cover
Morning sunlight streams into Mrs. Bailey’s colorful classroom. Theo bursts in, grinning and waving, his blonde mullet swinging. Lily hugs her knees in the corner, and Tanner peeks shyly from behind a bookshelf.
Theo bounced into Mrs Bailey's classroom with his blonde mullet swinging. His big smile made everyone look up. Mrs Bailey clapped her hands. "Welcome, Theo! Come meet your new friends." Theo waved at everyone. Lily sat quietly in the corner, hugging her knees. Tanner hid behind a bookshelf, peeking out. "Hi! I'm Theo!" he said loudly. "Do you want to play blocks?" Lily shook her head. Tanner stayed hidden. Theo grinned anyway. This was going to be fun!
Theo and Lily lie on the classroom carpet, racing toy cars. Theo pushes a blue car with a grin; Lily, laughing, rolls a red one. A shelf of colorful toys stands behind them.
Theo spotted toy cars on the shelf. He zoomed one across the floor to Lily. "Vroom vroom!" he called. Lily watched the car stop at her feet. Theo rolled another one. This time, Lily picked it up. "Mine is red," she whispered. "Cool! Mine's blue!" Theo cheered. They raced cars across the carpet. Mrs Bailey smiled and gave them a thumbs up. Soon Lily was laughing. "You're really fast, Theo!" she said. Theo beamed. "You're fast too! Let's race again!"
Theo holds up a stuffed bear and makes a silly growling face. Lily giggles, clutching a monkey toy, while Tanner, now smiling, grabs the bear and roars loudly. Toy animals scatter on the rug.
Theo noticed Tanner still hiding. "Come play with us!" he called. Tanner shook his head. Theo had an idea. He grabbed three toy animals and made silly voices. "I'm a lion! Roar!" Lily giggled and joined in. "I'm a monkey! Ooh ooh!" Tanner peeked out more. Theo held up a bear. "This one needs someone to make his voice," he said. Slowly, Tanner crept forward. He took the bear. "Grr," he said quietly. "Louder!" Theo encouraged. "GRRRR!" Tanner roared. Everyone laughed.
Theo high-fives Lily and Tanner on the colorful classroom carpet. Theo beams, Lily giggles, and Tanner grins widely. Sunlight warms the scene.
Mrs Bailey called everyone to the carpet. Theo sat right in front. Lily sat next to him. Tanner sat on his other side. "Let's sing the hello song," Mrs Bailey said. Theo sang the loudest, making up silly dance moves. Lily copied his moves and giggled. Even Tanner started clapping along. After the song, Mrs Bailey said, "Theo, thank you for being such a good friend today." Theo's smile got even bigger. "Preschool is awesome!" he said. Lily and Tanner nodded and high-fived him.