Astrid and Apollo and the Super Staycation Read online

  When Apollo was done, he painted grass and rocks near the edges of the river.

  “That looks nice!” said Astrid. “But I feel like something’s missing.”

  Apollo stepped back and looked at his painting. “Me too. What could we add?”

  Eliana squinted at the water. “Fish!” she said.

  Astrid and Apollo smiled at each other.

  “Of course! Thanks, Eliana,” said Apollo. “Do you want to paint fish?”

  Eliana nodded.

  “But her hands have red paint,” said Astrid. “She needs to wash them first.”

  Apollo smiled. “What if she uses her feet to paint?” he said.

  “Feet?” Eliana and Astrid both said at once, and then all three laughed.

  Apollo put more newspaper on the floor and then set his river painting down on top of it. Next he poured a shiny silvery paint into a puddle. Then he and Astrid helped Eliana step in the paint and then onto the river painting.

  Eliana giggled and pressed down with her feet and toes. She was painting silver fish!

  “You are a human paintbrush!” said Apollo.

  Then Luna tried to jump onto the river painting, but Astrid picked her up before she could smudge the fish prints.

  “We said human paintbrush, not puppy paintbrush!” Astrid said.

  When the paintings were done, the twins cleaned up their art supplies. They put their paint smocks away and carried Eliana to the bathroom so she wouldn’t leave paint footprints on the floor.

  Luna chased them into the bathroom as they cleaned up. She watched them wash paint off Eliana’s feet.

  Astrid blew a big bubble from her soapy hands. Eliana popped it with her finger. Apollo blew a bubble too. It floated to the floor.

  Luna stared at the bubble as it landed on her nose. Then she sneezed!

  They dried their hands and walked back into the living room. Astrid said, “Where should we hide the paintings?”

  Apollo looked around. “How about behind the couch? We’ll tell Mom and Dad not to peek there.”

  The twins pulled the couch away from the wall. They were hiding the paintings on the floor behind the couch just as Mom and Dad walked in.

  Mom looked at the room. “Why is the couch moved away from the wall?”

  “No reason! Don’t worry, we didn’t spill anything,” Astrid said quickly.

  “Actually, we planned a surprise for tomorrow,” Apollo said.

  Dad leaned his head to one side. “What kind of surprise?”

  “You have to wait until tomorrow to find out,” Astrid said.

  Apollo nodded. “You’ll see in the morning!”

  “Okay,” Mom said with a small smile. “Let’s have lunch now. Since we aren’t going to the airport tomorrow, we can figure out what to do instead.”

  Astrid and Apollo saw the sad look on Mom’s face.

  Dad saw it too. “At least we don’t have to get up early. We can all sleep in!” he said cheerily.

  Astrid and Apollo nodded. They felt bad for Mom, but they were also excited for the staycation surprise. They knew they wouldn’t be sleeping in!

  CHAPTER 5

  Staycation Surprise!

  The next morning, Astrid woke up first. Outside the window, she could see big clouds in the sky. The worst storm in fifty years was starting.

  Eliana was still asleep, so Astrid quietly climbed out of bed. She walked down the hall to Apollo’s room and knocked on the door.

  “Apollo?” she whispered. “Wake up so we can get the surprise ready! I told everyone to come over early.”

  “I’m up!” he said and opened the door. He had a big grin on his face.

  Astrid and Apollo tiptoed down the stairs. Luna was already awake in her kennel. She was sitting up and watching them with big eyes. She was ready for the surprise too!

  “Good morning, Luna.” Astrid opened the kennel and Luna hopped out, wagging her tail.

  Luna hurried over to the paintings and sniffed them.

  Apollo leaned over to check them. “They’re all dry now. They turned out so good!”

  Astrid looked at the paintings. “The colors are bright! Eliana’s poppy flowers and fish look perfect.”

  Apollo nodded. “Let’s hang them up!”

  Together, the twins taped the paintings all over the room. They put a field of poppy flowers on each wall. Then they hung the river painting on the longest wall.

  Astrid looked around. “It’s like we’re really outside!”

  “Like we’re really in Laos!” Apollo said.

  “Wow!” said Eliana.

  Astrid and Apollo turned to see her coming down the stairs.

  “Pretty, right?” asked Astrid.

  Eliana nodded and curled up on the couch with her blanket. Luna hopped up beside her.

  Apollo looked out the window. It was starting to rain. “Uncle Meng’s van is here! And I see Auntie May parking. There’s Lily coming up the sidewalk with her umbrella. Everyone’s here!”

  Astrid opened the front door. “Quick, come in out of the rain! Let’s get everything ready before Mom and Dad wake up!”

  “Mom? Dad? Time for your surprise!” Astrid said through her parents’ bedroom door.

  Apollo knocked on it three times. “Come downstairs to see!”

  “What is it?” said Mom in a sleepy voice.

  They could hear Dad yawning. “I thought we were sleeping in today?” he said.

  “Come down!” said Apollo. “This is better than sleep!”

  He and Astrid hurried to the living room. They were so excited they couldn’t stop giggling.

  When Mom and Dad got downstairs, they were surprised to see Nia Thy, Uncle Meng, Auntie May, and Lily all in the living room.

  “Surprise!” the whole group yelled.

  “Well this is a surprise! And why is everyone here?” Mom asked with a laugh.

  Dad rubbed his eyes. “And so early too.”

  Mom covered her mouth with her hands. “What are these wonderful paintings on the walls?”

  Nia Thy nodded at Astrid and Apollo. They stood up.

  “Welcome to your staycation surprise!” Astrid and Apollo said.

  Eliana waved her arm out. “Da-da!” she said.

  Astrid took Mom’s hand and walked her to one of the poppy paintings. “Here are your poppy flowers from when you were little.”

  Mom put a hand over her heart. Her eyes watered. “They’re beautiful.”

  Apollo took Dad to the river painting. “And here is the river you played in as a kid.”

  Dad smiled and nodded. “And I even see fish in there! Little… feet-shaped fish?”

  “I did it!” said Eliana and pointed at her toes for all to see.

  “This is terrific,” said Dad.

  “Now, come over here,” said Astrid. She took her parents to the coffee table where there were bowls of fresh fruits and vegetables. Beside the table was a Hmong shovel, an ax, and a hoe.

  “This is to remind you of farming in Laos,” said Apollo.

  Mom and Dad looked at the tools.

  Nia Thy smiled. “Just like back home.”

  Then Astrid said, “You even get to eat your favorite food from Laos!”

  Auntie May walked over and handed them a big bowl of papaya salad.

  “For breakfast?” Dad asked.

  Mom smelled the bowl. “Mmm. I can smell the shrimp paste. And the pepper.”

  Luna stood by Mom and wiggled her nose.

  “So can Luna!” Uncle Meng chuckled.

  Auntie May handed them each a fork. “Try some.”

  “Wait!” said Lily. “You have to wear these first.”

  She gave pairs of flip-flops to the whole family. Mom and Dad laughed as they slipped on the shoes.

  Then Astrid said, “Mom and Dad, we know you’re sad we couldn’t go to Laos today.”

  “We’re sad too,” Apollo said. “But even though we couldn’t have a vacation there, we can still have a staycation right here.”


  “We brought Laos to you!” said Astrid.

  Mom and Dad hugged the twins and Eliana.

  Astrid pointed all around the room. “Well?”

  “Do you like it?” Apollo asked.

  Mom and Dad looked at each other and smiled.

  “No.” Dad shook his head. “We love it!”

  “Thank you very much! This feels just like home,” Mom said.

  The wind howled outside and rain tapped against the windows of the house. The storm was here. But Astrid, Apollo, and their family enjoyed their Laos staycation safe at home.

  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

  banh mi —

  a spicy sandwich filled with meat and pickled vegetables

  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

  papaya salad —

  a sour, spicy salad made of papaya (that is not yet ripe), tomatoes, garlic, lime, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and fresh pepper

  peanut sauce —

  a creamy sweet and spicy peanut dip that is eaten with spring rolls

  pork and green vegetable soup —

  pork and leafy green vegetables boiled in a broth

  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.

  Vietnamese coffee —

  rich coffee served with sweetened condensed milk

  Glossary

  brainstorm (BRAYN-storm) —

  to come up with many ideas

  cancel (KAN-suhl) —

  to stop or end something before it begins

  delay (dih-LAY) —

  to put off until a later time

  hoe (HOE) —

  a tool with a thin flat blade on a long handle used for gardening or farming

  kennel (KEN-uhl) —

  a small enclosure for a pet

  poppy (POP-ee) —

  a flower usually reddish orange in color

  smudge (SMUDJ) —

  to smear

  staycation (stay-KAY-shun) —

  a vacation taken at home or in your home city

  Talk about It

  Astrid and Apollo and their family are excited for their trip to Laos, but a storm causes the trip to get canceled. Did you ever have something get canceled that you had been looking forward to? How did you handle the situation?

  Astrid and Apollo know their parents are especially sad about missing the trip to Laos. What clues in the text let the reader know how important their home country is to their mom and dad?

  Think about a time someone did something nice to cheer you up. Did it work? Was there ever a time when you tried to cheer someone up? What did you do?

  Write it Down

  Sometimes decisions are out of our control, such as when bad weather affects our plans. Draw a picture of how you feel when something is beyond your control.

  Imagine that Astrid and Apollo’s trip to Laos had not been canceled. Write a paragraph describing some of the things they might have done there, based on what you read in the story.

  What would you like to do for a staycation? Would you visit a local museum? A park? Maybe you would have a theme party, like Astrid and Apollo did. Make a list or draw pictures of five things you would like to do with your family if you took a staycation.

  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

  Names: Bidania, V. T., author. | Yanait, Evelt, illustrator.

  Title: Astrid and Apollo and the super staycation / by V.T. Bidania ; illustrated by Evelt Yanait.

  Description: North Mankato, Minnesota : Picture Window Books, [2022] | Series: Astrid and Apollo | Audience: Ages 6-8. | Audience: Grades K-1. | Summary: When bad weather cancels the family trip to Laos, where their mother’s cousin is getting married, twins Astrid and Apollo try to cheer up their parents by surprising them with a Laos-themed stay-at-home vacation.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2021970041 (print) | LCCN 2021970042 (ebook) | ISBN 9781666337457 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781666337419 (paperback) | ISBN 9781666337525 (pdf) | ISBN 9781666337372 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Hmong American families—Juvenile fiction. | Twins—Juvenile fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Juvenile fiction. | Family vacations—Juvenile fiction. | Parent and child—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Twins—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Family vacations—Fiction. | Parent and child—Fiction. | Hmong American families—Fiction. | LCGFT: Picture books.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B5333 Ate 2022 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.B5333 (ebook) | DDC [E]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021970041

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021970042

  Designer: Tracy Davies

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

 

 

  V.T. Bidania, Astrid and Apollo and the Super Staycation

 

 

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