2 CARPET VIPERS, HULA HOOPS, AND TWO MILLION TEETH

CARPET VIPERS HULA, HOOPS AND TWO MILLION, TEETH "He stuck one hundred and fifty-nine clothespins on his face!" shouted Eric. "Look at him!" It was recess, but instead of soccer or jump rope or monkey bars, the second- graders were huddled under the play structure. At the center of the circle were Bean and her book. Kids pulled the book back and forth, all trying to look at the pages at the same time. "Look at her! Ninety-nine hula hoops at once!" Vanessa squeaked. "Around her neck too!", "Look at this turnip! It weighs thirty-nine pounds!" said Dusit.

"Gross! I hate turnips," Eric said. "My mom made me eat one once, and I spit it into the heater." "I hate lima beans" said Dusit., Bean pulled the book back in her direction. After all, Ms. Aruba-Tate had brought it especially for her. "This guy has had more broken bones than any living human," read Bean. In the picture, he was smiling happily. "He's broken his leg fourteen times." "On purpose?" asked Emma. "I guess so," said Bean. "He jumps off of buildings." Drew slid the book his way. "Hey! This guy collects teeth! He has two million teeth!" "This is the world's most poisonous snake," read Leo, pointing to another picture. "It's called the carpet viper." "Does it live in carpets?" asked Zuzu. She

looked worried. "In India and Africa" said Leo. "Not, here." Bean slid the book back her way. "Look, Zuzu! This girl did a hundred and nine cartwheels in a row." "Let me see that!" Zuzu grabbed the book and looked closely at the picture of a

teenage girl in tights. "I bet I could do a hundred and ten." "Bet you couldn't," said Eric. He grabbed the book from Zuzu and flipped through the pages. "This dude, he ate four hundred M&M's in one minute, it says. That's nothing. I bet I could eat a thousand in one minute if I didn't chew." "You'd choke" warned Leo., "No. I've had lots of practice," said Eric. "Look," said Bean, reaching over Eric's shoulder and flipping pages. "Look at this kid. He's only a kid, and he made a world record for hanging spoons on his face. Fifteen. No glue, either." "How do they stick?" asked Ivy, looking up from her book. "I can't tell," Bean said. "Sweat, maybe." "Why would anyone hang spoons on their face?"

"I don't know, but he made a world record." Bean looked at the picture. The kid was covered with spoons, but he still looked proud and happy because he had set a world record. "I'm going to do sixteen spoons," said Emma, staring at the picture. "Hey! I was going to do sixteen!" said Bean. She wanted to set a record and have her picture in The Amazing Book of World

Records. Spoons seemed pretty easy. And, unlike some of the records, spoons didn't hurt. But now Emma had dibs. Dang. "I'm going to eat five hundred M&M's in a minute" Eric said., "Where are you going to get five hundred M&M's?" asked Dusit. Eric thought for a moment. "My uncle