Middle-Grade / Holiday
Date Published: 10-20-2023
Publisher: Mapleton Press
Ever since Dexter and Dougal’s mom passed away, life has been different—but things take a whole new turn when a shooting star turns out to be a creature from outer space! Gobbledy is a fun-filled holiday story that adds up to two brothers, three friends, unlimited jars of peanut butter, a ketchup factory, and one little alien far, far from home.
Praise for Gobbledy
“Hugely entertaining as well as emotionally moving.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“This charming alien-in-the-attic story boasts engaging characters, witty storytelling, and a furry little beast that will eat anything, all wrapped up in a warm holiday package.”
―Booklife
“A delightfully entertaining novel by an author with a genuine flair for originality ..."
―Midwest Book Review
“This novel’s generous heart won me over from the get-go.”
―John Gregory Brown, acclaimed author of A Thousand Miles from Nowhere
“The Wonder Years meets A Christmas Story meets E.T. in this magical novel with dialogue that snaps, crackles, and pops, and a narrative that skips, jumps, and hops from one delightful surprise after the other. Young adults and old adults alike will love the adventures that await inside these pages.”
―Cathy Smith Bowers, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina, and South Carolina Authors’ Hall of Fame Inductee
“Gobbledy is a novel for the ages. If I were you, I’d gather the family and read it together.”
―My Bookish Bliss
Excerpt:
“What do you think these things are?”
she asks.
A
loud wail comes from the new jar full of dirt.
Slowly,
I lift the jar off the work table and unscrew the lid.
Fi
and I look down at the strange bug. The little thing wails. It's not much
bigger than the two crickets standing on the sidelines, staring.
Fi
looks at me with a wild look in her eyes. “Does your dad know?”
I
shake my head. “Absolutely not. No. Dad will just make me take him back to the
forest.”
I
pull the lid off. The strange little bug opens his mouth really big.
“Okay,
okay,” I whisper. “I’ll feed you, but you have to be quiet.”
He
closes his mouth and blinks. For a second, I think he might actually understand
what I’m saying.
There's
a bag of potato chips on the counter in the kitchen. I drop chips into the jar
one by one, avoiding the crickets.
Chomp.
Chomp. Chomp.
“Where’s
the rock?” Fi asks.
Chomp.
Chomp. Chomp.
The back door
opens. Startled, Fi jerks upright
abruptly, smacking her head on the slanted ceiling. I try to grab her hand as
it flies past my face. Her arms flap
wildly as she falls in a woozy, slow motion out into the hall.
“Fi?”
I say loudly.
Ka-thunk.
“Fi?” I drop to the floor next to her and check her
pulse, like I've seen people do in movies.
“Can you hear me?”
She
undoubtedly cannot. She does not move or
answer.
The
jar wobbles on the wooden table.
“Excuse
me,” I quickly step over her limp body and grab the jar. I tighten my grip as it jerks around in my
arms. Hurky-jerky, it shifts against my
shirt. I hold tight and screw the lid
back on.
“Dexter?”
Huh? “What are you
doing home, Dougal?” I yell.
“I
live here.”
“I
know that, but you're early.”
“Not
really. School is out. Dad asked Fran to pick me up because you got in trouble
again, and he couldn't leave work twice.”
“Umm...”
Fran
walks into the hall and says, “Oh my gosh, what happened?”
I
look left, then right. Up, then
down. Over, then under. My eyes settle on my backpack next to my work
table. I shove the jar inside quick, listening to the hurky-jerky sound of
glass tapping against my notebooks. I
cover the jar with my jacket and step quickly into the hall.
Fran
pulls her hand to her mouth. “What
happened to Fi?”
Fi is
on the floor where I left her.
“She
was, ummm, we were doing our science projects and then she fainted.”
“I
thought you had to turn those in today?”
“We
did, but mine got loose and she was ...”
I
stare at her limp, oddly twisted body.
“Do
you want me to perform CPR until the emergency workers arrive?” Dougal asks.
Fran
rolls Fiona over on her back. “They'll
be no emergency workers. I got this,” she says quietly, tapping Fi’s cheeks.
“Fiona?”
Fi's
eyes pop open. “Wha?”
“You
passed out, girl. Are you okay?”
“Huh?”
Fran
helps Fi to her feet. She sways, woozy,
reaching for the wall.
Their
cat, Sir Shreds-A-Lot, scratches and howls at the back door.
“Don't
let that cat in,” Dougal says. “He's
been sneaking up to the attic and eating the villagers in Mom's village.”
“What's
the last thing you remember?” I ask Fi.
She
rubs her forehead. “Let me get an ice
pack. I'll answer that in a minute.”
***
From
my bedroom window I watch Fran walk Fi across the driveway. Cool, gray light fans out across the dark
outline of branches, highlighting the occasional dry leaf still hanging
on. Bats screech on their way down to
the boulevard. On the other side of the
glass, silvery light glints off an abandoned spider web. As soon as they turn
the corner, I go for the jar.
Dougal
stands in the doorway, giving me the silent-but-deadly stare. “What are you doing?”
It
takes a second to manufacture a convincing lie.
“Looking at a spider web.”
Dougal
studies me, his brow pinched tight. He's
two years younger than me, but matures in dog years. He clears his throat and announces, “We've
got a family meeting tonight.”
I
step away from the window.
Clunk clunk clunk.
Starting
with the closet, Dougal's eyes trail around the room, stopping on my
backpack. “What's that noise?”
I'm
about to say I don't hear anything when —
Clunk clunk clunk.
He
points. “It's in your backpack.”
“It's
a pack of Mexican Jumping Beans I bought today.”
Dougal
tilts his head sideways like he always does when he doesn't believe me. “Can I see them?”
“I
thought you wanted to talk about the meeting,” I blurt out.
He
patiently lays his hand on the dresser and taps with his index finger. “Mexican
Jumping Beans first.”
Clank clank clunk.
My
eyes jerk to the backpack.
Clank clank clunk.
The
sound is louder, more insistent.
Clunk clunk clunk.
I
walk over to my closet and pretend to look for something. Anything.
Dougal
clears his throat.
I
ignore him.
More
throat clearing.
I
have a pretty good idea how stubborn he can be.
More than that, I’m worried he'll tell Dad. I can't afford any more trouble. Whatever is
in that jar could send me into Code Red.
“What?”
I hiss, glancing back over my shoulder.
He
points. “You're stalling. I'm giving you one chance to tell me what
you're hiding.”
“Or
what?”
“Or
I'm calling the Humane Society and telling them you're endangering the lives of
Mexican Jumping Beans by keeping them trapped in a backpack.”
“They're
not trapped.”
“Prove
it.”
I huff.
“Why won't you drop the beans?”
“Because
I know you. Anything worth hiding is
worth seeing.”
Okay. He's got me there.
Clunk clunk clunk.
Dougal
looks back at me. “If you haven't
unzipped that backpack in ten seconds then I'm doing it. One.
Two…”
“Okay. Okay.” I stomp over.
He
stops counting and stares at me instead.
I can do this. I place my hand on the zipper and jerk it to
the side. The jar is exactly where I
left it. Air holes poked in the top look
like prehistoric code. Lamplight
glimmers off the metal.
Clunk clunk clunk.
Dougal
reaches down, but I snatch it up quick.
I
pause, listening. “Close the door and lock it,” I whisper.My normally
uncooperative little brother runs over, closes the door without a sound, and
flips the lock. My eyes squeeze shut for
a second. I carefully set the jar on the
floor. It wobbles. Dougal walks over and kneels down. I sit down on the floor and unscrew the lid.
Sucking in a huge breath, I lean over and look inside. Two glowing eyes stare back at me. Dougal gasps and falls backwards on his
heels. The glowing eyes are attached to
a small, furry body that's grown to the size of a silver dollar. A strange little bug. The little furry thing opens his mouth and
shrieks. I put the lid back on. A low wail emerges from the jar.
“What
is that thing?” Dougal whispers.
I
shrug. “I don't know exactly, but he's
getting bigger. I picked up a rock in the forest. I think he must have been
stuck to it and I didn't notice.”
“That’s
definitely not a bug,” he says, matter-of-factly. “I spent all last summer studying insects,
and that's not one of them.”
“It
has to be a bug,” I insist.
The
thing wails again.
I
look down into the jar, suddenly realizing its empty. “He ATE my crickets! My
last two crickets.”
Dougal crinkles his nose,
“Eww.”
Everything
inside the jar is gone, including the dirt. The bug opens his mouth wide and
yowls.
“I
think it's hungry,” Dougal observes.
“It
ate my grade.”
About the Author
Hailed as “an author with a genuine flair for originality” by Midwest Book Review and “a loveable, engaging, original voice…” by Publishers Weekly, Lis Anna-Langston was raised along the winding current of the Mississippi River on a steady diet of dog-eared books.
You can find her any day of the week in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of thin air.
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