Judy Moody Around the World in 8 1_2 Days - Megan Mcdonald [4]
“Did anybody ever see the movie Around the World in Eighty Days?” Amy asked. Only a few hands went up.
“Nellie Bly was a woman reporter,” Amy continued. “She wrote stuff for newspapers. She read this book about Mr. Fogg. He was a made-up person who went around the world in eighty days. Nellie thought it would be cool for a real person to try to beat his record. So her newspaper sent her around the world. Another reporter found out and tried to beat her. But Nellie won the race. She went around the world in seventy-two days, six hours, eleven minutes, and fourteen seconds.”
Amy Namey looked over at Mr. Todd.
“You’re doing great!” said Mr. Todd.
“Someday I want to be a reporter and travel around the world like Nellie Bly,” said Amy.
“Why don’t you tell us how Nellie Bly got ready for her trip?” said Mr. Todd.
“She only had three days to get ready to go around the whole entire world. And she could only take one small bag, the size of a loaf of bread.” Amy held up her loaf-of-bread bag.
“Just think, class,” said Mr. Todd. “What if you had to go all the way around the world and you could only take what fits in this bag? What are some of the things you would take? Jessica?”
“A camera.”
“Judy?”
“A Grouchy pencil.”
“Bradley?”
“Clean underwear.” Everybody cracked up.
“Jessica again?”
“My stuffed pig named Snuffles.”
“Frank?”
“A hamburger. And my pillow.”
“Your pillow’s bigger than a loaf of bread,” said Bradley.
“Rocky?”
“I’d fill that whole bag with money!”
“Amy, would you like to show us what’s in your bag?”
“These are some things Nellie Bly had in her bag. Soap. Needle and thread. Pajamas. Slippers.”
“No pillow?” asked Frank.
“Underwear,” said Amy.
“Told ya!” said Bradley.
“Ink and pens and pencils.”
“I called it!” said Judy.
“Three hats, a cup, a raincoat —”
“No way!” everybody exclaimed. Amy unfolded a tiny pouch, and it turned into a raincoat.
“Whoa!” Everybody oohed and aahed.
“And . . . her lucky thumb ring.”
Holy macaroni! thought Judy. Lucky thumb ring! A lucky thumb ring was almost as good as a mood ring.
“What about money?” asked Rocky.
“She tied it in a little bag around her neck.”
“What about clothes and stuff?” asked Jessica Finch.
“She only wore one dress. It was blue plaid, like this skirt.” Amy Namey pointed to the skirt she was wearing.
“What’s the stick for?” somebody asked. “Why’d she take a stick?”
“When she got to a country called Yemen, she had to brush her teeth with a stick.”
“I can’t believe there’s a country called Yeah Man!” said Frank.
“And she saw camels and people riding elephants, and when she was halfway around the world, she got a pet monkey named McGinty!”
“Amy, why don’t you show us Nellie Bly’s around-the-world route on your globe?” said Mr. Todd.
“Okay. I made a globe this morning. It’s still kind of wet.” She held up a big gloppy papier-mâché ball. “Here’s where she started, in Hoboken.”
“She started in Hobo Land?”
“Hoboken is in New Jersey,” said Amy. “And she went to England, France, Italy. Then Egypt, in Africa.” The route was marked in black marker. Amy traced it with her finger.
“Can somebody help me hold this?” asked Amy.
“I will!” said Frank.
“Me too,” said Rocky.
Judy could not believe her ears. Ten minutes ago, Rocky and Frank were calling Amy a robber. A big fat friend-stealer. Now they were helping her!
Frank held the papier-mâché globe. “Where’s that Yeah Man place?” he asked.
“I see it,” said Rocky. He went over to the bulletin board and pulled out a thumbtack. “It’s right down here, on the Red Sea.” As he said it, he stuck the pin into the globe to mark the spot.
POW! A loud pop made everybody jump. Frank leaped backward. It was the balloon inside the papier-mâché globe! All the air went out of the globe with a whoosh, and it collapsed in on itself.
Frank looked at Rocky. Rocky looked at Frank. “Globe explode!” Rocky said, cracking up.
Amy Namey stood in front of the whole entire Class 3T, holding a mushy, gushy mess of wet newspaper. A slobby-blobby, ooey-gluey globe of gloop.
“Nellie Bly says goodbye!