Another Day as Emily

299 Pages·2014·2.82 MB·English

by  Spinelli Eileen

ALSO BY EILEEN SPINELLI
The Dancing Pancake
Summerhouse Time

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2014 by Eileen Spinelli
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2014 by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of
Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway New York, New York, a Penguin Random House Company.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spinelli, Eileen.
Another day as Emily / Eileen Spinelli;
illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. — First edition.
p. cm.
Summary: “Susie is jealous when her brother is deemed a town hero, so she finds solace in the poetry and reclusive lifestyle of Emily
Dickinson.”—Provided by publisher Trade paperback ISBN 9780449-80987-7 — Library binding ISBN 978-0-449-80988-4 —
eBook ISBN 978-0-44980990-7
[1. Novels in verse. 2. Family life—Fiction. 3. Dickinson, Emily, 1830–1886—Fiction.
4. Recluses—Fiction. 5. Self-acceptance—Fiction.] I. Lew-Vriethoff, Joanne, illustrator.
II. Title.
PZ7.5.S68An 2014
[Fic]—dc23
2012043105
The illustrations in this book were created using pen and ink, then Adobe Photoshop.
Printed in the United States of America
May 2014
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
To Barbara Rosencrans
and Linda Steen
Contents
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Poems
About the Authors
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing is a solitary thing, and yet I’ve never written a book entirely by myself.

My grandson Will Merola researched nineteenth-century baseball for me. A
peek behind the curtain into the world of theater was furnished by my friend and
playwright Y York. My friend Patty Beaumont told me how one catches a
chipmunk on the loose.

If you like this book, you should note the name Michelle Frey, my editor—and
her assistant, Kelly Delaney—and add your thanks to mine.

And my sweet husband, Jerry, has once again done his duty as First Reader.

EMERGENCY
Mrs. Harden nearly died today.
I know because I was there.
I saw her slumped
on her kitchen floor
looking white as an egg.
I wasn’t there
from the beginning, though.
Only from the time
my little brother, Parker,
went missing.
THE BEGINNING
It seems Parker wanted to
drive somewhere
on his new trike.
He’s only allowed to go
one house up
each way.
And only if he tells someone
where he’s going.
He obeyed the first rule.
(Mrs. Harden lives next door.)
But he forgot the second rule.
He told no one.
He drove to Mrs. Harden’s.
He parked in her driveway.
He knocked at her back door.
She invited him in
for a cookie.
That’s how it started.