Stop That Noise!Electronic book published by ipicturebooks.com24 W. 25th St. New York, NY 10011 www.ipicturebooks.comAll rights reserved. Copyright 1999 by The Millbrook Press, Inc.Real Kids Readers and the Real Kids Readers logo are trademarks of The Millbrook Press, Inc.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is for Birdgie and for Luke, and in memory of the Tiger Stripe Band M. B.Special thanks to Charles Hunter and St. Lukes School, New York City, for use of the childrens instruments.e-ISBN 1-58824-493-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataBernstein, Margery.Stop that noise! / Margery Bernstein ; photographs by Dorothy Handelman.p. cm. (Real kids readers. Level 3)Summary: Three children who love to make music in inappropriate places are organized by their teacher into a band to perform at their schools open house.ISBN 0-7613-2060-1 (lib. bdg.) ISBN 0-7613-2085-7 (pbk.)1. NoiseFiction. 2. Bands (Music)Fiction. 3. SchoolsFiction. I. Handelman, Dorothy, ill. II. Title. III. Series. PZ7.B4567St 1999 Edc21Stop That Noise!By Margery BernsteinPhotographs by Dorothy HandelmanRat-a-tat. Rat-a-tat. Mike tapped his pencil on his school desk. Rat-a-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!This did not make his teacher happy. “Mike! Please stop that noise!” said Mr. Patterson. “This is silent reading time, remember?”“Sorry,” said Mike. He put down his pencil. He had been reading. But he could tap and read at the same time_ no problem. It was harder for him not to tap.Mike liked to make his own music. He kept two drumsticks in his back- pack. On his way home from school, he took them out. Then he tapped out the beat he heard in his head.He dragged his sticks along fences. He drummed on mailboxes and garbage cans. Once he even drummed on a car! But then a woman yelled at him, so he never did that again.6When Mike got home, he didnt put his sticks away. There were lots of places in the house where he could make music. The kitchen was the best.First he drummed on the stove. Then he tapped on the kitchen table. Then he banged on some pots and pans.What a great sound they made!8Mikes mom came into the kitchen. “Mike!” she said. “Please stop that noise! The banging is driving me crazy.”10Mike didnt want to drive his mom crazy. He didnt want to make her mad either. So he put his sticks away. But the beat still went on in his head.11He used a spoon to tap it out on his soup bowl at dinner. He used a duster to tap it out on his globe when he was supposed to be cleaning his room. He used his toothbrush to tap it out on the sink at bedtime.With Mike around, nothing was safe. Hed use any surface to make his music.1214Mike had a friend named Sara. She had a great voice, and she liked to sing_ anywhere, anytime.She sang in the living room when her sister was trying to read.“Stop that noise!” said her sister. She sang in the family room when her brother was trying to watch T.V.“Stop that noise!” said her brother.15She sang at the dinner table with her mouth full of mashed potatoes.This did not make her parents happy.“Sara!” said her mom. “Dont sing at the table with mashed potatoes in your mouth.”Sara swallowed her potatoes. She opened her mouth to sing.“Sara!” said her dad. “Dont sing at the table without mashed potatoes in your mouth. In fact, please keep your mouth closed.”16After that, Sara kept her mouth closed when she was around other people. But tunes kept playing in her head, so she hummed.She hummed as she chose books at the library. She hummed during soccer practice. She humed while she got her hair cut.1820She hummed in school.“Sara, are you listening to me?” asked Mr. Patterson. “Are you paying attention?”“Yes,” said Sara.“Then please tell me what I just said,” said Mr. Patterson.“You said, Sara, are you listening to me? Are you paying attention?” said Sara. Mr. Patterson sighed.Mike and Sara had a friend named Tom. His head was full of music too. But he didnt drum or hum. He made sounds in other ways.He zipped his jacket up and down. He jingled coins in his pocket. He ran his fingers down the teeth of his comb.2224Tom knew you could make music with almost anything. You could blow across the top of a bottle to make a low, deep sound. Or you could let air out of a balloon to make a high, squeaky sound.This did not make his family happy.“Hey! Stop that noise!” yelled his big sister. “Im trying to talk on the phone.”2526Tom didnt have a flute or a horn or any other real instrument. So he made his own music makers.He made one by putting dried beans in an empty salt box and shaking it. He made another by folding waxed paper over a comb and blowing on it. And he made another by filling glasses with water and tapping them with a spoon.27Sometimes Tom made music at school.