Astrid and Apollo and the Family Fun Fair Day Read online

  To Trystan & Justyn—VTB

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Meet Astrid & Apollo

  Chapter 1: Family Fun Fair Day

  Chapter 2: Butterflies and Music

  Chapter 3: Stingrays and Smelly Smells

  Chapter 4: Game Time!

  Chapter 5: Soo-per Surprise Prize

  Facts about the Hmong

  Glossary

  Talk about It

  Write it Down

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Cover

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Start of Content

  Main Body

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  2b

  back cover

  Meet Astrid & Apollo

  Hi, I’m Astrid. My twin brother is Apollo, and we were born in Minnesota. We live here with our mom, dad, and little sister, Eliana.

  Hi, I’m Apollo! Our mom and dad were both born in Laos. They came to the United States when they were very young and grew up here.

  Hmong Words

  gao (GOW) —

  girl; it is often placed in front of a girl’s name. Hmong spelling: nkauj

  Gao Chee (GOW chee) —

  shiny girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Ci

  Gao Hlee (GOW lee) —

  moon girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Hli

  Gao Nou (GOW new) —

  sun girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Hnub

  Hmong (MONG) —

  a group of people who came to the U.S. from Laos. Many Hmong from Laos now live in Minnesota. Hmong spelling: Hmoob

  Nia Thy (nee-YAH thy) —

  grandmother on the mother’s side. Hmong spelling: Niam Tais

  Nou Kou (NEW koo) —

  star. Hmong spelling: Hnub Qub

  tou (TOO) —

  boy or son; it is often placed in front of a boy’s name. Hmong spelling: tub

  CHAPTER 1

  Family Fun Fair Day

  Astrid and Apollo stepped off the bus. They looked around the big parking lot.

  “We’re here!” said Astrid.

  “It’s going to be so fun!” said Apollo.

  More buses were driving into the lot. Groups of people were walking toward the main entrance. Up ahead, the giant Ferris wheel filled the sky.

  Astrid and Apollo smiled at each other. They were so excited to be at the annual state fair.

  They never got tired of the rides, the games, the animals, or the exhibits. Most of all, they loved the food.

  “People! People!” said Eliana, pointing at the crowds lining up.

  “Yes, lots of people. Lots of lines too,” said Dad. He lifted Eliana onto his shoulders.

  “Good thing we already have our tickets. We won’t have to wait in a long line to buy them,” Mom said.

  “Stay together, everybody!” said Dad.

  The twins followed their parents and Eliana through the gate. They could smell the corn dogs and cotton candy in the air.

  They saw colorful gondola cars moving along the cables high overhead. A little boy inside a red car waved down at them.

  They were still waving back when a teenage girl walked up to them.

  “Welcome! Would you like to go on a scavenger hunt?” the girl asked them.

  “What kind of scavenger hunt?” asked Dad.

  “For Family Fun Fair Day!” she said.

  “How do we play?” asked Astrid.

  The girl handed them a pencil and a piece of green paper that had nine squares on it.

  “Go around the fair. Use your five senses to look for things listed in these boxes. When you find something that matches, write it in the box,” she explained.

  “Our five senses?” Apollo said.

  “Yes! You’ll want to search for things you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. Once you have filled in each box, turn in your sheet, and you’ll win a prize!”

  Eliana looked at her with a curious face.

  “Prize?” she said.

  “What’s the prize?” Astrid and Apollo asked at the same time.

  “The prize is a surprise! But I think you’ll like it,” the girl said.

  She pointed to the map on the back of the paper. “Come here to this X to collect your prize when you’re done. Good luck!”

  She gave them a big smile and walked over to another family.

  Astrid looked at the sheet. There were nine squares with different words written in each. One square had the word hot. Another had the word cold. In other squares, she saw loud, sour, sweet, and other words.

  “Can we play?” Astrid asked her parents. She loved scavenger hunts— she was really good at finding things!

  “We could win the surprise prize! Whatever that is,” Apollo said with a laugh.

  Mom nodded. “A scavenger hunt at the fair will make the day even more fun.”

  “What a good idea to use your five senses,” said Dad. “I’ll be in charge of all the tasting ones!” he joked.

  “Yay!” said Astrid.

  Apollo looked down at Eliana.

  “Do you want to go on the scavenger hunt too?” he asked her.

  Eliana shook her head and shouted, “No! Soo-per sip-puh-dee!” as she did a little dance.

  “Please stop shouting, Eliana,” Mom said and patted Eliana’s head.

  They walked down the main street of the fair.

  They passed other families waiting to buy foot-long hot dogs, buckets of french fries, and giant bags of caramel popcorn.

  “Astrid, can I see the paper, please?” Mom asked.

  They stopped while she read it over.

  “Why don’t we find the easy things first? Here it says cold. Let’s start with that,” Mom said.

  “I’m thirsty, so how about a cold drink?” Dad suggested.

  “I want something cold too,” said Apollo. He pointed to a drink stand. “Over there!”

  They got in line and Dad ordered an ice-cold soda for himself.

  Everyone else ordered snow cones—lime, cherry, blueberry, and mango!

  “Brrr!” Astrid said after she took her first bite. She looked at the scavenger hunt sheet and wrote icy soda and snow cones in the cold box. “One down, eight to go! What should we hunt for next?”

  “Soo-per sip-puh-dee!” Eliana yelled around a mouthful of cherry snow c
one.

  “Super sip? Dad, I think she wants a sip of your soda,” Apollo said.

  “No sip!” Eliana shouted.

  “Eliana, you’re being too loud again,” said Astrid.

  Eliana stuck out her bottom lip.

  Apollo saw the box that said colorful. “Let’s find something we can look at. There are colors all around us—which should we choose for the scavenger hunt?”

  Just as he said that, Astrid noticed a big sign right above Apollo’s head. It read “The Big and Beautiful Butterfly Forest.”

  “We can go in there to look at colorful butterflies!” she said.

  CHAPTER 2

  Butterflies and Music

  The Big and Beautiful Butterfly Forest was inside a building with a high ceiling. It was filled with trees and flowers. Butterflies of every color fluttered around.

  Mom and Dad took pictures as a playful yellow butterfly perched on Astrid’s shoulder.

  A blue butterfly landed on Apollo’s head. He tried to look up at it, but he couldn’t see it. “Is it still there? Did it fly away yet?” he asked, holding still so he wouldn’t scare it away.

  Astrid giggled. “It isn’t moving. Maybe it fell asleep!”

  An orange butterfly flew onto Eliana’s shirtsleeve. Then a blue one landed on her arm, and a brown one perched on her hand. It had big circles on its wings that looked like eyes!

  Eliana stared at the brown butterfly’s wings. They gently fluttered up and down.

  “Look! Look!” she said.

  Mom took more pictures as people gathered around to see all the butterflies on Eliana.

  “They must think Eliana is a flower!” Dad said. “A beautiful flower for beautiful butterflies.”

  Mom nodded. “Yes, beautiful! And now we can check colorful off the list!”

  They left the Big and Beautiful Butterfly Forest and headed over to the midway—the part of the fair with the rides!

  Huge roller coasters rose high into the sky. The spaceship ride spun around and around in a circle. People climbed into the giant slingshot ride, ready to be tossed into the air.

  “Scary!” Eliana said, her eyes big.

  Astrid agreed. “I don’t want to ride that ever!”

  “I do!” said Apollo, laughing. “Or maybe next year….”

  Then they heard music coming from the grandstand—the big stage where bands and performers put on shows.

  “Is that a concert?” Mom asked.

  Dad read the grandstand sign and said, “The International Hmong Day program is starting now. Let’s go see the celebration!”

  “Sip-puh-dee?” Eliana said, but everyone else was too busy trying to hear the music to notice.

  Astrid and Apollo sat with their family and watched the grandstand stage. A Hmong band played a happy song. The audience clapped along to the guitars, keyboard, and drums.

  Next a Hmong dance troupe performed a lively dance. The silver coins from their costumes jingled as the performers danced to loud music. They did flips and leaps and spins! Everyone cheered.

  Then a singer came on to the stage wearing a bright, shiny Hmong dress. She sang a pretty song that made everyone smile.

  Afterward, a man with a microphone thanked everyone for celebrating International Hmong Day.

  As Astrid and Apollo walked out of the grandstand, they talked excitedly.

  “I’m glad we saw that!” said Apollo.

  “Me too! Thanks for taking us, Dad,” said Astrid.

  “It was a really nice show,” Mom agreed.

  “We heard great music in there too,” said Astrid.

  “Yes, loud music!” Apollo said and looked at the scavenger hunt sheet. “Now we can cross off the loud box!”

  Eliana pulled at the sheet in Apollo’s hand. She said, “Sip-puh-dee! NOW!”

  “Eliana, please give back the sheet,” said Apollo. “Let’s see what’s next on our scavenger hunt!”

  Eliana squeezed her eyes shut and made fists at her sides.

  Astrid saw the word hot on the sheet and said, “Can we look for something hot?”

  “Let’s see… ” said Apollo, thinking. He looked around and spotted corn husks stacked high in a garbage can. People stood nearby eating corn. “How about corn on the cob?” Apollo said.

  Astrid glanced over at the booth selling corn. “They’re hot from being on the grill.”

  “They’re yummy too,” said Mom.

  “Let’s get some!” said Dad.

  As they stood in line, Astrid and Apollo watched the crowds of people at the fair. They saw a group of kids walk by carrying the green scavenger hunt sheet.

  “That was a cool prize!” one of them said, smiling. The others nodded.

  “The coolest!” another kid said.

  Astrid and Apollo grinned at each other.

  “I really wonder what the prize could be,” said Apollo.

  “We’re going to find out!” said Astrid.

  When it was their turn, Mom bought five cobs of corn. Melted butter dripped down the sides. The corn felt warm in their hands.

  Astrid and Apollo sat on the grass. Mom, Dad, and Eliana sat on a bench nearby.

  “These are so good!” said Astrid, wiping her buttery chin with a napkin.

  Apollo nodded. “Just as good as the corn from Nia Thy’s farm.”

  Eliana took a bite and nodded.

  Apollo wiped the butter off his fingers, then crossed out hot on the green sheet. He read the remaining boxes. “Next we need to find something wet or slippery. Where can we find that?”

  Eliana squealed, “Sip-puh-dee! Over there!”

  “Why do you keep saying that?” Astrid asked.

  Eliana jumped up and pointed in the distance. But instead of what Eliana was pointing at, Astrid saw the aquarium. Its entrance was just past where Eliana stood.

  The aquarium had a big picture of stingrays hanging in the window. Above the picture, a sign read, “Pet real stingrays!”

  “Stingrays are in water, which is wet! Eliana, you found the perfect thing for us!” said Astrid.

  CHAPTER 3

  Stingrays and Smelly Smells

  “Can we go to the aquarium?” Apollo asked Mom and Dad.

  Mom and Dad nodded, and Eliana chased after the twins as they went inside.

  In the aquarium, kids were lining up next to a long tank. Small stingrays swam around in it. Workers stood by to answer questions about the different kinds of stingrays.

  “Does it hurt if you touch them?” asked Astrid.

  “These stingrays won’t hurt you, but you do have to be gentle,” said the worker. He showed them how to hold out their hands. “Be very careful when you touch the top of the stingray.”

  Astrid, Apollo, and Eliana watched the stingrays glide by. It looked like they were flying through the water!

  “The skin looks so smooth,” said Astrid.

  “It soft?” asked Eliana.

  “I’ll go first and let you know,” said Apollo. He lowered his hand into the water. The stingray swam under his hand, then paused. Apollo slowly wiggled his fingers.

  “It’s not slippery—it’s rough,” said Apollo. “It feels sandy!”

  Astrid petted another stingray and said, “Like sandpaper!”

  Then it was Eliana’s turn. She giggled when the stingray swam under her hand.

  When they were done petting the stingrays, Apollo looked at the sheet again. “We’re all done with touch, hear, and see!”

  “Now we just need smell and taste,” Astrid said, looking over Apollo’s shoulder at the sheet.

  As Astrid and Apollo walked outside, a breeze blew by. A smell hit their noses. But it didn’t smell like the yummy food smells of the fair.

  Astrid wrinkled her nose. “It smells like a farm!” she said.

  Eliana pinched her nose with her fingers. Dad smiled and copied her.

  Apollo turned to see where the smell was coming from. “It’s the barn!”

  “Let’s go visit the animals!”
said Astrid.

  “Is there a box on the sheet that says stinky?” Mom asked with a laugh.

  “There is one that says strong smell. And this is a really smelly smell! I think that counts!” said Apollo.

  Eliana pointed in the direction opposite the barn. “No, go sip-puh-dee!”

  Dad picked her up and asked, “Don’t you want to pet the animals?”

  Eliana pouted and flopped in Dad’s arms.

  Inside the barn, families lined up to see farm animals. One section of the barn had pink pigs, brown pigs, and little spotted piglets. Another section had fluffy white sheep and noisy gray goats.

  On the other side of the barn were black and white cows and brown cows. One little calf wobbled up close to the gate. It looked up at Astrid and Apollo with big, dark eyes.

  “That calf is so cute!” said Astrid.

  “It would be neat to have as a pet!” said Apollo.

  Then a man with a name tag that read Farmer Frank showed everyone how to milk a cow. He smiled at Eliana and said, “Would you like to try?”

  But Eliana didn’t want to. She hid her face in Dad’s shirt.

  When they were done looking at the sheep, goats, and pigs, the twins headed out of the barn with their family.

  “That was fun. And the baby barn animals were so sweet. I want to take all of them home!” said Astrid.

  “They were cute, but some of them were a little smelly. They can live in your room,” Apollo joked.

  “Lot smelly!” said Eliana. “Soo-per sip-puh-dee now!”

  CHAPTER 4

  Game Time!

  “What is she saying?” said Astrid.

  “We don’t understand you,” Apollo said.

  Eliana’s cheeks turned red as she said, “Now, now, now!”

  “Can you show us what you mean, Eliana?” Mom asked.

  Eliana sat on the ground and threw her arms up. “Soo-per sip-puh-dee!”

  Everyone looked at her, confused.

  Dad picked her up. “Maybe a ride will cheer her up.”

  Eliana opened her mouth wide and cried, “Sip-puh-dee, sip-puh-dee, sip-puh-dee!”

  “How about games? Maybe games will calm her down,” Mom suggested.

  “I’ll play some games!” Astrid said. She loved the games at the fair, even if it was almost impossible to win the biggest prizes.