Free A Katie Kazoo Christmas by Nancy Krulik Page A

hand high. “Ooh. Ooh. Ooh!” he shouted. “Mr. G., I know this one,” he said excitedly.
    Katie looked over at George and smiled. He was practically bouncing out of his beanbag chair. George really liked geography a lot. He was so excited, he knocked his backpack over. All his books and papers spilled out onto the floor.
    “Check it out. George is Santa Klutz!” Kadeem joked.
    Everyone laughed. Everyone except George, that is.
    “What does Santa like to put into his cookies?” George asked the class.
    “What?” Kevin Camilleri wondered.
    “His teeth!” George exclaimed. Then he laughed. “Ho ho ho!”
    Almost everyone else in the class laughed, too. But not Kadeem.
    “What do Santa’s elves learn in first grade?” Kadeem asked.
    “What?” Andrew Epstein called out.
    “The elf-abet!” Kadeem shouted.
    “Hey, good one, dude!” Andrew said.
    “Did you hear the one about Santa and—” George began.
    “Whoa, hold on to that joke, dude,” Mr. G. interrupted. “We can have a holiday joke-off this afternoon. But right now, we’ve got to stick to social studies.”
    Katie grinned. A joke-off! Now that was something to look forward to.
    It also gave her a great idea. She knew exactly what Secret Santa presents she was going to get for Kadeem!

Chapter 2
    “Mom, I’m going over to Cinnamon’s Candy Shop,” Katie called up to her mom.
    It was the Monday before the Secret Santa gift exchange was going to start. Katie finally had all the money she needed for Kadeem’s gifts. She was buying the first two smaller gifts today.
    Mrs. Carew was standing on a ladder, putting books on a high shelf in the fiction section of the Book Nook bookstore. She was the manager of the store. It was her job to make sure all the books were on the right shelves.
    “Okay,” Mrs. Carew called down to Katie. “Just be back by five-thirty. I’ve got to get home and finish trimming the Christmas tree. Grandma is coming tomorrow, and I want everything to be just perfect.”
    Katie smiled. She couldn’t wait to see her grandma. She was the most wonderful grandmother in the whole world.
    Katie’s grandma was the only adult Katie knew who rode roller coasters. She even had her own website with pictures of roller coasters from all over the world that she had ridden.
    Katie’s grandmother did other cool things, too, like swimming with dolphins in Mexico and skiing in the Swiss Alps!
    Of course, she also did normal grandmother things, like baking cookies and knitting sweaters for people in her family.
    Katie definitely couldn’t wait to see her!

    The Cherrydale Mall was one of Katie’s favorite places. Since her mother worked in the mall, Katie spent a lot of time wandering in and out of the stores. Almost all of the shopkeepers knew her. And even though they were grown-ups, they were all friends of Katie’s.
    The mall hardly ever changed. Sure, once in a while a new store or restaurant opened. But for the most part, everything stayed the same.
    Except at Christmastime. Then the whole center of the mall was turned into a giant Winter Wonderland. It was complete with snow, reindeer, elves, and a little North Pole Express train that kids could actually ride!
    And in the center of it all sat Santa Claus. Of course, this wasn’t a real Winter Wonderland. It was actually a photography studio in the center of the mall. Kids went there to sit on Santa’s lap and have their pictures taken.
    Katie watched one little boy being dragged onto Santa’s lap by an elf. The kid definitely was not happy about it.
    “I don’t wanna go!” he screamed loudly.
    “Come on, Jeffrey,” his mother coaxed. “Just one picture.”
    “No!” Jeffrey shouted. “No Santa.”
    Katie was so busy watching Jeffrey’s temper tantrum, she didn’t even notice her best friend Suzanne Lock coming up behind her.
    “What a brat!” Suzanne exclaimed, looking at Jeffrey.
    Katie turned around. “I think he’s just scared,” she replied. “What are you