RITA & RALPH’S ROTTEN DAY
Carmen Agra Deedy & Pete Oswald
R I TA & RAL P H ’ S W R I T T E N B Y C a r m e n A g r a D e e d y
ROTT E N DAY I L L U S T R A T E D B Y P e t e O s w a l d
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In two little houses, on two little hills, lived two best friends.
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Every morning, Rita and Ralph would open their doors, step outside, close their doors, and run . . .
3
h
4
5
They’d meet under the apple tree and high-five,
6
pindie-lhade,
dh a \ha-\ha-\ha,
play shm[ie tag,
and made daily \hainl'
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Then one day . . . they played a new game:
Sticks and Stones.
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“Oooooow!” yowled Rita.
“UH-OH.” Ralph froze. This was bad. Really bad.
So they ran away . . .
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10
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They opened their doors, raced inside, and closed their doors.
Rita was mad.
And Ralph was . . . sorry.
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So Ralph opened the door, stepped outside, and closed the door. Bt pal a hundred yearl th Kita’l hhule'
But she was his best friend.
So Ralph went . . .
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l
l
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The long walk made Ralph a smidge grumpy. “ B’F LHKKR !” he barked.
“ But he
didn’t lhund one bit sorry.
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Lh Kita did GHT open the door.
“Grrrrrrr,” said Ralph. And off he stomped . . .
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,
h
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n
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He opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door.
And Rita was . . . kinda sorry.
Now Ralph was mad.
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So she opened the door, stepped outside, closed the door,
and ran . . .
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,
h
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n
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As she ran, she thought about Ralph. And that rock. Just thinking about it
made her mad all over again.
“I WANT MY PINECONE BACK!” she shouted.
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Ralph opened the door,
and closed the door.
And Rita tromped . . .
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n
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She opened her door, marched inside, and slammed the door.
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Now Rita was mad.
And Ralph was mad.
And Rita was sad.
And Ralph was sad.
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And in two little houses on two little hills, no one slept a wink.
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It had been a rotten day.
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Just when it seemed nothing would be right again, it was a new day .
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Rita and Ralph opened their doors, stepped outside, closed their doors,
and went . . .
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h
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B’m lhrry laid Kita'
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B’m lhrrier laid Kalph'
:nd they meant it'
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They did a high five,
and a pinkie shake,
and a cha-cha-cha,
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and played zombie tag,
and made daisy chains.
Because best friends always find a way . . .
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. . . to meet in the middle.
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Note from the Author
1. In two little houses on two little hills
This story, inspired by the classic hand game, “Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle,” may be read aloud with the accompanying hand gestures on this page. You may even want to add a few of your own! Most of us have said and done things we regret. Nothing feels worse, however, than hurting a friend. Breaking things takes little effort; mending them takes time, humility, and a heap of trips up and down the hills of reconciliation.
2. They opened the door
3. They stepped outside
4. And they closed the door
5. They went down the hill
6. They went up the hill
7. And they met in the middle
42
For my grandchildren, Ruby, Sam,
Text copyright © 2020 by Carmen Agra Deedy Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Pete Oswald All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920 . SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. • The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Grace, Brady, and Chloe.
For Nini
— C.D.
— P.O.
ISBN 978-1-338-66069-2
Made in North Point, Hong Kong. 137
Special thanks — to Sherry Norfolk, educator, storyteller, and most generous friend. — C.D.
Pete Oswald’s illustrations were rendered digitally using gouache watercolor textures. The text type was set in Futura Medium. • The display type was set in Khaki Std 1. Production was overseen by Catherine Weening. • Manufacturing was supervised by Shannon Rice. The book was art directed and designed by Marijka Kostiw, and edited by Dianne Hess.
Have you ever been REALLY mad at your best friend?
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Cover art © 2020 by Pete Oswald
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