‘And then it’s my turn,’ said Tuff, waving casually to his adoring fans outside the enclosure.
Fuzz and Legsie stood on the hill in the middle of the zoo and watched them.
‘Look at Pa,’ said Fuzz. ‘I’ve never seen him so happy. He can spend all day being a polar bear now that you’re in charge of the office.’
Legsie grinned. She was wearing pink today—pink sneakers, pink tee shirt, pink hat, and pink shorts that showed off her long legs—and not even a bit of red and green. But her hair was still as wild and tangled. ‘I’m
having so much fun! I’m going to make this the best organised zoo in the world! And Uncle Dimwit is happy too. No one here sneers at him because he’s no good at making toys. And I never have to whistle another happy tune again!’ said Legsie.
‘And I never have to be a polar bear either!’
Legsie smiled at him. ‘You know, I was right all along,’ she said.
‘About what?’
‘You were the hero we needed.’
Fuzz blushed. ‘What are you going to have for lunch today?’ he asked to change the subject. They turned to wander down the hill to the cafeteria.
‘I think I’ll try pizza and watermelon and a banana smoothie,’ Legsie decided. She grinned. ‘No more Christmas pudding and vegemite sandwiches! There are so many human foods I’ve never tasted! I calculate it’s going to take me another 132 years, three months and eighteen days just to try them all! Then I can eat them all again. This is just so cool! I always knew I didn’t want to be a toy-maker when I left school! How about you?’
‘Me? I’ll just have a cheese and lettuce sandwich,’ said Fuzz.
‘No, you dill pickle. I mean when you leave school. Now you don’t have to be a polar bear.’
‘You know,’ said Fuzz ‘I’ve been thinking.’
‘Thinking what?’
‘Maybe I’ll be a toy-maker! I think this zoo could do with a nice toy workshop. Toy tigers just like Dad, toy rhinos like Mum, toy monkeys and tap-dancing giraffes. And lots and lots of toy polar bears!’
‘Really?’
‘Really,’ said Fuzz.
Legsie looked at him solemnly. ‘As long as you promise never, ever to whistle while you work!’
Fuzz grinned. ‘I promise.’
‘Race you to the cafeteria!’ yelled Legsie. ‘Last one to the counter is a big fishie!’ She strode away on her long legs.
Fuzz laughed. Pa had been right all along, he realised suddenly. Meeting real polar bears had changed his life. And it was very, very good indeed!
About the Author and Illustrator
Jackie French
Jackie French’s writing career spans 18 years, 48 wombats, 132 books for kids and adults, 23 languages, too many awards to list, radio shows, newspaper and magazine columns, theories of pest and weed ecology and 28 shredded back doormats. The doormats are the victims of the wombats, who require constant appeasement in the form of carrots, rolled oats and wombat nuts, which is one of the reasons for Jackie’s prolific output: it pays the carrot bills.
Visit Jackie’s website
www.jackiefrench.com
or
www.harpercollins.com.au/jackiefrench for copies of her monthly newsletter
Stephen Michael King
Stephen’s first picture book, The Man Who Loved Boxes, was nominated for the Crichton award for illustration, was the winner of the inaugural Family Award and was selected for Pick of the List (US). He has since illustrated over 20 books, and has been shortlisted six times for the Children’s Book Council Awards. In 2002 he won both the Yabba and Koala children’s choice awards for Pocket Dogs.
Stephen and his family live on an island in a mud brick house on 10 acres of organic orchards, rainforests and visiting wildlife.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Copyright
Angus&Robertson
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia
Wonderfully Wacky Families was originally published as four separate books (books five to eight in the Wacky Families series):
My Uncle Wal the Werewolf was first published in Australia in 2005
My Gran the Gorilla was first published in Australia in 2006
My Auntie Chook the Vampire Chicken was first published in Australia in 2006
My Pa the Polar Bear was first published in Australia in 2007
This combined edition was first published in Australia in 2009
This edition published in 2010
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
www.harpercollins.com.au
Text copyright © Jackie French 2005, 2006, 2007
Illustrations copyright © Stephen Michael King 2005, 2006, 2007
The right of Jackie French and Stephen Michael King to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Author: French, Jackie.
Title: Wonderfully wacky families / Jackie French ; illustrator, Stephen Michael King.
Edition: Omnibus ed.
ISBN: 978 0 7322 8746 7 (pbk.).
ISBN: 978 0 7304 4577 7 (epub)
Series:Wacky families
Target Audience: For primary school age.
Other Authors/Contributors: King, Stephen Michael.
Dewey Number: A823.3
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