Stink and The Incredible Shrinking Kid - Megan Mcdonald [0]
Text copyright © 2005 by Megan McDonald
Cover and interior illustrations copyright © 2005 by Peter H. Reynolds
Stink®. Stink is a registered trademark of Candlewick Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2010
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
McDonald, Megan.
Stink : the incredible shrinking kid / Megan McDonald ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: The shortest kid in the second grade, James Moody, also known as Stink, learns all about the shortest president of the United States, James Madison, when they celebrate Presidents’ Day at school.
ISBN 978-0-7636-2025-7 (hardcover)
[1. Size — Fiction. 2. Schools — Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters — Fiction. 4. Presidents — Fiction.] I. Reynolds, Peter, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.M478419St 2005
[Fic] — dc22 2003065246
ISBN 978-0-7636-2891-8 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7636-5188-6 (electronic)
The illustrations for this book were created digitally.
Candlewick Press
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visit us at www.candlewick.com
CONTENTS
Short, Shorter, Shortest
Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk
Up, Up, Up
Stinkerbell, Shrinkerbell
The Famous Jameses
Tumble, Fluff, Shrink!
Tall, Taller, Tallest
Shrimp-o!
Runtsville!
Shorty Pants!
Stink was short. Short, shorter, shortest. Short as an inchworm. Short as a . . . stinkbug!
Stink was the shortest one in the Moody family (except for Mouse, the cat). The shortest second-grader in Class 2D. Probably the shortest human being in the whole world, including Alaska and Hawaii. Stink was one whole head shorter than his sister, Judy Moody. Every morning he made Judy measure him. And every morning it was the same.
Three feet, eight inches tall.
Shrimpsville.
He had not grown one inch. Not one centimeter. Not one hair.
He was always one head shorter than Judy. “I need another head,” he told his mom and dad.
“What for?” asked Dad.
“I like your head just the way it is,” said Mom.
“You need a new brain,” said Judy.
“I have to get taller,” said Stink. “How can I get taller?”
“Eat your peas,” said Dad.
“Drink your milk,” said Mom.
“Eat more seafood!” said Judy.
“Seafood?”
“Yes — shrimp!” Judy said.
“Hardee-har-har,” said Stink. His sister thought she was so funny.
“What’s so bad about being short?” asked Dad.
“I have to drink at the baby fountain,” said Stink. “And stand in the front row for class pictures. And I always have to be a mouse in school plays. Just once, I’d like a speaking part, not a squeaking part.”
“Being short isn’t all bad,” said Dad. “You still get those free coloring books you like at the doctor’s.”
“And the Spider-Man pajamas you love still fit you,” said Mom.
“And you still get to use your baby step stool just to brush your teeth,” said Judy. Stink rolled his eyes.
“You’ll grow,” said Dad.
“Growing takes time,” said Mom.
“Lie down on the floor,” Judy told him.
“What for?”
“If I pull your arms, and Mom and Dad each take a leg, we could stretch you out like a rubber band. Then you’d be taller.”
Stink did not want to be a rubber band. So he ate all his peas at dinner. He did not hide even one in his napkin. He drank all his milk, and did not pour even one drop into Judy’s glass when she wasn’t looking.
“Measure me again,” Stink said to Judy. “One more time. Before bed.”
“Stink, I just measured you this morning.”
“That was before I ate all those peas and drank all that milk,” said Stink.
Stink put on his shoes. He stood next to the Shrimp-O-Meter. He stood up straight. He stood up tall.
Judy got out her Elizabeth Blackwell Women of Science ruler. “Hey, no shoes!” she said. Stink