The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm - Chapter Sampler
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm - Chapter Sampler
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm - Chapter Sampler
CHAPTER SAMPLER
Random House
New York
1
Goldie
2
Puzzles
3
Ring
Yes?
I got a job at the mall! Isnt that great?
I didnt know you were looking, my mom
says, confused.
Yeah, I didnt think Id get it. Its such a big
opportunity. The ear-piercing place at the mall!
When do you start? my mom asks.
Thats the hard part. They want me to start
tomorrow afternoon. So I cant watch Ellie anymore. I totally would have given you more notice,
but . . .
I understand, my mom says, and I can hear
the strain in her voice.
Nicole turns to me. I forgot to tell you. I get a
discount! Isnt that great? So come by anytime and
shop.
Uh, okay, I say.
I better be going, she says. Good night!
Good night, my mother echoes.
I stand in the doorway with my mother and
watch her walk out into the night.
Did she just quit? I ask. Im a little in shock.
11
15
4
Magician
16
17
My mom tells stories of how when she was little, my grandfather would keep experiments in the
refrigerator. There would be stacks of petri dishes
next to the cottage cheese and butter.
Then were alone in the kitchen. My grandfathers stomach growls loudly.
Got anything to eat in this place? he demands.
Im starving.
Theres pizza, I tell him.
He stands at the counter and wolfs down the
rest of the pizza.
The lab assistants live on this stuff when they
run experiments at night, he says.
Then he goes to the fridge, takes out the milk,
and pours himself a big glass. He drinks it and
pours himself another.
He waves the carton of milk at me and burps.
Make sure you take your calcium. Everything they
say about bone density is true. I lost two inches in
the last ten years of my life.
You shrank?
The perils of old age, he says.
19
20
21
5
Jellyfish
29
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2014 by Jennifer L. Holm
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright 2014 by Tad Carpenter
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Childrens Books,
a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Holm, Jennifer L., author.
The fourteenth goldfish / Jennifer L. Holm. First edition.
p. cm
Summary: Ellies scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and
consequently has turned into a teenagerwhich makes for complicated relationships
when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.
ISBN 978-0-375-87064-4 (trade) ISBN 978-0-375-97064-1 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-307-97436-5 (ebook)
1. GrandfathersJuvenile fiction. 2. ScientistsJuvenile fiction. 3. AgingJuvenile
fiction. 4. FamiliesJuvenile fiction. [1. GrandfathersFiction. 2. ScientistsFiction.
3. AgingFiction. 4. Family lifeFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H732226Fo 2014
813.6dc23 2013035052
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment
and celebrates the right to read.
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