On with the Show!Electronic book published by ipicturebooks.com24 W. 25th St. New York, NY 10011 www.ipicturebooks.comAll rights reserved. Copyright 1998 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. e-ISBN 1-58824-486-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataVenn, Cecilia On with the show! / by Cecilia Venn ; photography by Dorothy Handelman.p. cm. _ (Real kids readers. Level 3)Summary: While babysitting, Lisa, Beth, Nick, and Max organize a show to celebrate Clean Up Pocket Park Day.ISBN 0-7613-2011-3 (lib. bdg.). _ISBN 0-7613-2036-9 (pbk.)1. Litter (Trash) _ Fiction. 2. Babysitters _ Fiction. I. Handelman, Dorothy, ill. II. Title. III. Series. PZ7.V558On 1998 Fic_dc21On with the Show!Cecilia VennPhotographs by Dorothy HandelmanIt was Saturday morning. Beth, Nick, and Max went to Pocket Park to meet their friend Lisa. The park was small, with houses on the sides and a gate at each end. Usually it was the kids favorite place. But today it was a mess.“Yuck!” said Beth. “Look at this.” She picked up an old brown bag lying by the gate.“Lets move the trash can closer to the gate,” said Nick. “Then maybe people wont litter.” He took one side of the can and Max took the other. They started walking, but suddenly something rolled under their feet.“Look out!” cried Beth.Too late! Max tripped and fell, taking the can with him. Trash spilled everywhere. A newspaper even landed on Nicks head.“Nice hat,” said Beth.Max stood up. A banana peel slid down his leg. He kicked a red-and-white ball out of his way. “Where did that come from?” he asked.“Hi, everybody!” It was Lisa, pulling her sister Jenna in a wagon.“My ball!” said Jenna.“Nice throw,” said Beth.“Uh-oh,” said Lisa. “Sorry, guys.”68Lisa helped the others pick up the mess. “Good thing today is Clean Up Pocket Park Day,” she said.“What do you mean?” asked Nick.“The grownups plan to clean up the park,” said Lisa. “See them over in our backyard? Theyre having a meeting about it. Thats why Im watching Jenna.”“I know what they should do first,” said Max. “They should clean up that big pile of dirt by the fence.”“That dirt is for a new garden,” said Lisa.“I hope they dont plant peas,” Max said “Yuck!”9Lisa pulled the wagon over to a park bench. Nick and Max sat down, but Beth walked back and forth. She was working on an idea.“Everyone needs to think more about keeping the park clean,” she said. “So why dont we put on a show about trash?”“Good idea!” said Nick and Max.“Yes only I have to watch Jenna,” said Lisa.“Dont worry, well help,” said Beth. “There are four of us. How hard could it be to watch one little girl?”Beth ran home and got a broom. She swept a spot clean. “Lets put on the show right here,” she said. “We can use the bench for seating.” 12“Look, Jenna,” said Lisa. “You have a front row seat!”Jenna smiled and clapped her hands.“On with the show!” said Beth.13While Beth was sweeping, Nick had gone home. Now he was back, carrying a big box.“Could we use any of this?” he asked. He turned the box upside down. All kinds of art stuff spilled out in a heap.Lisa pulled out some long, colorful ribbons. “I could do a dance with these,” she said. “I could show how the wind blows trash around.”Max picked out a roll of tinfoil. “Im going to wrap myself in this and be a dancing trash can,” he said. “Theres enough for you too, Beth.”Beth looked at Max. She looked at Lisa. “I want to be the wind,” she said.Lisa found some more ribbons and handed them to Beth. Then she went to check on Jenna.The wagon was empty.“Oh, no!” cried Lisa. “Wheres Jenna?”Everybody stopped and looked around. No Jenna!Thump! Thump! Thump!“Whats that?” asked Max.“Look! My box is moving,” Nick said. He tipped over the box.“Peekaboo,” said Jenna.Lisa sighed. “Come with me, Jenna,” she said. “You can watch our dance.”18Max and Nick laughed. “You may be the wind,” said Max. “But youre not blowing very hard.”“Im ready to blow my top,” said Beth. “Could you please watch Jenna? We have to sort out our ribbons.”“Just do what I do,” Lisa told Beth. She waved her ribbons from side to side. So did Beth. She spun on her toes. So did Beth. But this time the ribbons did not move.“Whoa!” the girls cried.Max took Jennas hand and led her back to the bench. “Watch this,” he said. “Im going to turn into a trash can.”He pulled out a long sheet of foil and put it on the ground. Then he lay down on the top of it and grabbed one end.“Check this out, Jenna!” he called. He rolled over and over. The foil wrapped around and around.“Uh-oh!” said Max. “Help!”22The other kids came running.“Get me out of here!” Max yelled.“Ill help you,” said Beth.