Polka Dots and Tater Tots by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

While camping in his back yard, Joey dreamed he was in a rocket ship made of tater tots and was flying in outer space. While flying, he came upon an undiscovered planet. Landing his rocket ship there, he came upon a strange polka dotted creature who offered to tell him about their planet. “In an effort to be the best, all the inhabitants of their small planet began fighting amongst themselves until their planet neared destruction. Fearing the worst, the elders came up with a plan to save the planet. When their plan fails, they discover the answer had been right in front of them all along.”

—Fred Rogers

Multi-award-winning author Melinda Spiker Chambers is a retired educator with degrees from West Virginia University and Ohio State University. She was a WVU Extension Agent, middle school teacher, and Nutrition Director for Hampshire County Schools, where she lives with her family. She serves on the County Committee on Aging Board of Directors and the Board of Governors at Eastern Community Career and Technical College. She volunteers as a creative writer instructor, 4-H resource leader, and mentor. She is a Zoom Into Books author and part of the Headline Kids School Show program, and is a sought-after speaker. Melinda has been a featured author at Book Expo America in New York City, the WV Book Festival in Charleston, WV, the Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair at Cedar Lakes Conference Center, the WV Reading Association Conference, and the National Educational Association (NEA) conference. She received the International Award for Children’s Literacy in Los Angeles, CA, is a juried author at Tamarack in Beckley, and her books were also featured on Lifetime TV. Melinda has taught creative writing classes at State 4-H camping events and the State Young Writers' Award Conference at Charleston, WV. Her books include: We Are Whoooo We Are, The Day the Snapdragons Snapped Back, Fraidy Cat, Chilly Billy, And We Helped, and Melby, all Mom’s Choice National Award winners.

“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has, or will ever have—something inside that is unique to all time.”

MELINDA SPIKER CHAMBERS

Melinda Spiker Chambers illustrated by Sadie Alkire

Polka Dots And Tater Tots by Melinda Spiker Chambers illustrated by Sadie Alkire ©2025 Melinda Spiker Chambers All rights reserved. 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, Inc. To order additional copies of this book or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Books, Inc. P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 www.headlinebooks.com mybook@headlinebooks.com Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books, Inc. ISBN: 9781958914489 Library of Congress Control Number: 2024942918

PRINTED IN MEXICO

Dedicated to our youth who have the option to respect or to reject our differences. May they choose wisely.

Thanks to Lennox and Hudson for their invaluable suggestions for the design.

“Hurry and finish eating. We need to gather the eggs and get set up for a night of camping under the stars,” Joey said as he shot an annoying look at his younger brother. Jessie returned the same annoying look. “But I like tater tots!” “Stick the rest in your pocket and let’s head for the hen house.” Grabbing a bag for his tater tots, his mind shifted gears and began thinking about chickens. “The more I’m around these chickens, the more I don’t understand them. If a chicken is new to the flock, crippled, or too old, the others chase it and try to peck out the feathers. Why do they do that?”

“You think too much. They’re just chickens. Take these eggs into Mom and hurry back out. We have work to do.” “Here’s your eggs, Mom. And thanks for dinner. Shame there weren’t more tater tots,” he added with a smirk. Mom smiled and wondered how her little boys could grow up so quickly. “If you two want to come back inside later, I’ll leave the porch light on for you.” “Thanks, Mom, but we’ll be fine. We’re pretty tough, you know.” Mom knew the boys had been talking about camping out under the stars ever since their dad had told them he used to do it as a kid. Besides, she knew their dog, Tuff, would protect them. Tuff was their loyal companion and didn’t leave their side except when they got on the school bus.

Dad had set the tent up for them before he went to work. He put everything he thought they might need in the tent and then placed their cozy sleeping bags and pillows just outside the tent so they could watch the stars. The spring peepers were singing once again and trees were beginning to bud. Spring was his favorite time of the year and he was sure the boys would have a good time. “Look. Dad got everything ready for us. I am so excited that I don’t think I’ll sleep a wink tonight,” said Joey. “Me either,” Jessie responded. The boys quickly snuggled inside their sleeping bags and looked up at the stars. It was just beginning to get dark and the moon was shining brightly above them. The peacefulness of the night took on a beauty of its own. 8

“It sure is getting dark.” Jessie looked back at his house. He was glad the lights were still on. He knew it wouldn’t take him very long to run to the house. Sensing his growing concern, Tuff snuggled closer to him as if to say that all would be fine. “Hey, Jessie. Tuff smells the tater tots in your pocket. That’s why he’s snuggling so close.” “Thanks for reminding me. I’m still hungry.” Jessie pulled out the bag of tater tots, sharing half with Tuff. “Jessie, those sure do smell good. How about passing a few over to me.”

Jessie and Tuff both grinned. “Sorry. All gone.” Joey just rolled his eyes and continued to look at the night sky. He knew he should have brought some snacks, but his belly was too full when he left the house. With the soothing sounds of the peepers, the gurgling sounds of the creek nearby, and the panting of Tuff, Joey knew it would be a night to remember. Wait. The creek was too far away to hear it. That was when he realized it was his empty stomach making the gurgles. “Joey. Is that your stomach?” “No. Must be a three-eyed polka dot monster you’re hearing. I’ve heard they live close by.” Once again, gurgles were heard and Jessie began laughing. No three-eyed polka dot monster could ever sound that bad, he thought.

As the boys settled in their sleeping bags, they looked at the sky. They could see the Big Dipper, a jet flying, and the beautiful moon. “Jessie, did you see that jet?” There was no response from Jessie or Tuff, as both snuggled in and were sound asleep. It wasn’t long before Joey’s eyes got heavy and he was quickly in dreamland.

Speeding through outer space in a self-made rocket mainly consisting of tater tots, Joey hoped to see a planet he had never seen before. He knew there were many, but most were just too far away for his small rocket. While flying over a well-traveled path in space, he saw a flicker of light that needed further investigation.

As he approached the spot where he thought he saw the light, there appeared to be a small, unmarked planet. As he flew closer, he could see that the inhabitants seemed to be bird-like creatures, yet each one differed from the other.

Wanting to know more, he decided to land his tater tot rocket. Dust flew as he hit the surface. He motioned to one of the inhabitants to see if he would be willing to talk with him. Strangely, he had three eyes and was covered in polka dots.

The odd bird began to speak. “Once upon a time, our planet was beautiful. There was plenty to eat and we all took care of what we had. Then it began...

Someone made fun of another one. This resulted in a big fight and nobody liked anybody. As a result, the planet suffered, causing the vegetation to die, wildlife to die, soil to erode into the rivers, and neighborhoods to crumble.

Everyone blamed everybody else and no one took responsibility for fixing the problems.”

“Our land could no longer support life as we once knew it. Where there were once fields of grass, insects, trees, and water, all that remained was barren land. It was clear that somebody needed to do something, so the elders got together to solve the problem before it was too late.” “How did they do that?” Joey asked the strange-looking bird. The polka-dotted alien continued. “They traveled around the planet and asked the few remaining inhabitants, ‘Why are you fighting with your neighbor’?“ “Some responses were, ‘She is always making fun of me, saying I’m too old, but I just told her that she was a ridiculous-looking chick with a lot to learn.’

‘She always shows off her fancy feathers, parading around the neighborhood like she is better than us. All I can think about is pulling her feathers out and throwing mud on her. But for some reason, she is not in favor of that. ‘I am tired of all the colors of feathers being flaunted around me. Everyone knows my beautiful neon pink plumage is far superior to all those ridiculous feathers in polka dots, greens, yellows, reds, and stripes.’ “‘I was once a very nice chick, kind to everyone and smiled all the time. Then, one day, a chick from the other side of the neighborhood said she didn’t like me. I think she was jealous, but she threatened all my friends, saying she would peck their eyes out if they hung around me. Suddenly, I had to hide and eventually find another place to live. All her buddies have now taken over the neighborhood. All I can think about is tar and feathering her.

“Just because I have one short wing and one long one doesn’t mean I’m not a normal bird. I need to adapt a little more. Some birds think that because they have two normal wings, they’re better than me. This hurts my feelings. I want to trip them and make them fall. “Some birds make fun of me and say I’m not very smart. Just because they know stuff doesn’t mean I don’t. I know different stuff. I guess that means that they don’t know everything. But then I don’t either. I don’t like it when they make fun of me.

“I was born across the river, over the mountain, and in the woods. My chirp is much different than the chirps of the other birds. I think mine is much better. Because the others don’t know what I am saying, they think I’m a joke. They like to peck at me and make me run away. I am proud of where I’m from and can’t understand why they don’t try to get to know me. “After the elders talked with various flocks throughout the planet, they gathered to discuss their findings. It was decided that they needed to come up with a pecking order and that it would be up to them to decide who would be at the top of the order. “Deep in thought, the elders wondered what each bird had in common that would determine superiority. EGGS! They would get an egg from each kind of bird and then judge it from the best to the worst. This should be relatively easy, they thought. “Word quickly got out to the bird communities to choose their best eggs. A designated leader from each flock would carefully carry her egg to the elders’ meeting place to be judged. When the eggs began to appear, their number and variety were amazing. None of the birds had any idea there were so many differences. Since everyone’s future depended on what was decided here, security had to be called so the eggs could remain unharmed.

“Upon their arrival, the birds were told to place their eggs in one large basket and then to leave. Judging would take place early the next morning, with the results to be announced when the rooster crowed. Not wanting to go far, most birds roosted on the few branches outside the meeting place. “Sometime in the night, there was a loud roar, causing the birds to become very restless. As the sound grew louder, the flocks scattered in all directions, with the hens gathering their young ones under their wings. “When daylight finally arrived, the birds quickly returned to the meeting place to hear the egg news from the elders. The door slowly creaked open and the elders emerged. One brave elder stepped forward.

“‘As we’re sure you’re aware, a violent quake last night shook the ground all around us. Not only did it cause some trees to fall, but the eggs in the basket were all broken.’ “All that was heard was the gasps from the flocks. “The elder continued to speak to the crowd, ‘We were not sure what to do. Do we ask for more eggs? Do we just forget about it? But since we were the elders and all of you look up to us for wisdom, we knew we needed to make sense of all these scrambled eggs.’ “The elder concluded his speech to the crowd by saying, ‘As a result of this unfortunate breakage, there will be no pecking order. We could not choose the pecking order based on size, appearance, or strength. Once the shells were removed, each egg looked too much alike to decide which one was better than the other. We, the elders of this planet, declare our strength is to be found in our ability to respect our differences.’

“From that day forward, we have had fewer fights, and the land is again beginning to support life.” The three-eyed, polka-dot creature then turned and walked away.

Sensing it was about time to wake up, Joey hurried back to his rocket, which now had a big bite out of it. Just as he was about to blame the three-eyed polka-dotted monster for attacking his rocket, Tuff licked his face, and Jessie stared at him. “You must have been dreaming because you yelled, ‘Leave my tater tots alone.’” “Don’t be silly, Jessie. You must have heard me wrong. Besides, let’s hurry and clean up our mess. I’m hungry for a big plate of eggs for some reason.” “Yeah. And I hope Mom took the hint and cooked some more tater tots to go with them.” Tuff barked as if in agreement. 31

Pecking Order is... A way that chickens govern themselves or keep order within a flock. The biggest, strongest, and most aggressive chicken is at the top of the order. Birds then rank themselves from top down, with the weakest and least aggressive at the bottom. To show dominance, they may first strut about, fluff their feathers, and squawk. But if that doesn’t work, they use their beaks. This order often decides who eats first, who gets the best nesting box, or the best spot on the roosting bar. If chickens are born and raised together, the pecking order is determined early and the birds live in relative harmony. Problems arise when a new bird is put in the flock, a chicken becomes sick, or a top bird is challenged by a lower one. The pecking order is natural among chickens, as well as many other animals. Pecking order among people over the years, however, has not proven to be as successful. People have used religious beliefs, the color of skin, intelligence, fitness, gender, nationality, wealth, age, etc., to determine dominance over others. This has only resulted in hurt feelings, fights, and even warfare. Perhaps people could learn something from the elderly alien birds who determined that success could be achieved once they learned that it was possible to live together on the same planet, in spite of their differences.

—Fred Rogers

MELINDA SPIKER CHAMBERS