{"product_id":"star-time-isbn-9780375859120","title":"Star Time","description":"In the fourth book in the Zigzag Kids series, it's showtime at the  Zelda A. Zigzag Afternoon Center. Gina loves to sing and she's determined to be the star of the play. She's already told everybody she knows to come see her. But her friend Destiny wants to be the star, too!Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Her novels for older readers include \u003ci\u003eNory Ryan's Song,\u003c\/i\u003e the Newbery Honor Books \u003ci\u003eLily's Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePictures of Hollis Woods, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWillow Run,\u003c\/i\u003e a companion to Lily's Crossing. Her most recent books are \u003ci\u003eWild Girl\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStoryteller\u003c\/i\u003e. Her Zigzag Kids books include \u003ci\u003eBig Whopper, Number One Kid,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFlying Feet\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlasdair Bright has illustrated numerous books and advertising projects. He loves drawing and is never without his sketchbook. He lives in Bedford, England.CHAPTER 1\u003cbr\u003eFRIDAY\u003cbr\u003eGreat days at the Zigzag Afternoon Center!\u003cbr\u003eThey were going to do a play.\u003cbr\u003eGina would be the star. She was sure of it. She’d told everyone she knew.\u003cbr\u003eShe ducked into the girls’ room. She held Destiny Washington’s bottle of Curls Galore gel.\u003cbr\u003eDestiny had lent it to her yesterday. “I’m trying to be the nicest person,” she had said. “Even to kids who don’t deserve it. Stars do that.”\u003cbr\u003eToday Gina was wearing her star shirt. Best of all, she had on Grandma Maroni’s loopy pearls. They hung down almost to her knees.\u003cbr\u003eIt was all because a used-to-be-famous actress was coming to the Center. Maybe in a limousine. Her name was Madam Ballantine.\u003cbr\u003eShe was going to tell them about acting.\u003cbr\u003eGina knew that part already.\u003cbr\u003eShe was going to talk about stars, too. That was what Gina wanted to hear.\u003cbr\u003e“Mi-mi-mi,” Gina sang to herself. She’d never been a star. Not once in her whole life. But maybe this time . . .\u003cbr\u003eShe opened Destiny’s bottle of gel. It was a little sticky. It was blue.\u003cbr\u003eHow much should she use?\u003cbr\u003eShe held it up. The gel was thick and bubbly.\u003cbr\u003eShe shook it over the top of her head. Nothing poured out.\u003cbr\u003eThen came a little bloop.\u003cbr\u003eThe rest of it came in a big galump.\u003cbr\u003eIt slithered over her hair and down her front. A long bubbly blue drip on her star shirt!\u003cbr\u003eShe scrubbed at it with a paper towel.\u003cbr\u003eIt wasn’t a drip anymore. It looked like a bird with wings.\u003cbr\u003eGina swallowed. Maybe Destiny had her sparkly purse today. If only she’d lend her that, too.\u003cbr\u003eGina could hold it exactly over the bird spot.\u003cbr\u003eShe scrunched up her hair the way Destiny had told her. Sticky but cool.\u003cbr\u003eShe headed for the lunchroom.\u003cbr\u003eA million kids were there, screeching and screaming. It was snack time: fried mozzarella sticks today.\u003cbr\u003eGina slid onto the seat next to Sumiko.\u003cbr\u003eSumiko was looking at her hair. Or maybe it was the bird-with-wings drip. Then Sumiko looked away.\u003cbr\u003eSumiko was a polite girl. Even Mrs. Farelli, the tough art teacher, said so.\u003cbr\u003e“Don’t you love Afternoon Center?” Sumiko asked. “The snacks are great.”\u003cbr\u003eGina touched the top of her head. She took a bite of the mozzarella stick. It felt like her hair.\u003cbr\u003eGooey.\u003cbr\u003eBeebe leaned closer. Sometimes it was hard for her to hear. “The play will be exciting, too,” she said.\u003cbr\u003e“Beebe’s right!” Gina said. Her heart thumped.\u003cbr\u003eShe had to be the star.\u003cbr\u003eShe’d told Grandma Maroni. And Aunt Suki. And Uncle Tony. She closed her eyes. Who else? Everyone on her block. Even the meat man at Stop \u0026amp; Shop. They were all coming to see her.\u003cbr\u003eShe had to look like a star.\u003cbr\u003e“Have you seen Destiny?” she asked Sumiko.\u003cbr\u003e“She’s around somewhere,” Sumiko said. “Her hair is gorgeous. It’s swooped up with a purple bow.”\u003cbr\u003e“Nice.” Gina crossed her fingers.\u003cbr\u003e“The bow has a diamond in the middle,” Sumiko said.\u003cbr\u003e“Very nice.” Gina tried to cross her toes.\u003cbr\u003e“And . . .” Beebe leaned forward. “She’s wearing a fat purple ring.”\u003cbr\u003eGina didn’t say anything. She had nothing left to cross.\u003cbr\u003eThat Destiny was so lucky. Her mom was a hairdresser. Gina’s own mom just hung around and drew Happy-Birthday-to-You cards.\u003cbr\u003eDestiny looked like a star with her swooped-up-purple-diamond-bow hair.\u003cbr\u003eGina was ready to cry. Too bad she was such a loud crier. Loud as a hyena, Destiny had said once.\u003cbr\u003eGina had to get out of there before her crying began. “See you,” she told Sumiko and Beebe.\u003cbr\u003eShe went up the stairs.\u003cbr\u003eNo one was supposed to be in the classrooms during Afternoon Center. But just this once.\u003cbr\u003eSomebody else was up there, too. Charlie was running along the hall. He was taking little hops. His yellow raincoat flapped behind him.\u003cbr\u003eGina forgot about crying. Charlie was fun. He was an inventor. “What are you doing?” she asked.\u003cbr\u003e“It’s my Yellow Wing-O invention,” he said. “I’m learning to fly.”\u003cbr\u003e“Wow. Good luck,” Gina said.\u003cbr\u003eShe opened her classroom door. It was quiet in there. No kids. No teacher.\u003cbr\u003eGina looked at her desk. It was a little messy. Books and papers were half in, half out.\u003cbr\u003eShe took a step toward Ms. Katz’s desk. The teacher’s desk was even worse than hers.\u003cbr\u003eShe told herself not to look. Ms. Katz’s stuff was private.\u003cbr\u003eShe couldn’t help seeing Destiny Washington’s math paper. There were cross-outs all over it.\u003cbr\u003eDestiny’s paper was the biggest mess in the room. Gina’s paper was poking out, too. Very good, it said. Just a little sloppy.\u003cbr\u003eCool.\u003cbr\u003eShe heard a huge clump out in the hall. Then “Oof.”\u003cbr\u003eCharlie must have crashed.\u003cbr\u003eThere was a mirror in Ms. Katz’s closet. It was all right to look at that. Mirrors weren’t private.\u003cbr\u003eShe stood on tiptoe to see her whole self.\u003cbr\u003eWould the used-to-be-famous actress like a girl with a bird-with-wings spot on her shirt?\u003cbr\u003eThe bird-with-wings had grown. Now it looked like a hippopotamus.\u003cbr\u003eShe was getting worried. Her heart thumped.\u003cbr\u003e“Get your act together,” she whispered to herself. That was what Mrs. Farelli always said.\u003cbr\u003eGina opened her mouth wide. “Do, re, mi-mi-mi . . .” Lovely. Loud and clear, even with a thumping heart.\u003cbr\u003e“I am going to be the star,” she sang.\u003cbr\u003eIf only Destiny would lend her that sparkly purse to cover the hippopotamus\/bird-with-wings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 2\u003cbr\u003eSTILL FRIDAY\u003cbr\u003eGina poked her head into the art room.\u003cbr\u003eDestiny wasn’t there.\u003cbr\u003eShe opened the gym door next.\u003cbr\u003eClunk! A basketball hit her in the head. She tossed it back.\u003cbr\u003e“Ew,” Habib said. “It has goo all over it.”\u003cbr\u003eGina gulped. She opened the girls’ room door. She heard a voice. A strange, wiggly voice.\u003cbr\u003e“I’ve come from a planet far away,” it said.\u003cbr\u003eGina jumped back.\u003cbr\u003eSomething had invaded the school.\u003cbr\u003eSlowly she poked her head around the door.\u003cbr\u003e“Destiny Washington!” she said.\u003cbr\u003e“Just practicing,” Destiny said. “That’s what stars do.” She stopped. “What happened to your shirt?”\u003cbr\u003eGina raised one shoulder. “Could I borrow your purse for tryouts?”\u003cbr\u003e“My best purse, with the sparkly front and the striped back?” Destiny began to shake her head.\u003cbr\u003e“I have to cover this stain.”\u003cbr\u003eDestiny leaned closer. “It looks like a--what’s that thing with a horn on its head?”\u003cbr\u003e“A rhinoceros?” Gina leaned forward. “I’ll be your best friend forever.”\u003cbr\u003eDestiny rolled Chap Stick over her mouth. She smacked her lips together. “I guess so.”\u003cbr\u003eGina held up the purse. Yes. It covered most of her shirt. Only the rhino’s horn hung out. Or maybe it was the hippo’s tail.\u003cbr\u003eThey headed for the auditorium. Kids were all over the hall.\u003cbr\u003eHabib was juggling a mozzarella stick.\u003cbr\u003eAngel was jumping rope without a rope.\u003cbr\u003eAngel’s friend Yolanda was Irish step dancing. Her shoes were clinking and clanking.\u003cbr\u003eClick! Click!\u003cbr\u003eSuddenly everything was still. No one moved. There wasn’t a sound in the hall.\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Farelli was snapping her fingers. She was the world’s best snapper.\u003cbr\u003eHer snap meant: “Quiet!”\u003cbr\u003eAfter a moment, everyone began to walk on tiptoe.\u003cbr\u003eIn the auditorium, Peter Petway and Mitchell McCabe were lying on the floor. Papers were spread out around them.\u003cbr\u003eThey were working on the play: A Robot World.\u003cbr\u003ePeter was writing.\u003cbr\u003eMitchell was thinking.\u003cbr\u003eThe play was about a wild space station. Bad guys were all over the place. Too bad. Gina had been hoping for princesses, and frogs turning into princes.\u003cbr\u003eShe would have made a great princess.\u003cbr\u003eCharlie would have made a great frog.\u003cbr\u003eNow everyone ran to the window. Gina looked over Destiny’s shoulder.\u003cbr\u003eA car had pulled up in front of the school.\u003cbr\u003eIt was an old car, a clunker.\u003cbr\u003eIt was the actress, Madam Ballantine!\u003cbr\u003eShe came up the walk. She was skinny as a pretzel stick. Her hair was a mess. Too bad she didn’t have any of Destiny’s Curls Galore gel.\u003cbr\u003eMadam Ballantine came into the auditorium.\u003cbr\u003e“We’re doing aliens and comets crashing,” Peter Petway said.\u003cbr\u003e“Wonderful.” Madam Ballantine looked around. “I hope you’ll all come to my play on Tuesday. It’s at the Star Theater.”\u003cbr\u003e“Of course,” said Mrs. Farelli.\u003cbr\u003e“Of course,” Gina said, too. She stepped a little bit in front of Destiny. She wanted to be sure the actress saw her. She looped up Grandma Maroni’s pearls.\u003cbr\u003eDestiny gave her a push. “You’re taking up my airspace.”\u003cbr\u003eGina pushed back.\u003cbr\u003e“Hey!” Destiny yelled. “No pushing at the Zigzag School.” She grabbed her sparkly purse away from Gina.\u003cbr\u003eGina tried to grab it back.\u003cbr\u003eWhat would the used-to-be-famous Madam Ballantine think of a girl with a hippo-bird on her shirt? Or a rhino?\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Farelli came toward them. “Outside,” she said. “Both of you.”\u003cbr\u003eThey followed Mrs. Farelli into the hall. Everyone must be staring, Gina thought. She looked down at her sneakers.\u003cbr\u003e“This is a fine kettle of fish,” Mrs. Farelli said. “What must Madam Ballantine think?”\u003cbr\u003e“Sorry,” Gina said.\u003cbr\u003e“Sorry,” Destiny said, too.\u003cbr\u003e“Sit out here for a while,” Mrs. Farelli said. “Get your act together.”\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Farelli disappeared back into the auditorium.\u003cbr\u003eGina and Destiny slid down against the wall. They watched a bunch of kids go inside.\u003cbr\u003eFour girls said they were going to be stars.\u003cbr\u003eFour boys said they were going to be robots.\u003cbr\u003e“How long do you think we have to sit here?” Gina asked.\u003cbr\u003e“Maybe for the rest of the afternoon,” Destiny said.\u003cbr\u003e“But what about the actress?” Gina hoped she wasn’t going to cry like a hyena.\u003cbr\u003eThis afternoon wasn’t turning out very well.\u003cbr\u003eNot very well at all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 3\u003cbr\u003eTOO BAD--IT’S STILL FRIDAY\u003cbr\u003eOutside, Gina could hear the slap-slap of a jump rope.\u003cbr\u003eInside, she heard voices. “SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS SPACESHIP!” someone shouted.\u003cbr\u003eThat was Mitchell.\u003cbr\u003e“He must be reading part of the play,” Destiny said.\u003cbr\u003e“A nice loud voice,” Madam Ballantine said.\u003cbr\u003eGina peered through the crack in the door. “Do you think Mrs. Farelli forgot about us?”\u003cbr\u003eThe gym door opened.\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Farelli came out. She kept going down the hall.\u003cbr\u003eA moment later, she was gone.\u003cbr\u003e“Maybe she’s going home,” Destiny said. “I guess we’ll be here all night.”\u003cbr\u003e“With nothing to eat?” Gina asked. Her mother would be sad. Mom wanted her to have good healthy food.\u003cbr\u003e“Maybe they turn off the heat at night,” Destiny said. “We may freeze.”\u003cbr\u003eGina held on to Grandma Maroni’s pearls. She could see blocks of ice in the hall. Icicles on the ceiling!\u003cbr\u003e“There’s something worse,” Destiny said. “Today is Friday. We may be here for the whole weekend.”\u003cbr\u003eGina opened her mouth. A sound came out.\u003cbr\u003e“Are you going to cry like a hyena?” Destiny asked.\u003cbr\u003eGina snapped her mouth shut. The hyena was trapped inside her throat.\u003cbr\u003eIn the auditorium, Mitchell was yelling again. “WATCH OUT! THE SPACESHIP IS GOING TO CRASH!”\u003cbr\u003e“Bloop. Bloop. Bloop,” said Peter Petway.\u003cbr\u003e“Wow,” said Madam Ballantine.\u003cbr\u003e“I guess that’s the spaceship crashing.” Destiny stood up. “I’m going in there.”\u003cbr\u003e“You can’t do that,” Gina said.\u003cbr\u003e“Mrs. Farelli wouldn’t want us to freeze to death. I think she just forgot about us.” Destiny banged open the auditorium door.\u003cbr\u003eShe went inside.\u003cbr\u003eGina thought about going inside, too. But suppose Mrs. Farelli came back?\u003cbr\u003eShe put her head back against the wall.\u003cbr\u003eTonight her mother was making turkey with stuffing.\u003cbr\u003eNo dinner for her.\u003cbr\u003eAnd bedtime was nine o’clock.\u003cbr\u003eWould she still be here? Sleeping on the hall floor like a frozen ant?\u003cbr\u003e“I WILL SAVE YOU,” someone said in a loud voice.\u003cbr\u003eThank goodness, Gina thought. Then she realized. It was Destiny. She was trying to be the star.\u003cbr\u003ePoor Grandma Maroni. Poor Aunt Suki and Uncle Tony. Poor meat man at Stop \u0026amp; Shop. What would they think if they heard Gina wasn’t a star?\u003cbr\u003eShe yanked on the pearls.\u003cbr\u003eSnap!\u003cbr\u003eThey flew all over the place.\u003cbr\u003eThe hyena was escaping from her throat. She couldn’t stop it.\u003cbr\u003eShe began to cry.\u003cbr\u003eSomeone opened the auditorium door. It was Clifton, a kindergarten kid. “You sound like a--” he began.\u003cbr\u003eGina gulped. She hoped he wouldn’t say hyena.\u003cbr\u003eHe didn’t. “You sound like a sad girl,” he said.\u003cbr\u003eThat made her cry even louder.\u003cbr\u003eJake the Sweeper popped his head around the stairs. He swept some pearls toward her. “What’s going on?” he asked.\u003cbr\u003eNow everyone came out of the auditorium. They crowded around her.\u003cbr\u003eGina squinched her eyes shut.\u003cbr\u003e“What’s this?” a soft voice asked.\u003cbr\u003eShe opened her eyes again.\u003cbr\u003eThe used-to-be-famous actress was staring at her.\u003cbr\u003eGina knew she was a mess. Her hair was gooey. She looked down. Her shirt had . . . not a hippo, not a rhino, but--\u003cbr\u003eA pair of elephants.\u003cbr\u003eHow had that happened?\u003cbr\u003e“Perfect,” the used-to-be-famous actress said.\u003cbr\u003eGina wiped her eyes.\u003cbr\u003e“You can be a poor lost alien in the play,” the actress said.\u003cbr\u003eGina stood up. “Is that the star?”\u003cbr\u003eThe actress shook her head. “No, but it would be a lovely part. All you’d have to do is cry.”\u003cbr\u003e“Not the star?” Gina said.\u003cbr\u003e“Well--” said Madam Ballantine.\u003cbr\u003e“I’ll be the star,” said Destiny.\u003cbr\u003e“What about me?” Beebe said.\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Farelli came along the hall. “What is all this commotion?”\u003cbr\u003e“I don’t want to stay out here forever,” Gina told her.\u003cbr\u003e“I forgot.” Mrs. Farelli slapped her forehead. “I’m so sorry.”\u003cbr\u003eWhew!\u003cbr\u003eOutside, Ramón, the college helper, blew his whistle. “Time to get on the bus,” he said.\u003cbr\u003e“Hurry,” Madam Ballantine said. “See you on Tuesday.”\u003cbr\u003eGina stopped to pick up some of the pearls. She put them in her pocket. Poor Grandma Maroni. What would she say?\u003cbr\u003eBut Grandpa Maroni could fix anything.\u003cbr\u003eMaybe he could even fix the necklace.\u003cbr\u003eShe raced up the stairs. She’d have turkey with stuffing for supper. She’d sleep in her own bed.\u003cbr\u003eShe waved goodbye to Mrs. Farelli and to Madam Ballantine.\u003cbr\u003eShe’d worry about being a crybaby alien next week.","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305050099941,"sku":"NP9780375859120","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780375859120.jpg?v=1767737179","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/star-time-isbn-9780375859120","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}