For Ella and Ivy who filled m y childhood with sweetness and laughter A C Publ www abdopublishing com ww Published by Magic Wagon a division of ABDO PO B PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Cop Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc Inte International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this boo book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Calico is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 102014 012015 Written by Amy Cobb Illustrations by Anna Cattish Edited by Megan M Gunderson Bridget O’Brien Cover and interior design by Candice Keimig Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cobb Amy author Notes from a pro by Amy Cobb illustrated by Anna Cattish pages cm Band geeks Summary When one of the other members of Benton Bluff Junior High band shows up with a shiny new trombone Kori Neal’s school loaner suddenly seems beat-up and old so she comes up with an idea to organize a fund-raiser to buy new instruments until advice from a famous local jazz musician gives her a clearer perspective on the issue ISBN 978-1-62402-075-9 1 Bands Music Juvenile fiction 2 Musical instruments Juvenile fiction 3 Jazz musicians Juvenile fiction 4 Money-making projects for children Juvenile fiction 5 Junior high schools Juvenile fiction 1 Bands Music Fiction 2 Musical instruments Fiction 3 Musicians Fiction 4 Fund raising Fiction 5 Junior high schools Fiction 6 Schools Fiction I Cattish Anna illustrator II Title PZ7 1 C63No 2015 813 6 dc23 2014033609 graciously for ry Vaught music to Lar for Megan Gunderson ise and passion thanks ra special AC t ing his exper th ext ia Gore taking a chance on me to Clel shar grateful forever for and Candice Keimig am Wi I
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 4 45 35 16 26 SHOWING OFF p RAISING FUNDS p P A M P E R E D P ET S p EVERYTHING MUST GO p JAZZ FRONT p BAND JERK JACK p O N E S P I F FY T B O N E p S C H O O LS L O A N E R S V S C H E N A U LT S C A R E C L I N I C p Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 RUBE’S SURPRISE p 104 58 67 THE STINKER p 81 89
1 SHOWING Chapter OFF Hey I’ve got it Lemuel Soriano said catching up with me by my locker Lunch was over and we were both headed to the band room Whatever you’ve got you can keep it Lem I covered my nose with my hand Because I don’t want to get it Kori He frowned I’m not sick Just kidding I moved my hand and pointed to my lips See I’m smiling Good Lem’s frown faded Because I’m talking about the challenge music Mr Byrd asked us to work on I practiced all night and I skipped most of lunch to practice some more Now Lem was the one smiling And I finally got it 4
That’s awesome I high-fived him But I wasn’t surprised Lem practices harder than anybody else in the Benton Bluff Junior High band He probably plays his trumpet more than he does anything Even eating Or sleeping How about you Did you practice Lem asked Nope I fidgeted with a loose thread on my backpack strap Lem’s lucky I can’t practice as much as he can Kori Lem’s brown eyes widened behind his blue-framed glasses Hey it’s no biggie Yeah Lem said it is too Mr Byrd wants us to have this song ready for our final concert Okay so Lem was right It really was a big deal Every year Mr Byrd our band director plans the Summer Celebration concert at our school for just before summer break And he always puts together a special ensemble to play a harder arrangement that he calls a challenge song This year Mr Byrd 5
