Isobel & Ani, a Children’s Book Series A children’s book series written by Stephen Raburn about the amazing adventures of two young sisters named Isobel and Ani, who just happen to look a lot like his own two daughters. Isobel and Her Dad Take a Trip to the Moon; Isobel and Ani Take a Trip to Mars; Little Fish Gets Three Wishes; How to Fall Asleep: A Bedtime Story.
Isobel and Her Dad Take a Trip to the Moon One evening as dusk settled in, a little girl and her father sat outside drinking lemonade and talked about the things that had happened that day, which seemed was nothing much special. For Isobel, the day included the following: a trip with Mom to the supermarket which ended with an unsuccessful plea for push-up pops; helping Mom change her baby sister’s diaper (YUCK); a jaunt to the park which was cut short because her play date, Sasha, whined that it was too hot to be outside; helping Mom change her baby sister’s diaper (AGAIN!) and a bath. All of which seemed dreadfully ordinary. For her dad, the day included the following: work. Thinking that they needed to spice up the summer some, Isobel suggested to her dad, “Let’s take a trip,” about which he thought was a fantastic idea. “But where?” he pondered. “Hmmmm…..” said Isobel. “I’ve been to Hawaii and to Alaska. I’ve been to Graceland and Disneyland and Lake Tahoe. I’ve been to the mountains and to the Redwoods and the ocean. I’ve been to aquariums and baseball games and museums and zoos and weddings and festivals and I’ve been to the Love Parade. I’ve
ridden on airplanes and trains and cars and boats and I’ve even ridden on an elephant.”
“I just don’t know where to go or what to do.” The two of them searched their brains for an exciting vacation destination, when, all of the sudden, just as a full yellow moon crept over the piney thicket in the northern edge of the woods, and at the exact same moment, the father and daughter proclaimed quite gleefully: “THE MOON!” The very next morning, up bright and early, Isobel’s dad scanned the want ads of the local newspaper for a rocket in good condition for sale. None was listed. So, they spent the day on a quest to find one. First, they went to the local market. No rockets. Then they drove out to the Mega
Market on the outskirts of town. No rockets, sorry. Hardware Store. Nope. Flea market. Nothing. Now, once Isobel and her dad get an idea in their heads, they usually don’t let much stand in their way. They decided they would just have to build a rocket themselves. Back to the market, the Mega Market, the hardware store and the flea market for supplies. They bought hammers and nails and saws and screws and sheets of steel and copper pipes and switches and fuel lines and gauges and spark plugs and tanks and doodlybots and thingamabobs, which as you know, are needed for building rockets. And they hammered and nailed and screwed and sawed for the next week-and-a-half every evening after Isobel’s dad got home from work and well into the night, past Isobel’s bedtime. Some nights, Isobel would fall asleep on the garage floor, curled up with a hammer still in her hand beside her dad who would be drilling or sanding or thingamabobbing until he realized his daughter had fallen asleep, at which point he would carefully pick her up and take her to her bedroom, tuck her into her bed, kiss her on the forehead and say, “Sweet dreams, my little astronaut,” and then leave her to dream of moon dust and spaceships.
Finally, the rocket was assembled. “All that’s left to do is paint her,” said Dad. He put Isobel in charge of picking out paint colors and she said she thought bright pink with rainbow hearts and butterflies would be just right. Her dad was thinking along the lines of silver, but he said “okay” and they headed to the paint store to pick up supplies for their final task. Soon the beautiful paint job was complete. Isobel and her dad carefully moved the bright pink-with-rainbow-hearts-andbutterflies rocket from the garage to the woods beside the house to dry. The adventurous pair waited for the sun to set and for the moon to rise. Finally, day gave way to night and the yellow moon peaked through the pines. It was time to launch. They tilted the rocket toward their destination and began the countdown as Mom and baby sister looked on. “Have fun,” Mom shouted and waved. “Be careful. Don’t forget to brush your teeth. And bring us back a moon rock.” “Wooshie gaga,” shouted Ani, the baby sister. FIVE. FOUR. THREE. “I forgot my blankie,” yelled Isobel.
“It’s right here!” replied Dad. TWO. ONE. BLASTOFF!!! The ground shook; a loud rumble echoed through the forest; bunnies and squirrels and chipmunks scattered about the woods looking for cover. And up, up, up. The rocket soared through the sky: above the neighborhood rooftops, beyond the thicket of trees, through puffs of white clouds. Higher, higher, higher. Onward into the vast darkness of space. The thing about traveling in space is this: it gets to be a little boring after a while with nothing much to look at out the window other than, well, nothing. Minutes turned to hours. So to pass time, Isobel practiced ballet, drew pictures, and told jokes. “Knock, knock” “Who’s there?” “Orange.” “Orange Who?” “Orange you glad we’re going to the moon?”
Isobel’s dad read the newspaper and while doing so he didn’t see a sign just outside the cockpit window with an arrow pointing left to the moon and straight ahead for Mars. They’d missed their turn! So the rocket with Isobel and her dad inside it proceeded forward the wrong way toward Mars. Not the moon! After some time, Isobel’s dad announced: “According to my calculations, we should have been there by now.” He tried to make a call to Mom to find out if she could look at the map of the Milky Way he accidentally left on the kitchen table, but he couldn’t reach her. “No service?!” an exasperated dad yelled into the phone. And so the rocket continued onward — heading directly toward MARS. “Are we there yet?” asked Isobel. Dad, beginning to get worried, studied the constellation of stars and planets around him from the window in the rocket cockpit. “This isn’t right,” he thought to himself. Realizing that he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way, he righted the wayward craft and headed back on course to the moon.
“Whew….that was close,” he said. More hours passed. And, just as Isobel was nodding off to sleep, she peeked out the window and there it was: a big, beautiful, yellow mass of land… THE MOON! “Prepare for landing,” said Dad. Isobel made sure her seat belt was securely fastened and she held on tightly. With a Clank and Bang and a Boom, the rocket landed on the surface of the moon. “Beautiful!” Isobel exclaimed as she stepped down the ladder from the rocket and took her first steps onto the rocky surface of the moon. They took turns taking pictures of each other in front of the “Welcome to the Moon” sign. Isobel couldn’t believe how light and airy she felt as she took her first steps on the moon. She floated up, up, up — her feet higher than her dad’s head — before gently gliding back down to the ground, as if she were weightless.
She and her dad did a lot of sightseeing. They visited the Luna Moth Museum, the Moon Pie Factory (home of the moon’s #1 export), and read interesting facts from the “The Moon is Not Made out of Cheese and other Myths and Misconceptions about your Favorite Little Satellite” brochure.
Isobel met a moon girl who introduced herself as Maya. They played hopscotch, freeze tag and hide and seek in the craters while their two dads grabbed a cup of coffee at Moonbucks and discussed intergalactic politics and sports. Who knew there had been some talks about a professional basketball franchise on the moon? “$8 for a tall Luna Latte, boy you really stick it to the tourists, don’t you…” Isobel’s Dad harrumphed. Maya loved hearing Isobel tell stories about going to the beach on earth. Maya said she had only seen the ocean in schoolbooks and on TV. Isobel loved seeing Maya’s collection of fancy moon rocks. Maya smashed the rocks with a hammer, breaking them into hundreds of small pieces. She showed Isobel how the insides of the rocks were beautiful colors — the most spectacular colors Isobel had ever seen. Isobel told Maya that she liked the crimson colored one the best so Maya gave it to her as a present. Then Isobel pulled out a perfect four-leaf-clover from her backpack and gave it to Maya, who said she had never seen one before. Isobel said that they grow like crazy in her back yard and they bring good luck to whoever finds one! Isobel told Maya about rainbows and Maya told Isobel about comets that streak through the night skies on the moon. Maya told
her that the comets look just like fireworks. Maya thought roller coasters and lightning bugs and field hockey sounded really cool. The girls explored lava filled maria and then hiked to the terrae, which are also known as the highlands, Maya explained. In the distance, they could see the peak of Mons Huygens — the tallest mountain on the moon. “What’s the other side of the moon like?” asked Isobel. “Dark. Very dark,” replied Maya. Isobel thought it was so weird that there were no plants or trees on the moon. Maya thought it was weird that gravity kept people squished to the earth. “Doesn’t that hurt?” asked Maya.
After an entire day filled with adventure and play, Dad announced that it was time to head home. “Aw, can we stay a little while longer?” pleaded both Isobel and Maya.
“Ten more minutes,” Dad replied. And so the little earth girl and the little moon girl played for a few more minutes then began their goodbyes as they held hands. They promised that they would write letters to each other and that someday Maya would visit Isobel in North Carolina. Isobel and her dad piled back in the rocket and prepared for liftoff. Isobel looked out the window and waved to her new friend who waved back and then promptly disappeared as the rocket soared homeward bound. Isobel was exhausted and soon enough fell asleep for the entire ride home. She didn’t even awaken when Dad gently landed the rocket in the woods by their house. “Hmmm… I’m getting pretty good at this,” he said to himself. Dad scooped up his daughter and carefully carried her to bed. Along the way, half asleep and half awake, Isobel gave her dad a big kiss on the cheek and whispered to him, “Can we go to Mars?”
About the Moon: 1. The moon is 238,857 miles (about 15 billion inches) from the planet Earth. 2. The first person to walk on the moon was US astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969.
3. The surface of the moon is covered with regolith (ground up rock). 4. The Moon doesn’t produce its own light, but looks bright because it reflects light from the Sun. Think of the Sun as a light bulb, and the Moon as a mirror, reflecting light from the light bulb. 5. When Stephen Raburn was a little boy, he spent a lot of time staring out of the back window of the family station wagon talking to the moon. About the Author: Stephen Raburn lives in North Carolina with two little girls who look a lot like Isobel and Ani. He has never been to the moon.
Isobel and Ani Take a Trip to Mars Ever since Isobel and her Dad returned from a trip to the Moon, they had been anxiously looking forward to their next big adventure.
This time, little sister Ani was old enough to come along with them. Dad had promised them a trip to Mars and it was just about time to take off. The girls were already getting situated in the rocket while Dad was walking through the house one final time to make sure he remembered everything he was planning to take. “Mars can be hot during the day and cold at night and the dust storms this time of year are intense,” he thought aloud. “We’ll need plenty of snacks and water. Sunscreen, Chex Mix, stuffed animals ….”
“Come on Dad!” “What does this button do?” asked Ani. “DON’T PUSH THAT BUTTON!!!!” yelled Isobel. But, it was too late! Ani DID push that button. THAT button is the button that IGNITES the engine and LAUNCHES the rocket! And Ani pushed it! Dad heard the rumble and ran outside just as the rocket was lifting off from a grassy knoll in the backyard. Dad jumped as high as he could, but the bottom of the rocket was just beyond his outstretched fingertips and out of reach. He could only watch as the rocket soared ever higher…through the late afternoon sky, through wispy clouds and within moments beyond the earth’s atmosphere… out of sight and on its way to Mars! “Hmmmm…. We did a pretty good job building that rocket,” Dad mused to himself, admiring the flawless liftoff he had just observed and momentarily forgetting that his girls, you know, were on a rocket into outer space all by themselves. “GIRLS!!!!!!” he yelled, realizing what had just happened and snapping back to reality.
Dad quickly called the radio in the cockpit of the rocket from his cell phone. “Ani, Isobel…. Are you OK, girls!?” he said panicky. “We’re fine, Dad. We know just what to do,” said Isobel reassuringly. And that was surely true. The two little girls had practiced flying that rocket with their dad many times and could probably navigate it just as well as he could. Plus, they spent months researching Mars, fourth planet from the sun, and knew just what to expect when they got there. What could go wrong? Right? “OK, just follow the instructions in the glove compartment….” said Dad. “And make sure you buckle your seat belts.” “And don’t talk to strangers.” “And be back on Sunday. BEFORE bedtime. You have school on Monday and I don’t want to have to drag you out of bed and…..” “DAAAAD,” Ani and Isobel both said in that eye-rolling- oh-dadstop- worrying tone.
And, just like that, Isobel and Ani were en route to their muchanticipated weekend adventure on Mars. All by themselves! Isobel and Ani were a little nervous at first, but mostly excited. Both girls were quick to master the razor scooter and the backstroke and ping pong and multiplication table… How hard could it be to fly a rocket to Mars and back? By the time Dad was out-of-sight, they were already getting the hang of it. They were long out of cell phone range by now so Dad couldn’t help them out at all. It was up the two little girls to safely navigate the home-made space craft from earth to its nearest planetary neighbor and back by themselves. To pass the time, the two girls played rock- paper- scissors and looked out the window at majestic scenes of the vast and wonderful Milky Way. By now, earth looked like a watery blue orb to them — getting smaller and smaller as they ascended upward. They took turns pointing out continents. “There’s Africa,” said Ani, excitedly. “And Asia” added Isobel. They also spotted Jupiter and Saturn among the black sky.
Meanwhile, back in on earth, Dad was a little nervous himself. But he had all the confidence in the world in his little girls. He knew he could trust them and that they would be just fine. But still, Mars is a long way from home, he thought. As dusk gave way to night, Dad went outside and looked toward the western edge of the heavens and spotted planet Mars, not too far above the crescent moon. It looked so tiny in the infinite Autumn sky. “Be safe, my little astronauts,” he said softly as he blew a kiss toward Mars. Inside the rocket, the girls were getting sleepy. Just as Ani was nodding off, a brilliant idea came to Isobel: “Ani,” she yelled out, “Guess what? We’re going to pass right by the Moon.” “I know that,” said Ani, slightly annoyed at her sister for waking her. “We should make a quick pit stop and see Maya.” Maya was one of Isobel’s best friends. She met her a couple years ago when she and her Dad took a trip to the moon. They had been pen pals ever since.
“I don’t know, Isobel,” said Ani. “I’m not sure Dad would want us to make any stops.” “Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” replied the big sister. “We’ll just stay for a minute. I need to stretch my legs anyway. Plus, Maya would be devastated if she knew we flew this close to her house and didn’t stop.” Ani agreed and the two of them studied the instructions to make sure they knew exactly how to land on the moon. With a BANG and a CLANG and CLANK the girls landed the rocket on the moon and descended the ladder. “Look Ani,” said Isobel. “My footprints are still here from last time. “ And that was true. Since there’s no wind or rain on the moon, footprints can stay perfectly en tact on the moon forever. They followed Isobel’s old footprints straight to Maya’s house. Wow, was Maya sure surprised when Isobel rang the doorbell! There ensued much girly giddiness and hugs and giggles. The girls ate Moon Pies for snack and decided to play a quick game of hideand-seek among the craters.
Come to find out, Maya had a little sister named Millie — just about the same age as Ani. Millie and Ani became fast friends. The girls had a wonderful idea! It took a little begging and many, many pleas of “PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE,” but Maya and Millie convinced their parents to let them go with Ani and Isobel to Mars! Meanwhile, Ani was still hiding. She had stumbled upon a fantastic tunnel in a crater just near the foot of Mans Huygens, the tallest peak on the moon, and thought it would be a super-duper hiding place. But she must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because she couldn’t seem to find her way out. The further she crawled, the more tunnels she came across. It was dark. By now, she had no idea which tunnel to take. “Ok, Ani. We give up,” Isobel yelled. “It’s time to go.” But Ani couldn’t hear her sister at all. “What if I’m trapped in here… forever?” thought Ani. She was scared. She started to cry. But then she heard a faint noise. “Ruff, Ruff, Ruff”
The noise was getting closer and closer to her. And it sounded like a barking dog. And so it was. Millie’s little puppy, Loony, decided to play hide and seek too and he wasn’t giving up until he found Ani. He was very good at hide and seek. When Loony got to Ani, he jumped into her arms and licked her face like crazy. Loony surely knew the way home. He had explored these caves his whole life and knew the tunnels like the back of his paw. Ani followed Loony and in no time they were out of the cave and reunited with the rest of the girls. “There you are,” said Isobel. “I guess you get the prize for best hider, Ani,” she said. “And Loony gets the prize for best seeker,” said Ani. Everyone laughed and helped Ani brush the moon dust off her clothes. The four little girls piled into the rocket. Loony was coming along too. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Blastoff!
And away they soared — the two little earth girls, alongside the two little moon girls and one super cute moon dog rescuer in a rocket on the way from the moon to Mars. Maya brought her iPod and soon the rocket was rockin.’ The girls were having a dance party in space. Ani showed them how to do the Macarena and Isobel taught everyone the moves to the Chicken Dance. They all knew how to moonwalk. Loony sang “…bow wow wow, yippee yo yippee yay, bow wow yippee yo yippee yay.” Seemed like the party was just getting started, when the rustcolored planet appeared outside the rocket’s window, almost close enough to touch. “Look!” they all shouted with glee and ran to the window. The girls (and dog) then fastened their seat belts and prepared for their final descent. The first thing the girls noticed when they set foot on the surface of Mars was just how beautiful it was. They expected the planet to be red (Mars is known as the red planet, after all) but they realized just how rich and varied the colors there are: from butterscotch to rust to cinnamon with streaks of crimson and burnt orange and russet. Some colors they’d never seen before or even knew how to describe.
Then the wind picked up and the dust swirled like miniature cyclones, slapping the children’s faces, which stung like tiny bee stings. They shielded their faces with their hands to protect themselves and started walking and exploring. “Dad was right,” said Isobel. “It sure is dusty.” “Yes, Dad is right about most things,” said Ani. In the distance the girls saw Olympus Mons, a giant of a mountain, and they were determined to get to it. In fact, Olympus Mons is the largest known mountain on any of the planets in our solar system. It’s nearly three times taller than Mt. Everest, the largest mountain on earth. It was the one thing Ani and Isobel most wanted to see on Mars. “This makes Mt. Huygens look like a mole hill,” said Millie. “Yeah, and we thought Mt. Mitchell was big,” said Ani, referring to the tallest mountain in their home state of North Carolina. They walked. And walked. And walked.
Although the mountain didn’t seem that far away, it was sure taking a long time to reach it. The girls were getting tired and hungry. But Mars is mostly a barren and desolate planet. So far, there was no sign of life, much less a place to eat. “We’ve been walking for hours and it doesn’t seem like we’ve gotten ANY closer,” complained Ani. They stopped for a minute to rest, but the wind was getting even stronger. The rusty dust blew harder. Millie and Maya suggested they turn around and head back to the rocket, but Ani and Isobel are very determined girls and they intended to get to that mountain. They convinced Millie, Maya and Loony to continue on the hike. But by now, there was so much
dust in the air they couldn’t even see the mountain. Perhaps they were lost. Finally, in the distance, they noticed a light; dim at first but brighter as they got closer to it, which gave them some hope and encouragement to keep plugging along. As they got closer, they realized it was a blinking neon sign for Marty’s Diner. The girls burst into the doors of the restaurant, which was empty except for one Martian who introduced himself as Marty. “Howdy strangers,” said Marty. “Whacha doin’ out on a night like this? We don’t get too many tourists during the dust storms.” The girls explained how they were visiting from Earth and its lil’ satellite and how they were determined to get to Olympus Mons tonight. Marty chuckled. “Well, I hate to burst your bubble girls, but that ain’t gonna happen,” he said. “Dust is just gonna get worse till morning. Plus, you still have several more hours ahead of you. Best be finding you a place to stay the night. Let me whip ya up some grub.”
And so Marty retreated to the kitchen and proceeded to make the girls a fantastic meal. Now maybe it was because they were so hungry, but everyone agreed that it was THE best thing they’d ever eaten… Meatloaf and gravy and macaroni and cheese and cornbread. But the best part was the yummy vegetables: stacks of sliced tomatoes and piles of peas, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, lima beans, cream spinach, candied yams and cucumbers. “We grow all our own vegetables on our farm and their ain’t no better soil than this iron oxide soil for growing scrumptious veggies,” Marty proudly proclaimed. The girls couldn’t argue. “We do get our cheese from one of our moons, though,” he admitted. They ordered milk as their drink (knowing that their dads would prefer that over soda with their dinner). But when Marty brought it to their table, were they ever surprised. Who ever heard of GREEN milk? “Oh yeah,” said Marty. “Most things on Mars have a greenish tint to them.” That was true of Marty himself, who was the color of a combination of Spanish Moss and a Luna Moth caterpillar.
They were all a tad squeamish at first, but sipped then guzzled the green milk and asked for more. It was delicious too. “Mars is the perfect place for a foodie,” said Ani, who thought of herself as something of a food connoisseur. The girls ate and drank until they were stuffed, but everyone saved a little room for dessert: a scrumptious quadruple-decker chocolate cake with a cherry on top! Yum! “Is there a hotel nearby, Marty?” asked Isobel just after she polished off her last bite of cake. Marty laughed. “Nope, not in this town.” “Your best bet is to stay with me and my wife up on the farm; it’s just up the road a piece. Let me give Marcel a call.” And so it was arranged. The weary travelers would spend the night with Marty and Marcel, the hospitable Martian restaurateur and his lovely wife on the farm. Marty closed the restaurant and everyone piled in his pickup truck.
Everyone was certainly exhausted but when they got to the farm but they just had to take a quick tour. The Martians showed them around. The girls could hardly believe their eyes. Farm animals on Mars are very different than back home. Green milking cows with two dozen pairs of udders. Roosters with two heads that cry out “cocka-doodly-doo” in perfect two-part harmony. Pigs with wings. Sheep that bark. Goats with stripes. Large green mice that stay in the barn to keep stray cats away. Back at the farmhouse, after the girls drank a large glass of warm green milk that Marcel poured for them, they hit the sack. Everyone was exhausted. What an adventure! Just before they fell asleep, Ani and Isobel looked out the window at the awesome sight of Mars’ two moons and guessed which bright light shining in the night sky might be Earth. They wondered what Dad was doing. (He had fallen asleep in front of the TV watching a football game, by the way.) The next morning, everyone was awakened by the sound of serenading roosters. The girls had enjoyed their visit with Marty and Marcel on the farm, but they were anxious to get to the mountain. They said their goodbyes and headed out just after breakfast.
The winds were calmer which made for a much more enjoyable hike. At last, they made it. The mountain was enormous. The girls learned that Mons Olympus was actually a volcano and had several large craters, perfect for running and jumping in. The very top of the mountain was covered with a thick layer of dust, which made it very hard to walk. They stopped by a gift shop where they looked at rocks and postcards and miniature model Rovers. The walk back to the rocket took them through canyons, valleys, ridges, hills and plains, but didn’t seem to take nearly as long. Even though the girls wanted to stay another day on Mars, they said goodbye to the Martians and packed into the rocket. Isobel and Ani knew they had to get home by nightfall or their Dad would start getting worried. After a brief layover on the moon to drop off Maya, Millie and Loony… Isobel and Ani were back in the friendly skies heading toward the home planet. “What a fun trip,” said Ani to her older sister.
As the rocket re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, the girls caught a glimpse of the most amazing swirl of greenish color at the tip of the northern hemisphere, which they decided must be the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. A thin layer of white clouds danced above the south Pacific and gently floated toward the Hawaiian Islands; thick ones hovered above a swath of South America which the girls figured lay above an Amazon rainforest. They saw polar ice caps and what seemed to be a hurricane brewing in the warm waters of the Caribbean. They saw the majestic Appalachian Mountain range in its entirety as they descended ever closer to home on the eastern edge of the USA. They thought to themselves, yes, Mars is fascinating, but Earth is pretty awesome too. They were glad to get home. When the girls landed firmly on home soil, their proud dad was there to greet them with hearty hugs and a pitcher of lemonade. Ani and Isobel were excited but exhausted! Dad scooped them up, one in each arm, and headed inside to hear all about their voyage and to get them ready for bed. The adventurous girls were already planning their next journey. “Dad, Dad can we go to Jupiter or Saturn or the rainforest or Mercury or Hawaii or the northern lights or…..”
About Mars: 1. How far is Mars from Earth? Not an easy question to answer, because it’s always changing. Think about it as two cars racing on two different tracks, both orbiting the sun. The closest the planets ever come to each other is about 35 million miles apart. At its closest, Mars is easily seen from Earth and looks like a bright, red star. 2. No person has actually ever set foot on Mars (yet). As far as we know, Mars doesn’t actually have any funky farm animals. 3. Mars does have two moons, Phobos and Deimos. 4. Mons Olympus is, in fact, the tallest known mountain in the Milky Way. Mars also has a large canyon called Valles Marineris — the length of which is about the size of Europe. It is three-and-ahalf times deeper than the Grand Canyon. 5. You know that one year on Earth is 365 days; on Mars a year is 687 days. Now, that’s a LONG time to have to wait for a birthday party! About the Author: Stephen Raburn lives in North Carolina with his two little girls who look a lot like Isobel and Ani.
Little Fish Gets Three Wishes One day a bored little fish swam in the sea as usual when all of the sudden he slammed head-on into a fancy brown bottle.
“Hmmmm…,” he thought to himself, “this looks just like one of those magic genie bottles that you rub and…” BOOM Before the little fish could even finish his thought, the bottle uncorked and in a fantastic swirl of blue smoke and bubbles you’ll never guess what emerged. An octopus, legs flying in every direction!
“Thank you little fishy,” said the octopus to the fish. “Any idea how cramped it is in this bottle? At least six of my eight legs are surely sprained.” “Let’s see… according to the rules that govern genies, I am hereby authorized to grant you three wishes.” “Now, take your time and think through your decision, my little rescuer, because you only get three and once those three are….”
“I know, I know, I know,” interrupted the little fish as he bobbled up and down excitedly. “I want OUT of this old stinky, salty sea and to go chill out on the BEACH, on dry land, where the sun can warm me up for once, surrounded by HUMANS, just like you see on TV, in swim suits, sun tan oil on my scales, flip flops on my fins, hip-hop blaring from boom boxes, the whole bit….” the excited little fish explained. “That’s all I want, Mr. Genie Octopus. I’m ready….” No sooner had the words left the little fish’s mouth, did he find himself on the beach, which was even better than he had dreamed. “Ahhh, this is the life,” he thought. Just then, a little girl named Isobel and her little sister Ani, who were visiting their aunt in Florida, stumbled upon the little fish. “Oh no,” said Isobel to Ani, “poor little fish, must have washed up on the shore at high tide.” They did what any responsible little girls would do. They tossed him back into the ocean.
The little fish landed no more than a couple feet from where he started. He swam to the genie. “Excuse me,” said the fish. “I’m ready for my second wish now.”
“I see. Didn’t much care for the beach, did ya? Alrighty then, what shall it be this time? Fame? Fortune?” asked the genie. “No, no, no,” replied the little fish to the octopus genie. “I still want to be on the beach… some silly little girls tossed me back. Please, please send me back to the beach.” “All right, if you insist,” said the genie, somewhat exasperated. He had hoped to grant grander wishes, but now he just wanted the pesky little fish to leave him alone. POOF In the blink of an eye, the fish found himself at the exact same spot on the white sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico — among the frolickers, Frisbee tossers and sun worshipers. “Now, pass me the coconut oil,” thought the little fishy, when all of the sudden, the same little girl and her same little sister who were busy collecting sea shells down by the seashore looked down and to their great surprise noticed the same little fishy. “What?!” said Ani to Isobel, bemused and confused. Once again they proceeded to do what any responsible little girls would do: they scooped up the squirmy little guy and walked down to where the water meets the sand and gave him a big heave ho.
“Ahhhh!!!” the startled genie screamed when the little fish landed inches away from his head. “What now?!”
To the surprise and dismay of the genie, the little fish pleaded once more to grant him his third and final wish… to be back on the beach, explaining that it’s what he’s always wanted and how life in the ocean is so humdrum and that getting a little taste of an outof-water experience only whet his appetite for more.
“Okay,” agreed the genie. “It’s against my better judgment, but, hey, I don’t get paid to counsel, I just grant wishes. But, just remember: I could have turned you into King Neptune. I could have made you the biggest, baddest shark in the sea. You could have been a starfish! And all you want is to be out there on that old hot, sandy beach which, if you ask me, is NO PLACE for a fish. Very well. ” TADA Once more, the fish found himself on the beach. But something was very different this time. The sun had set and everyone was gone. It was getting cold. No music. Not a hint of coconut oil in the salty, damp air. “What have I done?” the little fish asked himself. The sky was black. Clouds roared in. It began to rain. Thunder boomed in the summer sky. The little fishy had never felt so alone. He missed his parents, his brothers and sisters and his school. He was cold, hungry and scared. After several restless hours, he fell asleep and dreamed of home sweet home. Finally, the morning sun peaked over the horizon and the sound of hungry pelicans looking for breakfast woke up the fish. The little fish quickly flip-flopped under a conch shell to hide from the vicious sea birds.
The first people to come to the beach that morning were Isobel and Ani. They’d just finished breakfast with their Aunt Nellie and raced down to their favorite spot for collecting seashells before anyone else claimed it. The very first shell that Ani picked up was the very one under which the scared little fish lay. “Isobel,” yelled Ani. “Come quick. Isn’t this the same fish we tossed back into the ocean yesterday?” “There’s something very fishy about this,” said Isobel. “I guess he just wants to be on the beach. Let’s leave him alone.” They started to walk away when the little fish cried out, “No, no, please save me!” “Whoa!!!” yelled Ani. “First of all, I didn’t know fish could talk. Second, we threw you back in the ocean twice yesterday. What is it exactly that you want from us, little fishy?” “I hate to be a wishy-washy fishy, but I’m tired and I want to go home. PLEASE throw me back in the sea.” The little girls did exactly that then went on about their business of collecting seashells.
“I can’t wait to tell Maya about this,” said Isobel. (Maya is Isobel’s best friend who lives on the moon.) The little fish landed in the familiar surroundings of home, which never looked so nice. Once more he swam merrily in the sea, gliding in and out of anemone and coral. For the very first time, he took notice of his brilliantly beautiful underwater home. “This is awesome,” he thought. “A fish can really breathe under here.” He swam and swam, played hide and seek with his friends and ate a delicious brunch of plankton and kelp. Then the little fish noticed something stuck in the sand on the ocean’s floor and swam to it. It was the genie’s brown bottle. Curious, the little fishy uncorked the bottle and once again in a fantastic swirl of blue smoke and bubbles, the cramped-up octopus emerged. Apparently a band of barracuda bullies thought it would be funny to stuff the octopus back into the bottle. “Thank you, thank you,” said the octopus to the fish. “I was afraid I would be stuck in that tiny uncomfortable bottle for years and years again. All I want is to be free. Now unless there’s some fine print which disqualifies you as a repeat customer… I’m ready to grant you three more wishes. Let me guess: you want to go back to the beach, right?”
“Oh no,” said the little fish, “but I do know what I want.” And this is what the fish said. Wish # 1: “For you, the kind octopus who so patiently granted all my wishes yesterday, I wish that you’ll never be trapped in the bottle ever again.” With that, the brown bottle disintegrated into a billion tiny pieces and disappeared. The octopus sang out with glee and gave himself a round of high fives with all eight hands. He was free forever, at last. Wish #2:“For Isobel and Ani, the wonderful little girls who saved me, I wish that they find the most spectacular seashell ever found on any seashore along all the seven seas of the world.” There is reason to believe that the wish came true and that Ani and Isobel had the most wonderful summer vacation anyone could ever dream for. Wish #3: “And for me, the little fish who once thought his life was so boring, I wish that I never ever again forget that there’s no place like home!”
And so it was. For all the days and nights thereafter, the little fish swam merrily among the cool, clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico along the beautiful shoreline of the Sunshine State, knowing this: Sometimes, the best things in life are right under your gills.
About Florida: 1. Florida is known as the Sunshine State. 2. The beaches along Florida’s Panhandle which include Panama City Beach, Pensacola, Ft. Walton and Destin have beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear blue-green water. 3. A fish can only survive out of water for a few seconds, actually. So, if you ever see one on the beach, do what Isobel and Ani did and toss it back in the sea! 4. If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for (and one of them can’t be for more wishes)?
5. The first time Stephen Raburn went to the beach, he ate an ice cream cone that was so big he got sick. About the Author: Stephen Raburn lives in North Carolina with his two little girls who look a lot like Isobel and Ani. They all love the beach!
How to Fall Asleep: A Bedtime Story By Anika Raburn and Stephen Raburn A step-by-step guide for wiggly, giggly, ants-in-their-pants children who just can’t seem to settle down and fall asleep on school nights.
Intro: Do you have a hard time falling asleep? Got ants in your pants that make you dance? Does it always seem like bedtime comes way too early, and right when you’re in the middle of a hundred other things? Important things… like judging a Monster High beauty pageant or beating your sister in Uno or teaching math to a roomful of imaginary students or French-braiding your hair?
Me too! I think it happens to most kids. My name is Anika. I’m a ten-year-old fourth grader from North Carolina. My dad and I came up with these six simple steps to help me get to sleep. Guess what? It really works! We thought it might help other kids too, so we wrote a book. Just follow these steps and I bet you’ll be drifting off to the land of sweet dreams in no time. Step 1: Get settled. The first step is about getting settled… taking care of all those little last-minute things you have to do before bed. Brush your teeth. Get a sip of water. Pick out a stuffed animal to sleep with. Read a bedtime story. Get tucked in. Get another sip of water. Say goodnight to your sister… and your dog, and your cat, and your turtle, and your stuffed animals, and your dolls, and your Grandma who’s in heaven, and your cousins and aunts and uncles who live far away, and your imaginary friend…. until your dad yells, “OK, that’s enough!” Step 2: Find a comfy position, and BE STILL. Sometimes this takes a while (did I mention the ants-in-my-pants issue?). My dad is really good at reminding me to get settled and be still. You see, it’s nearly impossible to fall asleep if you’re in
motion. So, being still is an important step. I don’t mean become stiff like a statue… I just mean try to stop wiggling so much. I know, you have to get the covers situated just right and fluff your pillow and figure out if you’re going to sleep on your stomach. Or your back. Or your left side. Or your right side. You have to get your stuffed animal settled down and get her to stop wiggling so much too. And fluff your pillow again. But there comes a time when the wiggling and the getting situated and the flip-flopping and the fluffing all have to come to an end… Now, settle in… and be still. Step 3: Close your eyes. They’ll pop open. But close them again. They’ll pop open again. But close them again.
Step 4: Stop talking. I know, I know… as soon as you get settled into bed, a hundred things jump into your brain that you JUST NEED to tell someone. But it’s bedtime, which means it’s time to close your eyes AND your mouth… okay, you might just explode if you hold it all in, so go ahead and say it… Get it all out… this one last time…. until your dad says, “Be quiet, dear, no more talking.” Step 5: Relax all of your muscles. Even after I get comfy and settled and stop talking and all, sometimes I notice that I’m clenching my fist or that my jaw is tight or my knees are bent. My dad helps me relax all my muscles. He talks very slowly and quietly (barely above a whisper). “Take a deep breath. Feel the air entering your lungs as your abdomen (dad’s big word for stomach) rises, then falls as the air is slowly released … exhale… inhale… exhale… inhale (he could just say breathe in and breathe out). Now listen. Be still. And quiet. Can you feel your heart beating inside your chest? Slow and steady. Take another deep breath and relax. Now concentrate on completely relaxing every muscle in your body. Let your head fall into your pillow, as the tiny muscles in your face and jaw completely relax. Now relax the muscles in your neck… and on down your body, allow your shoulders and back to collapse into the bed, make sure your stomach muscles are completely relaxed
too… on down to your thighs and calf muscles and to the bottom of your feet and toes. You are completely relaxed now. Still. Quiet. Feel your body working in perfect harmony. The deep breathing in and out, the steady beat of your heart beating, and all of your muscles in your entire body…completely relaxed.” Step 6: Think of something pleasant, peaceful and relaxing. Now that I’m sooooo relaxed, the last step is to make sure my brain doesn’t get me all revved up again by thinking about something yucky or too exciting. So my dad helps me think of some place that’s pleasant, peaceful and relaxing. Sometimes I imagine I’m on the beach, sprawled out on a blanket, a cool breeze blowing, warm sun shining on my face, all is quiet except for the sound of the waves gently ebbing and flowing onto the shore and an occasional chirping of a seagull. I’m tired after a full day of swimming so I decide to close my eyes and take a quick nap on the blanket… as I feel the cool breeze and warm sun gently kissing my face… Sometimes I imagine I’m taking a long walk deep into the woods and I decide to take a rest on a big rock next to a babbling stream. Birds are chirping. Wispy clouds float above. The smell of honeysuckles is in the air. I close my eyes for just a moment and feel myself drifting off.
You’ll have to come up with your own special place to think about. And if something else jumps into your mind… no worries (that’s bound to happen sometimes), just gently flick it away like it’s a tiny bubble in your mind and return to your special, peaceful, relaxing place.
YAAAAAAWWWWWNNNNNN “Sweet dreams, my love…” About the Authors: Anika Raburn, who is now 14, loves soccer and running and her cats and dog and bearded dragon lizard. She has an older sister named Xia who she gets along with most of the time. Stephen Raburn is her dad. They live in North Carolina.