The Olders' Bookshelf

Help! Santa is in trouble at the North Pole. This is the message Tulip and her brother, Washington, received on Christmas Eve. Tulip and Washington with Truffle their dog, set off from Santa’s workshop for Mugsy Maldoom’s digital-age toy factory, the Marvelous Mogadome, to find out why children everywhere want buffle-brained blimpkins for Christmas.

The room was buzzing. Journalists, reporters, camera operators and sound techs. Something big was coming. Something big, big and scary — mega-scary. Special Ed stood behind the podium … shaking. A journalist roared, “WE NEED YOU TO SAVE US! CAN YOU DO IT?

The voice pounded a question into Special Ed’s sleeping head: “What is the world’s deadliest snake?” Meanwhile, in far-away Singapore, three of the city’s beloved otters had been devoured by a gigantic, three-headed serpent. Two of them were bitten by poisonous fangs, and the third was squeezed by powerful coils … before disappearing into the serpent’s mouth. Special Ed no longer felt sleepy. He muttered, “I may be special. But I know I'm specially scared of snakes. I don't like ‘em.