Astrid and Apollo and the Family Fun Fair Day Page 2

  The games’ flashing lights and colors were pretty to look at. It was fun hearing the workers calling out for people to play. When someone won a game, a loud bell clanged ding-ding-ding! and people cheered.

  Mom gave them tickets to play games, and Astrid and Apollo took Eliana by the hands.

  “Do you want to play pick-a-duck first? Or the fishing game?” asked Apollo.

  Astrid smiled. She liked both of those games because players always won a prize. Even if the prizes were small, it was fun to play. She hoped that would cheer up Eliana.

  Eliana was still grumpy, but she pointed at the pick-a-duck game.

  Apollo handed the worker a ticket, and Eliana reached toward the ducks floating on the water. She caught one, looked at the letter under the duck, and showed the worker. He smiled and gave her a small, white toy dog.

  “Fantastic job, Eliana!” said Dad.

  Eliana hugged the little dog. Then she gave it to Astrid to put in her pocket to keep safe.

  Apollo said, “Should we do the fishing game now?”

  Eliana nodded.

  Astrid and Apollo played the game with Eliana. They used short fishing poles to catch plastic fish from a small pool. A magnet on the fishing line connected with a piece of metal in the fish. Each fish had a number on it. When they caught their fish, they showed the numbers to the worker, and the worker handed them prizes.

  “I won a stuffed fish!” Apollo cheered.

  “And I won a unicorn!” said Astrid. “What about you, Eliana?”

  Eliana showed them her prize, which was a little purple octopus.

  “That’s cool, Eliana!” said Apollo.

  “Want to trade?” Astrid asked her.

  Eliana shook her head and smiled.

  “At least she’s smiling now,” said Astrid.

  Apollo nodded. “Are you happy now?” he asked Eliana.

  Eliana shrugged and whispered, “Soo-per, soo-per.”

  The twins looked at each other and shrugged too.

  As they walked by the ring toss game, the worker called into a megaphone.

  “Step right up! Win a giant boat, a giant truck, or a giant snake! Toss one ring around a bottle, and pick your prize!”

  Huge yellow, green, and blue plastic blow-up boats, trucks, and snakes hung above the glass bottles. The worker waved at Dad.

  “Step right up. Give it a try!” he said.

  Dad turned to look at the prizes and grinned.

  “You’ve always wanted a boat,” Mom teased him.

  “Try it, Dad!” said Apollo.

  “Do it, Dad! Win us a boat!” Astrid said.

  The twins jumped up and down. They were excited for Dad to play.

  Eliana was excited too. “Boat, boat, boat!” she said.

  Dad didn’t win the giant boat. But the rings he threw landed very close to the bottles, so he won a tiny inflatable boat.

  The kids walked away with their prizes. Dad handed Mom his boat.

  “Just what I always wanted!” she said, and Dad smiled proudly.

  Apollo held up his stuffed fish. “That was fun! And we’re almost done with the scavenger hunt. We only have taste left.”

  “Which is good, because I’m hungry!” Astrid said.

  “Well then, let’s eat!” said Mom.

  Astrid quickly checked the scavenger hunt sheet. “Let’s eat and fill in the TASTE boxes. We need to get things that are sweet, sour, and salty.”

  “I want the Large & Chubby Bacon Strips. Those are my favorite,” said Dad.

  “I’d like bacon too,” said Mom.

  Apollo nodded. “I want a Giant Turkey on a Stick!”

  “Don’t you mean drumstick?” asked Astrid.

  “Yes, but that’s what it’s called, Giant Turkey on a Stick,” said Apollo. “Don’t worry—it’s not a whole turkey!”

  “Okay, one for me too, then,” said Astrid. “So, the chubby bacon and turkey on a stick for the salty box. For sour, we should get lemonade,”

  “Great idea! What should we get for sweet?” asked Mom.

  Eliana pointed at the long lines of people in front of the cookie booth and cried, “Mar-tins!”

  Mom looked over. “Oh yes! We have to get Martin’s Biscuits. It wouldn’t be the fair without those chocolate chip cookies!”

  Apollo looked at the booth. He couldn’t believe how many people were lined up. He counted twenty lines of people waiting to buy the cookies!

  The lines were long and stretched so far back he couldn’t see where they ended.

  “The lines are too long! Can we get the cookies on our way home?” he asked.

  Eliana shook her head. “Mar-tins Bis-kits now!”

  Dad sighed. “Eliana and I will get in line for the chocolate chip cookies. The rest of you get turkey sticks, bacon, and lemonade.”

  “Then our scavenger hunt sheet will be done!” Astrid said.

  “And our stomachs will be full!” Apollo said and rubbed his belly.

  CHAPTER 5

  Soo-per Surprise Prize

  After they got all the food and drinks, Astrid and Apollo found an empty table for everyone to sit at. They ate their turkey sticks while Mom and Dad ate bacon strips. Mom had also bought a corn dog for Eliana.

  “You can eat the cookies after the corn dog,” Mom said to her.

  Eliana frowned and bit into her corn dog.

  “This turkey is good, but it would be even better with sticky rice,” said Astrid.

  “And pepper!” said Apollo.

  “Oh, that would go great with the chubby bacon too,” said Dad.

  “Next time, I’ll pack some spicy pepper sauce in my purse,” Mom said.

  Apollo and Dad laughed.

  Astrid smiled. The warm cookies were spilling from their little paper basket onto the bench. She could smell the sweet cookies and see the melting chocolate chips oozing from them.

  “Martin’s Biscuits are the greatest,” she said. “We can’t come to the fair without eating them.”

  Apollo licked his lips. “I’m eating some as soon as I finish my drumstick!”

  Eliana chewed her corn dog and said, “Soo-per.”

  “Your corn dog is super?” Dad asked her.

  Eliana stood up. “Soo-per!” she repeated.

  “That again? What is she saying?” Apollo asked.

  “It’s a mystery,” said Astrid. She put her arm around Eliana. “Sorry we were busy playing the scavenger hunt game all day. But try and tell us. What is this super sippy thing you keep talking about?”

  Eliana began pointing again. Dad picked her up. “Let’s go for a walk, Gao Chee, and you can show me,” he said to her.

  After Dad and Eliana left, Astrid took out the scavenger hunt sheet. All nine boxes had words written inside them.

  “We found everything here. We got see, hear, touch, smell, and taste,” Astrid said.

  “Excellent!” said Mom.

  Apollo read what they had written down. “Sour lemonade, sweet Martin’s Biscuits, and salty bacon and turkey sticks. Then we have beautiful butterflies, Hmong music, smelly barn smells, and wet stingrays.”

  “Don’t forget the cold snow cones and hot corn on the cob,” added Astrid.

  Mom checked over the sheet too. “Great job! Now we just need to look for the X on the map to turn this in.”

  Apollo flipped the sheet to the back and studied the map. “It looks like we’re close to it.”

  Astrid turned to see a table with teenagers holding the green papers. “Look, it’s right there!”

  “Let’s go!” said Apollo.

  “Now we’ll find out what our surprise prize is!” said Astrid.

  The twins stood up from the table just as Dad and Eliana were coming back.

  “I figured out what Eliana’s been wanting!” said Dad happily.

  “Just a minute, Dad,” said Astrid. “We’re going to get our prize!”

  The family walked up to the scavenger hunt tables. Astrid handed in their sheet.
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  “Thank you!” said the same teenage girl from before. After she read it, she said, “Congratulations! Using your five senses, you found everything on your Family Fun Fair Day Scavenger Hunt. Now it’s time for your prize.”

  She reached into an envelope and pulled out a long roll of tickets. “Here are twenty-five free tickets to use for the Super Slippery Slope!”

  She pointed to the huge yellow slides behind them.

  Apollo’s eyes widened. Astrid’s mouth dropped open.

  Eliana clapped her hands and giggled. “See, see, see! Soo-per sip-puh-dee slow!”

  “Amazing. We won exactly what Eliana has been asking for the whole day!” Dad said.

  For the rest of the afternoon, Astrid, Apollo, Eliana, Mom, and Dad climbed up the long flight of stairs. Then they slid down the Super Slippery Slope slides. Over and over and over again. They laughed and screamed in delight every time.

  Facts about the Hmong

  Hmong people first lived in southern China. Many of them moved to Southeast Asia in the 1800s. Some Hmong decided to stay in the country of Laos (pronounced LAH-ohs).

  In the 1950s, a war called the Vietnam War started in Southeast Asia. The United States joined this war. They asked the Hmong in Laos to help them. When the U.S. lost the war, Hmong people had to leave Laos.

  After 1975, many Hmong came to the U.S. as refugees. Refugees are people who escape from their country to find a new, safe place to live. Today, Minnesota is home to around 80,000 Hmong.

  Many Hmong American families enjoy outdoor activities like camping, boating, and fishing.

  Popular Hmong Foods

  bubble tea —

  a sweet dessert drink that comes in different flavors and has chewy black balls made of tapioca

  fish sauce —

  a strong, salty sauce that is used as a seasoning for Hmong and other Southeast Asian dishes

  pandan —

  a tropical plant used as a sweet flavoring in Southeast Asian cakes and desserts

  pepper sauce —

  a very spicy sauce made with chopped Thai chili peppers, lime, and fish sauce. It is used as a dip for meat.

  pork and green vegetable soup —

  pork and leafy green vegetables boiled in a broth. This is a typical dish that Hmong families eat at mealtime.

  rice in water —

  a bowl or plate of rice with water added to it. Many Hmong children and elderly Hmong people like to eat rice this way.

  spring roll —

  fresh vegetables, cooked rice noodles, and meat wrapped in soft rice paper. Spring rolls are different from egg rolls because they are not fried.

  sticky rice —

  soft, sticky rice that kids like to smush into little balls and eat by hand. The rice is a light cream or purple color.

  Glossary

  aquarium (ah-KWAIR-ee-um) —

  a place where fish and other water animals are kept

  audience (AW-dee-uhnss) —

  people who watch or listen to a play, movie, or show

  biscuit (BISS-kit) —

  a small doughy roll, or another word for a cookie

  gondola (GAWN-duh-luh) —

  a passenger car suspended from cables that transports people above ground

  grandstand (GRAND-stand) —

  a large stage or stadium

  husk (HUSSK) —

  the outer layer, as around a cob of corn

  inflatable (in-FLAY-tuh-buhl) —

  able to be blown up with air

  international (in-ter-NASH-uh-nuhl) —

  involving more than one country

  midway (MIDD-way) —

  the area of a fair or carnival with games or rides

  scavenger hunt (SCAV-en-jer HUNT) —

  a game in which players need to find certain items

  stingray (STING-ray) —

  a fish with a round, flat shape and a long tail

  Talk about It

  Eliana is frustrated that her family doesn’t understand what she’s asking for. How do you think Eliana’s family should have responded?

  It’s International Hmong Day at the fair. Astrid and Apollo’s family watch performers sing and dance to traditional Hmong music. Have you ever attended a cultural celebration? Recall what you saw, heard, smelled, and tasted there.

  Write it Down

  It’s a yearly tradition for Astrid and Apollo’s family to go to the state fair. Do you have a tradition in your family for something that happens only once a year? Write a paragraph about your tradition.

  Astrid and Apollo’s family have a great time at the fair—especially eating all the fun foods! Make a list of the foods their family eats in the story. Write an adjective (describing word) next to each food about how it tastes, or how you think it would taste.

  Imagine that you are going to a fair. Draw a map of the fair and include all the things you think a fair should have—game booths, food stands, animals, rides? Then draw the route you’ll take to each of the stops you’d like to make at the fair!

  About the Author

  V.T. Bidania has been writing stories ever since she was five years old. She was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, right where Astrid and Apollo live! She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Writing Fellow. She lives outside of the Twin Cities and spends her free time reading all the books she can find, writing more stories, and playing with her family’s sweet Morkie.

  About the Illustrator

  Evelt Yanait is a freelance children’s digital artist from Barcelona, Spain, where she grew up drawing and reading wonderful illustrated books. After working as a journalist for an NGO for many years, she decided to focus on illustration, her true passion. She loves to learn, write, travel, and watch documentaries, discovering and capturing new lifestyles and stories whenever she can. She also does social work with children and youth, and she’s currently earning a Social Education degree.

  Published by Picture Window Books, an imprint of Capstone.

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  capstonepub.com

  Text copyright © 2022 by V.T. Bidania.

  Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Capstone.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

  ISBN: 9781666337464 (hardcover)

  ISBN: 9781666337426 (paperback)

  ISBN: 9781666337389 (ebook PDF)

  ISBN: 9781666337563 (ebook)

  Summary: It’s time for the fair! Astrid, Apollo, Eliana, and their parents head out for a day of fun, food, and family. The fair is hosting a scavenger hunt, and they join the game to find mystery items based on the five senses. But the biggest puzzle of all is trying to figure out what Eliana is asking for! As they hunt their way through the list, eating their favorite foods and playing their favorite games, will they finally discover what Eliana’s favorite is?

  Designer: Tracy Davies

  Design Elements: Shutterstock/Ingo Menhard, 60, Shutterstock/Yangxiong (Hmong pattern), 5 and throughout

 

 

  V.T. Bidania, Astrid and Apollo and the Family Fun Fair Day

 

 

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