Halloween parade Now that you’re the oldest students at Glendale Elementary you’ll get to strut your stuff and show off your costumes for the rest of the school Yes Finley thought We’ve been in the audience since kindergarten and now it’s our turn to take the stage We’ll also have a class party with snacks and games Ms Bird continued and a dance floor where you can bust out some monster moves So come as you aren’t and be prepared to party I’ve already picked out my costume What is it Finley asked A mermaid Kate asked hopefully Ms Bird shook her head A famous artist Arpin said like Frida Kahlo or Georgia O’Keeffe Nope Ms Bird said Einstein Henry guessed Ms Bird laughed You’ll just have to wait and see Finley glanced at Henry and did a little dance She loved school She loved her teacher and her friends She loved the smell of freshly sharpened pencils the art supplies at the craft table and the reading corner full of pillows and books She loved learning about amazing things like monarch butterflies But today she couldn’t wait for school to be over she had a costume to plan This was going to be the most Fin-tastic Halloween yet
Chapter 2 WHAT TO WEAR I can’t wait for Halloween Finley said as she and Henry burst through the school doors that afternoon Especially the parade What are you dressing up as Elvis Henry said in his best Elvis voice Finley laughed Henry loved Elvis Presley He even had a collection of Elvis records I just need to pick a style Henry continued as they headed toward their street There are so many great Elvis looks to choose from Finley jumped over a sidewalk crack Like what Henry unzipped his backpack and took out his notebook I made a list rockabilly Elvis army Elvis cowboy Elvis Hawaiian Elvis karate Elvis but since it’s Halloween I think I might be vampire Elvis Wow Finley said I didn’t know Elvis was a vampire Henry grinned He wasn’t But he would have made a great one I can totally see you as vampire Elvis Finley said She scooped up a leaf and twirled it between her fingers What kind of costume should I make Something funny Or scary Or wild I can’t decide Well Henry said last year you were a carrot Finley frowned Don’t remind me I could barely walk with all that stuffing And the green hairspray took forever to wash out You should have stopped me Henry shrugged It seemed like a good idea at the time No one had the same costume as you And carrots are your favorite vegetable This year I’m going to be the opposite of a carrot Finley said Something with
sparkle Something spooktacular I just have to figure out what that something is Finley and Henry crunched through the leaves They came to a stop in front of Finley’s house I gotta go Henry said I have soccer But don’t worry I know you’ll think up a Fin-tastic costume You’ve got so many idea seeds in your head The right one just hasn’t sprouted yet Let’s hope it hurries Finley said I only have until Friday After waving goodbye to Henry Finley let herself in the front door She hung up her jacket and dumped her backpack on one of the dining room chairs Hey I’m trying to work here Finley’s older brother Zack pointed to the homework spread out in front of him Finley ignored him Guess what she said I get to have a Halloween party and a costume parade at school this week Zack grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table I remember the fourth-grade costume parade Make sure you wear something good The whole school will be watching What are you going to be for Halloween this year broccoli Finley scowled Very funny At least I dressed up last year I dressed up too Zack said chomping on his apple I was a baseball player Finley raised an eyebrow You wore your own baseball uniform you basically went as yourself And the year before that you stuck one googly eye on your forehead and said you were an ogre
So Zack said What’s wrong with that You couldn’t even see the googly eye Your hair covered it up Well this year I’m not dressing up Zack said matter-of-factly Why not Finley asked Too old Finley laughed That’s ridiculous Even grown-ups dress up Look at Mom and Dad They’ve been Zeus and Hera Green Eggs and Ham a rainbow and a unicorn Zack shook his head That’s different They dress up for us They wouldn’t do it if we weren’t around That’s not true Finley said They like it I just don’t see the point Why pretend to be something you’re not Finley sighed Because it’s fun And what about trick-or-treating You can’t go trick-or-treating if you don’t dress up Zack shrugged I don’t want to trick-or-treat Fine Finley said But don’t expect me to share my candy I’ll have plenty of candy Zack said smirking I’ll be the one giving it out Finley rolled her eyes Grabbing one of the Halloween mail-order catalogs from the counter she marched upstairs to her room She flopped onto her bed and leafed through the pages There were costumes of angels monsters superheroes villains movie characters and ten different types of witches But somehow they all looked the same Finley frowned as she came to a section labeled BOY COSTUMES Since when is an astronaut a boy costume she wondered It almost made her want to be one just to prove them wrong But an astronaut didn’t have the sparkle she was looking for
