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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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First published in 2011 by Viking, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group
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Text copyright © Jessie Nelson and Karen Leigh Hopkins, 2011 Illustrations copyright © Deborah Melmon, 2011 All rights reserved
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Nelson, Jessie.
Labracadabra / by Jessie Nelson & Karen Leigh Hopkins ; illustrated by
Deborah Melmon.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-51383-5
[1. DogsâFiction. 2. Human-animal relationshipsâFiction. 3. MagicâFiction.] I.
Hopkins, Karen Leigh. II. Melmon, Deborah, ill.
III. Title.
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PZ7.N4339Lab 2011
[E]âdc22 2010025109
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Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authorâs rights is appreciated.
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This book is dedicated to our firstborn pups,
the beautiful Molly June and Milly Rose
âJ.N. & K.L.H.
For my sweet angel, GracieâD.M.
1
I KNOW IT SOUNDS crazy. But really, it happened.
It all began around 11:32 last Tuesday.
My parents told me they had a surprise for me. They said it was something I had wanted for a long time. It wasnât my birthday or anything. And I didnât remember that Iâd done anything special to have earned a surprise. Though sometimes my mom says I donât have to do anything special, I just am special. But then when she gets mad at me sheâll say, âYou may be special, but donât forget everyone is special,â so go figure.
Back to the day.
My neighbor Molly Rose was babysitting. We used to be good friends and hang out in my tree house and play restaurant, but now sheâs a teenager. All she does is talk on the phone with her boyfriend. Mom says itâs just a phase and that she really likes me, but Iâm not sure.
My mom said, âMolly can help you clean up your room while weâre gone.â It seemed kind of unfair having to clean up while I waited for a surprise, but I didnât want to push it, because thatâs when my momâs left eyebrow goes up and you know youâve gone too far.
The last time my parents said they had a surprise for me, they brought home a canoe and we took my cousin Seymour out on the lake. He threw up. Not to be mean, but I was hoping this new surprise didnât include him.
I searched the house for clues. None. Zip.
I was in the middle of my third peanut butter sandwich when my parentsâ car pulled
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