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    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show
    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show
    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show
    Ebook136 pages1 hour

    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show

    By Lenore Look and Stef Choi

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    Ruby Lu returns—in paperback! Can this spunky middle-grader solve her family’s money troubles?

    Ruby is starting third grade, and she can’t wait! She’ll get to join fun clubs, learn cursive, and play in the orchestra. But there’s one big change Ruby Lu isn’t expecting: Her father loses his job. Now he’s taking care of her and Oscar while her mother works, and it’s definitely not all fun and games, especially with money so tight. So Ruby, determined and resourceful as ever, sets out to make a million dollars! And though she soon learns that making money isn’t easy, she also discovers that having a loving family is the most valuable thing of all.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtheneum Books for Young Readers
    Release dateFeb 8, 2011
    ISBN9781442420403
    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show
    Author

    Lenore Look

    Lenore Look is the author of Ruby Lu, Brave and True, an ALA Notable Book, as well as its sequels, Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything and Ruby Lu, Star of the Show. Her picture books include Love as Strong as Ginger, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Stephen T. Johnson; Henry’s First-Moon Birthday; and Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding, both illustrated by Yumi Heo. She lives in Hong Kong.

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    • 3/5
      The best thing about starting third grade was everything... until things quickly start to fall off the track for Ruby Lu. When her dad is laid off, Ruby wants to help, but none of her money-making ideas seem to pan out. Can't Ruby do anything to help her family? Ruby's a sprightly and well-meaning third grader and this is a story that many kids will identify with. It reminded me of an updated Ramona and her Father. The Ruby Lu series is a great choice for kids starting to read chapter books.

    Book preview

    Ruby Lu, Star of the Show - Lenore Look

    Also by Lenore Look

    Ruby Lu, Brave and True

    Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything

    ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

    An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

    1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

    www.SimonandSchuster.com

    This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real

    people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters,

    places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination,

    and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,

    living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    Text copyright © 2011 by Lenore Look

    Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Stef Choi

    All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or

    in part in any form.

    Atheneum Books for Young Readers is a registered trademark of

    Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your

    live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the

    Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049

    or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

    Book design by Lauren Rille

    The text for this book is set in Lomba Book.

    The illustrations for this book are rendered with pencil and shaded digitally.

    Manufactured in the United States of America

    0111 FFG

    First Edition

    10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Look, Lenore.

    Ruby Lu, star of the show / Lenore Look; illustrated by Stef Choi. — 1st ed.

    p. cm.

    Summary: Ruby Lu’s father loses his job on her first day of third grade,

    which causes many things in her life to change, and she is willing to do a lot

    to help out but giving up some things seems impossible.

    ISBN 978-1-4169-1775-5 (hc)

    [1. Unemployment—Fiction. 2. Conduct of life—Fiction. 3. Family life—Fiction.

    4. Schools—Fiction. 5. Dogs—Fiction. 6. Chinese Americans—Fiction.] I. Choi, Stef, ill.

    II. Title.

    PZ7.L8682Ruk 2012

    [Fic]—dc22

    2010009927

    ISBN 978-1-4169-1775-5

    ISBN 978-1-4424-2040-3 (eBook)

    To Charity and Madison,

    the brightest stars in my sky

    —L. L.

    To Tony,

    my sunshine

    —S. C.

    "These dark days will be worth all they cost us

    if they teach us that our true destiny is not

    to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves

    and to our fellow men."

    —Franklin D. Roosevelt,

    First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

    "Isn’t it funny that something as bright as a star

    spends all its time in the dark?"

    —JonArno Lawson,

    Poet Extraordinaire of Canada, July 28, 2010

    CHAPTER ONE

    The Best Thing About Third Grade

    The best thing about third grade was absolutely everything.

    Waffles with berries and extra whipped cream! Ruby exclaimed. Ruby liked the breakfast.

    Hooray! exclaimed her cousin Flying Duck in Chinese Sign Language. Both girls wiggled their thumbs, which means thank you in CSL.

    Ruby’s dad wiggled his thumbs back. Unlike other days when he would rush off to work before anyone else made it downstairs, he was in the kitchen serving his Back-to-School Breakfast Special for the girls. It was a tradition that he had started when Ruby was in kindergarten.

    The key to a good school year is a good breakfast, said Ruby’s dad, slipping a waffle in front of her.

    And the key to a good meeting with your boss, added Ruby, giving her dad a wink, and digging right in.

    Ruby’s dad winked back. She could tell that he was impressed that she remembered that he had an important meeting with his boss. Third graders sure know everything! he said cheerfully.

    And they eat pretty fast too, said Ruby, gobbling down the last of her waffle.

    Mee too! said Oscar, stuffing his cheeks. Ruby laughed. He was her baby brother, and he was so silly and hungry all the time.

    Take it easy, Ruby said to Oscar. You’re not going to school yet, you’re only going to day care.

    Ruby’s mom, who usually stayed home with Oscar, was out with Flying Duck’s parents, helping them look for work. Flying Duck’s parents, who had recently moved from China, needed to find jobs, and Ruby’s mom, who was good at speaking Cantonese and English, was translating for them. So it was decided that Oscar, who was almost one, would go to day care three mornings a week.

    Ruby gave Oscar a kiss on the head. You’ll have a great time! she said, leaning carefully away from Oscar’s sticky high chair and even stickier hands.

    Kissssssssss you, said Oscar, blowing Ruby a kiss.

    Flying Duck also gave Oscar a kiss on the head, and Oscar, quick as a Venus flytrap, caught Flying Duck with a whipped-cream hug.

    Then Elvis, Ruby’s new dog, jumped up and covered Flying Duck with kisses, licking off the sweet, fluffy cream that Oscar had smeared on her.

    Oh you silly dog, said Ruby, throwing her arms around Elvis and rubbing her face into his fur. I’m going to miss you today.

    Urrrrrr? said Elvis. He was the best thing that happened to Ruby during the summer. One day he appeared on her doorstep, and by the end of the summer, she had adopted him. And now he was

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