Einstein the Class Hamster Saves the Library (Einstein the Class Hamster Series) Read online

if he couldn’t use any

  of these Tasty

  Tidbits to help

  Ned, learning all

  these facts made

  today one of Einstein’s

  BEST DAYS EVER.

  The streets in the game Monopoly

  were named after real streets in Atlantic

  City, New Jersey. More than 275 million

  Monopoly games have been sold, and

  over 1 billion people have played since

  the game was invented in 1935. The

  longest Monopoly game on record

  lasted for seventy days straight.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  YoUr ReSeArCh

  AsSiStAnT Is ReAdY

  Einstein couldn’t wait to show Ned

  all his hard work, but as soon as he

  saw his best friend’s face, he knew

  something was wrong.

  “They refused to let us speak at

  the town meeting,” Ned said. “We

  need to come up with a Plan B.”

  “But you’re a citizen!” Einstein

  complained. “They can’t stop you

  from talking at the meeting.”

  “Apparently they can.” Ned pointed

  to his notebook. “I had lots of good

  information too.”

  Einstein was proud of Ned; he’d

  gotten so much better at doing

  research since they’d become friends.

  “You should start a petition,”

  Einstein suggested. “Get signatures

  from people who want to keep the

  library open.”

  Bonnie skidded over to Ned. “We

  can make a video and post it on the

  school’s website. What do you think?”

  As much as Einstein loved the

  thought of a petition, dreams of

  LiGhTs . . .

  CaMeRa . . .

  AcTiOn

  filled his head.

  “I like it,” Ned agreed.

  “Ms. Moreno does too.” Bonnie

  motioned to Ms. Moreno, now asleep

  at her desk again. “At least she did a

  few minutes ago.”

  “Who should be in the video?” Ned

  asked.

  ME, ME, ME, thought

  Einstein.

  “Ricky said it

  might be fun to use

  Twinkles,” Bonnie

  suggested.

  NO, NO, NO, thought

  Einstein.

  “He could slither around

  the library—it might be cool

  and menacing.” Bonnie made some

  spooky Halloween

  noises.

  “Filming Twinkles

  is a TERRIBLE

  idea,” Einstein said.

  “It has nothing to do

  with saving the library.”

  “Be quiet,” Ned said.

  “Are you talking to me?”

  Bonnie asked.

  “No!” Ned answered.

  “But you just told me to be quiet.”

  Bonnie did NOT look happy.

  “He was talking to me!” Einstein

  said. “It’s not always about you,

  Bonnie.”

  Ned shot Einstein a look to put a lid

  on it.

  “I think making a video is a GREAT

  idea,” Ned said. “Let’s see what the

  others say.”

  Ned and Bonnie ran out to the

  school yard to find their friends.

  Einstein looked down at the stacks

  and stacks of notes he’d made for

  Ned.

  “They’ll use that information

  someday,” Marlon said. “You did a

  lot of good work.”

  Einstein didn’t tell Marlon about the

  color-coded map of the school he’d

  slaved over for hours.

  “You don’t think they’ll make a

  video with Twinkles, do you? They

  should shoot a video of us playing

  AnSwEr . . . ThAt . . . QuEsTiOn

  instead.”

  “It might be hard since Ned’s the

  only one who can hear us.”

  Marlon did have a point.

  The study and art of mapmaking is

  called CARTOGRAPHY. Because a map

  is graphic, it’s a universal way to convey

  facts and figures. You can find out lots of

  information about history by studying

  maps of a given time period.

  Some of the oldest known maps

  were made in Babylon in 2300 B.C. on

  clay tablets, but now most people use

  computers to read them. More than a

  billion people have downloaded Google

  Earth; scientists in England used it to

  locate a virgin rain forest in Mount Mabu,

  Mozambique, that was only known locally.

  The forest is now referred to as “Google

  Forest.”

  EVER GET THE

  FEELING YOU’RE

  BEING WATCHED?

  CHAPTER SIX

  MeAnWhIlE,

  At Ms. MoReNo’S HoUsE

  Ms. Moreno stayed up late watching

  infomercials and making lots of phone

  calls to various shopping networks.

  She wanted to get the best deals on

  the latest gadgets, and nothing could

  stop her—not even sleep.

  But what kept her awake tonight

  was trying to come up with ways to

  save Boerring Elementary’s library.

  She knew the town was in a financial

  crisis, but a school NEEDED

  a library.

  As she tried to hatch a plan, she

  ran several carrots and apples

  through her new juicer. She soaked

  her feet in a massage tub, tied her

  hair in a French braid with a fancy

  clip, exercised along with her

  EXTREME CARDIO DVD, riveted

  rhinestones onto the new vest she

  quilted, applied a cucumber facial

  mask, ground some fresh peanut

  butter, and sharpened all her knives

  and scissors. By early morning, she

  didn’t know how she’d save the

  library; she just knew she was tired.

  “I’m determined to raise the

  money,” Ms. Moreno said to herself.

  “It might be difficult but—wait, is that

  a new purse organizer? For just

  $19.99?” She jumped off the couch

  and ran to the phone. “What a

  bargain!”

  Scientist and inventor George Washington

  Carver was born into slavery in Missouri in

  the 1860s. When slavery was abolished,

  he went to school, eventually getting

  his high school, college, and master’s

  degrees. He taught agriculture for forty-

  seven years at Tuskegee University in

  Alabama, an all-black college.

  He encouraged farmers to grow

  peanuts as an alternative to cotton after

  the boll weevil destroyed most of the

  South’s cotton crops. He developed more

  than three hundred uses for peanuts

  (which are legumes, not nuts). Believe

  it or not, two American presidents were

  peanut farmers: Thomas Jefferson and

  Jimmy Carter.

  I THINK I HAVE A

  PEANUT ALLERGY. . . .

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  BoNnIe

  StEpS In

  “Okay, here’s the plan.” Bonnie was

  standing next to Ms. Moreno, sound

  asleep at her desk. “What kind of

  videos alwa
ys go viral?”

  “Funny animal videos,” Ricky

  answered.

  “EXACTLY,” Bonnie said. “Let’s use

  the class pets.”

  Einstein put down his pencil. Did he

  just hear Bonnie right? “Marlon—

  they’re going to make us stars!”

  Marlon tucked his head farther

  inside his shell. “Not everybody wants

  to be a star. Some of us just want to

  be left alone.”

  But Einstein was already getting

  ready for his close-up. He quickly

  groomed his fur and filed his teeth.

  Even if they couldn’t hear him on the

  video, at least he’d look great.

  Einstein usually was not a hamster

  who stared at the clock, but today

  was different. He counted down each

  minute until school was over and he

  could finally take his place in front of

  the camera. When he wasn’t watching

  the clock, he was daydreaming about

  movie stars and red carpets and

  Oscars and interviews and Access

  Hollywood (the hamster version). This

  was going to be amazing!

  “Einstein!” Marlon called. “You’re

  wanted on the set.”

  Sure enough, Ned, Bonnie, and

  Ricky were placing a video camera on

  a tripod next to Ms. Moreno’s desk.

  It was time to make a movie!

  During his lifetime, Thomas Edison

  held patents for more than a thousand

  inventions, but one of his most famous

  was the motion picture projector. Other

  people also worked on creating machines

  that filmed moving images; Edison called

  his the Kinetoscope.

  The first motion picture ever

  copyrighted showed Fred Ott—one of

  Edison’s employees—pretending to

  sneeze. Edison built a movie studio not in

  Hollywood, but in New Jersey. His studio

  made The Great Train Robbery in 1903; it

  was one of the first Westerns and one of

  the first blockbusters in the silent-movie

  industry. It cost only $150 to make.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  A StAr

  Is BoRn

  Einstein knew Bonnie liked to sew and

  do craft projects, but he hadn’t

  realized she was such a competent

  director too.

  “Okay, let’s get Marlon out here,”

  Bonnie said. “A turtle is a great main

  character.”

  Marlon??? Einstein thought. What

  about me? Hamsters are a hundred

  times cuter than turtles!

  “We can say, ‘Don’t

  stick your head in

  the sand—libraries

  are important,’”

  Ricky said.

  “Turtles don’t bury

  their heads in the sand!”

  Einstein screamed. “You’re talking

  about ostriches—and even THEY don’t

  do that!”

  He was happy when Ned

  intervened.

  “How about Einstein?” Ned

  suggested. “People love videos with

  hamsters and squirrels.”

  Ugh, don’t lump me in with them,

  Einstein thought. Squirrels are such

  HAMS. They never met a camera

  they didn’t like.

  “Let’s try Marlon first,” Bonnie said.

  “I’ve got a good feeling about him.”

  She scooped up Marlon from his

  lagoon and placed him on Ms.

  Moreno’s desk.

  “This isn’t fair!” Einstein said. “He

  doesn’t even want to be in your dumb

  movie! He HATES videos—unlike me,

  who watches them all the time!”

  While the others filmed a few test

  shots, Ned snuck over to Einstein.

  “Calm down. You’re making a scene.”

  “You’re the only one who can hear

  me,” Einstein complained.

  “Yes, and it’s distracting.” Ned gave

  his friend a smile. “You’ll get a chance

  later, I promise.”

  “Marlon’s going to need a thousand

  takes,” Einstein said. “He’s not a

  professional like I am.”

  Ned tried not to laugh as he headed

  to the front of the room. He loved

  Einstein, but his friend

  could be such a

  baby sometimes.

  Einstein

  scampered out

  of his tank to get

  a closer look. Was

  Ms. Moreno feeding Marlon a snack?

  “She’s giving him green beans!”

  Einstein yelled to Ned. “This is SO

  UNFAIR.”

  Einstein scurried along the

  bookshelf to see what else he was

  missing.

  “Marlon, you look hungry,” Ms.

  Moreno said. “How about some

  carrots too?”

  “NO, NO, NO!” Einstein shouted. “He

  doesn’t want any more snacks!”

  “Yes, I do,” Marlon called.

  Einstein slumped behind a stack of

  books. Why was Marlon getting all

  the attention?

  “Hey, look!” Ricky said. “Marlon’s

  chasing an olive across the desk!”

  “Olives have pits! Marlon could

  choke,” Einstein cried. “Besides,

  turtles are too slow to chase things.”

  Bonnie zoomed in with the camera.

  The kids all laughed as Marlon chased

  the olive across the desk.

  “Sure, it’s cute,” Einstein called to

  Ned. “But how’s that going to save

  the library?”

  Ned was too busy praising Marlon

  to answer.

  Ostriches can go a long time without

  drinking water; they get water from the

  plants they eat. Ostriches are so strong

  that one kick to a lion can be fatal.

  An ostrich’s brain is smaller than its

  eyeball, which is the size of a billiard ball.

  They are the largest, heaviest birds and

  unable to fly. Ostriches are fast, though,

  outrunning most of their predators at

  forty miles per hour. Contrary to popular

  belief, they do NOT bury their heads in

  the sand. The myth probably got started

  because ostriches dig large holes for their

  eggs and bend down often to turn them.

  Because an ostrich’s head is so small,

  from a distance it might appear as if it’s

  burying its head.

  SO MUCH FOR

  BEING KING OF

  THE JUNGLE!

  CHAPTER NINE

  EiNsTeIn’S

  TuRn

  “How about if we do a backup video

  with Einstein?” Ned suggested.

  “A BACKUP VIDEO?!” Einstein

  shouted. “Like I’m some kind of

  understudy for Marlon?” The

  situation was completely

  unacceptable.

  “That’s a great idea,” Bonnie said.

  “That way we’ll have some options.”

  “Here’s your chance.” Ned set the

  camera up in front of Einstein’s tank.

  “Break a leg.”

  “Don’t say that!” Didn’t Ned know

  how difficult it was to treat a

  fracture on a hamster?

  “Stop being such a
diva,” Ned said.

  As much as Einstein wanted his

  performance to shine, he also realized

  the most important

  part of today was to

  remember their

  goal—saving the

  library.

  “I’ve got some cherry tomatoes,”

  Ricky said. “Let’s see if Einstein’s as

  good at chasing things as Marlon.”

  That’s not going to happen,

  Einstein thought. Let me show you

  something better.

  To warm up, Einstein started with

  a few impersonations—Elvis Presley

  and Marilyn Monroe.

  Then he juggled four kibbles in

  the air, faster and faster—until he

  realized the clumps he’d taken from

  the bottom of his cage weren’t

  actually food.

  After hurrying to wash his hands,

  Einstein took out his notes. He looked

  directly into the camera and talked

  about how important it was to save

  the school library.

  “It almost looks as if he’s reading,”

  Ricky said. “That’s weird.”

  “He’s got a lot of skills for a

  rodent,” Ned added.

  Bonnie looked at Ned suspiciously.

  “How do you know so much about

  Einstein? Are you guys friends now?”

  “Yeah, my best friend’s a hamster,”

  Ned joked. “We have sleepovers all

  the time.”

  Einstein stopped reading. Was Ned