Ollie and the Egg-Splosion

Kim Wilson

illustrated by Ashley Belote

Ollie And The Egg-Splosion

by Kim Wilson illustrated by Ashley Belote copyright ©2019 Kim Wilson All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books.

To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Ashley Belote—Art Director Lucas Kelly—Design/Layout Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 9781946664679 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019938248

P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D STAT E S OF A M E R IC A

To my parents, thank you for believing in me and encouraging me to write and follow my passions from a very young age.

4

Chapter 1 When Mama and Daddy told Ollie about the egg, he did not pah-hoo…he celebrated!

“I’m going to be a big brother!”

5

6

The idea of having a baby sister made Ollie happy.

But when upset, Ollie’s llama spit and owl hoot combo continued.

“Pah-hoo!” It happened when he stepped in gum…when he took the garbage out…and especially when someone mispronounced his name.

7

And while taking attendance at school one night, Mr. Pepherhill did just that.

“Owliver!” he called. The classroom went silent. “Ow-li-ver!” the teacher repeated. “Owliver Vanderwool. Are you here?”

Ollie stood up. “Pah-hoo!” The spit-hoot flew out of his mouth. “Do you mean Ow-liv-ee-yay?”

8

“Oh, sorry,” Mr. Pepherhill said. “It’s you, Ollie, of course.”

He continued down the class list, “Gwen!”

“Here,” Gwen replied. She leaned towards Ollie and whispered, “How do you spell Ow-liv-eeyay?”

“O-w-l-i-v-i-e-r.”

“Oooh! Fancy! It sounds French.”

“I guess,” he grumbled. “I’d rather be plain Ollie.

That’s not so long or hard to say.”

9

10

Chapter 2 At home, Mama sat on the egg. She knitted some booties for the baby owllama growing inside.

Ollie burst into the quiet house. “Mama, how come my name is Owlivier, and not just Ollie?”

“Well hello, dear! How was night school?”

Mama asked.

“The owls at school have simple names, like Gwen. Her name isn’t Gwendowlyn or Gwendowlena. It’s just GWEN.” “Ollie, your name is very special,” Mama explained. “Come here. Let me tell you a story.”

11

Mama put down her knitting and picked up a photo album. “Many years ago, the owls and llamas lived separate lives on the farm.

12

13

By day, the llamas cleared and hauled.

By night, the owls guarded the crops.”

14

15

“How could they be friends if they never saw each other?” Ollie asked.

“Back then, they weren’t friends, sweetheart.”

Ollie felt his beak quiver. He let out a small, “Pa-hoo!” A few tears splattered.

“Your Great Uncle Owlivier changed that.”

Mama comforted him.

“Owlivier?” Ollie perked up. “That’s my name!”

16

17

“Yes.” Mama smiled and continued.

Ollie listened and looked at the photographs.

He pictured the story as if he were there…

18

19

20

Chapter 3 “Gather around everyone,” Great Uncle Owlivier instructed the owls. “I think it’s time we befriend the llamas,” he announced. “We all work hard on this farm. It makes sense for us to get to know each other.”

21

“Why would we want to do that?” Old Otis frowned. “It’s not like we have anything in common.”

“We all live and work on this farm. Isn’t that enough?” asked Owlivier.

The other owls shrugged.

“The llamas aren’t even awake when we are,” Pearl pointed out.

“This is silly. We need to get to work,” muttered Melvin.

Owlivier realized he’d have to trick the owls into getting together with the llamas.

22

23

“Alright everyone.” He appeased them with a sly smile. “Let’s at least get together for an owl dinner. How about Saturday at sunrise – right before bedtime?”

They all nodded in agreement. “That sounds good. As long as there are pancakes!” Otis added.

“Of course we’ll have pancakes!” Owlivier assured them.

Next, Owlivier sent a secret invitation to the llamas.

24

25

Saturday morning, the owls and llamas both made their way to the barn.

“I can’t wait for pancakes!” Hank’s llama mouth watered.

“Who organized this?” asked Harriet.

“I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter to me!” Hank clapped.

The owls and llamas met at the door.

“What are y’all doing here?”

Otis asked.

Llamar replied, “We have an invitation!”

26

27

“Welcome to Brinner everyone!” the booming voice of Owlivier declared from the roof.

Marisowl raised her wing. “What’s Brinner?”

28

29

“Yeah, what’s Brinner?” the crowd repeated.

“It’s breakfast for llamas and dinner for owls! I hope everyone likes pancakes!”

30

31

32

The crowd forgot their confusion and cheered. “Yay!!!”

33

34

Chapter 4 “I am named after the owl who started Brinner?”

Ollie’s beak dropped.

“Yes, Ollie. During that first Brinner, the owls and llamas enjoyed their time together,” Mama explained. “They had differences, but also shared things in common. They all liked pancakes for one thing. From that day on, they had Brinner together every Saturday.”

“Wow! That’s so cool!” Ollie exclaimed.

“Now it’s time to go to sleep.” Mama hugged him goodnight.

“Night-night, Mama.”

35

36

Chapter 5 In the morning, Daddy sat on the egg. He sipped his green grass juice.

Ollie zipped through the kitchen. “Daddy!

Mama told me about Great Uncle Owlivier.” He grabbed his backpack.

As he flew out of the house he yelled, “But I still want to be called Ollie!”

37

During recess, the llamas gathered around Ollie. He retold the story of Great Uncle Owlivier and Brinner.

“That’s amazing! You have such a neat name,” Stew exclaimed.

“Thanks! I used to think it was too fancy. Now I kinda like it.”

38

39

“What are your parents naming your sister?”

Stew waited for another story.

“Um…I don’t know…Pah-hoo!”

What will her name be? Will she be named after someone special? Will her name be long and hard to say?

“Pah-hoo! Pah-hoo! Pah-hoooooo!”

“It’s okay, Ollie.” Stew tried to calm him down.

“I’m sure she’ll have a perfect name like you.”

40

41

42

Chapter 6 Flustered, Ollie flew into the house after school.

“Will my baby sister have a name?” Ollie paced.

“Pah-hoo! She has to have a name.”

“Take a breath, Ollie. It’s okay,” Mama comforted him.

“We’ve decided to name her Llamoretta,” Daddy said.

43

“Does her name have a story too?” Ollie crossed his feathers.

“It does,” Daddy said. “My grandmother’s name was Llamoretta. She had such a beautiful singing voice.”

44

45

“Daddy!!” Ollie yelled.

“Oh!” Daddy jumped. “I must’ve been daydreaming. Grandma Llamoretta used to sing lullabies to us. Though she was mostly known for her Brinner song.”

“I know that song.” Ollie jumped up and started singing, “Brinner time! Brinner time! Come on y’all it’s Brinner time! Owls and llamas all join in.

It’s sunrise, let’s begin!”

“Yes, Ollie. The song we sing today is the same one Grandma Llamoretta sang a long time ago.”

46

47

“Baby Lla-mor-et-ta will have a special name like me,” Ollie tried to say each syllable correctly.

“So what will we call her?”

Daddy looked confused. “Llamoretta?”

“Pah-hoo!” Ollie’s spit-hoot accidentally sent the rest of Daddy’s juice flying.

48

49

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to spill your drink. I just think a long name like Llamoretta needs a nickname!”

“Don’t worry, Ollie. We’ll think of one,” Daddy said.

50

Ollie pah-hooed through night school…as he flew home…and while getting ready for bed.

But he still could not think of a nickname for Llamoretta.

That night, he had a dream. In the dream Ollie searched for his baby sister. He tried out a nickname.

“Llama!” He yelled louder. “Llama!”

He saw no sign of the baby owllama.

“Lllaaammmaa!” All of the sudden a herd of llamas charged Ollie in response to his call.

“Pah-hoo!” He woke in a panic. He decided ‘Llama’ did not make a good nickname.

51

52

Chapter 7 Saturday morning the sun peeked on the dark farm. Llamas slept as owls ended their nightly hunt. And Llamoretta remained in the egg.

Ollie paced the room…he stomped his feet… and poked his head. Think! Think! Think! Still, he could not come up with a nickname.

53

The music started. “Brinner time! Brinner time!

Come on y’all it’s Brinner time…” Even the happy song that led him to delicious pancakes did not brighten his mood.

Ollie wheeled Mama to Brinner as she sat on the egg.

Everyone sat down and passed the pancakes.

“Crack!”

The egg bobbled and wiggled. It shook so hard Mama tumbled off! A few pieces of shell fell to the floor.

54

“Pah-hoooooo! Nooooo!!” Ollie yelled.

“Llamoretta can’t come out yet! She doesn’t have a nickname!” He darted back and forth, grabbing the bits of egg and trying to put them back.

55

The egg made a rumble…

Ruummble…Rrruuummbble!

Then came the EGG-SPLOSION! Eggshell flew everywhere – and out burst the baby owllama!

“Llamoretta!” Ollie cried out.

“Laaa-Laaa!” She sang out in reply.

56

57

“How fitting,” Mama said. “We’ll call you Lala!”

“Lala, I like it!” Ollie agreed.

Lala hopped into Ollie’s wings and continued to sing. “Laaa-Laaa! Laaa-Laaa! Laaa-Laaa!”

He beamed with pride at the adorable new furry-feathery addition to his family.

To be continued.

58

59

Appeased [uh-peezd] Verb—said or did something in order to calm or soothe someone.

Attendance [uh-ten-duhns] Noun—the number of people (or animals!) present.

Beamed [beemd] Verb—smiled happily.

Befriend [bih-frend] Verb—to make friends with.

Booming [boom-ing] Adjective—loud and deep.

Confusion [Kuhn-fyoo-zhuhn] Noun—disorder; chaos.

Declared [dih-klaird] Verb—announced; proclaimed; stated clearly.

60

Mispronounced [mis-pruh-nounsd] Verb— said incorrectly.

Nickname [uh-peezd] Noun—a name used instead of someone’s full name.

Panic [pan-ik] Noun—a sudden and overwhelming fear.

Sly [slahy] Adjective—clever; crafty; done with secrecy.

Syllable [sil-uh-buhl] Noun—a single sound in speech; a word consists of one or more syllables.

61

Owlivier: Knock, knock.

Llamoretta: Who’s there?

Owlivier: Hoo! Llamoretta: Hoo, Who? Owlivier: I didn’t know you spoke owl!

Hahahahaha!!!

62

Comprehension Questions Who were the characters in the story?

What happened first?

Why did Ollie prefer being called by his nickname?

What did Ollie learn about his family history and his full name?

What is Brinner? Why is it important in the story?

How did Ollie feel when the egg started to hatch?

How did Ollie feel at the end of the book?

What do you think will happen next?

63

Anne Willette Photography

Award-winning author, Kim Wilson, pens her sequel to Ollie the Owllama, winner of a Mom’s Choice Gold Award and Honorable Mentions at the New York and London Book Festivals. Ollie and the Egg-splosion is the second book in the early reader chapter book series. Kim is also part of the Headline Kids School Show Program and visits schools, homeschool groups, and is also a national speaker. Kim enjoys reading, yoga, tennis, travel, and playing ping-pong with her family. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, Jeff, and their daughters, Lilly and Emma. For more information about Kim Wilson and The Owllama Series visit www.ollietheowllama.com Award-winning author and illustrator, Ashley Belote, is a summa cum laude graduate of Alderson Broaddus College with a B.F.A in visual art with a minor in creative writing.

After two semesters of graduate work at West Virginia University she continued her graduate study through the Simmons College satellite graduate program at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.

She holds a Masters in Arts Administration through the University of Kentucky and is a graduate of Don Bluth University. Ashley is also a portrait artist, muralist and art instructor.

For more information visit www.AshleyBelote.com.

64

••••• “Why can’t he just have a normal name? There’s nothing normal about Ollie the owllama and kids love it! He’s part owl, part llama, he’s quirky, and makes funny sounds. Author Kim Wilson and Ollie’s family teach us to be proud of our differences and that nothing brings people together like pancakes!”

—Kelly Cates, COO & Professional Bookworm, Promising Pages

Ollie and the Egg-Splosion

Ollie and the Egg-splosion is the second book in The Owllama Series. Written by Kim Wilson and illustrated by Ashley Belote, the story features Ollie and all of his worries and aversions as he tries to understand why his full name is so long and hard to say. In true Ollie fashion, his llama spit and owl hoot come out all at once when he’s upset, causing him to “pa-hoo” his way through discovering his family history and the origin of his name, as well as that of his soon-to-hatch baby sister’s. Ollie quickly realizes the significance in the names carefully chosen for them, as well as the importance of having a nickname that is true to each of their unique personalities.

“Brinner is a winner! A special time that everyone shares together.

A nice message of coming together, even with all of our differences.”

—Elizabeth Phillips, Executive Board Member, Charity League, Inc. Kim Wilson

“We love Ollie! We are an inclusion school and this series is perfect to show acceptance of differences.”

—Shawn Manning, MLIS, NBCT, Elementary Media Coordinator

Kim Wilson illustrated by

Ashley Belote