Presenting Miss La La

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PRESENTING MISS LA LA

g n i t n e s e Pr La La Miss

g n i t n e s Pre La La s s i M an

Nadine Cow

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have gone back in time! It’s London, 1879, and the circus is in town. The Royal Aquarium Theatre is the place to see tightrope walkers, acrobats and the amazing Miss La La. But can the children solve the mystery of the missing macaques before they return to their own time?

An adventure story collins.co.uk/collinsbigcat

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g n i t n e s e Pr La La s s i M Written by Nadine Cowan Illustrated by Nadine Cowan and Katie Crumpton

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Chapter 1 The circus was in town!

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia sat on the edge of their seats in the packed tent. Their hearts raced as they watched two motorcycles zoom around inside a globe-shaped cage.

Strobe lights somersaulted across their faces.

Aniyah’s gasp was drowned out by the music as Olivia gripped her arm. The motorcyclists were heading straight for each other, but before they had a full-on collision, they swerved in different directions.

EJ grinned. “Just in time!”

As the motorcyclists left the stage, the ringmaster announced the end of the show.

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The smell of akee and saltfish danced in the air as they headed over to the Blue Mahoes food truck which was parked up outside the circus tent. Blue Mahoes was Aniyah and her cousin EJ’s family restaurant, and the food truck was in the park, ready to serve the hungry circus crowd.

“I brought the Ludi board,” EJ said, as he shoved candyfloss into his mouth. “Let’s have a game.”

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He rummaged in the back of the van and reappeared with the wooden board. The game was a family heirloom, and etched around the side were the words: Roll double six, or double three, let’s learn about your history.

Something amazing happened every time they played and as Olivia rolled a double six, a puff of iridescent smoke emitted from the board. The children grinned as a wormhole appeared and pulled them in.

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Aniyah and EJ found themselves squashed in a crowd of people. It was evening, and the street was lit up with gas lamps.

Aniyah spotted a man pulling a pocket watch out of his waistcoat.

“Everyone looks dressed up,” she said. She checked her coat pockets to see if there was anything helpful there, but they were empty.

“I don’t have anything,” EJ replied. “Oh, hang on, I’ve found another pocket.”

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EJ pulled out two bits of paper.

Aniyah peered at them. “It looks like tickets!”

AL M Y O R RIU A AQUEATREer TH tminst ROYAL Wes NDON AQUARIUM LO THEATRE N Westminster SSIO I M D A 79 US 18LONDON h CIRC G c N r a ILLI th M 0 1 SH 1 day CIRCUS ADMISSION Mon IT 1 1 SHILLING ADM Monday 10th March 1879 ADMIT 1

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“Another circus!” EJ said. “Cool.”

“So, we’re still in London but it’s 1879,” said Aniyah.

“Wait a minute, why are there only two tickets?

We’ll need three.”

EJ and Aniyah looked around and that’s when they realised. EJ bit his lip. “Um, where’s Olivia?”

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