Koko and Stoney by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

Don Stansberry

T.A. Graham is a graphic designer and videographer from Parkersburg, WV. He is a husband and father and enjoys dabbling in many different forms of art. He was an international touring musician, His artwork can be seen in media outlets from national television to local newspapers.

Koko & Stoney

Even though Koko was the only living creature on the planet, he and Stoney created endless adventures. Everything was perfect until an electric storm changed their lives. Koko finds there is more to Stoney than his hard outer shell and he will have to make a decision that will influence their lives forever. Excellent adventure for 9 years and up!

International Award winning author, Don Stansberry, is a native West Virginian and an elementary school teacher. His novel, Vulture Bend, was released in Boston at NEA, the National Education Association national conference. Don is the author Secret Blood, a multi award winning book that took top honors for best spiritual fiction at the London Book Festival. It was named a Winner at the Indie Book Awards at a reception at The Plaza in New York City during Book Expo America. He also authored two middle school books, Inky & the Missing Gold and Inky, Oglebee, & the Witches, and his children’s book—which he also illustrated, Crusty, was named a Finalist in the USA News Best Book Awards. Don was the head coach for the Parkersburg High Girls’ Basketball team for 16 years and retired from this position with four state championships. Don Stansberry is a Zoom Into Books Author.

Don Stansberry ILLUSTRATED BY

Don Stansberry & T. A. Graham

Don Stansberry illustrated by Don Stansberry & T. A. Graham

Koko & Stoney by Don Stansberry illustrated by Don Stansberry & T. A. Graham copyright ©2021 Don Stansberry All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books. To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764

To My Wife and Daughter for their consistent support. —T.G.

Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Lucas Kelly—Design/Layout Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 9781951556631

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021940366

P R I N T E D

I N

T H E

First I’d like to thank T. A. Graham for making my rock roll. I’d like to thank Patti Wood for always being in my corner. And lastly, I’d like to thank my friend and publisher, Cathy Teets, for allowing me this extraordinary adventure. —D.S.

U N I T E D

S T A T E S

O F

A M E R I C A

Far across the galaxy, in a distant solar system, on an obscure planet called Odoe, lived a lively little alien named Koko. Besides plants, Koko was the only living thing on the planet.

His best and only friend was a rock named Stoney. Koko could not remember a time without Stoney. Koko would make up stories and Stoney would sit and listen without interrupting.

At night they would look up at the stars wondering who else was out there. Koko had all kinds of ideas, Stoney not so much.

Koko found the slime that grew on the cliffs of Odoe quite tasty. Stoney was not interested in the slime—he was a very light eater.

Koko knew nothing of Stoney’s family. So, he decided to have a family reunion. It was a disaster! They were not a talkative bunch. Not one of them had a family story to share. They just sat there in the dirt. 7

Swimming was not one of Stoney’s strong points. Although holding his breath was not a problem, his swimming and floating left a lot to be desired. You could say he sank like a...

Since the swimming did not work out, they spent a lot of time just sitting on the beach.

One sunny day Koko was inspecting a group of flowers. Stoney slipped out of his grasp and went tumbling down a hillside. He became a rolling Stoney.

They also spent time acting out scenes Koko remembered from somewhere in his past. Koko’s favorite was Indiana Koko and the Raiders of the Lost Rock. Stoney’s favorite was… you guessed it—Rocky!

Sometimes they would dress up for holidays they did not understand.

To explore further and faster, Koko framed sticks and connected them to make a board of sorts. Stoney was so excited he stayed quiet for hours.

Slowly, Koko started to sense a change was coming to Odoe. The air felt different. The coming storms were filled with lightning and thunder.

One day Koko and Stoney went exploring in the Valley of Glass. Most of the valley was sand, but there were pieces of glass created by the many lightning strikes. Koko began collecting the glass to take home.

Koko was so absorbed in the beautiful glass he did not see the giant black cloud rolling quickly up the valley. When he turned back to Stoney, he realized how far he had wandered from him.

A giant bolt of lightning escaped from the cloud and zig-zagged toward Stoney. There was a brilliant blast of light and a KABOOM-A-ROOM of thunder! It knocked Koko on his back. He sat up quickly to see an amazing sight!

A powerful stream of pure energy erupted from Stoney. It shot high into the air, above the mountains and into the clouds. The energy turned into thousands of tiny, glimmering nuggets that started falling in the valley and all over Odoe.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Giant raindrops began falling. Koko ran to Stoney and they took shelter in a cave. Stoney looked the same, but he would never complain—he is such a hard head.

By the next morning, the nuggets were sparkling and had doubled in size. Soon, they heard a PING-POP, then another and another. All the nuggets started popping open.

Creatures were emerging from the broken nuggets.

All different...

...and always in pairs—crawling, slithering, and flying! Soon, creatures were everywhere and in many different sizes! 23

But one day...something huge came out of the sky!

“Your mission has been a success. The planet will repopulate. You have earned your ticket home.”

Koko raced back to Stoney. “We are going home!” Stoney did not look happy.

“Time to go,” said one of the aliens. “He’s talking to the rock,” said the other alien. “He’s been here way too long.”

Koko began remembering the times he had shared with Stoney.

Koko hugged Stoney, then turned back to the aliens. “This is our home now.” “No, you must leave!” the alien said angrily. “Right now! And leave that stone here!”

The aliens had no idea one of the largest creatures had moved behind the ship. Koko said in a soft voice, “You are the ones who must leave. If you do not leave, he is going to stuff you back into your ship.”

Moments later, the ship was gone.

“That was not a difficult decision at all,” Koko said. Stoney agreed—silently.