weak to hold a pencil!
“I think I’ll try the silks,” I said.
Danna helped me up. “Wrap the fabric
around your wrists and ankles,” she told me. I
swung nearby Allie.
Then I saw Liam come into the gym. My big
chance!
I quickly tried to flip.
But I flopped.
I tried to flip again. The fabric
wrapped around my body.
“Marlo?” Liam’s voice
sounded muffled.
I tried to answer.
Mmmmpff. Fabric
covered my mouth.
I was trapped inside
a cocoon!
Liam and Allie unwrapped me.
“You’re funny.” Allie gave a friendly laugh.
“I’m funny when I’m not trying to be a
clown!” I joked.
Liam chuckled. “My butterfly! You came out
of your cocoon.”
That gave me a great idea.
“I can do an aerial act in the parade!” I said.
“I can be a caterpillar in a cocoon that pops
out in a butterfly costume!”
“Hmmm. I don’t think so,” said Liam. “Sorry,
Marlo.”
After he left, I plopped down on the mats. I
put my head in my hands.
“Hey,” said Allie, sitting next to me. “The
silks are really hard to learn. I’m not even that
good at them yet.”
I kept my head down.
“I’m sorry I was sort-of mean before,” Allie
blurted out.
I looked up. “Why don’t you like me?”
“There have always been three Stardust
Girls,” Allie said. “I didn’t want four. But you’re
funny and nice, and you try hard. I like you.”
“So can we maybe be friends?” I asked.
“For sure!” said Allie.
“And I’m not giving up on the circus parade,”
I added.
“You shouldn’t,” agreed Allie. “When I can’t
do a trick on the trapeze, I keep at it. Or I try it
another way.”
“Aerial arts take a lot of time to learn. What
else can I try?” I asked.
“Well, Bella trains animals,” she said. “Do
you like dogs?”
I’d never had a pet. But I’d always liked my
friend Kira’s dog.
“I really like dogs,”
I said, getting to
my feet. “Let’s
go find Bella!”
A llie’s family walked us back to the train. I
spotted Bella and her white dogs out in a field
with Carly.
“These flowers are all so pretty,” Allie said,
looking around.
“Let’s pick some for the Pie Car,” I said.
“Great idea! Let’s pick a lot,” Allie said.
She picked a big bunch. So did I.
12
Downward Dog
Then we ran to Bella and Carly. I handed
them each a flower.
A real one. No squirting flowers for me.
“Thanks,” said Bella. Marshmallow, Coconut,
and Tofu wagged their tails.
“I want to dance with animals in the circus
parade—just like you!” I told Bella.
“I’ll teach you!” Bella pushed the button on
her music player. Happy music came out.
The three dogs circled Bella. She sang softly
to them. Bella reached for Tofu’s front paws.
They danced.
“Your turn, Marlo,” said Bella, stepping aside.
I put down my flowers. Then I boogied
forward. I pretended that a crowd was cheering
for me.
I waved the dogs over.
“Time to dance!”
I shook my hips and
my arms.
Tofu lay flat on
the grass.
Coconut lay flat
on the grass.
Marshmallow lay
flat on the grass.
“Come on, doggies!” I danced some more.
The dogs did not boogie.
“Try using these.” Bella handed me some
dog treats.
“Yummy, yummy!” I showed the treats.
The dogs would not move.
“They love to jump through hoops,” said
Bella. She lifted up three hula-hoops from the
grass. Then she made a clicking noise with
her tongue.
Tofu jumped.
Coconut jumped.
Marshmallow jumped.
Bella handed me the hoops. I clicked my
tongue, just like Bella had done.
All three dogs lay down. They would not
jump.
“I stink at this—just like everything else.” I
slipped the hula-hoops over my head.
“No, you don’t, Marlo. Maybe these dogs
only understand Bella,” said Allie.
“All animals understand Bella,” added Carly.
“That’s her talent.”
“Well, it is not mine.” I blinked back my
tears. I swayed my hips and got the hula-hoops
spinning.
I moved my hips faster. The three hoops
spun and spun.
The show was tomorrow. My two days were
almost up.
“Oh, my!” cried Allie.
“Whoa!” said Bella.
“W-O-W. Wow!” said Carly.
They all stared at me.
“What?” I asked.
M y three new friends stared at me with
open mouths.
“You can hula-hoop?” asked Allie.
“She can hula-hoop!” said Bella.
My three hoops were still spinning.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ve been hooping since I was
little. It’s no big deal.”
13
Add Sparkle
“No big deal?” cried Carly. “It’s fabulous!”
I shook my head. “It’s playground stuff. Not
circus stuff.”
“Anything can be circus stuff,” said Carly, “if
you add sparkle and wow!”
“We need to show Liam,” said Bella. “But
he’s busy in there.” She pointed at the big tent.
“I have an idea. Keep hooping, Marlo.” Allie
pulled out her phone. She began to video me.
“Do something fabulous!” called Bella.
I hooped faster. I lifted one
leg. I jumped and hooped. I
spun and hooped.
Carly turned to Allie and
Bella. “We need to get more
hula-hoops.”
“I have a lot.” I told them
about the hoops on my walls.
Carly ran to get them.
“We will help you make a
hula-hoop dance,” said Allie.
We worked on my dance until dinnertime.
Soon I was spinning five hoops! I had no idea
I could do that!
We skipped into the Pie Car. I put the wild
flowers into glass jars. Then I put the jars on
the tables with the new lavender tablecloths
that Mrs. Bruni had sewed.
“Our makeover is working,” said Bella.
“We should have a paint party,” I said. “Let’s
paint these walls a happier color.”
“Pink!” said Carly.
Somehow I knew she would say that. “Pink
is awesome!” I said.
“What’s awesome?” Liam asked, walking in.
“Marlo’s new circus act is awesome,” Bella
&
nbsp; said quickly.
“You have to see it,” said Carly.
“Right now!” Allie
handed her phone to
Liam. Allie could be
pushy sometimes.
I was glad she
was pushing
for me now.
I held my breath. There I was on the screen.
Hoops spinning on my hips. On my arms. On
my legs.
The video stopped. Liam didn’t say anything.
We all waited.
My chest felt tight. I wanted so much for him
to like it.
“You are one very determined girl, Marlo,”
Liam said. “You set your mind to something,
and you don’t stop until you do it.”
I bit my lip. What did that mean?
“Your new act is fabulous, amazing, and
awesome,” he said. “You can be in tomorrow’s
parade.”
I jumped up and down. “I’m a Stardust Girl?”
“No,” Liam said suddenly.
I stopped jumping. We all stared at him.
“I changed the name.” He grinned. “You all
are now the Amazing Stardust Girls!”
Carly, Bella, Allie, and I cheered. We were
ready to be amazing.
The next morning, I helped
Mom frost a huge cake.
“I’m nervous about the
show later,” I said.
“Are you nervous-scared
or nervous-excited?” Mom asked.
“I’m scared I’ll mess up.” I thought a moment.
“But I’m excited, too.”
“That’s a good kind of nervous,” she said.
I agreed.
14
Bump a Nose
“Hi, girls!” said Mom, as Allie, Carly, and
Bella hurried in. “Looking for a snack?”
“Yes.” Carly reached into a bowl for an apple.
She was always hungry.
Allie swatted her hand. “Let’s go get ready.”
The four of us ran to the Dressing Room Car.
I smiled the whole way there.
Inside, Carly handed me a sparkly rainbow-
swirled unitard. “My mom sewed this for you. I
know you like rainbows.”
“It’s so pretty!” I gasped.
“Hurry! Try it on.” Allie pulled me behind a
curtain.
I twirled in the rainbow costume. “What do
you think?”
“More glitter.” Carly swiped hot-pink glitter
lipstick on my lips.
“More sparkle.” Bella pressed rhinestones
onto my cheeks.
“More shine.” Allie pinned a gold crown of
blinking lights to my hair.
Then I painted a rainbow on my face.
“Now you’re a Stardust Girl.” Allie put her
arm around me.
“An Amazing Stardust Girl,” corrected Bella.
We all laughed.
“Bump a nose,” Carly said.
“What?” I said. I put both hands over my
nose. “Why?”
“That’s what clowns say for good luck,” said
Carly.
“Oh, I get it. Because clowns have big red
noses,” I said.
“Not all clowns.” Carly had a pink star
painted on the tip of her nose.
“Let’s do it. It can be like our very own
secret handshake. One . . . two . . . three . . .
bump a nose!” called Allie.
We all bumped noses.
Owww!
“We should think of something else,” Bella
said, rubbing her nose.
A bell rang.
“That’s the warning bell,” said Carly.
“Time to get our costumes on,” said Allie.
“The circus is about to start!”
I waited backstage. The parade wasn’t until
the very end of the show.
Mom stayed by my side. “Do you like the
circus, Marlo?” she asked.
“Yes! I love it!” I cried.
Mom grinned. “I told you it would be a Great
Adventure.”
I gave her a big hug. “I can’t wait to call Kira
and tell her everything about our exciting new
circus life.”
15
AMAZING!
“Marlo,” Carly said, tapping my arm. “It’s
time! Let’s line up for the parade.”
We ran over to Bella and Allie. Tofu, Coconut,
and Marshmallow were there, too.
The band played. Colorful lights swirled.
“Meet the Amazing Stardust Girls—Carly,
Allie, and Bella!” called Liam.
Carly, Allie, and Bella skipped and flipped to
the front of the parade line.
My heartbeat sounded even louder than the
band’s big drums.
“And now for our newest Amazing Stardust
Girl—Marlo!” Liam called.
I took a deep breath and walked into the
bright spotlight. I couldn’t see the crowd, but I
heard them. Cheering. Stamping their feet.
I slipped all five hoops over my head. Each
hoop was a different color. I began to circle my
hips. Slowly, at first. Then faster and faster.
The hoops became a rainbow blur.
I lifted my arms and twirled.
The hoops kept spinning.
I skipped to the front of the parade.
The hoops kept spinning.
I had a fabulous talent all along. It just took
me a little while to figure that out. And now
the crowd was clapping for me.
Then I tossed my hoops to the side. Allie and
Bella grabbed my hands. We did the parade
dance. We kicked our legs high. Well, I kicked
my legs kind-of-high.
We began to twirl.
Carly reached into the basket she carried.
She tossed sparkly pink glitter
into the air!
Glitter landed on my hair and my cheeks.
I sparkled all over.
I gave a happy twirl. I was an Amazing
Stardust Girl in the big circus parade!
I didn’t want the show to ever end.
But it did . . .
Back on the train, I wouldn’t take off my
rainbow costume. I loved it so much.
“You’ll wear it again tomorrow,” said Bella,
“at the next show.”
“And at the show after that,” said Carly.
“And we’ll do the parade together,” Allie said.
“Every time.”
I couldn’t wait! I hugged my new friends.
That night, I stared out my window. The sky
was filled with twinkling stars. Everything at
the Stardust Circus sparkled.
Even the sky.
Diane Le Feyer lives in a
magical land called France,
where there are lots of big
castles and very good food.
As a child, she was always
drawing and dreaming of
glitter and sparkle! As an
adult, she makes her living drawing fantastical scenes,
working in 2-D animation (both as a director and animator),
and teaching young artists. She is a teacher, an artist, a bad
cook, and a mother. She has a darling daughter, a loving
husband, and a goldfish named Bubbles.
Heather Alexander lives in
New Jersey, with her husband, two
daughters, and a small white dog, who
does very few tricks but is awfully
cut
e.
When she was younger, Heather
used to be a figure skater. She still
loves everything to do with twirling,
jumping, and glitter. Lots and lots of glitter!
Heather is the author of more than forty books for kids.
THE AMAZING STARDUST FRIENDS is her first early
chapter book series.
QUESTIONS
&
ACTIVITIES
THE AMAZING
STARDUST
FRIENDS
STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT!
What do the Stardust Girls wear when they
perform? Look back at Chapter 1, and use the
words and pictures to describe each costume.
Marlo loves the exciting adjectives Liam uses
when he speaks, such as amazing, fabulous, and
awesome. List more adjectives that have the
same meaning.
Describe what school is like on the
circus train. How is it different from
and similar to your school?
Marlo is determined to find an act to
perform in the circus parade. Discuss the acts
she tries and whether or not she is successful.
What job would you do or what
act would you perform if you lived on
the Stardust Circus train?
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Illustrated early chapter books that grow readers!
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Marlo and her
mom are starting
a new life—they
are joining the
Stardust Circus!
There, Marlo meets
Allie the acrobat, Bella
the animal trainer, and
Carly the clown. Marlo really
wants to make friends, but she doesn’t seem to fit in at
the circus. She cannot leap from a trapeze, do backflips
with dogs, or make people laugh. What will Marlo do?
FRIENDSHIPS SHINE BRIGHT !
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The Amazing Stardust Friends #1: Step Into the Spotlight! (A Branches Book) Page 3