Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine Read online

  THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

  Text copyright © 2011 by Allison Wortche

  Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2011 by Patrice Barton

  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.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Wortche, Allison.

  Rosie Sprout’s time to shine / story by Allison Wortche ;

  pictures by Patrice Barton. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Rosie’s rival, Violet, outdoes her in everything until the class plants seeds for a unit on gardening.

  ISBN 978-0-375-86721-7 (trade)

  ISBN 978-0-375-96721-4 (lib. bdg.)

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98459-4

  [1. Schools—Fiction. 2. Competition (Psychology)—Fiction. 3. Plants—Fiction.] I. Barton, Patrice, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.W887837Ro 2011

  [E]—dc22

  2011004092

  The illustrations in this book were created using pencil sketches painted digitally.

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

  v3.1

  For my mom, dad, and sister, with love. And for my many inspiring teachers, with gratitude. —A.W.

  For my sweet aunt Judy. —P.B.

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  First Page

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Violet was the best—everyone agreed.

  She ran the fastest in gym class.

  She sang the highest in choir practice.

  She was the loudest storyteller at lunchtime.

  And she looked the fanciest on picture day.

  Violet was definitely the best. And everyone agreed.

  Except Rosie.

  Rosie was not a fast runner.

  She could not sing very high.

  She was not the loudest storyteller.

  And she did not get very fancy for picture day.

  But Rosie was tired of hearing about Violet being the best.

  One morning, Ms. Willis told the class they would each grow their own pea plants in little pots on the windowsill in the back of the classroom. Everyone was excited.

  Violet was the most excited. Her plant would definitely be the tallest. (She was the best, after all.)

  For homework, the students had to decorate their pots. “Plants like nice places to grow,” Ms. Willis said.

  Violet’s pot was the sparkliest. Rosie’s wasn’t. But it still seemed like a nice place to grow.

  As Ms. Willis helped the students put soil into their pots, she asked, “What do seeds need to become healthy plants?”

  Ms. Willis was impressed. “What good gardeners you all are!”

  Rosie made a hole in the soil with her finger, dropped in a little seed, and carefully covered it up.

  Days went by, and everyone waited. They watered their pots, but nothing happened.

  Then one afternoon, Rosie noticed a green dot poking through her soil. There was a tip of green in Violet’s pot, too. Rosie couldn’t wait to show Ms. Willis.

  But Violet, who was the fastest, yelled, “Mine is the first to grow! Hooray!”

  The next morning, Rosie got to school early to check on her plant. She was very proud of it. But Violet’s was a little bigger than hers. It figures, Rosie thought.

  She looked over her shoulder. No one was there yet except Ms. Willis, who was writing vocabulary words on the chalkboard.

  Quickly, Rosie pushed the soil on top of Violet’s plant. There, she thought. Now my plant is the best. She slid into her seat.

  Rosie felt like “the best” for a few seconds. Then she started to feel a little guilty. But the bell rang, and she knew it was too late to fix things.

  When everyone was seated, Rosie noticed that Violet wasn’t there.

  Rosie slinked down in her chair. She’d started out feeling bad for Violet’s plant. Now she was feeling a little bad for Violet, too. Just a little. She knew what she had to do.

  For the next two weeks, Rosie came to school early and took care of two plants.

  She gently shook off the soil she’d pushed on top of Violet’s little sprout.

  She watered her plant, and she also watered Violet’s.

  She sang quiet little songs about growing to her plant, and then she sang to Violet’s.

  She made sure they were both in the bright sunlight.

  Ms. Willis was very pleased. “I believe you’re the best gardener I’ve ever had, Rosie! Yes, definitely the best!”

  Rosie beamed.

  When Violet finally returned to school, everyone crowded around to hear about her chicken pox.

  “My doctor told me I had the worst case of chicken pox he’d ever seen!”

  It wasn’t long before Violet remembered about her pea plant. When she skipped to the back of the classroom, everyone followed.

  “My plant is the tallest! Hooray!” Violet exclaimed happily.

  Then she noticed the one next to hers. “Whose is that?”

  “That’s Rosie’s. She’s been taking such good care of both plants,” Ms. Willis told the class. Everyone agreed—Violet’s and Rosie’s plants were the tallest.

  “Thanks, Rosie,” Violet said very quietly.

  “Well,” she said much louder as everyone returned to their seats, “mine’s still the sparkliest!”

  Ms. Willis looked at Rosie. Rosie looked at Ms. Willis. And they smiled.

  Allison Wortche wasn’t the loudest storyteller in her elementary school. But she was certainly one of the best readers—she loved stories and dreamed of becoming a writer.

  Allison is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and works as an editor of children’s books in New York City. This is her first picture book.

  Patrice Barton earned a BFA in studio art from the University of Texas in Austin, where she lives with her husband and son.

  Of her own attempts to shine, Patrice recalls: “In grade school, I loved the pea-planting experiment in science class, but didn’t excel as a gardener. However, when we studied dinosaurs, I did sculpt a mighty fine clay Brontosaurus.”

  Her books include Sweet Moon Baby, written by Karen Henry Clark, and Mine! by Shutta Crum. You can read about her at PatriceBarton.com.

 

 

  Allison Wortche, Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine

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