{"product_id":"book-buddies-marco-polo-brave-explorer-isbn-9781536228229","title":"Book Buddies: Marco Polo, Brave Explorer","description":"\u003cb\u003eCan an intrepid toy mouse help a child venture out of his comfort zone?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarco Polo is a retired Christmas ornament, but in his mind he is a great mouse explorer. Because he’s tiny and likely to be lost, he is the least-borrowed of the Book Buddies—toys that children can check out of the library just like a book—and he almost never gets to leave the library. But the little mouse finally meets the right match in Seth, a boy who is about to attend his first sleepover. If Seth were to bring the stuffed bunny he usually sleeps with, he’d risk being teased, but Marco Polo is the perfect size to hide away in his sleeping bag. Are both boy and mouse in for an unexpected adventure? Charmingly illustrated and offering a window into the secret life of toys (including a suspenseful glimpse at where all the household’s lost toys go), this title in the endearing Book Buddies series explores common fears and quiet bravery.\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER ONE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarco Polo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarco Polo was a mouse Christmas ornament. He was small enough to fit in a pocket and made of soft felt. His tail and arms had wire inside and could be bent to hold things or curled to dangle from a finger or a coat hook.\u003cbr\u003e   He wore a little green vest and an acorn-cap hat. A loop of red ribbon was sewn to the back of his vest so he could hang on a Christmas tree.\u003cbr\u003e   He had been made for a favorite librarian named Anne.\u003cbr\u003e   “Oh my goodness!” Anne said when she saw him. “This little mouse looks ready for an adventure. I’ll name him Marco Polo after another brave explorer.”\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo thought a brave explorer sounded like a good thing to be.\u003cbr\u003e   At home, Anne looped Marco Polo’s ribbon around a branch of her Christmas tree. Every night he watched the tree lights blink: red, green, yellow, pink, and blue. He listened to the Christmas music and happy laughter when people came to visit.\u003cbr\u003e   It was a nice life, but not an exciting one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e It’s hard to be a brave explorer when you can’t go anywhere,\u003c\/i\u003e Marco Polo thought.\u003cbr\u003e   So Marco Polo used his imagination. The Christmas tree smelled like outdoors. He imagined himself in a forest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e He’d race across the deep snow.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e He’d go into the darkest middle of the woods.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e Wolves and bears might chase him.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e But brave explorers are never afraid!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   He was just pretending, though. Marco Polo’s ribbon kept him tied to the Christmas tree between a snowman and a Santa ornament.\u003cbr\u003e   Then on New Year’s Day, Anne brought out a big box. She placed it beside the tree.\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo was excited. \u003ci\u003eWhat could be in the box?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   But when Anne opened it, the box was empty.\u003cbr\u003e   Anne lifted the snowman ornament off the branch. She cupped her hand to hold it gently. “See you next Christmas,” she said, putting the snowman in the box.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e Next Christmas?\u003c\/i\u003e Marco Polo couldn’t believe his tiny ears. \u003ci\u003eWhat does she mean?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Anne lifted Marco Polo off the branch. She smiled, holding him in her hand. “You’re so cute. I hate to put you away,” she said. “If you were bigger, you could be a Book Buddy at the library. The children would love you.” Then she sighed. “But you’re too small. I’m afraid you’d get lost.”\u003cbr\u003e   Anne put Marco Polo into the box with the snowman.\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo’s heart broke. \u003ci\u003eToo small? Aren’t mice \u003c\/i\u003esupposed \u003ci\u003eto be small?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   “But . . .” Anne said slowly.\u003cbr\u003e   She thought for a moment. Then she got a pair of scissors.\u003cbr\u003e   “Sometimes it’s good to take a chance,” Anne said. She took Marco Polo out of the box. She cut his ribbon.\u003cbr\u003e   “You’re not a Christmas ornament anymore,” she said, pulling the ribbon from his vest. “You’re a Book Buddy.”\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo stared at the curl of red ribbon on the floor. He couldn’t believe his tiny eyes.\u003cbr\u003e   He was a real toy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER TWO\u003cbr\u003eThe Library\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the library, Marco Polo became a Book Buddy. Book Buddies were library toys and stuffed animals that children could read to and borrow. Each Book Buddy even had a journal so the child could write or draw the toy’s adventures at their house.\u003cbr\u003e   All the children loved Marco Polo. At the library, they read stories to him. His favorite ones were about mice that had adventures. He especially loved stories about Geronimo Stilton,\u003cbr\u003e   Stuart Little, Babymouse, and Ralph from \u003ci\u003eThe Mouse and the Motorcycle\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e   The children played with him at the library. Sometimes he slept in the dollhouse. Other times, a child built him a mouse-size city with the blocks. The wire in his tail and arms helped him swing from fingers, coat hooks, table edges, and bookshelves.\u003cbr\u003e   Being a Book Buddy seemed like a perfect job for a brave explorer, except for one very big problem.\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo hardly ever left the library.\u003cbr\u003e   Most parents never gave him a chance\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e “Don’t pick that one,” they’d say. “He’s too small. He might get lost.”\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo would go back on the shelf. He’d watch the child choose Homer the owl or Dazzle the unicorn or Olive the hen and her chick, Roger.\u003cbr\u003e   The other Book Buddies had journals full of adventures, but Marco Polo’s only had a few pages filled.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e It’s hard to be a brave explorer when you can’t go anywhere,\u003c\/i\u003e Marco Polo thought over and over.\u003cbr\u003e   Then one day Seth came to the library with his dad and little brother. Marco Polo liked Seth because he read adventure books. Today Seth wore a blue T-shirt with a cactus on it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo imagined himself in the desert.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e He’d run across the hot sand.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e He’d eat cactus flowers and sip cactus juice.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e Coyotes might chase him. Rattlesnakes might snap their jaws at him.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e But brave explorers are never afraid!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   “Story time will start in five minutes,” Anne called to the parents and children reading in the beanbags and playing games at the little tables. “Today I’m reading stories about chickens. Get ready to cluck! Our first book is \u003ci\u003eInterrupting Chicken\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Nate, you’ll love that one!” Seth told his little brother. “It’s so funny. I read it when I was little.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Cluck! Cluck!” said Nate.\u003cbr\u003e   Anne smiled at them. “And we can’t have a chicken story time without Olive and Roger,” she said. “They’ll be our guests of honor. Would you boys carry them for me?”\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo saw his chance. \u003ci\u003eSometimes brave explorers must take matters into their own paws\u003c\/i\u003e, he thought.\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo hooked his tail into Roger’s tag.\u003cbr\u003e   Seth picked the black-and-white hen off the Book Buddies shelf. He handed her to his little brother. “You can carry Olive.”\u003cbr\u003e   Nate made Olive fly by flapping her wings.\u003cbr\u003e   Then Seth picked up the fluffy yellow chick. “Come on, Roger.”\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo came, too!\u003cbr\u003e   But only for a few seconds.\u003cbr\u003e   His tail fell out of Roger’s tag, and he tumbled to the floor at Seth’s feet.\u003cbr\u003e   “Marco Polo, I promise you’ll be the guest of honor at a story time soon.” Anne set him gently back on the shelf. “Today, it’s Roger and Olive’s turn.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Marco Polo is a funny name for a mouse,” Seth’s dad said.\u003cbr\u003e   “I thought he looked like a brave explorer ready for an adventure,” Anne said.\u003cbr\u003e   “Seth is going on an adventure this weekend!” Dad said proudly. “A birthday party sleepover!”\u003cbr\u003e   “Really, Seth?” Anne asked. “That’s so exciting!\u003cbr\u003eWill this be your first sleepover?”\u003cbr\u003e   Seth shrugged. “Nate and I have slept at Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” he said. “But I’ve never slept over at a friend’s house.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Lots of kids are coming to Ben’s birthday party,” Dad said. “But Ben could only pick one friend to sleep over. And he picked Seth!”\u003cbr\u003e   “Can I borrow Marco Polo?” Seth asked. “I want to take him on my sleepover.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eYes! A sleepover would be a perfect adventure for a brave explorer! \u003c\/i\u003eMarco Polo thought\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   “I don’t know,” Dad said. “He’s so small. I’m afraid he’ll get lost.” He picked up Piper the flying squirrel. “How about this one? He’s cute, too.”\u003cbr\u003e   “No thank you,” Seth said.\u003cbr\u003e   Dad picked up Homer the owl. “Or this one?”\u003cbr\u003e   Seth shook his head. “I only want Marco Polo,” he said sadly.\u003cbr\u003e   Marco Polo felt sad, too.\u003cbr\u003e   He watched Seth follow Dad and Nate off to story time. \u003ci\u003eWhat does it mean to get lost? Why is everyone afraid of it?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   He wished Seth’s dad would give him a chance. He’d prove that being small was not a bad thing.\u003cbr\u003e   “Thank goodness they’re gone,” a voice said. “I’ve been holding this sneeze in all morning!”","brand":"Candlewick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48232996307173,"sku":"NP9781536228229","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536228229_0fb66c5c-82ce-45a2-8ea3-149ab8f0a0ec.jpg?v=1767722935","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/book-buddies-marco-polo-brave-explorer-isbn-9781536228229","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}