The Newsy News Newsletter by Karen English Read Free Book Online Page A

Auntie asks.
    "Me and Nikki made a newsletter for our block. Can we go out and deliver it? Just on this block?"
    "I guess so," Auntie says slowly, as if she isn't all the way sure, but she doesn't know why.
    Nikki and Deja dash out before she can change her mind.

    "We did it!" Deja says when they reach the walkway. She gives Nikki half of the newsletters. "I'm taking that side this time," Deja announces. Nikki suspects that Deja wants a chance at one of Phoebe's freshly baked brownies.
    It doesn't take long. People know about the newsletter already. Those who weren't home the week before can finally make sense of the strange subscription form they'd found in their mailboxes. They are happy to buy the latest issue for a quarter.
    Deja and Nikki meet up on Nikki's porch in record time. "We did it," they can't help saying again—at the same time. They slap palms.

9. Big Problems at the Fulton Street Newsy News Newsletter

    On Monday, as soon as they finish writing about their weekends in their morning journals, Ms. Shelby has an announcement to make.
    "I feel so negligent," Ms. Shelby says. "I just learned that your classmate Antonia had an appendicitis attack and had to have an operation. She's home now and doing okay, but we really should make get-well cards for her." She turns to the kidney table to begin moving things out of the way so she can call up the slow readers.
    "Oh yes, one more thing," she says over her shoulder. "I'm happy to say that Mrs. Broadie, in the cafeteria, found Ayanna's envelope of book money under a lunch table on Friday." She looks over at Ayanna. "You can pick it up in the office at recess, Ayanna." Ayanna grins happily.
    Deja closes her mouth, which had been hanging open, and looks at Nikki. Nikki looks at her at the same time. She thinks of the paragraph they put in the newsletter about Antonia.

Antonia Barkley has moved to a new neighborhood and a new school, leaving behind her trampoline and tetherball built into the ground that she's told us about so many times. She's moved with her mother. But her father still lives at their old house. Maybe a new family will move into her split level house after her father moves out. No one knows where she moved to. If we find out, we'll print that information in our next newsletter.
    Then Nikki thinks of the one about Calvin:
Thief strikes again! Ayanna Ford of Room Ten had her book money stolen this week. Everyone and all their stuff was searched. But the thief was tricky. He was able to hide the money probably at recess. The prime suspect has to be someone who has taken stuff from other people before. We don't want to accuse someone falsely, but prime suspects initials are C.V. We hope he gives the money back.
    Uh-oh.
Nikki swallows hard. She doesn't even want to think about how much trouble she and Deja are going to get into. She pictures her mother's wagging finger in her face. She sees Deja's aunt with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping while she waits for Deja to explain herself. What are they going to do?

    "We're in for it," Nikki says at recess. She feels her lip quiver a little bit. "People are going to think we just made everything up."
    "No, they won't," says Deja. "We'll just put the right information in the next newsletter. It'll be fine." Deja no longer seems very concerned. She looks like she is already scouting the yard for what she feels like playing.
    After lunch, Ms. Shelby has them make get-well cards. It is fun, actually. It is always a special treat to have an unexpected art activity that cuts into instruction time. Plus, it is P.E. day. Math is cut down to only thirty minutes, which Nikki knows suits Deja just fine.

    ***
    Nikki is still feeling a bit worried as she and Deja walk home from school.

    "Let's do homework at my house," Deja says. "Auntie's home early today. We've got leftover pizza, and Auntie Dee lets me use the microwave, so we can eat pizza before we do our homework."
    "Okay," Nikki says. Her mouth is