If you have never heard the story of
how a regular kitty became a superhero
kitty, then you will want to read on.
If you already know the story of
Fashion Kitty, you might want to read
on anyway, because stories about
super powers are usually interesting and
amazing, and these kinds of stories are
fun to hear about again and again.
AND THE
B.O.Y.S.
(Ball of Yellow String)
By Charise Mericle Harper
Disney • HYPERION BOOKS
N e w York
Text and illustrations copyright © 2011 by Charise Mericle Harper
All rights reserved. Published by Disney • Hyperion Books, an imprint
of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
For information address Disney • Hyperion Books, 114 Fifth Avenue,
New York, New York 10011-5690.
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6434-0
Visit www.disneyhyperionbooks.com
This book is dedicated to
all the boys who read it.
Are you a boy?
Are you reading this?
Then that means you!
. . . And to the girls:
XO to you!!!
How Kiki Kittie Became
Fashion Kitty
This is Kiki Kittie.
Before Kiki Kittie became Fashion Kitty, everything in her life was almost normal. She went to school with her friends, lived with her mother and her father, and tried to be patient with her little sister, Lana.
mother and
father kittie
june
lana kittie
Kiki and I
have been
friends
forever.
I am not
annoying.
(kiki’s friend)
But even though the Kittie family looked like regular and normal kitties on the outside, they were not. They had an important family secret. Secrets are not easy to keep, but the Kittie family knew they could never share their secret, not even with their very best friends. This was because the Kittie family loved their secret, and they did not want anyone to eat her.
The Kittie family’s secret’s name was Mousie, and she was a mouse.
This is what Mousie would say if she
were the pet of a normal cat family.
This is what Mousie said because she
was a pet of the Kittie family.
I’ve got to get out of here.
I don’t want to be a kitty snack.
I love the Kittie family.
They would never eat me because they are vegetarians.
Just when the Kittie family was getting used to their one furry gray secret, something unusual happened, and they found themselves suddenly having a new and even bigger secret to keep. Surprisingly, the unusual thing happened right on Kiki’s birthday. At the exact moment when Kiki was making a wish and blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, the shelf above her suddenly broke. Crash! A stack of fashion magazines fell right on her head and knocked her to the ground.
It was a disaster.
Mother Kittie was frantic, Father Kittie was worried, Lana was splattered with frosting, and Kiki was lying very still on the floor with her eyes closed. Even Mousie was upset.
Oh, no! Help her!
Kiki lying on the floor under all
the fashion magazines.
A few minutes passed, and then Kiki finally opened her eyes. Of course Mother Kittie was very relieved. “Thank goodness!” she said. But that was because she didn’t know that her sweet normal Kiki Kittie had transformed into the superhero Fashion Kitty. If she had known that, she might have said something different, like, “Oh, my goodness!” instead.
I think I hear a Fashion Emergency.
Being a Superhero I s
Not Always Supergreat
It’s not always easy to live with a superhero.
But dinner is ready! How come you always have to leave at mealtime?
Every time Kiki changes into Fashion Kitty she flies away.
Sorry! Fashion calls.
I wish Fashion Kitty would stay and play with me.
And it’s not always easy to be a superhero.
Mostly superheroes are liked and appreciated.
But sometimes they are not.
A kitty with a lot of negative things to say can sometimes also be a troublemaker. Leon Lambaster the III was definitely bubbling over with trouble.
It’s really hard to keep it all a secret.
I love flying.
It feels great to be in
the air . . .
. . . And helping
other kitties.
I like that
part, too.
Appreciated
Not appreciated
Fashion Kitty is great. She once helped a teacher at my school.
Fashion Kitty is a big phony!!
I’m not
into fashion,
but I like
her, too.
She’s not great.
I heard she has fleas.
The No-Good Reason
Why Leon the III
Didn ’t Like Fashion Kitty
Leon Lambaster the III was the third Leon in the Lambaster family. Leon’s grandfather was number 1, and Leon’s father was number 2. Leons number 1 and 2 were both scientists and inventors. They used their inventing skills for good, and were quite famous and appreciated around town for their helpful yellow inventions. No one knew why, but yellow inventions were a Lambaster family tradition.
This yellow
pen makes me draw faster.
This yellow sponge makes everything shiny.
Their special yellow glue fixed my
Hula-Hoop.
Unlike Leons number 1 and 2, Leon number 3 was not so much appreciated. He was sneaky, full of mischief, and very often untruthful.
Like his father and grandfather, Leon the III was full of big ideas, but Leon’s ideas were not about helping other kitties. They were mostly selfish and mean-spirited.
Are you Leon?
Not sure she believes him.
No ma’am, I’m Lester, Leon’s twin brother.
Well Leon stuffed a smelly sock in my watering hose again.
Really
is
Leon.
Oh, no! I’m sorry about that.
I want to make
a machine that will
turn the school
into a giant
pickle . . .
. . . Or a special magnet that pulls
all the candy in
town right into
my room.
. . . Or a giant balloon that pops and drops dead smelly fish on everyone . . .
“We can’t help you build such terrible things,” said Leon’s father.
“You should try to be more like your brother, Lester,” said his grandfather.
This was not what Leon Lambaster the III wanted to hear. Hearing this made him grumpy. In fact, his grumpiness was so great that he refused to help his family with their regular Monday night statue-building project. And even though marshmallow-statue-building was one of his favorite family activities, Leon just growled, stomped his feet, and crossed his arms. It did not help that today was his sister’s turn to choose the statue to
What should we build a statue of?
I know! Fashion Kitty!
Hmm . . .
Leon’s
grandpa,
Leon
the I .
Leon’s
mom.
Holding
the
ladder.
Leon’s little sister, who is happy because the Fashion Kitty statue was her idea.
Leon’s dad, Leon the II .
Leon’s brother, Lester.
Leon.
“No way! Never! You have got to be kidding! Not in a million kitty years!” These were all the things Leon Lambaster the III said when his father asked him to please pass the marshmallows and a pawful of toothpicks.
Of course Leon was sent directly to his room. But he didn’t care. His room was filled with all sorts of marvelous toys, nifty gadgets, and cool gizmos—it was not a bad place to be.
But today Leon ignored all his fancy things. Instead he took out a plain pencil and notebook. He was in a perfect mood to plan something nasty. He took a deep breath, and in his most careful handwriting, wrote down three words.
This was a terrible thing to do, but still, there was one kitty who would have smiled if she had seen it. That kitty was Miss Willow, Leon’s teacher, and that was because never before had Leon taken so much time with his handwriting. And in all his writing life, never before had Leon made such a beautiful
Building Material
Supplies
Directions
Marshmallows
Push Down
Toothpicks
This was a terrible thing to do, but still, there was one kitty who would have smiled if she had seen it. That kitty was Miss Willow, Leon’s teacher, and that was because never before had Leon taken so much time with his handwriting. And in all his writing life, never before had Leon made such a beautiful S. It was round and swirly in all the right places. It was almost perfect.
But unfortunately, at that very moment, it was the only good thing about Leon Lambaster the III.
Grin of
nastiness.
Nasty
thoughts.
AHA!
What to do?
What to do?
Kiki Kittie
It was 8:15 on a Tuesday morning and Kiki was hurrying to get ready for school. Every morning she tried on outfit after outfit. It was a lot of work to find the exact right look. A great outfit had to look good and feel good. No matter how long it took, Kiki never gave up until everything was absolutely perfect. She was 100 percent committed to fashion. This drove Mother Kittie a little crazy.
Okay, time
for breakfast.
The colors
look
perfect!
Kiki, I like your outfit.
In a minute.
I have to change
first. Something
feels wrong.
Watching Kiki try on so many outfits made Mother Kittie think about the terrible thing that had not so long ago happened at Kiki’s school. And secretly she thought that maybe the terrible thing had not been quite so terrible after all.
Of course Kiki and her best friend,
June, would have disagreed.
Change again?
Maybe uniforms weren’t such
a bad idea.
I’m so glad we
don’t have uniforms
anymore.
I like your outfit, too.
Kiki, that outfit looks great.
Me, too!
Thanks.
Thanks.
Lester
Uses words like
Nice happy thoughts.
Please. Excuse me. Thank you.
Insides completely different
Outsides
the same
Leon
Uses words like
Thoughts of selfishness.
Mine!
Move!
Give me!
Lester Lambaster
Life was not easy for Lester. Even though he was a kitty full of original ideas and interesting thoughts, he hardly ever got to talk about them. Instead he spent a lot of his time saying the same three sentences over and over again. It was very annoying, and very tiring.
I’ll tell
Leon that you are upset and angry.
I’m not Leon!
I’m Lester.
I’m sorry that happened, but
it wasn’t me; it
was Leon.
Lester had one big wish.
Lester had tried changing his
look, but Leon just copied him
no matter what he did.
I wish I looked like me but nothing like Leon.
Some boys do not care about fashion. These kinds
of boys were not upset when Mrs. Rumple, the
school principal, made everyone in the school wear a
uniform. They were perfectly happy to wear look-alike
clothing, but that was because even with the same
clothes on their bodies, their heads were unique and
different.
But this was not the same for Lester, and he hated the uniforms.
Still look different
Same clothes
It’s like looking in a mirror.
I’m more handsome.
Leon
Lester
On the day that Mrs. Rumple changed her mind and said, “No more uniforms,” Lester was as happy as all the girl kitties put together.
Now I
can be me
again!
He had lots of hopeful thoughts.
Maybe I won’t always look like Leon now.
Maybe that will help.
And he was right. Sometimes it did.
Wait a minute,
you’re right! The kitty that took my flowers was
wearing polka dots.
I’m sorry,
but it
wasn’t me;
it was Leon.
The Si x Words
That Started I t All
Kiki, June, Zack, and Lester were all walking through the playground. Of course they were talking about Fashion Kitty. June was worried. She was very good at worrying.