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Zusatztext "Humorous situations and dialogue to match seem to roll effortlessly from Lowry's pen, and her characters are consistently real and believable." —Booklist Informationen zum Autor Lois Lowry is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, Number the Stars and The Giver . Klappentext Anastasia's seventh-grade science project becomes almost more than she can handle, but brother Sam, age three, and a bust of Freud nobly aid her. Leseprobe One “Mom!” shouted Anastasia as she clattered up the back steps and into the kitchen after school. “Guess what Meredith Halberg gave me! Just what I’ve been wanting! And it didn’t cost anything! ” Mrs. Krupnik put a casserole into the oven, closed the oven door, and adjusted the temperature. She turned around. “Let me think,” she said. “Chickenpox?” Anastasia made a face. It was terrible, having a mother who always made jokes. “Ha ha, very funny,” she said. “I said it was something I’d been wanting. Anyway, I had chickenpox years ago.” “Well,” said her mother, “I can’t think of anything else that doesn’t cost anything.” Anastasia was so excited she was almost jumping up and down. “You’ll never guess! Wait, I’ll show you. They’re on the back porch. They’re probably getting cold. I’ll bring them in.” “Hold it,” her mother said. She looked suspicious. “What do you mean, they’re getting cold? It’s not something alive , is it?” But Anastasia had already gone, banging the door behind her. In a minute she was back, holding a wooden box with a wire mesh cover over it. A rustling sound came from inside the box. Her mother retreated instantly, behind the kitchen table. “No!” she said. “It is something alive! Anastasia, absolutely not! I’ve told you and told you that I can’t stand—” Anastasia wasn’t listening. Her mother was so boring sometimes. She undid the latch and lifted the cover of the box. “Gerbils! ” she announced with delight. Her mother backed away until she was against the refrigerator. She picked up a wooden spoon and held it like a weapon. “GET THOSE THINGS OUT OF MY KITCHEN IMMEDIATELY!” she bellowed. “But, Mom, look how cute they are—” “I SAID, OUT OF MY KITCHEN!” Grouchily, Anastasia covered the box again. She took it to the back hall. “Mom,” she said when she returned, “you can open your eyes now. They’re in the back hall.” Her mother sat down and took some deep breaths. She looked around warily. “Anastasia,” she said, “you know I can’t stand rodents.” “Mom, they’re sweet, furry little—” “Rodents.” Her mother shuddered. “Well, maybe. But, Mom—” Her mother laid the wooden spoon on the table. She took another deep breath. “Rodents make me faint,” she said. “I very nearly passed right out cold when you started taking the lid off that box.” Anastasia sighed. There wasn’t another kid in the whole town who had a mother so idiotic. Coffee, she thought. Coffee will help. She took the coffeepot from the stove and poured her mother a cup. “Let’s have a reasonable conversation about this subject,” she suggested, handing her mother the cup of steaming coffee. Her mother sipped, and shuddered one more time. “Tell me one reasonable reason for having disgusting ro...
