Philip and the Case of Mistaken Identity and Philip and the Baby (9781597051095) by John Paulits Page B

empty soda bottles
home. He changed his clothes, grabbed a couple of newly baked
chocolate chip cookies, and had a quick glass of chocolate
milk.
    When he knocked on Emery’s door, Emery’s
mother answered.
    “Is Emery ready?” Philip said.
    “Come in, Philip.”
    Philip could hear a baby crying.
    “The library called him as soon as he walked
in. They said they had something for him. Something about winning a
prize there Saturday. He went to get it. He’ll be right back.”
    Emery’s mother went to take care of the
crying baby.
    Philip stood in a daze. Emery had won
a prize Saturday? Another one? All Emery had done was sit on a
chair and listen. In a flash, Philip understood. Emery was getting
a prize meant for him! He was getting a prize for getting in front
of the whole stupid garden club and describing that stupid German
geranium. With the hollow pollen. Emery was getting his second prize for something that Philip had done!
    Philip threw himself on the sofa and crossed
his arms over his chest and waited.
    Fifteen minutes later Emery walked in the
door.
    “Hey, Philip. I won a prize.”
    Philip leaped to his feet. “No you
didn’t...”
    Emery laughed. “I know. I know. It’s
yours.”
    Philip stood still. When he realized his
mouth was hanging open, he shut it. “What did they say?” Philip
asked.
    “It’s a prize for doing that thing at the
library Saturday with Joanie. You know. The hollow pollen
thing.”
    “Yeah, yeah. I know.” Philip didn’t want to
hear any more about hollow pollen. “What is it?”
    “I don’t know. I knew you’d be waiting, so I
just took it and came back here.”
    “Let’s open it.”
    Both boys ripped the plain red wrapping paper
from the box.
    “Wow!” said Emery.
    “Not bad,” said Philip.
    Philip had won a kit containing instructions
and a CD on how to start a newspaper with your computer. There was
even a booklet with ideas for newspaper stories.
    “You want to start a newspaper?” said
Emery.
    Philip shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” He thumbed
through the booklet and said, “It even tells you how to put
pictures in the newspaper.”
    “Oh yeah, pictures,” said Emery. “They took
my picture in the library. They’re going to put it in that
newspaper we get every week.”
    “You get your picture in the paper for what I
did?”
    “Well, if they took your picture it would
still have my name under it. That wouldn’t make sense, would
it?”
    Reluctantly, Philip could see where that
would be confusing.
    “Besides, we can put our own pictures into
our own newspaper any time we want,” Emery pointed out.
    Philip nodded. “But I should get mine in
first.”
    “Okay.”
    Philip would be satisfied if he could
accomplish one more thing.
    “My house will be the newspaper headquarters
since your house was the detective headquarters.”
    Emery nodded. “We couldn’t concentrate with
the babies crying anyway.”
    “Let’s drop the newspaper kit at my house and
then go to the park. We can talk about how we want to run our
newspaper. First, we’ll need a name for it.”
    As they left Emery’s house, Emery envisioned
one word in big bold letters at the top of their newspaper. It was
the perfect name.
    “ WHAT ,” Emery said, his eyes aglow at
the wonder his idea.
    “I said we’ll need a name for the
newspaper.”
    “ WHAT ’s the name.”
    “What’s what name?”
    “No, just one what.”
    “One what what? What are you talking
about?”
    “Yeah, I’m talking about WHAT .”
    “You’re making my stomach hurt again,” Philip
cried, and that quickly, everything was back to normal.
     
     
The End
     

 
     
     
     
Philip And The Baby
     
     

 
     
     
     
One
    Philip Felton was visiting his friend, Emery,
who lived down the street. Both boys were in the same second grade
class at Donovan Elementary School. Philip had brought some
candy—Hershey Kisses and Gummi Worms—for Emery, and Emery’s mother
had given the boys some pineapple