. are hard at work cutting the old wooden trash barrels to make the new planters. The church kids are covering everything with paint the color of green leaves. Mr. Jim is testing the swing — it looks as good as new!

  Across the playground, I see Momma helping Miss Clarabelle, Granny, and the Garden Club ladies. They are planting pretty new flowers in the old flower beds.

  Just then I notice some broken daisies in the bottom of a box, and an idea hits my brain like a caterpillar on a juicy leaf. I can recycle them into a crown!

  Some of the stems are short and some are long, but I weave those daisies together in no time. Then I carefully put on my crown.

  Lucy giggles when she sees me. “You look like Mother Nature!” she says.

  Cara says, “I bet she’s trying to be the playground queen.”

  I laugh. Being the playground queen does sound fun. “Just call me the Green Queen!” I tell my friends.

  Lucy says, “Okay, Green Queen, let’s help finish this project.”

  We work and work. The playground is looking better and better!

  Finally, Mr. Johnson calls everyone over to the playground gate. “I want to thank everyone for helping us make our playground such a great place for kids to play,” he says.

  Everyone claps and cheers.

  “Many of you know this project was possible because of the vision and hard work of our second-grade students, especially Cara, Kylie Jean, Paula, and Lucy,” Mr. Johnson says. “Let’s hear it for the Green Team!”

  Everyone cheers even louder! Our playground looks awesome with the new path, cheerful flowers, and freshly painted equipment. The work is done, and we’re ready to play!

  Later that night, I am sitting in the living room working on my homework. Our assignment is to make something from recycled trash. I am using old magazin
es to make a necklace. I cut the pages into strips, dip them in water and a little glue, and roll each strip into a bead.

  Just then, the news comes on, and I see something that makes me shout with excitement! “Momma, Daddy, T.J., come quick,” I holler. “Granny is on the news!”

  Ugly Brother barks and barks, and I have to make him hush because I can’t hear. Momma, Daddy, and T.J. come running just in time to hear Granny explain that our town, Jacksonville, has entered the state of Texas’s “Prettiest Town” contest.

  “It won’t be enough to just pick up some trash,” Granny says. “This award is not just about having a pretty town. After all, pretty is as pretty does. We need to do more to show that our community cares about green living, especially since Earth Day is only a week away.”

  “Wouldn’t it be great if Jacksonville won?” Momma says.

  I nod. “Then everyone would know how pretty our town is!” I say.

  On the news, Granny is still talking. “We will be hosting a tree-planting event tomorrow morning. And The Garden Club will be planting gardens during the next week to help Jacksonville claim the grand prize!” she says.

  “Winning this contest might finally make Momma’s dream of becoming Garden Club president come true,” Daddy says.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Granny runs for president of the Garden Club every year,” Momma says. “But every year someone else is chosen.”

  That decides it. “Then Ugly Brother and I need to help Granny win,” I say. “I bet we can think of lots of green-living challenges if we put our minds to it!”

  “What did you have in mind?” Momma asks.

  “How about having people walk or ride their bikes instead of driving their cars?” I suggest.

  “Maybe we could talk to the mayor about creating a watering schedule for the town,” Daddy adds. “That would help conserve water.”