Lawn to Lawn Read online

  THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

  Copyright © 2010 by Dan Yaccarino

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Yaccarino, Dan.

  Lawn to lawn / Dan Yaccarino. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: When their family moves away and leaves them behind, a group of lawn ornaments sets out on a dangerous trek across the country to try to find them.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98630-7

  [1. Garden ornaments and furniture—Fiction. 2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 3. Voyages and travels—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.Y125Law 2010 [E]—dc22 2009002303

  The illustrations in this book were created using gouache on Arches watercolor paper.

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  Title Page

  Copyright

  First Page

  About the Author

  “I can’t wait to move to our new home!” said Pearl.

  Betty, Flo, Norm, and Jack weren’t so sure. They’d never even left the lawn before. But they all loved Pearl, and where she went, they wanted to go too.

  Moving day came. Pearl’s parents had packed up everything in the house, but in the confusion, they left a few things behind.

  “I may be wrong,” said Norm. “But I think they forgot us.”

  “What’ll we do?” squawked Flo.

  “If we stay here,” said Betty, “the new owners may store us in the garage—or, worse …”

  “THE CURB!” they all said.

  “And once the trash truck takes a lawn ornament,” declared Jack, “it never comes back.”

  “We have to find Pearl,” said Jack. “Let’s go!”

  “Hey—a map,” said Betty. “It looks like Pearl’s moving to a place called Ritzy Estates. It looks far.”

  Flo didn’t know what she was more afraid of—leaving the lawn or being left behind.

  “Well,” said Norm, “have a good trip. See you when you get back.”

  They had to remind him that he was coming with them.

  The ornaments set off, following the map, but they hadn’t gotten very far when they heard a familiar rumble and wheeze.

  “Trash truck!” honked Flo.

  They all froze. Only Pearl knew that they were real. They’d have to be careful. Some people didn’t love lawn ornaments the way Pearl did.

  One dark day, they found themselves lost.

  “Do you need directions?” asked a garden gnome.

  “Why, yes we do!” said Norm.

  “What a coincidence!” replied the gnome. “So do we!”

  Gnomes weren’t great with maps.

  So Betty and Jack told the gnomes where to go and plotted a new route for themselves.

  The road was rough, but the ornaments were careful…

  …and always kept a lookout for the dreaded trash truck.

  They had just climbed a tall building to figure out where they were when a gang of creepy gargoyles started following them.

  Luckily, a brave moose statue chased them away.

  “How can I ever thank you?” asked Betty, her heart all aflutter.

  “Think nothing of it, ma’am!” said the moose.

  The ornaments traveled through swamps and fields. They climbed buildings and mountains.

  But they still had a long way to go.

  “Why don’t y’all stay here with us, honey?” asked a friendly pink flamingo.

  “Thanks, doll,” said Flo. “But we have a little girl who’s expecting us.”

  The ornaments missed Pearl something awful.

  “Watch out for the trash truck!” said the flamingo as the ornaments hit the road once more.

  They were nearing their destination when they heard the roar of a crowd.

  “A racetrack!” shouted Jack. “Look at those jockeys ride!

  Jack felt a powerful urge to stay, but Betty just looked at him and said, “Remember Pearl.” And they were on their way.

  After miles and trials, they finally made it to Ritzy Estates. But—

  “Where do you think you’re going?” snarled a snooty lion.

  “Yeah! No one gets past us,” growled another. “Beat it!”

  The ornaments slumped to the curb in despair.

  “We came so far only to be turned away,” sighed Betty.

  “Pearl’s probably forgotten all about us by now, anyway,” said Flo.

  They were so sad that they didn’t hear the familiar rumble and wheeze.

  And before they knew it, they were tossed into the back of a trash truck!

  “We’re going to the junkyard!” cried Flo.

  “I guess this is it,” said Betty.

  Then Norm giggled.

  “What are you so happy about?” asked Jack.

  Norm smiled and pointed. “Look!”

  They were driving right through the gates of Ritzy Estates, and there was nothing those lions could do about it!

  “Pearl, here we come!” shouted Jack.

  And then—there she was! The ornaments hopped down and ran to her.

  “I knew you’d come!” Pearl cried. “I missed you so much. Thank goodness you’re home.”

  And Jack, Betty, Flo, and even Norm knew the journey had been worth it. They were where they belonged, with their Pearl, once more.

  About the Author

  Dan Yaccarino is an internationally acclaimed author-illustrator with more than thirty books to his credit, including The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Every Friday, Unlovable, and Dan Yaccarino’s Mother Goose. Exhibitions of his work have been held in New York, Los Angeles, Rome, and Tokyo. Dan Yaccarino is also the creator of the animated TV series Willa’s Wild Life and Oswald.

  Mr. Yaccarino lives in New York City with his wife and two children. You can visit him on the Web at yaccarinostudio.com

 

 

  Dan Yaccarino, Lawn to Lawn

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