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Overview
Riley Arter has big dreams for a ten-year-old boy. He wants to grow the biggest pumpkin in Becker County. With his mother’s help, he is well on the way to success when a dark, stormy day in July and his neighbor’s cows dash his plans. Riley’s father helps him learn how to cope with life when something bad happens. Riley learns a valuable lesson on dealing with disappointment and the proverbial question: What can you do when something bad happens?
Too often, we ask why something happened rather than asking how we can respond to a difficult situation. Finding the positives in the midst of negative circumstances provides a challenge, but the rewards are great when Riley makes a discovery that exceeds his wildest expectations.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781477235782 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 05/07/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 24 |
| File size: | 8 MB |
Read an Excerpt
Look for Something Good
By Steven Yoder
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Steven YoderAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-8851-4
Chapter One
Riley Arter lived three miles south of Palmer City on County Road 26 with his mom, dad, and younger sister Jackie. They lived in a big, white, two-story house with dark green shutters and a big front porch.A large garden filled the space between the house and an old, red barn on the corner of their property. Oak, elm, and maple trees dotted the large, green yard. The branches of a large weeping willow tree drooped near the barn.
Across the road from Riley's house, the Weaver family lived on a big farm. Their place was always buzzing with tractors, wagons, and other farm equipment. Cows grazed in the fields next to the barn. Mr. Weaver's two sons helped him farm. Mrs. Weaver grew beautiful flowers in her large garden every year.
John Arter, Riley's dad, worked at the bank in Palmer City. In the evenings, he loved to tinker with an old car that he was restoring. Bought from a salvage yard, he said with determination, "Someday, this car will shine again." Riley loved to assist his dad by handing the tools to him when he needed them. He also helped his dad by cleaning up the greasy messes on the floor of the barn. His dad taught him about air filters, spark plugs, oil pans, and lots of other car parts.
Millie Arter, Riley's mom, enjoyed gardening. Behind the house, she had planted a garden. After carefully tending the garden, vegetables, herbs, and flowers grew bountifully. Each fall, Mrs. Arter took some of her best vegetables and flowers to the Becker County Fall Festival in Palmer City. Blue, red, and white ribbons were signs of success due to her hard work.
Riley loved to work with his mom in the garden. First, he learned how to prepare the soil. Then she taught him how far to space the holes for the seeds. Watering the new plants was his job. Mrs. Arter grew many kinds of vegetables—carrots, lettuce, chard, peas, tomatoes, zucchini, and radishes to name a few. But Riley's favorite vegetables were pumpkins. Every year at the fall festival, he enjoyed seeing the prize pumpkins that were on display.
Riley asked his mom to help him grow a big pumpkin for the fall festival. "I want to grow the biggest pumpkin in Becker County," he declared.
Though his mom thought he was quite ambitious, she promised to help him. First, they went to a lawn and garden store in Palmer City and bought pumpkin seeds. Next, they prepared the soil. Small mounds of dirt were built up and the seeds were planted inside the mounds. "Surely, one of these will produce a large pumpkin," Mrs. Arter said when they finished planting.
Riley faithfully watered the seeds and was excited to see the plants emerge from the soil. The plants grew and spread in snakelike vines. Before long, large, orange flowers appeared on the vines. These flowers gave way to small, green bulbs.
It was hard to believe that these little bulbs would become full-sized pumpkins. Slowly, the bulbs ballooned from the stems. Soon, the portion of the garden where the pumpkins were planted was covered with large, green leaves. Riley took care of the garden by pulling weeds and watering the pumpkins. With more care and patience, the pumpkins had grown almost to the size of a soccer ball. Riley was delighted to watch the pumpkins grow and change.
But something terrible happened the last week in July. The weather was hot and dark clouds gathered in the western sky. The wind blew with gusto. Heavy rains swooshed down and softened the earth. Trees bent, groaned, and swayed. As the wind continued to blow so fiercely, Mr. Weaver's gate was knocked off the hook and swung open. It wasn't long before a dozen or more of the cows found the open gate. They followed the ditch before crossing over toward Riley's house. They stampeded through the yard and headed toward the garden.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Look for Something Good by Steven Yoder Copyright © 2012 by Steven Yoder. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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