Merry Mischief: Elf Academy 4, page 2
This is awesome, Andy thought as he watched the epic fight. I hope Jane and Trevor think so too.
“Super shot, Jane,” Nicole said as a snowball plopped onto the top of Andy’s cap.
“Great aim,” Andy told Trevor when he managed to knock a hat off a snowman across the playground.
Trevor smiled and replied, “Thanks, Andy.” But then Trevor put down the snowball he was holding and waved Jane over to join them. “Andy, Jane and I owe you and your friends an apology,” he began, “for all the tricks we played on everyone.”
He paused and then continued, “We didn’t mean any harm, but we wanted to be the only elves left to be picked for Elf of the Week. We were so worried no one would want to be friends with us unless we were super elves like you all are.”
“We hope we didn’t get you into too much trouble,” Jane added.
Now Andy was the one to smile. “Oh, I’m used to that,” he laughed. “But we would have been your friends no matter what. It might look like we’re super elves, but we’ve lived here and gone to Elf Academy for a long time. There’s always time to learn and always something new to learn.”
“And what we’re about to learn any second is that if we don’t start throwing snowballs again, we’re going to get creamed!” Andy shouted.
Trevor picked up three snowballs, shouted, “Watch this!” and threw them with all his might. And…
Zip!
Zip!
Splat!
He watched as they sailed past Jay, Nicole, Susu, Zahara, and Kal and… just missed Ms. Dow’s head!
“Oh, no, no, no!” screamed Trevor.
Ms. Dow looked up into the open-mouthed faces of her class.
“Recess is over,” she said sternly. “Back to class, now.”
* * *
Once they were inside at their workstations, the elves sat quietly. Ms. Dow stood at the front of the class, not looking one bit happy.
Ms. Dow began, “I know that when it snows, it’s always fun to have a snowball fight. However, today’s event was not scheduled or planned. And as you all saw, snow was flying every which way.”
She paused, and then added, “As a result, no one will be chosen for Elf of the Week.”
Andy turned to look at his friends, and they were all smiling, especially Jane and Trevor.
“Do you mean it, Ms. Dow?” Andy asked. “No elf is more super than another?”
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, Andy,” she answered. “But in a manner of speaking, yes.”
“That’s just what we thought,” Andy said. “All elves are super elves!”
And Andy was sure at that very moment that everyone’s ears started to tingle!
Word List
aim (AYM): Ability to hit a target
amphibian (am•FIB•ee•uhn): A small animal that lives part of its life cycle in water and part on land
basics (BAY•sihks): Things that serve as the starting point
disruptive (diss•RUHP•tihv): Causing problems
escaped (eh•SKAYPT): Failed to be noticed by
favor (FAY•ver): A kind act
fir (FUR): A type of evergreen tree
gestured (jes•CHURD): Moved one’s body to express an idea
knowledgeable (NAH•lih•juh•buhl): Having information
munching (MUHN•ching): Snacking
nervous (NUR•vuss): Uneasy
powdery (POW•duh•ree): Made up of fine, very small pieces
pranks (PRANX): Mischievous tricks
presentations (pree•zen•TAY•shuns): Statements describing or explaining something
recovered (rih•KUH•verd): Reached a normal condition again
relief (rih•LEEF): Removal of something painful or upsetting
remind (rih•MIND): Cause to remember
scheduled (SKED•juhld): Planned when events will happen
scoop (SKOOP): Pick up quickly
slimy (SLY•mee): Slippery and thick or sticky
sternly (STURN•lee): Harshly
swatting (SWAH•ting): Hitting something away
tingling (TING•gling): Feeling a stinging, prickling, or thrilling sensation
Questions
1. Why did Jane and Trevor want to become Elf of the Week?
2. Who was the five-time Annual Snowball Fight champion?
3. Which are you better at building—snow animals or snow people?
4. Why do you think Principal Evergreen didn’t like the cookies?
5. Have you ever had to start at a new school or somewhere else where you had to make new friends?
6. When do elves’ ears tingle?
More from this Series
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Road to Robbery
S.O.S. Mess!
The Dolphin Dream
Field Trip
Miss Mallard's Case Book
About the Author and Illustrator
Alan Katz has been a print and television comedy writer for more than twenty years. In addition to being a multiple Emmy nominee for his work on The Rosie O’Donnell Show and Disney’s Raw Toonage, he has written for children’s programming on Nickelodeon, ABC, and Warner Bros. Animation’s Taz-Mania. Alan lives in Weston, Connecticut, with his journalist wife, Rose, and their children, Simone, Andrew, Nathan, and David. Visit him online at AlanKatzBooks.com.
Sernur Işik is an illustrator and designer based in Istanbul. She specializes in children’s books and all things lovely. She’s worked for TV, theme parks, and publishing as a visual arts director and character designer. She also designs little clay and ceramic sculptures with her characters, exhibiting mostly in the US. She is currently traveling around the world, creating new stories and characters about the places she’s visited.
Aladdin Quix
Simon & Schuster, New York
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Read the other books in the Elf Academy series!
Trouble in Toyland
Reindeer Games
Happy Santa Day!
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Aladdin QUIX paperback edition September 2023
Text copyright © 2023 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Illustrations copyright © 2023 by Sernur Işik
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Designed by Tiara Iandiorio
The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.
Library of Congress Control Number 2023933149
ISBN 9781534467989 (hc)
ISBN 9781534467972 (pbk)
ISBN 9781534467996 (ebook)
Alan Katz, Merry Mischief: Elf Academy 4
