Justine McKeen, Pooper Scooper by Sigmund Brouwer Page B

could use it,” Jimmy Blatzo said. “They made me read them a story.”
    Justine pointed at the sign on the window beside the door. It said, Until further notice, students must be with a teacher when they visit the library.
    Jimmy Blatzo looked at Justine. “I see a problem here.”
    â€œYou’re afraid I’ll try to do something about this?” Justine said.
    â€œNo,” he said. “There really is a problem. The library is closed. We need to do something about this.”
    â€œYou’re right,” Justine said. “Some things are more important than dog poop.”

Chapter Three
    Mrs. Reynolds lived in a brown house near the school. Her front yard had a lot of flowers. After school, Justine and Jimmy Blatzo knocked on her door. Mrs. Reynolds invited them inside. She made tea and served carrot cake with white icing. The three of them sat in her front room. There were books on the tables, on the chairs, on the floor and on the bookshelves.
    â€œDo you like the new ebook readers?” Mrs. Reynolds asked Justine and Jimmy Blatzo.
    â€œI love my ebook reader,” Justine said. “But I love treebooks too.”

    â€œTreebooks?” Mrs. Reynolds asked.
    â€œPaper books. Made from trees.”
    â€œOh,” Mrs. Reynolds said with a smile. “ Tree books.”
    â€œI love that ebooks use less paper, which means cutting fewer trees.”
    Every student in Justine’s school had been given an ebook reader to keep until the end of the school year. It was going to save the school a lot of money because ebooks are cheaper than classroom textbooks.
    â€œShe is the Queen of Green,” Blatzo said, sipping his tea. “You probably don’t like ebooks, do you, Mrs. Reynolds?”
    â€œI LOVE them,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “Before ebooks, when I read a chapter from Charlotte’s Web to a class, the students would all want to borrow it. But I only had one or two copies to lend. Now, when kids get excited about a story, all of them can have it as an ebook.”
    â€œExcept you’re not in the library anymore,” Justine said. “That’s why we are here. To find out why you aren’t in the library.”
    â€œTo save money,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “If the school cuts down on my time in the library, they don’t have to pay me as much.”
    â€œI’m going to talk to our principal, Ms. Booth,” Jimmy Blatzo said. “That’s just wrong!”
    â€œMs. Booth is as sad as I am,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “It wasn’t her decision. It was the superintendent of all the schools, Mr. Ripley. The school board decided if the students all have ebook readers, librarians aren’t needed fulltime.”
    â€œThat is crazy,” Justine said. “Who is going to tell us about great stories? Who is going to help us with our research?”
    â€œI wish there was something I could do,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “But Mr. Ripley doesn’t need to listen to me or the principal.”
    â€œWho could make him change his mind?” Justine asked.
    â€œParents,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “But I think most of them believe schools don’t need librarians full-time either.”
    â€œOh no!” Jimmy Blatzo said. “We have another problem here.”
    â€œWhat?” Mrs. Reynolds asked.
    Blatzo pointed at Justine. “She’s got that look in her eyes. I only see it when she is mad and planning to do something about it.”

Chapter Four
    Mr. Ripley looked up from a huge desk in the middle of a huge office with a huge window that overlooked Central Park. He wore a blue suit, a blue shirt and a blue tie. He was partly bald and had a mustache. The mustache wasn’t dark blue. It was black with gray tips.
    Justine set down her backpack and sat across from him.
    â€œI’m Justine McKeen,” Justine said. “Pleased to meet you.”
    â€œYou’re a