Polly Diamond and the Topsy-Turvy Day, page 1
Text copyright © 2023 by Alice Kuipers.
Illustrations copyright © 2023 by Diana Toledano.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kuipers, Alice, 1979- author. | Toledano, Diana, illustrator. | Kuipers, Alice, 1979- Polly Diamond ; 3.
Title: Polly Diamond and the topsy-turvy day / Alice Kuipers ; [illustrated by Diana Toledano].
Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2023] | Series: Polly Diamond ; 3 | Audience: Ages 6-9.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022039903 | ISBN 9781452184685 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781797200590 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Magic—Juvenile fiction. | Hamsters—Juvenile fiction. | Books and reading—Juvenile fiction. | Schools—Juvenile fiction. | Humorous stories. | CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Hamsters—Fiction. | Books and reading—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Humorous stories. | LCGFT: Humorous fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.K9490146 Pto 2023 | DDC 823.92 [Fic]—dc23/eng/20220919
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022039903
Design by Sara Gillingham Studio.
Typeset in Chapparal and Crayon Nouveau.
Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity discounts to corporations, professional associations, literacy programs, and other organizations. For details and discount information, please contact our premiums department at corporatesales@chroniclebooks.com or at 1-800-759-0190.
Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
Chronicle Books—we see things differently.
Become part of our community at www.chroniclekids.com.
To Jasper, an incredible boy.
A. K.
With love to my nieces and nephews: Uriel, Irene, Yuuto, Emon, Lyla, Luke, Kayla & Nathan.
D. T.
ONE
I wake up with my feet on my pillow. Topsy-turvy!
Across our bedroom, my little sister Anna is fast asleep. She always wakes up before me. Not today! Double topsy-turvy!
I put on my glasses and peek out my curtains. The sun is still sleeping! I look at my clock. It’s 6:30 in the morning. I never wake up this early!
I reach for my magic book. My magic book is called Spell. Everything I write in Spell comes true. I open Spell and write:
I woke up upside down! Anna is still asleep! I woke up early! Everything is topsy-turvy! Triple topsy-turvy!
There is a creaking sound. The room slowly begins to turn upside down! It’s like being in a very slow washing machine. Anna slides with her blankets out of her bed. She lands on her unicorn stuffie. She doesn’t even wake up!
I write: Stop!
A black dot pops onto the page. It moves as I watch, making a line. Then it makes the letter B. Spell is writing back to me.
But you wanted everything topsy-turvy.
I read over what I wrote. Everything is topsy-turvy! Whoops! Quickly, I write: Our room is right-side up.
There is a creaking sound as the room turns back the right way. Anna is still sleeping. Phew!
I leave my magic book on the bed. I head downstairs. Dad and baby Finn are already in the kitchen. Baby Finn waves a spoon at me from his high chair.
Dad looks at his watch dramatically. “Wow, Dolly P! It’s so early! Why are you awake?” My name is Polly Diamond, but Dad likes to call me Polly D or Dolly P! He loves being silly with words. I do, too. In fact, I love words. I want to be a great writer when I grow up.
“Today is topsy-turvy!” I say as he gives me a hug.
“Topsy-turvy is a good word pair,” Dad says.
“Word pear?” I ask. “Can you eat that?” I yawn and help myself to a muffin.
“Not a pear that you eat. A pair meaning two. Two words.”
“Double words! That’s so great!”
Dad puts baby mush into Finn’s mouth. Finn sprays it all over him.
“Topsy-turvy is extra special because it has a hyphen in it,” Dad says.
“What’s a hyphen?” I ask. I imagine an animal called a hyphen. It could have spikes or feathers. I ask, “Is it an animal?”
Dad laughs. “No. A hyphen is a line between two connected words.”
“What else has a hyphen in it?”
“Eye-popping!” He makes his eyes very wide.
I giggle. “Right!”
“Left!” Dad replies.
Finn flings his baby spoon across the kitchen.
“Today is a super-great day!” I say. “Does that have a hyphen?”
Dad nods. “Super-great has a hyphen. Yes!” He turns back to baby Finn. Finn is covered in baby food. Dad bends to pick up the spoon.
I notice a sheet of blank paper on the table. I hunt for my turquoise pen. I love writing lists! I write:
Reasons Today Will Be a Super-Great Day!
1. We are getting our class pet. It is a surprise pet! I love surprises. And I love pets.
2. Ms. Hairball, our teacher, asked us to write a story about a terrific pet.
I wrote about an animal called a pangolin. They are mammals that are covered in scales.
Today we get to read our stories out loud. I love reading. And I love reading to the class. I don't even get nervous. Much.
3. We have a super-special Library Lunch and Read Day today!
Every month, different classes get recess first, and then they can go to Library Lunch and Read. Anna’s preschool is coming, too. They get to read with kids in the older grades.
4. Topsy-turvy is a super-great word. So far, today has been very topsy-turvy. That means today is a super-great day!
I read it out loud to Dad. He laughs. I go to my room to get dressed. I move stealthily. I imagine that I am a big cat in pajamas. My paws pad across the floor. Anna doesn’t wake up.
I put on a striped shirt and my favorite pants. I’m ready for school, but it is still too early. I have time to read! Yay! Great writers love to read. I search my pile of library books for my favorite titles.
· Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
· Pangolins and Poems About Other Strange Creatures by Esmeralda Rock*
· Lety Out Loud: A Wish Novel by Angela Cervantes
· If Kids Ran the World by Leo & Diane Dillon
· The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck
· Science Explorers: Search for a Giant Squid by Amy Seto Forrester & Andy Chou Musser
I pull out the poetry book about pangolins. I read three poems. Then I start to write a poem in my school poem book.
*You can”t read Pangolins and Poems About Other Strange Creatures because that book isn”t real.
Pangolins are scaly
Adorable and not hairy …
Anna wakes. “What are you doing?” she asks.
“I’m writing a poem. I can’t think of anything to rhyme with hairy.”
“How about fairy?” she suggests. She is very smart for a three-and-a-half-year-old. And she loves fairies. Spell even turned her into one once!
I try it.
Pangolins are scaly, Adorable and not hairy.
They are almost as cute As the type of armadillo called pink fairy.
I read it to Anna. She gets dressed and puts on her costume wings right away. I have inspired her with my poem! Together we go downstairs.
Mom follows us down. “Hey, Sweet Polly Pea,” she says. “You’ll be nice and early to school for once.”
I say, “I’m excited for our new class pet. Maybe if I get there early, I can see it first.”
Dad calls from the kitchen, “Backpack!”
I go and grab it.
“Remember to say hi to Anna at Library Lunch and Read,” Mom says and kisses the top of my head.
“I won’t forget. And I can’t wait to meet our class pet.” I stop. “Wow,” I say. “That rhymes. I’m a great poet!”
“And you know it!” Dad yells from the kitchen as I race out the door.
TWO
I race out of my house and head toward my school. Like always, I stop at my best friend Trixie’s house. Unlike always, Trixie is ready today. Topsy-turvy! She must be as excited as I am for our new pet. Trixie’s mom watches us run the block to school. She waves to us when we get there.
The schoolyard is almost empty. Trixie and I hang upside down on the monkey bars, waiting for the first bell. Upside down is one of my favorite words. I love how the word up and the word down are topsy-turvy.
“What do you think our class pet is?” I ask.
“Maybe a turtle? That’s what I wrote about,” Trixie says.
“A turtle would be great. I wrote about a pangolin.” I have a sudden and exciting thought. “What if it’s even more amazing than that?”
“Like what?”
“Like a griffin.”
Luala and Hannah arrive just then.
“What’s a griffin?” Hannah asks.
“It’s part lion and part eagle,” I say.
Luala throws down her backpack. “It has to be a real animal,” she says.
“Why?” I ask.
“I hope it’s not a spider,” Hannah says.
I hang upside down for a long time. Maybe a thousand years! We can hardly wait to see our surprise class pet. Luckily, the bell finally rings and we race inside.
But when we get to our classroom, somethin g is different.
The teacher in our classroom is tall. She has soft-looking hair.
“Where’s Ms. Hairball?” I ask. “Sorry. I mean, where is Ms. Arbul?” Ms. Hairball is our teacher, and she is the nicest teacher in the world.
“She’s away for the morning. I’m Mrs. Strange.” The tall, strange teacher smiles at me.
Our strange teacher’s name is Mrs. Strange! That’s so funny. But I am so disappointed that Ms. Hairball isn’t here that I can’t even smile. I love Ms. Hairball, and she never misses school. Today really is topsy-turvy.
The other kids are all coming in. “Where’s our surprise pet?” Dawson Dawsons asks.
“You mean the hamster?” Mrs. Strange asks.
“Hamster?” Dawson Dawsons asks. “We’re getting a hamster? That’s our surprise pet?”
Mrs. Strange nods and points to an empty hamster cage on her desk. She says, “The hamster is being delivered later today. The cage is all ready.”
I like hamsters, but I am a teeny bit disappointed. Well, a lot disappointed. Having a pangolin would be super duper. Their tongues are longer than their bodies.
“Children, please put your things in your cubbies,” Mrs. Strange says. “And then leave your stories on my desk.”
“But we’re going to read them out loud,” I say.
“I thought I’d read with you one by one. That seems less scary for you than reading in front of a new teacher.” She smiles at me.
Hmm. This was not the plan. I do not smile back.
I put my backpack in my cubby and then I put my story on Ms. Hairball’s desk. I go to my desk. I feel all topsy-turvy inside. And now not in a good way. My day suddenly feels all wrong.
1. No reading out loud to the class.
2. No pangolin.
3. No Ms. Hairball.
I need to think of a way to turn this topsy-turvy day the right way up.
I look over at my cubby, where Spell is. Super great. I can fix this day right now with magic.
Mrs. Strange says, “To your desks, please, class.” She claps her hands.
Urgh. Spell is going to have to wait.
After Mrs. Strange finishes taking attendance, she writes in loopy handwriting on our Smart Board: HAMSTERS ARE NOCTURNAL. She underlines nocturnal.
“Who knows what this means?” she asks.
Oooh! I know!
“Hamsters are awake at night,” I say. “Topsy-turvy! We’re sleeping then. They sleep in the day. This makes them a super-boring classroom pet. A pangolin would be a much better pet.”
“What is that?” Mrs. Strange asks.
Mrs. Strange has never heard of a pangolin! I thought teachers knew everything. “It’s a mammal with scales,” I say. “I chose it over a pink fairy armadillo. Those are cute, too, though.”
Mrs. Strange smiles. “Well, those are creative ideas.”
Aarav says, “I want a tarantula.”
Lots of kids make EWWWWW noises. Dawson Dawsons makes the loudest EWWWWW noise of all.
“I want a turtle,” Trixie says. “They are so sweet.”
“Turtles are not sweet,” Aarav replies. “They eat insects. Everyone knows insects and spiders are the best pets.”
“I want a monkey!” says Dawson Dawsons.
“I want a guinea pig,” Luala says.
“An anteater,” Mateo says.
Mrs. Strange claps her hands. “We get what we get, and we don’t get upset,” she says.
“You’re a poet, Mrs. Strange!” I cry.
Dawson Dawsons calls out, “We should call our hamster Bob.”
Mrs. Strange says, “Bob? That’s one idea. I thought we could work on some Word Streaks to come up with other ideas.”
“What’s a Word Streak?” I ask.
Mrs. Strange says, “You write one word. Then you write whatever word the first word makes you think of. And so on.”
She starts a Word Streak on the board:
· HAMSTER
· FOOD
· EATS
· NIBBLES
“See?” she says. “We could call the hamster Nibbles.”
It’s actually a good name.
“We’ll all do some Word Streaks,” Ms. Strange says. “And then we can vote on a name.”
My word streaks look like this:
1. hamster
chubby cheeks
hungry
hippo
Hippo seems like a strange name for a hamster. I try again.
2. hamster
hides
secret
spy
Spy could be a good name for a hamster. I love Word Streaks!
Mrs. Strange tells us that when we are done, we can draw or write. I get Spell out of my cubby. I still want to fix this topsy-turvy day. But first I want to let Spell know about our class pet. I write: We’re getting a class hamster.
Spell writes: Hi, Polly! What a great idea!
There is a pop at the front of the class.
My eyes widen! On the desk in the cage next to Mrs. Strange is a hamster!
THREE
The hamster is pale brown with a white patch on its chest. Its eyes are like tiny black beads. That is a simile. A simile is when something is described as being like something else. I love similes!
Mrs. Strange is reading over Hannah’s story with her. Neither of them has spotted the hamster.
Suddenly, Luala squeals, “It’s soooooo cute!” She points to the hamster.
Dawson Dawsons says, “Leaping lizards!” and leaps out of his chair.
We all crowd around the hamster. It looks terrified! Its eyes stare! Actually, a better word would be bulge! Writers like to use the perfect word to describe things. The eyes of the hamster bulge.
“Oh,” Mrs. Strange says, looking a bit confused.
She takes the hamster out.
“Can we pet it?” Hannah asks.
“Um, let’s all sit down, Class Three B.” She passes the hamster to Luala first, then Trixie. I wait and wait. I wait forever. A hundred years. A thousand. Finally, it is my turn. The hamster has small feet and a furry tummy. Its cheeks are puffy. I try to think of words to describe the way the four feet feel on my hand. Scratchy. Light. Scratchy and light are adjectives. Adjectives are describing words. Writers love to use adjectives. Writers also like to use similes. Like this: The hamster’s feet are like tiny twigs.
Mrs. Strange tells us it is time for the hamster to take a break. I bet Ms. Hairball would have let us play with the hamster longer. After all the excitement of class, the hamster tucks into the little box in its cage. I think it is sleeping. We turn our attention to the board. Mrs. Strange asks us for our name suggestions.
“Hippo,” I call out.
“Really?” Mrs. Strange says.
I read out my Word Streak. The one that ends with hippo. The whole class laughs!
Luala raises her hand. “Maybe we could call the hamster Apples.” She shares her Word Streak:
· hamster
· eats
· apples
The other kids seem to like it. I try again and suggest Spy. Trixie says Fluffball. Aarav tries Doodles.
“I like Doodles!” I say. Even though I did not come up with it, I think it’s very good. “That is a better name than Spy,” I say generously.
We put the names to a class vote. There are the same number of votes for Doodles and for Apples.
Mrs. Strange says, “Maybe you can have another vote when Ms. Arbul comes back to class this afternoon.”
The afternoon seems like a long way away. Now that the excitement of the hamster is over, the day drags. I really miss Ms. Hairball. I gaze at the hamster cage. The hamster stays in the little wooden box—sleeping.
It sleeps while we have recess.
It sleeps while we do math.
It sleeps when we go to music.
It is still sleeping when we come back to the classroom. Dawson Dawsons asks if we can take the hamster out again, but Mrs. Strange says, “We don’t want to exhaust the poor thing.” Dawson Dawsons asks again. And Mrs. Strange says no again. She goes to sit at her desk and begins to read a story with one kid, then another. She reads with nearly everyone in the class. But before it is my turn, the bell rings. I don’t get to read my story. I am super-duper disappointed. I miss Ms. Hairball even more.
