The Baby Is Missing! COVER to COVER
Written by Angela Quezada Padron
Illustrated by Shaun Ivie
The Baby Is Missing! COVER to COVER
Written by Angela Quezada Padron
Illustrated by Shaun Ivie
Student Contributor: Wudase Kenae
Jamila and Winston slipped on their outfits.
“I can’t wait for the Mardi Gras parade to
start!” Winston said.
“Me too,” Jamila said. She could smell the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. “And then we’re gonna have a feast!”
“Let’s go show Mama how we look!” Winston said.
The kids went to the kitchen, where Mama and Auntie Rita were cooking up some tasty Cajun foods and desserts for the Mardi Gras celebration.
“You kids are lookin’ mighty fine in those clothes,” Auntie Rita said, stirring some yumminess in a bowl. “But you got to clean up that room of yours before we go anywhere.”
“Oh, do we have to?” Jamila whined. “We’re already dressed for the parade.”
Mama gave the side-eye. “We still got plenty of time before the parade starts. Go on now, and do as you’re told.”
Jamila and Winston trudged down the hallway and back to their room.
They folded their clothes, picked up all the garbage, and put their toys and books away. But when Jamila went to set up her figurines on the dresser . . .
She noticed one was missing.
“Hey, where’s the little baby that goes with the set?
The one wearing the blue outfit,” she asked.
Winston shrugged. “I don’t know. It was there yesterday.”
Jamila frowned. “I saved up my money to get it last week, and now it’s not here.”
“Maybe it fell down somewhere,” Winston suggested.
Jamila and Winston crawled around the floor. They looked behind the dresser, under the bed, and inside their shoes. There was no sign of the baby figurine anywhere.
“Mama is gonna be so mad if I lost another toy,” Jamila said, worried. “Where in the world could it be?”
Just then, Jamila and Winston saw their dog, Rocket, chewing on something.
“Oh no!” said Jamila. “Maybe Rocket is chewing the baby!”
They ran up to Rocket, but Rocket sprinted away, gripping the object tightly in his mouth.
“Don’t y’all come through this kitchen again while I’m cookin’,” Mama said.
“Come back with that baby!” shouted Jamila. The chase continued through the living room and dining room, then led out into the backyard.
The kids chased Rocket in circles around the yard. When they tried to block him, he ran right between their legs and continued sprinting around the grass.
Then, Winston remembered the new command he taught Rocket.
“Drop it, boy!” he yelled.
Rocket immediately stopped running and sat like the good boy he was. He opened his mouth and dropped the object onto the ground, flapping his drooling tongue.
Jamila picked up the object when . . .
“No luck! It’s just his old bone.” She gave the bone back to Rocket, and he took off with it. “Yuck!”
Winston scratched his head. “Where could the baby be?”
“Maybe we threw it away by mistake, or maybe it got mixed up with our clothes in the hamper,” said Jamila.
Jamila and Winston raced through the kitchen and back to their room.
“We’re never gonna get this cake done if you kids keep interrupting us,”
Auntie Rita said.
Jamila and Winston emptied the hamper onto the floor and threw all their clothes in the air, hoping the baby would come flying out.
But instead, all they had was another big mess in their room. “No luck,” said Jamila. “The baby is not here either.”
“It must be lost for good,” said Winston.
Jamila sighed. “I guess I’m gonna have to tell Mama what happened.”
The kids walked back to the kitchen, bracing themselves for another lecture from Mama on being more responsible.
“Mama,” Winston said. “We . . . we got some bad news.”
“What is it now, child?” Mama said.
“Well,”
Jamila interrupted. “You see, we were putting our toys away and noticed that the baby figurine . . . is missing.”
Mama and Auntie Rita chuckled. They held their bellies as they couldn’t stop laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Jamila asked.
Mama composed herself and cleared her throat. “The baby ain’t missin’. It’s in the cake!”
Jamila gasped. “What do you mean it’s in the cake? Why are you baking the baby in the cake?”
“Don’t you remember?” Auntie Rita said. “Every Mardi Gras, whoever gets the slice of king cake with the baby in it has good luck all year round. But they also have to make the cake for next year’s celebration. Since I found it last year, I’m makin’ this year’s cake.”
“When we went to buy the ingredients, we forgot all about the baby figurine,” Mama said. “So I borrowed yours. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you, Jamila.”
Jamila smiled. “It’s all right. But . . . will the baby be OK inside the cake?”
Mama smiled. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll make sure your baby is just fine.”
“I hope I find the baby in the cake this year!” Winston said.
Just then, Rocket came into the kitchen, dragging dirty clothes with him.
“Looks like someone still has to clean their room,” Mama said, giving Winston and Jamila the side-eye again.
“Thanks a lot, Rocket,” Jamila said.
“You sure did train Rocket well, Winston,” Auntie Rita said.
Everyone couldn’t help but laugh.
After Jamila and Winston recleaned their room, they finished getting ready for the celebration. They slipped their beads around their necks and put on their hats and masks. Then they skipped out the door to watch the joyous parade.
It was time to celebrate!
Drums pounded and trumpets blared as floats filled with flowers and decorations drove by. Dancers twirled in the street while people threw necklaces of beads at all the spectators.
After the last float passed, Winston’s belly growled.
“All this parading is making me hungry,” he said.
“Guess that means it’s time to eat,” Mama said.
When the parade ended, Jamila, Winston, and their family and friends filled their living room. Then they filled their bellies with delicious foods like crawfish, gumbo, red beans with rice, and jambalaya.
Next, Mama brought in the king cake. It was round and colorful, and the top was decorated with icing and candies.
“Looks
just
like a crown,” said Jamila.
“A crown fit for a king like me,” said Winston.
As Mama passed around slices of cake, everyone took a careful bite. When Jamila broke open her piece, she saw something blue inside. She reached in and . . .
. . . pulled out a tiny figurine.
“The baby!” Jamila said. “I finally found the baby.”
Winston smiled. “Looks like you will have good luck this year after all.”
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (mar-dee-GRAW) is a celebration that takes place before the Christian Easter season. It comes from the French words “Fat Tuesday.” During Mardi Gras, people eat a lot of rich, fatty foods before fasting, or not eating for a period of time. Mardi Gras is celebrated in different places, but in the United States, the most famous place is New Orleans, Louisiana.
During the Mardi Gras celebration, people wear fancy costumes, masks, and beaded necklaces. They play instruments, sing, and dance. Often, there will be a parade where people throw beaded necklaces at those who are watching. Afterwards, people will have a feast and eat king cake.
King Cake
King cake is eaten during Mardi Gras. It’s shaped like a ring to resemble a crown. The icing is usually yellow, green, and purple, which are the colors of Mardi Gras. Sprinkles or candies are decorated on top, and people often add fruit and cream cheese inside. A plastic baby is hidden in the cake for fun. It’s a symbol for good luck all year round, and whoever finds the baby also has to bring a king cake to next year’s celebration.
This book is dedicated to young readers everywhere. May you thrive in your wondrous reading journeys.
www.mascotbooks.com
Reading Partners Cover to Cover The Baby Is Missing! by
Angela Quezada Padron
©2025. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, or photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the author.
For more information, please contact: Mascot Kids, an imprint of Amplify Publishing Group 620 Herndon Parkway, Suite 220 Herndon, VA 20170
info@mascotbooks.com
ISBN: 979-8-89138-735-5
Printed in the United States
The Baby Is Missing! illustrated by Shaun Ivie
COVER to COVER
About this Book
Jamila and Winston are getting ready to celebrate Mardi Gras when Jamila realizes her brand new baby figurine is missing! The siblings can’t find the figurine anywhere until their luck changes with a special Mardi Gras tradition that reveals where the baby has been hiding all along.
About Reading Partners
Reading Partners is a national early literacy nonprofit that partners with schools, community-based organizations, volunteers, and families to provide individualized tutoring and other evidence-based literacy support for students striving to read at grade level. The Reading Partners Cover to Cover series is for readers of all levels with a focus on instructional practices rooted in the science of reading. The stories in the series include and celebrate a broad range of affirming characters and experiences. The Reading Partners team recognizes that learning to read is a civil right, and we aim to ensure students have the resources necessary to foster lifelong literacy skills and confidence to actualize their limitless potential. We envision a future where every reader has the skills they need to read a book from cover to cover and then reach for another!
