Morzant is instructing Beverly, Penny, and three puppies to plant seeds in a field. They tamp down the soil around each buried seed and put a bookmark upright in the ground next to it.
“What kind of seeds are they?” I ask.
“Special seeds,” Morzant says. “A librarian traded them to me in exchange for my research notes of my studies of Earth literature.”
When all the seeds have been planted, one of the puppies floats above them with a watering can. The seeds sprout right away and grow and grow and grow. Soon they are as tall as trees. Soon after that they reach the clouds.
“Outwardly they appear to be average cornstalks,” Morzant says. “But the librarian assured me the seeds would offer a limitless wealth of knowledge to whoever planted them. What do you suppose she meant?”
The nearest cornstalk starts to shake. We look up and see a giant climbing down it. The giant looks like Bigfoot. He steps off the stalk, towering over us. He’s holding a duck.
“Fee-Fi-Fo-Fun, I smell the blood of a Zeentonian.”
“That would be me,” Morzant says. “Who are you?”
“I’m Giantfoot, Keeper of the Golden Duck of Limitless Knowledge. I’ll permit you to ask him one question.”
Morzant can’t seem to make up his mind about what to ask. Giantfoot taps his foot impatiently, causing husks to break away from the stalks and fall to the ground.
“Why, oh, why did I trade what was most precious to me for one paltry bit of new knowledge?” Morzant mumbles.
“The Golden Duck of Limitless Knowledge doesn’t answer rhetorical questions,” Giantfoot says. “Better luck next duck.”
“Quack,” the Golden Duck of Limitless Knowledge quacks.
As Morzant begins to cry, Norman peddles up on a tricycle.
“I’m glad I wasn’t in this corny dream,” he says. Then he peddles away.
Giantfoot breaks off a husk and shucks it, revealing not an ear of corn, but a book. He sits down to read to the Golden Duck of Limitless Knowledge.
“It isn’t the duck after all,” Morzant says, happy again. “It’s the books. And they’re ready to harvest.”
Morzant husks the books and stacks them. Penny puts them into a pot of boiling water. When they’re done cooking, we slather them with butter, and sprinkle them with salt. Then we read.
BIGFOOT’s books:
THE CUPID WAR by Timothy Carter
[YOUNG ADULT]
Flux-Llewellyn
August 8, 2011
EIGHT KEYS by Suzanne LaFleur
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Wendy Lamb-Random House
August 9, 2011
MORZANT’s books:
THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF BALTO by Meghan McCarthy
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Knopf-Random House
August 9, 2011
PENNY’s books:
BETWEEN by Jessica Warman
[YOUNG ADULT]
Walker
August 2, 2011
THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab
[YOUNG ADULT]
Hyperion-Disney
August 2, 2011
DARK PARTIES by Sara Grant
[YOUNG ADULT]
Little, Brown-Hachette
August 3, 2011
A LONG, LONG SLEEP by Anna Sheehan
[YOUNG ADULT]
Candlewick
August 9, 2011
TUNNEL VISION by Susan Shaw
[YOUNG ADULT]
Margaret K. McElderry-Simon & Schuster
August 16, 2011
The DUCK’s books:
THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK by Kelly Barnhill
[YOUNG ADULT]
Little, Brown-Hachette
August 2, 2011
THE DEATH CATCHERS by Jennifer Anne Kogler
[YOUNG ADULT]
Walker
August 16, 2011
BEVERLY’s books:
GHETTO COWBOY by Greg Neri,
with illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Candlewick
August 9, 2011
I’LL BE WATCHING by Pamela Porter
[YOUNG ADULT]
Groundwood Books
August 9, 2011
LUCKY FOR GOOD by Susan Patron,
with illustrations by Erin McGuire
[MIDDLE GRADE—THIRD IN THE SERIES]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
August 9, 2011
THE AUSLANDER by Paul Dowsell
[YOUNG ADULT]
Bloomsbury USA
August 16, 2011
OLIVER’s books:
SQUISH RABBIT by Katherine Battersby
[PICTURE BOOK]
Viking-Penguin
August 4, 2011
CARAMBA AND HENRY by Marie-Louise Gay
[PICTURE BOOK]
Groundwood Books
August 9, 2011
WAITING FOR THE BIBLIOBURRO by Monica Brown,
illustrated by John Parra
[PICTURE BOOK]
Tricycle Press-Random House
August 9, 2011
BANDITS by Johanna Wright
[PICTURE BOOK]
Roaring Brook
August 16, 2011
I’M HERE by Peter H. Reynolds
[PICTURE BOOK]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
August 16, 2011
LENNY’s books:
NO DOGS ALLOWED! by Linda Ashman,
illustrated by Kristin Sorra
[PICTURE BOOK]
Sterling
August 2, 2011
GIBBUS MOONY WANTS TO BITE YOU! by Leslie Muir,
illustrated by Jen Corace
[PICTURE BOOK]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
August 9, 2011
VIOLET’s books:
DOG PARADE by Barbara M. Joosse,
illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
[PICTURE BOOK]
Harcourt
August 8, 2011
ELLA MAY AND THE WISHING STONE by Cary Fagan,
illustrated by Geneviève Côté
[PICTURE BOOK]
Tundra
August 9, 2011
ZOOZICAL by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown
[PICTURE BOOK]
Knopf-Random House
August 9, 2011
READING TO PEANUT by Leda Schubert,
illustrated by Amanda Haley
[PICTURE BOOK]
Holiday House
August 12, 2011
* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.
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