Kidnapped at Birth? (5 page)

He thought about Jacob and Linzy. He thought about the house, with the red post in front.

Mr. Redpost painted that post once a year.

He looked at the slip of paper in his hand.

812
               O negative

Then he suddenly remembered something. The King of Shampoon spoke with a weird accent! Marvin didn’t talk like that. So that meant he couldn’t be Prince Robert!

“Marvin, you’re back!” said Jennifer. “So are you
O negative?”
she asked eagerly.

“Uh—” said Marvin. He stuffed the slip of paper into his pocket. “No,” he said. “I just wanted to say good-bye.”

Jennifer smiled at him. “I’m glad you stopped by,” she said. She held her hand out across the desk. “Well, good-bye Marvin. I mean—I was delighted to make your acquaintance … 
Prince Charming.”

Marvin blushed as he shook her hand.

His mother returned with Linzy and Jacob.

“Hi, Mom,” he greeted her.

“Mom?”
she asked. “Does this mean—?”

“Yes,” said Marvin. “Marvin Redpost isn’t dead.”

“I’m sorry,” said his mother.

“Yay!” shouted Linzy.

He went out to dinner with his family.

A week later the King of Shampoon left Washington, D.C., still looking for his lost son.

Marvin felt sorry for him.

He thought about all the red-haired boys in the hotel room.

But he was different. Special. He was the one and only Marvin Redpost.

Besides, he probably wasn’t Prince Robert anyway. The odds were one in a million.

The rumor is going around that Marvin is the biggest
nose-picker in the school. Now everyone is acting as if the rumor is true! Even Marvin’s best friends don’t want to be seen with him. What can Marvin do?

“Vintage Sachar—ingenious, funny, gross—and with a believable resolution.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Marvin’s the biggest nose-picker in the whole school.”

—Melanie, Marvin’s classmate

Marvin kisses his elbow by accident. Now he wishes he had pigtails and wants to play hopscotch! Everyone at school says that if a boy kisses his elbow, he’ll turn into a girl. Could Marvin be turning into a girl?

“Sachar writes for beginning readers with a comic simplicity that is never banal.”

—
Booklist

“There’s nothing Marvin Redpost can’t do.”

—Stuart Albright, Marvin’s best friend

Marvin’s friends think he’s the luckiest boy in the world when Mrs. North asks him to dog-sit for a week. He gets $3 a day, plus a $4 bonus if nothing goes wrong. And he gets to be alone in Mrs. North’s house!

“Sachar’s finely tuned sense of how children think and feel makes his fourth book about Marvin and his comic misadventures entertaining.”

—
The Horn Book Magazine

“Marvin’s going to use the bathroom in Mrs. North’s house!”

—Melanie, Marvin’s classmate

It’s “hole day” at school, and even Mrs. North and the principal are wearing their worst clothes. But now they’re expecting company—the president of the United States is on his way! And there’s no time to change!

“The story hums along with its own cheerful energy, much like Marvin himself.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Good job, Marvin.”

—The president

Marvin can’t sleep. Suddenly something zooms across the sky. It looks a lot like Nick’s birthday cake! Could it be? Or is it something else? The next day there’s a new boy in school. His name is Joe Normal, but everyone thinks he’s weird. What is
normal
, anyway?

“A smart, funny twist on the new-kid theme.”

—
The Horn Book Magazine
, Starred

“His name should be Marvin Stupid.”

—Casey Happleton, Marvin’s friend?

Everyone at school thinks that Marvin Redpost is going
to ride his new bike down Suicide Hill. But not only is Marvin terrified of the steep hill, he’s afraid of his new bike! How can Marvin survive this one?

“If Marvin says he’ll ride down Suicide Hill, then he’ll ride down Suicide Hill.”

—Stuart Albright, Marvin’s best friend

Marvin Redpost’s friend Casey Happleton lives in an old firehouse. But that’s not the only cool thing about her. She’s also got a super-secret
magic
crystal that she’s going to share with Marvin!

“Lively dialogue and Marvin’s endless imagination command steady attention.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“You’re weird, Marvin!”

—Casey Happleton, Marvin’s friend?