Princess Posey: Monster Stew Read online

  PRINCESS

  PSEY

  and the

  MONSTER STEW

  Stephanie Greene

  ILLUSTRATED BY

  Stephanie Roth Sisson

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC.

  Also available

  1

  PRINCESS POSEY AND THE FIRST GRADE PARADE

  2

  PRINCESS POSEY AND THE PERFECT PRESENT

  3

  PRINCESS POSEY AND THE NEXT-DOOR DOG

  For Deb Gonzales.—S.G.

  For the Youngs: George, Dina, George and Bella—S.R.S.

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  A division of Penguin Young Readers Group. Published by The Penguin Group.

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.).

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.).

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd).

  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India.

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd).

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa.

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

  Text copyright © 2012 by Stephanie Greene.

  Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Stephanie Roth Sisson.

  All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

  G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Published simultaneously in Canada.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Greene, Stephanie.

  Princess Posey and the monster stew / Stephanie Greene ; illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson. p. cm.— (Princess Posey ; 4)

  Summary: First-grader Posey and her friends are excited about Halloween, but also a little nervous about trick-or-treating and eating Miss Lee’s monster stew.

  [1. Halloween—Fiction. 2. Teachers—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Sisson, Stephanie Roth, ill. II. Title. PZ7.G8434Pp 2012

  [E]—dc23 2011020632

  ISBN 978-1-101-57532-1

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Also Available

  Dedicaton

  Copyright

  1 FLASHLIGHTS ARE FOR BABIES

  2 THE FUNNEST TIME OF THE YEAR

  3 A REAL BEAUTY

  4 POOR DANNY

  5 THE OGRE’S EYEBALL

  6 “YOU’RE A SCAREDY-CAT!”

  7 JUST LIKE A FLASHLIGHT

  8 MONSTER STEW

  9 KEEPING A SECRET

  10 GLOWING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

  Posey's Pages

  FLASHLIGHTS ARE FOR BABIES

  “You children are like wiggly worms this week,” Miss Lee said.

  Posey laughed.

  Everyone else in the class did, too.

  Halloween was only two days away. It was so hard to sit still!

  Yesterday, they drew pictures of pumpkins and witches. They played a counting game with black cats.

  Today, they were writing Halloween stories.

  Miss Lee let them work with their friends because it was special.

  “You can talk quietly,” Miss Lee said. “I will come around and see how everyone is doing.”

  Posey and Ava and Nikki were working together.

  So were Luca and Nate. They sat at the next table.

  Posey was writing a story about a ghost. It wanted to carry a flashlight when it went trick-or-treating.

  “The ghost is afraid of the dark,” she told Nikki and Ava.

  “That’s so funny,” said Ava.

  “I carried a flashlight last year,” Nikki said.

  “Me too,” said Ava.

  Posey had, too.

  In kindergarten, she was afraid of the dark. Gramps had given Posey his flashlight to carry.

  It was as bright as the sun. It lit up the dark street and made Posey feel safe.

  Trick-or-treating was exciting. But it was a little scary, too.

  “Are you going to carry one this year?” asked Nikki.

  Posey was about to say “maybe” when Luca interrupted.

  “Flashlights are for babies,” he said.

  THE FUNNEST TIME OF THE YEAR

  “Luca, you be quiet,” said Posey.

  Boys were so annoying! Posey wished Luca and Nate sat farther away.

  “Only babies are afraid of the dark,” Luca said.

  “Yeah. Girls are scaredy-cats,” said Nate.

  “They are not!” said Posey.

  “Boys are scaredy-cats!” Ava said.

  Miss Lee came over to them. “It doesn’t sound as if you’re talking about your stories,” she said.

  “Luca is listening to us,” Posey said.

  “They’re talking so loud,” said Luca.

  “I think you all need to get back to work,” said Miss Lee.

  She waited while they started to write again.

  When the phone on her desk rang, Miss Lee went to answer it.

  Posey turned her back so Luca couldn’t hear.

  “I have excitement bubbles in my stomach,” she whispered. She bounced once on her bottom. “Pop!”

  “I have excitement bubbles, too,” Ava said. “Pop!”

  Nikki said “Pop!” too.

  Soon everyone near them was saying “Pop!” and bouncing on their chairs.

  Miss Lee hung up the phone. “Boys and girls,” she said.

  The popping stopped.

  “That was Mrs. Warski.” Miss Lee smiled. “Her class is going to join us for our Halloween party. We will make monster stew.”

  Monster stew!

  That sounded so scary.

  Everyone wanted to know what monster stew was, but Miss Lee just laughed. “You will have to wait until Friday to find out,” she said.

  “What if there’s a real monster in it?” Posey said.

  “What if the monster’s still alive?” said Ava.

  “It will scream when we eat it,” Nikki said.

  The girls shrieked. They grabbed one another’s hands. It was so much fun to be scared together.

  Halloween was the funnest time of the year.
r />   A REAL BEAUTY

  Gramps picked Posey up after school. Her mom was at the doctor’s office with Danny. It was his one-year checkup.

  Posey and Gramps stopped to buy two pumpkins: a big one for Posey, a baby one for Danny.

  “I picked a real beauty, didn’t I, Gramps?” Posey said proudly when they got back in his truck.

  “You sure did,” he said.

  Posey’s pumpkin was almost perfectly round. It only had one flat spot.

  Gramps said that was where it lay on the ground while it grew. When he saw it, he had called it a “real beauty.”

  That meant he liked it.

  When they got home, Posey tried to lift the pumpkin out of the back of the truck. It was too heavy.

  “Here, let me do that,” said Gramps.

  He carried her pumpkin into the kitchen. He cut off the top.

  Posey’s job was to scoop out the seeds. It was hard work.

  “Do you need some help with that?” asked Gramps.

  Posey held her spoon tighter. The seeds were slippery.

  “The seeds on the bottom are stuck,” she said.

  “You may have to get your hands dirty,” said Gramps. He pushed up the sleeves of Posey’s shirt. “Now you can dig in,” he said.

  Posey reached her hands into the pumpkin. She pulled out a clump of seeds. They had long strings dangling from them.

  Gramps held out a bowl for her to put them in.

  “Remember last year when Nick and Tyler tricked me?” Posey said.

  Nick and Tyler lived next door. They loved to tease her.

  Last Halloween, they told Posey to close her eyes

  and reach inside their pumpkin.

  Posey’s fingers felt something cold and slippery.

  “It’s witch’s brains,” Nick said in a spooky voice.

  Posey had a bad dream after that.

  “You were pretty scared, as I remember,” said Gramps.

  “That’s because I was five,” Posey said. “They can’t scare me this year. I’m six.”

  “I guess that means you don’t need my flashlight for trick-or-treating,” said Gramps.

  “No way!” said Posey. “Flashlights are for babies.”

  Posey plunged her hands into the pumpkin again.

  She wasn’t going to be afraid of anything this year.

  She wasn’t.

  POOR DANNY

  When Posey’s mom came home with Danny, he had streaks of tears on his face.

  “Uh-oh,” Gramps said. “Looks like someone didn’t like his checkup.”

  “He screamed when he got his shot,” said Posey’s mom.

  “I don’t blame him,” said Posey.

  “Then we stopped at Hank’s Store on the way home,” Posey’s mom said. “The ghost Hank puts near the front door every year scared him.”

  Posey knew that ghost. It looked like a white sheet with two huge black eyes.

  The first time Posey walked past it, the ghost shook and made spooky noises.

  She had been scared of it, too.

  “Poor little guy. Come to Gramps.” He held Danny in his lap.

  “Don’t worry, Danny,” Posey said. She squeezed his cheeks. “Ghosts aren’t real. They are only make-believe.”

  “How did you two do with the pumpkins?” Posey’s mom asked.

  “Great,” said Posey.

  “I’m waiting for Posey to draw the face she wants me to carve,” Gramps said.

  “I’ll go get my marker.” Posey got up from the couch.

  “Bring down your costume for Gramps to see,” said her mom.

  “Okay!” Posey ran up to her room. Her costume was hanging in her closet.

  Her mom had made a beautiful dress with sparkly material. When Posey moved, the whole dress sparkled.

  She put it on and ran back downstairs.

  “That was quick,” Gramps said. “What happened to your tutu?”

  “It’s right here.” Posey lifted up her dress.

  Her mom and Gramps laughed.

  “Are you going to wear them both?” her mom said.

  “Of course,” said Posey.

  She always wore her tutu. She put it on every day after school.

  Posey never told anyone, but when she wore her tutu, she was Princess Posey.

  Princess Posey could go anywhere and do anything.

  All by herself.

  “Come over here for a minute,” said Gramps.

  Posey stood in front of him.

  “I want to see if that glow is coming from your dress or from inside you,” Gramps said.

  He held

  Posey’s ear and pretended to peer inside.

  Posey giggled and squirmed. It tickled!

  “Just what I thought.” Gramps let go of her ear. “You are glowing from the inside out.”

  Posey twirled to make her dress billow out.

  “Did you ask Gramps if he will help you make your hat?” her mom asked.

  “Will you, Gramps?” said Posey.

  “Sure,” said Gramps. “I guess you need a fireman’s hat with that costume.”

  “Noooo . . .” Posey knew he was teasing.

  “Do you need a baseball hat?”

  “Gramps! I need a princess hat!” Posey said.

  “Oh-h-h, a princess hat,” Gramps said. “Why didn’t you say so? I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon.”

  THE OGRE’S EYEBALL

  The next afternoon, Posey sat on the steps to wait for Gramps.

  She could hardly wait to show him her drawing of the hat. She had made it up herself.

  “Hey, Posey!” a voice called. “Come see our costumes.”

  Tyler was in his driveway. He had a silver helmet on his head.

  Posey ran next door.

  Tyler’s arms and legs were silver, too. He had huge gloves on his hands.

  “I know what you’re supposed to be,” said Posey. “An astronaut.”

  “Right,” Tyler said. “I wrapped tinfoil around my football helmet and everything. These are my hockey gloves.”

  “You look so real,” said Posey. “What is Nick going to be?”

  “A really gross ogre,” said Tyler. “Here he comes.”

  The back door of his house slammed.

  The ogre that came out didn’t look like Nick at all.

  It had straggly gray hair and a hunched back. It was dressed in ripped clothes. It walked with a limp.

  The scariest part was the ogre’s face.

  One of his eyeballs drooped. His nose looked broken. His face was full of wrinkles.

  The closer the ogre got, the more real it looked.

  Posey stepped back.

  “What are you scared of?” Tyler said. “It’s a rubber mask.”

  “I don’t like those,” said Posey. She had touched a rubber mask in the store one time. It felt cold. Like dead skin.

  “Say something to her, Nick,” said Tyler.

  “Trick or treat,” Nick said in a growly voice. “Catch.”

  He threw something to her.

  Posey caught it. Yuck! It was sticky and slimy.

  Posey looked down.

  It was the ogre’s eyeball.

  “YOU’RE A SCAREDY-CAT!”

  Posey screamed. She dropped the eyeball and rubbed her hands against her pants.

  Nick and Tyler laughed.

  “Hey, be careful with that,” said Nick. He took off his mask. The gray hair came off with it.

  It was Nick, all right.

  He picked up the eyeball and stuck it on his mask. “How do you expect me to see without my eyeball?” he said.

  “You’re so mean,
Nick!” Posey shouted. She stomped back to her own yard.

  “What’s wrong, scaredy-cat?” Tyler shouted. “I thought you were a big kid now!”

  “I’m not a scaredy-cat,” Posey shouted. “You’re a scaredy-cat!”

  Gramps had pulled into the driveway.

  “Sounds like those two are up to their old tricks,” he said. “What did they do this time?”

  Posey told him about the sticky eyeball.

  “I guess you have to expect that kind of gag on Halloween,” Gramps said. “From the sound of it, you took care of yourself.”

  He held open the door. “Come on. Let’s go make that hat.”

  Gramps whistled when he saw Posey’s drawing.

  “Pretty fancy stuff,” he said. “Where did you get this idea?”

  “From my imagination,” said Posey.

  Her drawing showed a tall, pointed hat. It looked like a wizard’s hat, except it was pink.

  “I want to cut stars all over it,” she said. “And those little moons that look like a C.”

  “That’s a crescent moon,” Gramps said.

  “I like those,” Posey said. “I’m going to put glitter on it so it sparkles. I want ribbons to come out of the top.”

  “It’s quite a hat,” Gramps said. “I’m proud of you.”

  “There won’t be another one like it, will there?” Posey said.

  “Not unless there’s another Posey,” said Gramps.

  Posey and Gramps got to work.

  Making her hat was so much fun. Posey almost forgot about the ogre’s eyeball.

  But not quite.

  JUST LIKE A FLASHLIGHT

  Posey told her mom about the eyeball while she got ready for bed.

  “It wasn’t real,” Posey said.

  “But you thought it was at first,” said her mom.

  “It felt real,” said Posey. She squeezed toothpaste onto her brush.

  “Are you okay about it now?” her mom asked.