Horrible Harry and the Scarlet Scissors Read online

  HORRIBLE HARRY

  and the Scarlet Scissors

  Other Books by Suzy Kline

  Horrible Harry in Room 2B

  Horrible Harry and the Green Slime

  Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion

  Horrible Harry’s Secret

  Horrible Harry and the Christmas Surprise

  Horrible Harry and the Kickball Wedding

  Horrible Harry and the Dungeon

  Horrible Harry and the Purple People

  Horrible Harry and the Drop of Doom

  Horrible Harry Moves Up to Third Grade

  Horrible Harry Goes to the Moon

  Horrible Harry at Halloween

  Horrible Harry Goes to Sea

  Horrible Harry and the Dragon War

  Horrible Harry and the Mud Gremlins

  Horrible Harry and the Holidaze

  Horrible Harry and the Locked Closet

  Horrible Harry and The Goog

  Horrible Harry Takes the Cake

  Horrible Harry and the Triple Revenge

  Horrible Harry Cracks the Code

  Horrible Harry Bugs the Three Bears

  Horrible Harry and the Dead Letters

  Horrible Harry on the Ropes

  Horrible Harry Goes Cuckoo

  Horrible Harry and the Secret Treasure

  Horrible Harry and the June Box

  HORRIBLE HARRY

  and the Scarlet Scissors

  BY SUZY KLINE

  PICTURES BY AMY WUMMER

  VIKING

  An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  VIKING

  Published by Penguin Group

  Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario,

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  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published in 2012 by Viking, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  Text copyright © Suzy Kline, 2012

  Illustrations copyright © Viking Children’s Books, 2012

  Illustrations by Amy Wummer

  All rights reserved

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Kline, Suzy.

  Horrible Harry and the scarlet scissors / by Suzy Kline ; illustrated by Amy Wummer.

  p. cm.— (Horrible Harry ; 28)

  Summary: “The kids in Room 3B are asked to draw posters of things that they love, and one

  of them will get to share his or her poster on TV”— Provided by publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-57203-0

  [1. Contests—Fiction. 2. Drawing—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Behavior—Fiction.] I. Wummer, Amy, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.K6797Hnsc 2012 [E]—dc23 2011035952

  Manufactured in China

  Set in New Century Schoolbook

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  ALWAYS LEARNING

  PEARSON

  CONTENTS

  Harry the Horrible Artist

  South School Goes on TV

  Different Eyeballs

  Favorite Things

  Hair by Mare

  Harry’s Shocking Poster

  The Poster Parade

  The Big TV Show

  Mary and the Scarlet Scissors

  The Hole Truth

  A Beautiful Ending

  To my beautiful granddaughter,

  Kenna Rose Hurtuk,

  who had lots of fun making an art poster

  at her school. Keep being a wonderful writer!

  I love you,

  Gamma

  Special appreciation to…

  Noah Wallace School in Farmington, Connecticut, for inspiring this story. I loved the unicorn posters in the hallways!

  And heartfelt appreciation to Randy Sparks and Barry McGuire, of the New Christy Minstrels, for allowing me to use the lyrics from their wonderful song “Green, Green.”

  And to many Southwest School students in Torrington, Connecticut, for responding to the quotation Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  And appreciation for two great thinkers: Plato, who inspired the famous quotation in this book, and Leo Tolstoy, who wrote the wonderful essay “What Is Art?”

  I also want to thank my dear husband, Rufus, for his valuable suggestions.

  And very special thanks to my perceptive editor, Leila Sales, for the conversations we had about this book. Her thoughtful criticism and questions greatly helped me write this story.

  Harry the Horrible Artist

  My name is Doug. I write stories about my friend Harry and me in Room 3B. I never thought I’d be writing about an art show.

  Harry and art?

  Are you kidding?

  Harry and I are not good artists. Actually, Harry is a horrible artist. And although he loves horrible things, he can’t draw them. His pictures of snakes and worms look like sticks. So if you were to tell me Harry’s work was going to be in an art show, I would say…

  That is not going to happen!

  But it did.

  You have to read this story to find out how.

  There are plenty of surprises along the way. And the ending? Well, it was on TV!

  It all started one Monday morning, a few days before Saint Patrick’s Day. Kids in Room 3B were taking off their coats, hats, and gloves. Harry was looking out the window at the school playground and the vacant lot just beyond the school fence. “Oh, man,” he groaned. “The snow is still everywhere. I can’t believe it’s the second week of March! Where’s the grass, anyway?”

  Mary was at her desk, showing Song Lee and Ida her little doll. It had lots of hair. Mary reached for her art supply box. “I’m going to trim my doll’s bangs with these,” she said, holding up a pair of scissors with red handles. “My brand-new scarlet scissors!”

  “Ohhh…scarlet,” Ida replied. “I love that bright red color.”

  “Me too,” Song Lee said. “It reminds me of a candy apple.” They watched Mary carefully cut her doll’s yellow hair.

  Just as the last morning bell rang, our teacher, Miss Mackle, hurried into the classroom. “Boys and girls, get to your seats, please!” she called out. “At nine o’clock, South School is going on
TV!”

  “TV? Yahoo!” Sid blurted out.

  Song Lee and Ida quickly returned to their seats.

  South School on TV? That’s a first! I thought.

  Harry plopped in his chair. He sat between Mary and me. “Have you guys seen any grass that’s not covered with snow?” he moaned.

  I shook my head.

  Mary didn’t answer Harry’s question until she had put her doll in her backpack and brushed the yellow doll hairs off her desk. “Harry,” she finally replied. “How can you talk about the grass right now? We’re going on TV!” Then she took out her hand mirror and checked her teeth.

  Harry just shrugged.

  Miss Mackle reached for the remote control and clicked the ON button. “Keep your eyes on the screen, boys and girls,” she ordered. “Oh, I’m so excited!”

  We were all excited, too—except for Harry.

  South School Goes on TV

  All of us watched a picture come on the TV screen. It was our school library. The camera zoomed in on two fifth graders, a girl and a boy, sitting at a table. There was a globe next to them.

  “Welcome to South School’s first TV broadcast,” the girl said. “My name is Bria, and this is Kemba.” The boy waved. “We’re not just going to read the lunch menu, or tell you the weather, or whose birthday it is. We are going to talk about what’s new at South School.”

  Kemba continued, “And we begin with exciting news! South School has a new art teacher. Please welcome Mrs. Matalata!”

  Everyone in Room 3B clapped. We never had an art teacher before! We watched a woman wearing a long, flowing, colored scarf join the fifth graders at the table.

  “You have an interesting name,” Bria said. “What nationality is Matalata?”

  “Indonesian,” the art teacher replied.

  Bria reached for the nearby globe and pointed to a group of islands. The camera panned in on the South Pacific area. “Indonesia is near the Philippines, Malaysia, and Australia,” she said.

  “How cool to be from the South Pacific!” Sid blurted out.

  “Shhhh!” Mary scolded. “I don’t want to miss a word.”

  “What advice do you have for kids at South School who want to be good artists?” Kemba asked.

  Mrs. Matalata looked at the camera. “Draw what you love.”

  “All right!” Kemba replied.

  Bria smiled. “Are you planning anything special for your first week here at South School?”

  “Yes. An art show!” Mrs. Matalata said. “We’re going to make posters and display them throughout the school.”

  When lots of kids cheered in our room, Harry and I looked at each other.

  “Well, that leaves us out,” I groaned. “They only pick the best art for art shows.”

  “That’s the way it always is,” Harry said, slouching down in his chair.

  “What fun!” Bria replied. “Is there a theme, like Saint Patrick’s Day? It’s coming up this Friday.”

  Mrs. Matalata shook her head. “No specific theme. I just want students to draw a poster showing something they care about.”

  “Will there be ribbons and prizes for the best posters?” Kemba asked.

  “No. This is not a contest,” Mrs. Matalata replied. “Every student will have his or her poster displayed somewhere at South School.”

  “Every student?” Harry and I repeated. Harry sat up.

  “Yes!” Sid said, throwing his arms in the air.

  “I like our new art teacher!” Ida exclaimed.

  Mary rolled her eyes. “Okay, Harry,” she said in a low voice, “I hope for your sake your poster is displayed inside a dark closet.”

  Harry smiled for the first time that morning. “Actually, Mare, I like your idea. That would be a neat place for a poster,” he said. “Especially if I draw night crawlers. They love the dark.”

  Mary cringed. “I was just kidding, Harry! The inside of a closet is a horrible place to hang art!”

  I had to laugh.

  What came next on the TV program was the biggest news of all.

  The art teacher spoke directly into the microphone. “On Thursday, three days from now, I will ask a handful of third and fourth graders to share their art posters on this TV station. Next week, I’ll ask the younger children.”

  Room 3B turned quiet.

  Go on TV?

  Suddenly, our room broke out in cheers. We could hear other kids clapping and cheering from rooms down the hall.

  “Oh,” Mary sighed. “I’ve always wanted to go on television. This is my big chance!”

  “Mine, too!” Dexter exclaimed. “I want to be like Elvis. He went on TV and made movies!”

  Mary took out her package of sixty-four crayons from her art supply box and admired their good condition. They all had points. Then she pulled out her favorite crayon, burnt sienna, and kissed it. No one ever got to borrow that one. Mary always said it was the perfect blend of red and brown.

  “I’m ready to make the best poster!” she announced.

  Different Eyeballs

  Mrs. Matalata came to Room 3B immediately after the morning broadcast. When she entered our room, it was like she was a rock star. Everyone oohed and ahhed. Her scarf billowed behind her. She wheeled in a cart with a stack of white art paper and brand-new boxes of eight crayons.

  Miss Mackle welcomed her with a hug, then left the room.

  “Hello, boys and girls!” Mrs. Matalata said. “Are you ready to do some art?”

  “Yes!” we replied.

  Mrs. Matalata wrote something on the board.

  “What do you think this quote means?” she asked.

  Ida raised her hand. “I think it means pretty jewelry.”

  “I don’t know what beholder means,” ZuZu said.

  “I do,” Sid replied. “A beholder is like the cup holder in your car. Except it’s a holder for a bee. A bee holder. Right?”

  “No,” Mary scoffed. “A beholder is someone who sees something.”

  “I know what that saying means,” Harry blurted out.

  We all stared at Harry. What would he know about art? Everybody knew Harry was a horrible artist.

  Harry continued, “My grandma says, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ all the time. It means we have different eyeballs.”

  The art teacher smiled.

  I still didn’t understand the quote.

  Song Lee raised her hand. “I think Harry means that we see things differently.”

  Mary nodded. “Harry and I definitely see things differently. He thinks hanging a poster in a dark closet is neat! I think it’s horrible.”

  Lots of us laughed, including the art teacher.

  “Anyone else?” Mrs. Matalata asked.

  ZuZu raised his hand. “I agree with Harry. We do have different eyeballs. I think Jou Jou, my guinea pig, is beautiful. My sister thinks he’s smelly and ugly.”

  Mrs. Matalata clapped her hands. “Those were perfect examples of how beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

  Mary and Zuzu beamed.

  “All right!” Dexter exclaimed. “Let’s get rockin’ and rollin’ with art!”

  The teacher chuckled. “Okay, now I want you to draw something that you think is beautiful.”

  The room suddenly turned quiet. No one made a mark on their paper.

  “I know what I can do!” Harry blurted out.

  Mary just made a long face.

  Favorite Things

  Mary put her hands on her head. “Well, I don’t know what to draw on my poster.”

  “Me, either,” lots of us said.

  Mrs. Matalata passed out questionnaires. “Filling these out will help you discover what you think is beautiful. Maybe one answer will pop out and inspire you to make a poster.”

  I looked at the questionnaire. There were fifteen blanks to fill.

  “I love listing my favorite things!” Ida said.

  “Me too,” Song Lee agreed.

  While everyone was working, I noticed Harry ta
king out his old crayon box. It was empty except for one fat green crayon. He shook the crayon out of the box and peeled back the paper. Then he looked at me. “Do you have a pair of scissors, Dougo?” he asked.

  “No,” I answered, “but Mary does. Ask her.”

  Harry turned around. He looked at Mary’s art supply box on her desk. “Can I borrow those red scissors, Mare?”

  “They’re scarlet scissors,” she corrected.

  “Scarlet who?” Harry asked. He thought she meant they belonged to another girl.

  “Scarlet is a bright red color,” Mary insisted. “And haven’t you ever heard of the word please?”

  Harry flashed a toothy smile. “Puhleeeese, Mare?”

  She reached over and pulled them out. “You can borrow these, but you have to give them right back. I might need them.”

  “Thank you,” Harry replied. Then he took the scarlet scissors and used one of the tips to gouge holes in the end of his crayon. When he noticed I was watching him, Harry whispered, “I have to get my creative juices going.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather use a pencil?” I asked. “I have extra.”

  “No thanks, Dougo,” Harry replied. He held up his crayon. “This’ll do.”

  Mary looked up from her questionnaire. “Harry, that crayon is creepy. It looks like a ghost’s face!”

  “Neato, huh?” Harry said.

  Mary shivered. “I want my scarlet scissors back.”

  When Harry handed them to her, Mary examined the ends of the blades. There were green crayon markings on one tip. “Harry Spooger! I’m never loaning you anything again!”

  Harry just grinned.

  Five minutes later, the art teacher asked, “Did everyone finish the questionnaire?”

  “Yes!” we all answered.

  “Good!” Mrs. Matalata said. “Please switch papers with the person sitting next to you. Circle the answer that you like best on that person’s list.”

  Harry and I got to switch lists. We were psyched. Ida and Song Lee were, too. Mary wasn’t, though. “Why do I have to sit between two annoying boys!” She groaned.