the Badly Drawn Horse— and Dandy, Too!
T. L. McBeth
MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING GROUP
Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse—and Dandy, Too! T. L. McBeth August 2021 Randy is ready for his next adventure. He’s excited, his bag is packed . . . But wait, what’s this? Nobody said anything about a travel companion! There’s a new horse in town, and he’s claiming to be Randy’s best friend. Dandy can’t wait to set out on an adventure for two, but Randy isn’t impressed, especially not when Dandy gets to take the reins on their trip to the moon. Will Randy and Dandy figure out how to work together, or is there room for only one beautiful horse in this story? T. L. McBeth is an author and illustrator living in New York City. He is the creator of Randy, the
Badly Drawn Horse and Robot in Love, and is the illustrator of Stegothesaurus, Ogilvy, and Ducks! tlmcbeth .com
MARKETING & PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN • Select Author Appearances
• Included in MacKids Social Media Promotions
• Outreach to Key Reviewers, Media, and
• Featured at Select School, Library, and
School and Library Contacts
Bookseller Conferences and Conventions
• Digital ARE sent to Select Bloggers and
• Digital ARE Available on Edelweiss
Digital Influencers
Henry Holt and Company An Imprint of Macmillan 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 mackids.com
ISBN: 978-1-250-26383-4 | Price: $18.99 US / $25.99 CAN | On Sale Date: 08/31/2021 Category: Picture Book Fiction | Format: Jacketed Trade Hardcover Pages/Trim: 40 / 10” x 10” | Age: 4–8
This digital copy has been distributed for promotional and review purposes only. No other uses are allowed, including but not limited to consumer viewing. No sale or further distribution of this digital advance reader’s edition is permitted, except to others on your staff for review purposes only. Please do not post or share the link to this material. View and share it responsibly within your organization. We thank you for supporting the rights of our authors and artists in this endeavor. For more information, contact childrens.publicity@macmillan.com.
Henry Holt and Company, Publishers since 1866 Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 • mackids.com Copyright © 2021 by Trenton McBeath All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. ISBN 978-1-250-26383-4 Our books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com. First edition, 2021 / Design by Mike Burroughs The artist used colored pencils, crayons, refrigerator magnets, plastic horses, a pencil sharpener, Swiss cheese, cardboard, aluminum foil, paper, various 19th-century oil paintings, macaroni wheels, a baseball button, a rock, Adobe Photoshop, and googly eyes to create the illustrations in this book. Printed in China by RR Donnelley Asia Printing Solutions Ltd., Dongguan City, Guangdong Province 1
3
5
7
9
10
8
6
4
2
the Badly Drawn Horse— and Dandy, Too!
T. L. McBeth
Henry Holt and Company
.
New York
This is Randy.
Randy is the most beautiful horse in the world!
Oh yeah! Randy is here! Your favorite horse is back!
Today, Randy is going on a brand-new adventure!
I wonder what amazing new adventure we are going on today! I’d better pack for everything. An adventurer can never be too prepared.
Randy is almost ready to go.
I’M SO EXCITED. I CAN’T WAIT! I think I’ll take a little peek ahead . . .
Just one more thing.
Hey, wait a minute! What is going on? Hello? I’m already here!
Almost done!
Wait! I’m not gray—I’m brown! That’s not me! As the most beautiful horse in the room, I demand answers!
This is Dandy!
Who?
Hi! I’m Dandy!
Dandy is Randy’s best friend in the whole world!
Say what now?
I AM? YAY!
Now it’s time for Randy and Dandy’s big adventure!
Yahoo! An adventure with my BEST FRIEND!
Hey! No hand-holding. Well, I still want to have an adventure . . . so I guess I’ll go.
YAY!
Dandy invents space boots to bounce to the moon!
I do? Wow! What? No fair! Why don’t I get space boots?
Dandy is a good inventor!
Well, gee, I must be! Wheeeeee! Dandy . . . What kind of a name is Dandy? It’s just my name with a “D” where the “R” should be!
Now Randy and Dandy are on the moon!
Wow . . . So this is the moon! What’s a moon? I still don’t have space boots!
The moon king needs help! His moon gem was stolen by bad guys! We will help you get your thingy back, sir! What a fun adventure! Let me guess. It’s a job for two . . .
Randy and Dandy sneak into the bad-guy hideout!
They grab the moon gem!
AND ANOTHER THING! Shouldn’t you be lifting me?
And make a daring escape!
After all, I am the most beautiful horse!
Then they return the gem to the king!
Why is Dandy getting to do all the cool stuff?
Randy and Dandy saved the day. They are such good best friends! THE END!
Oh, wow! We really did it! What an adventure! We ARE such good best friends!
NO, we are NOT! YES, WE ARE!
ENOUGH! This was not a fun adventure! I had to do all the work, and YOU got to do all the fun stuff!
But I thought we were best friends . . .
We are not best friends! I don’t need a best friend! I never asked for a best friend! I’m going on my own adventure. ALL BY MYSELF! Adventures are better alone anyway.
All right! This is more like it. Adventuring alone! Solo! Just me! No one else!
Hmmm . . . What to do first? Well . . .
I could play catch . . . but it’s not that fun all by myself. I could ride this bike . . . but it’s pretty wobbly with just one horse.
Oh, hey! Look at this cool thing! Hey, Dandy! Check this out!
Oh, right. I’m alone . . . So very alone . . .
Okay . . . I admit it. Adventuring alone is not as fun as I remembered. I miss . . .
Dandy! You do?!
I didn’t realize that a friend would be so nice to have.
Maybe we could go on an adventure sometime? Friends? BEST FRIENDS! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves . . .
Randy is back, and this time, he’s not alone—whether he likes it or not.
Can’t get enough of Randy? I know I can’t!
“[Randy] will make readers laugh . . . Give this book a prime spot on the metafiction shelf.” —School Library Journal, starred review “A lovely affirmation of creativity and unconditional love.” —Publishers Weekly