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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781490787619 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 02/23/2018 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 36 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
| Age Range: | 3 Months to 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
THE QUESTION FAMILY
It all started one day, when Poppy Puzzler started asking questions, but she had no idea what wonderful things were about to happen to her!
Why? ...
Who? ... Where? ... Which? ... When? ... What? ... Does? ... How? ... Will? ... Shall? ... Would? ... Could? ... Should? ...
These were the questions she kept asking.
Poppy Puzzler loved asking questions and trying to find out the answers to them. She was in her bedroom, looking through a book full of questions, when she suddenly asked herself something:
'WHY are there so many questions?'
Poppy wondered what the answer might be.
Yet, although she didn't know at that moment, it was true; there WAS a whole FAMILY of QUESTIONS: mum, dad, the children, grandmas, grandads, uncles, aunties, cousins, nephews, nieces, and even some tiny baby questions! They were tiny little people, only three centimetres tall, the size of a reel of cotton! It was the QUESTION family – a very large family.
WHY QUESTION was the first member of this amazing family to meet Poppy.
WHY showed her a very easy way to travel to the secret LAND where he lived. It was called the Land of Ans. Nobody in the whole world knew about it, but Poppy travelled there with WHY, to the places she had only ever dreamt about in her dreams, and eventually, she found the answers to the questions which kept popping into her mind.
This is how it all began.
Poppy was looking through her favourite book, sitting on the edge of her bed; it was just full of questions of every kind.
'WHY are there so MANY questions?' she said to herself. Then she lifted her eyes away from the page and looked straight ahead, still puzzling over the answer. A few moments later, Poppy went to the little desk in the corner of her room and pulled open a drawer.
She took some white paper out of it and placed it on her desk. Next, she grabbed a pencil and began to draw something.
Can you guess whom she began to draw?
Yes ... It was WHY!
WHY was a character in Poppy's imagination. He was a little boy, but not an ordinary little boy, like the boys at school. WHY was just as small as a reel of cotton! Only three centimetres tall!
Poppy carefully coloured him in and gave him some clothes and some shoes. He looked like a little elf, but he had a big smile and large blue eyes, blond hair, a turned-up nose, and rosy cheeks. He was wearing green shorts, a white shirt, and trainers with stripes on them.
'Oh, he's smiling at me!' gasped Poppy, putting her hand over her mouth, which had opened wide.
Then, her eyes opened even wider and wider ...
'He WINKED at me! I saw it!' she said out loud.
Poppy blinked, then blinked again and stared at the paper ... She couldn't believe her eyes!
Yes, WHY was a little person. He was a REAL person! He jumped off the page and started dancing, turning around in circles on her desk.
'I like you! ... I want to be your friend. Will you be my friend?'
'Of course, I will,' said WHY. 'I have lots of things to tell you, you'll see.'
'Questions are very important,' said WHY. 'Did you know that?'
'Yes I did,' answered Poppy, 'I'm ALWAYS asking my teacher them.'
'Well, that's a very wise thing to do,' replied WHY. 'You can't LEARN anything if you don't ask a question, can you?'
'No, that's true,' she said thoughtfully, still watching WHY very closely indeed.
'I am here to help you find the answers to your questions,' said WHY.
Now Poppy started thinking about even more questions.
How could WHY be a real character?
Was he REALLY alive?
Could he REALLY talk to her?
How did he know so much?
Poppy was soon going to find that out!
'Where do you come from, and what is your name?' Poppy asked him.
'My full name is WHY QUESTION. I heard you ask that "WHY" question, and that is my name. You called me to come and meet you. You did ask a WHY QUESTION, didn't you?'
'Yes, I did. I'm always asking questions and thinking about different things,' replied Poppy.
'That's good!' said WHY. 'You can meet ALL of my family just like you have met me! I have a very large family. Would you like to meet them?'
Poppy was very curious on hearing these words. She definitely wanted to know more!
'I certainly WOULD!' she squealed with delight. 'Are they just like you?'
'Come with me, and I'll take you to see them,' said WHY.
'All you have to do is,
'click your fingers once,
'close your eyes for two seconds,
'clap your hands three times,
'then we'll go to the Land of Ans.
'The secret code is 1, 2, 3.
'Are you ready to go there?'
'Ooooh yes, please! I can't wait!' said Poppy, excitedly.
'Off we go then,' said WHY.
So they clicked their fingers once, closed their eyes for two seconds, clapped their hands three times, and were on their way to the Land of ANS!
CHAPTER 2POPPY IN THE LAND OF ANS
Two second later, Poppy opened her eyes and found that she had been taken, as if by magic, to another land ... the Land of ANS.
'This is a very special place,' said WHY. 'It's where you find all the answers you want to know!'
It was a special place indeed. Poppy had never seen such a wonderful place.
'It's beautiful here. I love it. It's so peaceful!' she said.
Poppy walked down the winding country roads with WHY sitting on her shoulder.
The roads had pretty cottages and gardens with flowers of different colours in them.
The sky was clear and blue with one or two white, fluffy clouds gently floating by. The sun was shining brightly, and it was very warm.
All the houses were of different colours and shapes, and the roads had signposts pointing to different areas to explore.
Poppy noticed one very large sign which said: 'TO THE SEA'.
'Oh, let's go there first!' shouted Poppy.
'It's a very long way!' said WHY. 'That road takes you to the Sea of Knowledge, near to the Park of Quest, where you can find all the answers to your questions.' But before she had the chance to find her way to the Sea of Knowledge and discover the answers she was wondering about, she heard a fanfare of trumpets blowing.
'What's that noise in the distance?' said Poppy. 'It sounds like music.'
'The knowledge of your arrival here in Ans has been passed on. The King is preparing to welcome you,' said WHY.
The sound of music was getting closer and louder, and the drums were banging to the beat. Footsteps could be heard; they sounded like soldiers marching, but quietly.
Then, appearing around the corner, as they walked along the road, Poppy caught sight of uniformed children coming towards them. The girls were dressed in beautiful clothes in red and gold, and the boys, in blue and silver. Their hats had jewels fastened to them, which glinted in the bright sunshine of the day. Their shoes had sewn on to the front of them, the initials of the king, K.S., in plaited gold and silver threads. Short tassels, which matched them, fell from their shoulders and swung in the breeze as they marched along.
Their leader was juggling a baton and smiling, enjoying every moment, as the group approached the visitor.
The music stopped. It was quiet.
The leader of the group was standing a few steps away from Poppy; just then, they all saluted Poppy.
'Welcome to the land of Ans. We are very pleased to have you here,' said their leader.
'My name is Max, and I've been sent to you by our king. His name is King Sujes.'
'Thank you. I'm thrilled to be in your land. This is fantastic! I never expected anything like this! My name is Poppy Puzzler.'
'We know. We also know, because our king told us, that you are interested in finding lots of answers to your questions.'
'How did the king know my name and that I'm interested in finding answers to my questions?' queried Poppy, amazed at such knowledge.
'The king knows everything that happens here in Ans. It is HIS land,' Max continued.
'Visitors are very special people in his land. Follow us, Poppy, and we will lead you to the king's palace. He would like to meet you!'
So Poppy did as she was asked.
It wasn't long before they reached the gates of the palace. They were large gates in the shape of big fan-like shells; they opened as soon as everyone came near to them. The gates were totally covered in tiny pearls of varying shades of white and cream, patterned in circles and semicircles. They looked like flowers with round petals.
They went up the wide driveway, which led to the double doors, bearing a golden crown on each door with K above the first crown and S above the second.
Nervously, Poppy entered the palace through the large doors, which had been opened for her by Holly Sparkle, the servant of the king. Holly was also wearing a uniform which sparkled around the neck, cuffs, and hem of her dress, and true to her name, her shoes were decorated with sparkling sequins.
'This way please! The king is expecting you,' said Holly. She led Poppy and WHY across the shiny marble floor towards the great staircase, wide and majestic, with a handrail on each side. The carpet was thick and soft and of a beautiful red colour.
'What do you do when you meet a king, and how do you talk to him? I've never met anyone so important before. I'm feeling nervous,' whispered Poppy to Holly Sparkle.
'Don't be afraid of our king. He is the kindest, most loving king you could ever imagine.
EVERYONE loves him,' said Holly. 'Just speak to him as you are speaking to me. He is very interested in YOU! He only wants to help you.'
'All right, I will do so,' said Poppy. 'Do I have to curtsy or bow to him?'
'No, just smile. That will be fine,' said Holly.
In no time at all, Poppy was standing in front of the king of Ans. She couldn't believe what she was seeing ... a real king with a golden crown on his head, sitting on his throne! It was like a big seat.
The king was wearing a purple cloak with Ans, Ans, Ans sewn in swirling patterns along the edges of it. A large question mark, made out of real gold and matching his crown, was hanging around his neck, fastened to a golden chain with shining links. His suit was beige, and he wore shoes of soft brown leather.
Poppy walked gracefully and slowly up to his throne, which was at the top of seven large steps, carpeted completely. She stopped at the first step and looked up into the kind face of the king, who was smiling at her and holding out his right hand to shake hers.
'Welcome to my Land, young lady. I hear that you are interested in finding lots of answers to your questions. I am so glad you came.'
'Yes, I am looking forward to finding them. I have so many questions in my head,' said Poppy.
'I'm glad to hear it,' said the king.
His voice was quiet, gentle, and kind.
'I will give you all the help you need to find out what you want to know,' said the king.
He nodded to Holly, and she went to the back of the hall and brought in the fairies of Goode. They all formed a straight line, following Holly down to the throne; then they all knelt down before the king, waiting to see what he wanted them to do for him.
'These are my helpers. I'll send them to go with you, Poppy, as you travel in my land.
They will give you whatever you want, or need. Your questions WILL be answered.'
Every fairy stepped forward and introduced herself to Poppy. Each one of them was dressed in a different colour from the next, and each one was holding a silver wand with K.S. at the tip of it.
Their wings were made out of lace-like feathers – pure white.
Vel was the first one to introduce herself to Poppy; Forvin, the second one.
CHAPTER 3The fairies of Goode were as follows:
Vel (dressed in white)
They each bowed their head after introducing themselves. The fairies of Goode worked for King Sujes; they lived with him in his palace and went to help people when he asked them to do so.
'Just place your hands palm on palm, rub them together, close your eyes, twirl the first finger of your right hand in a circle twice, and point to the sky, and my fairies will be with you,' said the king. 'But BEWARE of any grey smoke or nasty smell because that means Natasia or Livedene are near you, and they will try to stop you from finding your answers.'
'Thank you! Thank you so very much,' said Poppy. 'I will remember that.'
'Now go on your way and enjoy your journey. Come to me any time. You are always welcome!' With that, he gave her a wave and a smile and off she went, turning around to leave the king's palace.
'He is very nice, your king,' said Poppy to Holly Sparkle. 'No wonder this land is so peaceful and happy.'
Walking down the large staircase, side by side with Holly, Poppy returned to the marble entrance hall of the palace.
Holly went with her to the door, said goodbye, wished her luck in finding her answers, and left.
Outside, she once again passed through the beautifully decorated gates of pearl, which looked like shells.
By the gate, waiting for her this time, was a carriage made out of gold and glass, and the driver was ready to take her wherever she would like to go. The driver politely asked her for directions where she wanted to go.
'I'd like to meet the family of WHY first, I think,' she said, after pausing for a moment.
'Please go straight ahead to Owlet Grove then,' said WHY.
Moving swiftly along the road, they admired the colourful countryside; they saw lots of mountains, trees, fields, and lakes, but soon they arrived at WHY's home.
It was a cottage, white in colour with a thatched roof and windows shaped like hexagons.
The garden was big too, with a children's slide, swings, and a play pool.
The sound of children playing reached the ears of Poppy first. They were laughing, talking, and playing gleefully. She noticed that three of them were dressed similarly and looked nearly the same.
'They are my brothers, Would, Could, and Should. They are triplets,' WHY told her. 'They share the same birthday. They were all born on the same day. I also have twin sisters, Will and Shall, but they will probably be inside the cottage, playing with their dolls.'
'How many people are there in your family?' questioned Poppy.
'Nineteen at the moment' came the reply. 'One more, and we'll have twenty!'
'Wow!' said Poppy, 'We only have four people in mine!'
WHY took a tiny key from his pocket to open the front door, but he found that when he put it in the lock, he didn't need it; the door was already unlocked. His mum and dad were at home.
'Mum? Dad? I've brought someone to meet you,' WHY shouted to them as he came through the door. 'Where are you?'
'In here,' a voice replied.
It was Mum; she was in the kitchen, baking. The smell of fresh bread cooking filled the room.
'Mmmm! That smells good!' said WHY.
'Hello, who is this, WHY?' questioned Mum.
'It's Poppy, my new friend. She has come to our land to find all her answers,' replied WHY.
'Well, sit down, and I'll make you both a drink,' said Mum.
Now, hearing a conversation going on, Dad appeared from the next room; he had been reading his newspaper.
'Have we got a visitor?' he asked.
'Yes, Dad, this is Poppy Puzzler, my new friend.'
'Hello there, Poppy. I am WAS and this is my wife, IS. We are pleased to meet you. Are you inquisitive? Everyone seems to be, when they come to see us!'
'Oh yes, I am VERY inquisitive!' said Poppy. 'I can't wait to find all the answers to my questions!'
'The bus will be coming by soon. It will take you to the Park of Quest. Which area of the park would you like to visit?' Dad continued.
'I'm not sure. I would like to have so many questions answered. I have lots of questions in my head,' Poppy told him.
'I'm sure that WHY will help you to find the answers to them all!' said Dad with a smile.
Just then a bell rang ... Ding ... Ding ... Ding ...
'Oh, the bus is here now. We'd better go. It's been good to meet you. Thank you. I'm so sorry we've got to hurry. Goodbye!' said Poppy, waving to them both, and off they went to catch the bus.
They got on the bus, and the driver took them on a long journey to the Park of Quest.
It was in the centre of the Land of Ans.
'You have to say a little poem to enter the Park, but you don't have to pay. It's free,'
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Questions Galore"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Susanna Jennicrai.
Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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