The Mighty Quinn

BY
ROBYN PARNELL

• • • •

Illustrations by Katie and Aaron DeYoe

Text copyright © 2013 Robyn Parnell

Illustrations copyright © 2013 Scarletta

Published by Scarletta Junior Readers, an imprint of Scarletta

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, write to Scarletta, 10 South Fifth Street, Suite 1105, Minneapolis, MN 55402, U.S.A.,
www.scarlettapress.com
.

The Mighty Quinn
is a work of fiction, and takes advantage of the freedoms of the form. Names, characters, places, and incidents the author either made them up or used them fictitiously. All together now: any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

The Lexile Framework for Reading ® Lexile measure ® 700L
LEXILE®, LEXILE FRAMEWORK®, LEXILE ANALYZER®, and the LEXILE® logo are trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc., and are registered in the United States and abroad. The trademarks and names of other companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2011 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Illustrations: Katie and Aaron DeYoe

Design & Composition: Mighty Media, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Parnell, Robyn.

The mighty Quinn / by Robyn Parnell ; illustrated by Aaron and Katie DeYoe.

   
pages cm

Summary: Fifth-graders Quinn and Neally solve a mystery, thwart a bully, and realize that the fabled ability to belch the entire alphabet might very possibly trump any award ever presented at Turner Creek School. Includes discussion questions and activities.

ISBN 978-1-938063-11-4 [1. Schools--Fiction. 2. Friendship--Fiction. 3. Bullies--Fiction. 4. Oregon--Fiction.] I. DeYoe, Aaron, illustrator. II. DeYoe, Katie, illustrator. III. Title.

PZ7.P2432Mi 2013

[Fic]--dc23

                                     
2012031518

Distributed by Publishers Group West

First edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

 

This is for Eli and Mark.
And for Sadie,
le lecteur d'infinité
.

CAST of CHARACTERS

1
            
Don't Make Me Use This

2
            
Listen Up

3
            
The Worms Go In, the Worms Go Out

4
            
Mickey Gets Anty

5
            
Because She Can

6
            
Quinn Pays Attention

7
            
Famous Carrot Diver

8
            
A Regular Volunteer

9
            
The First Time I Cracked My Head Open

10
          
The Best Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwich Ever

11
          
Howdy, Neighbor

12
          
I Knew There Was a Reason I Liked Her

13
          
Muffins of Infinity

14
          
The Hamster Patch Quilt

15
          
The Muffin Fairy

16
          
With Liberty and Justice for All

17
          
Could She Belch the Entire Pledge of Allegiance?

18
          
Click on One of These

19
          
It's a Grownup Thing

20
          
Ka-Winn

21
          
Very Small Gum Wrappers Could Be Hiding

22
          
The Three Trashketeers

23
          
Brandon Knows How to Spell

24
          
I Have Many Secrets

25
          
The Law of Proportionality

26
          
What Life Smells Like

27
          
Smoke-Ring Weather

28
          
The Orange Chair

29
          
Neally Looks It Up

30
          
But Not Anymore

31
          
Cheesy Poodle Sandwiches

32
          
My New Dead Friend

33
          
See the Day

34
          
Oh, Yeah

35
          
The Most Awesome Cloud You'll Ever See

I bet it's against the rules to turn invisible, even for one second. Or explode into a bajillion pieces and reassemble across the playground—that would get you the whistle, for sure
.

“HEY, QUINN, OVER HERE!”

Quinn Andrews-Lee bounced a four square ball against the blacktop and pretended he hadn't heard his name being called.

“QUINN! HEY, QUINNY QUINN-QUINN!”

Quinn ambled toward the drinking fountain. He was determined to ignore the persistent, louder-than-loud hollering behind him, even though he realized that ignorance was futile when it came to the hyper-human commotion that was Kelsey King.

“QUINN, THE BALL! YO, DORK-LEE, PASS IT OR STASH IT!”

Quinn took a sip of water. Gazing up at the stone gray clouds, he wondered which would be the bigger
waste of time: wishing for a snowstorm, or for the day when Kelsey would say something—anything—without bellowing like a rampaging elephant.

Kelsey caught up to Quinn and parked herself behind him, her thick fists planted firmly on her hips. “YOU'RE HOGGING PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT ALL TO YOURSELF! THAT'S AGAINST THE RULES AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT! MIZ BARNES! MIZ BARNES!” Kelsey's long, stringy, pasty-blond hair lashed against her cheeks as she hopped about and waved her hands in a manic effort to attract the attention of the playground supervisor. “QUINN'S JUST STANDING THERE KEEPING A PERFECTLY GOOD FOUR SQUARE BALL ALL TO HIMSELF!”

“Yee-ouch!” Quinn clapped his hands over his ears. Kelsey snatched the ball before it hit the ground and ran toward the gym.

“YOU CAN PLAY WALL-BALL WITH US,” Kelsey hollered over her shoulder, “BUT NOT ON
MY
TEAM.”

“Like I'd even want to be on your team,” Quinn grumbled. He checked his watch; recess was over in ten minutes. He surveyed the playground, hoping to catch sight of fellow fifth graders amidst the packs of scurrying second and third graders that swarmed like bees around the tetherball and four square courts, and spotted Tay and Sam by the parallel bars. “Hey, guys!” Quinn jogged toward his friends.