4 Ch4-Here Comes the Big-Shot Author

Chapter 4 Here Comes the Big-Shot Author Miss Daisy read the letter we got from Miss Suki: To my dear friends at Ella Mentry School, I can't wait to meet you! I love children and look forward

to visiting your school. I will have a big surprise to show you. See you soon! Sayonara, Miss Suki Kabuki Miss Daisy tacked the letter up on the bulletin board. She was so excited that a real live, famous author actually took the time to write to us. She made us write letters back to Miss Suki, draw pictures for her, and think of questions to ask her when she arrived. For the next two weeks, pretty much all we did at school was get ready for Miss Suki's visit. Mrs. Patty, the secretary, put

up a big chart in the office that said COUNTDOWN TO PICTURE DAY AND AUTHOR DAY. Every day, she crossed off a number so everybody would know how many days were left. 14... 13... 12... 11... The reading specialist, Mr. Macky, came into our class and told us all about Miss Suki's books. Man, that lady sure likes animals! I think she likes animals better than people. That's why she lives in the rainforest instead of in a regular house with her family. People who live with animals are weird. I wondered if Miss Suki runs around the rainforest in a loincloth like Tarzan.

10... 9... 8... 7... In science, Mr. Docker taught us all about peregrine falcons, because that's what Miss Suki wrote about in The Fearless Falcon. Peregrine falcons are called raptors, and they eat other birds, like pigeons and ducks. Yuck! Mr. Docker said they don't have teeth, so they use their beak and their razor-sharp toenails called talons to tear into flesh. Ouch! Their eyesight is so sharp that they can spot a rabbit from a mile away. And they're the fastest birds in the world. They can fly almost two hundred miles an hour. One time my dad drove eighty miles an hour, and a policeman pulled

him over and gave him a ticket. But I don't think peregrine falcons have to obey the speed limit. 6... 5... 4... 3... Some classes made shoe-box scenes from Miss Suki's books. Some classes made sculptures of Miss Suki's animal friends out of Popsicle sticks. Our class made a Welcome sign in art with Ms. Hannah. We also made a long red carpet out of con- struction paper

so Miss Suki could make a grand entrance into school. We also made acrostics out of Miss Suki's name, like this: Marvelous! Interesting! Serious! Same as the last S! See above! Understanding! Knowledgeable! I can't wait to meet her! Finally, all that was left on the COUNT- DOWN TO PICTURE DAY AND AUTHOR DAY chart