Bobby the Brave (Sometimes) Page 8

  “A regular girl,” Casey answered matter-of-factly. “It’s a costume, Bobby. It’s pretend!” Instead of her usual Princess Becky gown, sparkly shoes, crown, and Wandee II, she was wearing jeans, a sweater, and tennis shoes. “No one will ever know it’s me!” Casey whispered.

  “Okay,” Bobby whispered back. “It’ll be our secret.”

  The sidewalks of Rancho Rosetta were crammed full of kids and their parents. All the houses were lit up inside, making them look like giant jack-o’-lanterns. Laughter and squeals of joy filled the air. In the distance, Bobby could see Chess and the guys making their way toward him.

  As the Ellis-Chans joined the rest of the trick-or-treaters, Casey perked up when she saw a familiar face. “Holly Holly Holly,” she shouted, running to catch up to her. “Holly, try to guess who I am! I’ll give you a hint … it’s me, Casey!”

  Bobby and his father exchanged smiles. All around them were astronauts and aliens, princesses and pirates. But as far as they could see there were only two real superheroes — a football player and a skateboarder.

  Special thanks to Arthur Levine and Cheryl Klein, who love Bobby as much as I do.

  Bon appétit to my mom and dad, who brought dinner over when I was too busy writing to cook.

  Kudos to Kait, who inspired the football-playing big sister, and of course a huge shout-out to Benny, who is my inspiration for Bobby.

  Text copyright © 2010 by Lisa Yee

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Dan Santat

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, the LANTERN LOGO, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Arthur A. Levine Books hardcover edition designed by Elizabeth Parisi, published by Arthur A.

  Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., September 2010.

  First paperback printing, August 2012

  Cover art © 2010 by Dan Santat

  Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-32277-5

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.