A Puzzling Surprise
by Kathy Sattem Rygg
Lucy pressed her forehead against the window. She traced the water drops on the glass with her finger. “It’s been raining all morning. There’s nothing to do!” She let out a heavy sigh.
Her little brother Alex bounced on the couch. “We could play Batman, or ninjas or G.I. Joe,” he said.
“I don’t want to play boring boy stuff. How about we play house or school?” Lucy said.
Alex scrunched his face. “I’m not playing girl games.”
“What about a board game?” Lucy said. She opened the closet and scanned the pile of games. “There’s Monopoly, Operation, Twister, oh, and that big floor puzzle you got for your birthday. We haven’t done that yet!”
“That’s right! Let’s put it together!” Alex said.
Lucy reached up on her tip toes and grabbed the puzzle box. The lid showed a picture of the puzzle. It was a scene with a deserted island, giant ship, treasure, and a mighty pirate with a parrot on his shoulder. Lucy dumped out the puzzle pieces. There were 100 pieces each the size of her hand.
“Start with the corners first,” Lucy instructed.
“I know how to do a puzzle,” Alex grumbled. He found a blue corner piece. “Here’s part of the ocean!”
Lucy and Alex found all four corner pieces then started connecting them with straight edges. They had the entire outline of the puzzle, which was as big as their kitchen table. Their black and white cat, Oreo, slinked into the kitchen, watching Lucy and Alex work.
“I’ve got the ocean all done,” Lucy said. “Wow, it must be raining really hard. Do you hear all that splashing water?”
Alex gathered all the tan pieces and fit them together. “The sandy beach is finished!” he said.
Oreo strutted over and walked across the middle of the puzzle. Lucy shooed him away. Then she noticed something. Her eyes grew wide. Oreo left tiny paw prints in the sand of the puzzle! Lucy reached down and touched the sand. It was warm and soft as sugar. She used her finger to draw her name across it in curvy letters.
“Alex! This is real sand!” Lucy said…
About the Story
Lucy and her brother complete their fun puzzle, but the pirate who comes to life is definitely not a barrel of laughs.
You can read the full version of “A Puzzling Surprise” and 29 other fantastic read-aloud stories inside Nerissa’s Celebration – Volume 3 in our Story-A-Day Literacy Initiative. The book is a collection of 30 stories (one for each day!) that promotes early childhood literacy through daily reading.
About the Collection
Nerissa’s Celebration is the 3rd volume in our Story-a-Day Initiative: a Literacy Program that drives progress through fun, compelling and affordable stories each and every day of the month. This collection includes stories about roly-poly fat cats and super-duper-staticy cats, dancing bears and piggy princesses, a boy with lead boots and kids who actually want monsters under their beds! And of course, there are dragons and a whole lot of other adventurous and exciting things hiding inside.
Buy the book here: Physical Copy | Kindle version
About the Story-A-Day Literacy Initiative
Reading to your child every single day from birth is the single-m0st important thing a parent can do to ensure that child’s success in school and in life.
The knowonder! Story-A-Day Literacy initiative supports those parents who have made that commitment by giving them a new story every single day, by making it accessible, and by keeping it affordable.
Click here to learn more.