Everyone knows Curtis "Sully" Sullenburg is the toughest kid at Higgins Elementary. For years, he and his gang have tormented students and teachers alike with their pranks. And for the most part, they’ve gotten away with it. But all that changes when a strange little creature appears on the scene. From that point on, pranks start coming back like boomerangs, smacking Sully's gang right in their fifth grade butts!
Sully is the only one who can see this creature, which he names Karmack. The little guy claims to be a nature spirit whose job is to balance all the bad karma the boys have amassed over the years. Because if Karmack fails, these boys will undoubtedly suffer "dreadful, awful doom". Just like that kid who shot at crows with his BB gun – one day he crashed his bike into a pigeon coop and emerged as the Abominable Snowman of bird poop! That kind of doom.
Sully soon realizes he must save not only himself but his gang from Karmack's doom (though his friends have no idea why their pranks keep boomeranging). Of course, calamity and hilarity follow. But in the end, Sully and the guys learn a valuable lesson about the consequences of being a bully, and what it takes to be a true leader.
The book is aimed at children ages 8 to 12, and is a
perfect read-aloud for classrooms.
Read an Excerpt:
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Through
front yards, backyards, and down the main road, the pursuers continued to chase
the squealer into town. Sully, Breeze, and Gonzo (also known as Curtis
Sullenburg, Matthew Brezinski, and Carlos Gonzalez) were the toughest dudes in
fifth grade. Everyone knew these three were definitely trouble. And the worst
was Sully, their leader.
The
old Statewide Bank building lay just ahead, on the corner of Main Street and
Railroad Avenue. And that was where the squealer ran out of gas.
Sully
immediately pinned him to the ground, right there at the corner. Lying in the
snow, the squealer looked petrified. Sully laughed and let go of the boy—just
knowing he scared the living daylights out of the kid was enough for Sully. But
not Gonzo—he dropped his backpack on the left side of the squealer’s face.
“That’s for making us chase you,” he said.
Sully
let out a loud “Hah!”
Then
the boys heard a rumble. It came from above them—from the pitched roof of the
bank. Sully looked up in time to see a bundle of snow drop from the roof. It
fell downward, toward Gonzo, who was still hovering over the squealer.
“Hey,
look out,” Sully shouted, but not in time. Gonzo did look up, just as the pile
of snow hit his face. The squealer managed to squirm out of the way and take
off down the road. Breeze began to dig out his friend.
But
Sully was frozen to his spot, still gazing at the roof of the bank. Because he
saw something up there—a small figure no bigger than a two-year-old. And was
it… laughing?
Sully
knew it couldn’t be a child. Not with that long, fat nose. Definitely not a
child.
Was
it just his imagination? Or maybe…a reflection…from ice on the roof? After
giving his eyes a good rub, Sully changed his view of the roof by walking
around the corner. And there—there was that little guy, laughing again! The
creature in the funny green outfit saw Sully too. Then came a flash of light as
it darted to the other side of the roof, beyond Sully’s vision.
“Breeze…did
you…see that?” Sully wanted to know.
“Yeah,
Gonzo got dumped on. Lucky break for the squealer.”
“No,
I mean…ah, forget it.” Sully knew he’d seen someone. Yet…
Never
the shy one, Sully next ran into the bank to question the first teller he saw.
“Is some guy up on the roof?”
“What?”
“You
got some guy shoveling snow off the roof? My friend, he got dumped on.”
“Uh,
not that I’m aware of.” The female teller turned around and asked the branch
manager the same question. Then she returned to Sully. “No one’s on the roof.
What’s the problem?”
“I
saw…somebody…up there.”
The
manager came to the counter. “There’s no one up there, son. Some snow must’ve
fallen from the roof. Is your friend all right?”
“Yeah,
I guess. But I coulda sworn I saw someone up there.”
The
teller smiled. “Probably just glare from the sun. Nice to have some sun today,
isn’t it?”
But
Sully only shrugged and walked out of the bank.
The
guys were waiting for him outside. Gonzo was dusty with snow. And he was
cradling the left side of his face. It was red and starting to swell.
“What’s
going on?” asked Breeze.
“That’s
what I wanna know.” Sully frowned as he committed the creature’s face to his
memory. Anyone crossing Sully usually lived to regret it.
That
is…until now.
********************
About J.C. Whyte: Author J.C. Whyte says she discovered a
love for writing while in elementary school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Back
then of course, she wrote only children’s stories. But as a grownup, she had to
face the harsh reality that such writing seldom pays the bills. So she got her
degrees in Journalism and Communications, and turned to Public Relations, where
for many years she focused her creative energies in feature writing.
Then after marriage, kids, several more
degrees and occupations (including stints as a travel agent and paralegal),
J.C. entered law school. While there, she became a columnist for the student
newsletter and one of her humorous articles was even published in The National Jurist.
After graduating and passing the Bar,
J.C. realized within a few years that creative writing was still what made her
heart sing. So now, as a grandma, she’s returned to writing for children. And
with the publication of Karmack, J.C.
has truly come full circle, back to where her writing journey began.
Muse It Up Publishing * Barnes & Noble * Omnilit * Bookstrand * Amazon
Giveaway!
J.C. is offering one person a copy of the book. It will be in whatever format the winner would like.
Leave a comment. If your email address is not in your profile, leave that as well. The contest will close for entries on August 12th.
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