The Amazing Stardust Friends #1: Step Into the Spotlight! (A Branches Book)
Page 1
HEATHER
ALEXANDER
STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT!
THE AMAZING
STARDUST
FRIENDS
STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT!
By Heather Alexander
Illustrated by Diane Le Feyer
READ ALL ABOUT
THE AMAZING
STARDUST
FRIENDS
1
2
1: Big, Sparkly Dream . . . . . . . . 1
2: Home, Sweet Train . . . . . . . . . 8
3: The Pie Car . . . . . . . . . . .14
4: The Stardust Girls! . . . . . . 19
5: Let’s Make a Deal . . . . . . . . . 25
6: Crazy Circus School . . . . . 29
7: Lunch Bunch . . . . . . . . . . .36
8: Let’s Dance! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
9: Who Are You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
10 : Rainbow Fairy Clown . . . . . . 51
11 : Flip, Flop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
12: Downward Dog . . . . . . . . . 67
13 : Add Sparkle . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
14 : Bump a Nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
15: AMAZING! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
For my sparkly niece, Marlo — H.A.
To my sweet, sweet darling Gaïa — D.L.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alexander, Heather, 1967-
Step into the spotlight! / by Heather Alexander ; illustrated by Diane Le Feyer.
pages cm. — (The Amazing Stardust Friends ; [1])
Summary: Bella, Carly, and Allie live and work at the Stardust Circus,
and when Marlo arrives, eager to make friends and become part of the show,
she tries aerial arts, juggling, and even dog training as she tries to find
her own special talent, with lots of help from the other girls.
ISBN 0-545-75752-5 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-545-75753-3 (hardcover) —
ISBN 978-0-545-76090-4 (ebook) [1. Circus—Fiction. 2. Ability—
Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Le Feyer, Diane, illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.A37717Bri 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014017063
ISBN 978-0-545-75753-9 (hardcover) / ISBN 978-0-545-75752-2 (paperback)
Text copyright © 2015 by Heather Alexander, L.L.C.
Interior illustrations copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC, BRANCHES, and associated logos are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First Scholastic printing, January 2015
Illustrated by Diane Le Feyer
Book design by David DeWitt
Edited by Katie Carella
L ook! That girl is flying!” I cried.
She soared over my head. Her shiny blue
leotard sparkled in the spotlight. Her dark hair
was pulled into a glittery bun.
She was up so high. Almost at the ceiling!
Loud music filled the big tent. I bounced to
the beat.
1
Big, Sparkly Dream
My mom sat next to me. She looked up at
the flying girl, too. “I love the trapeze, Marlo!”
she shouted over the music. “It’s my favorite
part of the circus!”
I had waited for weeks and weeks to see the
circus. And I had waited for weeks and weeks
for what was going to happen after tonight’s
show.
That’s when I was starting a new life.
A whole new, sparkly, amazing life for me—
Marlo Sophia Sommer!
I was joining the famous Stardust Circus! For
real!
Living with the circus would be exciting, and
a little scary.
I took a huge bite of my pink cotton candy. I
let it melt on my tongue.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
Liam the Ringmaster
called into a
microphone.
His job was to
introduce each act.
He wore a red silk
top hat and a red
vest. Liam gave my
mom her new job at
the circus.
“Are you ready for
BIG fun?” Liam called
to the crowd.
“Yes!” everyone cried.
“Then put your hands together for the
last act in tonight’s show. The fabulous
Stardust Circus parade!” Liam called.
The crowd clapped and cheered.
“Whoo-hoo!” I stomped my feet.
A girl my age galloped in on a
snowy-white horse. The horse’s
mane and tail were braided with
pink and purple ribbons.
The girl had ribbons in
her superlong
hair, too.
The girl stood up on the horse’s back.
While the horse was moving!
Then she flipped into a backbend.
And she stayed like that—on top of the
moving horse!
“Do you see her?” I grabbed Mom’s arm and
pointed. “And her?”
A girl clown in a
pink satin dress and
striped tights danced
around. She had hot-
pink braids and fake
butterflies around
her head. Pink glitter
covered her freckles.
A pink star was painted
on the tip of her nose.
She looked eight years
old, just like me.
She smiled and
waved to the crowd.
I waved back.
Then that trapeze
girl did so many back
handsprings that I lost
count.
Next, the girl with the
superlong hair jumped off her horse. She held
hands with the clown girl and the trapeze girl.
“Meet the Stardust Girls!” called Liam.
The three girls danced and led the parade.
Suddenly, I wanted to wear a sparkly outfit.
I wanted to dance and flip and fly and make
people laugh. I wanted to be friends with these
glittery girls. And, more than anything, I wanted
to be in the big circus parade!
The parade finished. The circus was over.
Liam the Ringmaster met up with Mom and
me. We walked down many streets. I had a
fluttery, scared feeling in my belly.
I’d always lived in our same house. I’d always
had the same friends. Until now.
“Our Great Adventure is
starting,” Mom
whispered. “You and me. M and M.”
2
Home, Sweet Train
M and M is what we call ourselves. For
Marlo and Mom. My dad left when I was a bitty
baby. I really don’t feel sad about it anymore,
because Mom and I are super-close. We always
stick together. We look alike, too—blonde hair,
green eyes, and pointy nose and chin.
We stopped at the train tracks. I twisted my
neck, trying to find the end to the longest train
I had ever seen. The train was painted purple
with
stardust circus in big gold letters along
the side.
“I read that each part of a train is called a
car,” I told Liam. “And everyone from the circus
lives here. Even all the horses and dogs!”
“You know your stuff.” Liam stepped up.
“Climb aboard!”
My belly stopped fluttering. We were going
to live on a train! No one in my old town lived
on a train.
We walked through the train and stopped at
a gold door.
“Welcome to your awesome new home!”
said Liam.
I liked how Liam said things were amazing
and awesome and fabulous.
Our door had a doorbell—just like in a real
apartment.
I buzzed it a few times. Then a few more.
We stepped inside.
Carly's Family
ACROBATS’
APARTMENTS
MISS
ROSS
SCHOOL CAR
DANCE CAR
BAND APARTMENTS
WARDROBE
CAR
GYM
TENT & GEAR
CIRCUS CARS
AND TRUCKS
LIAM
MUSIC ROOM
Allie's Family
THE STARDUST CIRCUS TRAIN!
Belly's Family
LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINE
HORSES
PERFORMERS’
APARTMENTS
PIE CAR
DRESSING
ROOM CAR
CREW & STAFF
CIRCUS OFFICE
PROPS CAR
MEDIA &
GAME CAR
ACTING CAR
Marlo & Mom
Wow! It’s quite cozy,” Mom said, looking
around.
I knew that meant Mom thought it was small.
But it was perfect. Our new home had a mini-
kitchen, a bathroom, and bunk beds for me and
Mom.
“I call the top bunk!” I yelled. It would be fun
to share with Mom.
3
The Pie Car
The boxes we’d packed were stacked in a
corner. Next to the boxes stood my hula-hoops.
I love to hula-hoop.
“Now, where will these fit?” Mom asked,
picking one up.
I looked around. Then I had an idea. “Why
don’t we hang them on the wall—like art?”
“Perfect!” Mom likes my crafty ideas.
The train let out a loud whistle. I grabbed on
to a stool as the train began to move.
“We’re off to the town of Scarlet for our
next show,” said Liam. “Are you hungry? After
a show, the performers all head to the Pie Car
for food.”
“Let’s go!” I wasn’t hungry, but I was curious
about the Pie Car.
When my mom first told me about it, I had
pictured a car filled with apple and cherry pies.
But the Pie Car is the name of the restaurant
on the circus train. My mom used to be the chef
at De-Lish, a restaurant in our old town. Her
French toast with powdered sugar was famous.
(The mountains of powdered sugar were my
idea!) But De-Lish closed.
So Mom had said it was time for something
exciting and a little bit scary. And she joined
the circus as a chef!
Liam led us inside the Pie Car. It was right
next door to our apartment. The walls were
painted pale olive green. Booths lined both
walls. The tabletops were old
and chipped.
“Yuck!” I said.
“Shhh,” warned Mom. But I knew she didn’t
like it, either. The Pie Car was not pretty.
Liam nodded. “Marlo is right. It needs work.”
“Hey, I can fix up the Pie Car,” I said.
Mom smiled as I began making a list.
Hummmmmmm. I heard a noise.
Then I heard the tooting of a trumpet.
And the crash of a cymbal.
The door opened, and I gasped.
Men and women tooting trumpets and
banging drums entered the Pie Car. I had seen
them in the parade.
4
The Stardust Girls!
The brass players and drummers sat on
swivel stools at the tall counter. Mom’s kitchen
was on the other side of the counter. The tuba
player found a small booth. His tuba sat across
from him.
Would the Stardust Girls be coming, too?
I chewed my thumbnail nervously. Back
home, I had been best friends with Kira. We
both loved strawberry ice cream and hated
mushrooms. But I didn’t really know anything
about the Stardust Girls.
Would they like me? Would I like them? I
hoped so.
I heard laughing. The clowns came in. Happy
clowns. Funny clowns.
And then I saw her. The girl clown with the
pink braids!
She rushed over to me. “Hi! You’re the new
girl, aren’t you? I’m Carly Bruni.”
“Yes, I’m Marlo,” I said. “You were great in
the parade. You made me laugh.”
Carly’s blue eyes twinkled. “I love making
people laugh.” She turned. “Oh, good! Allie’s
here.”
The trapeze girl walked in on her hands!
Totally upside down.
She stopped next
to me and stayed
upside down. “I’m
Alejandra Padillo
Falto. My friends call
me Allie. I’m eight.”
“Hi! I’m Marlo.”
I had never talked
to anyone who was
upside down before.
She turned right
side up.
Then the girl who rode the horse skipped
over. Little jewels shone in the shape of a heart
on her cheek.
“And here’s Bella Lu!” Carly hugged her.
Carly had lots of pep. That’s what my mom
calls it when I’m bursting with energy.
Bella held something furry in her hands.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Boris the guinea pig,”
she said softly. “I’m
teaching him to ring
a bell and play a song.”
“Bella is crazy for
animals,” said Carly.
“She taught ballet to the dogs.”
“Dogs can dance?” I asked. Boris sniffed my
hand.
“Sure they can,” said Allie. “Didn’t they have
dancing dogs in your old circus?”
“My old circus?” I said. “I’ve never been in
a circus.”
Allie tilted her head. “If you’re not a circus
person, why a
re you here?”
I chewed my nail again. Then I pointed into
the kitchen. “My mom is the new cook. I’ll help
sometimes, too. I bake yummy brownies.”
“I so wish I could cook,” said Carly.
“I could teach you,” I said. “And I have a
great plan to make over this Pie Car. We can do
it together, okay?”
“Oh, that would be fun!” Bella smiled.
“Marlo!” Mom waved me over.
“I have to go,” I said.
“See you in school tomorrow,” said Carly.
School? On a circus train?
The next morning, I picked at my toast with
strawberry jelly.
“Ready for school, Marlo?” Mom asked.
“I don’t think I’m going to like it. Kira won’t
be there.” I had always gone to school with Kira.
I wouldn’t know anyone at this new school.
5
Let's Make a Deal
“Moving is hard. But remember, it’s a Great
Adventure, too.” Mom smoothed my bangs.
“What about those girls you met yesterday?”
I pressed my nose against the window.
The train rumbled on the tracks. Green fields
whizzed by. And a cow! “Those girls all do
amazing things.”
“You do amazing things, too. You bake.
You’re crafty,” she said.
I shook my head. Mom didn’t get it. “I want
to do amazing circus things, Mom. I want to be
in the parade with those girls.”
“You’ll need to ask Liam about that,” she
said. “And maybe you will learn circus things
in school.”
“Will I learn to walk on my hands? That
would be so much better than math.”
Mom put her arm around me. “Let’s go find
out.”
Mom and I walked down the narrow halls.
“There’s Liam!” I rushed over to him. His top
hat nearly touched the train’s ceiling. “Liam,
can I be in the circus parade?”
He raised his thick eyebrows.