Ivy Lost and Found Read online

  Two weeks felt like forever.

  Nothing could be worse than this, Ivy thought.

  Then it started to rain.

  As night came, Ivy rested her head on Piper’s wet fur. What if no one ever came? After a while, her braids would get messy in the wind. Her clothes would get shabby and faded. Snow would come and cover them both.

  She’d never see Anne again.

  “When kids throw me, I always come back down,” Piper said under her. “This is the first time I’ve only flown up. Thank you for trying to save me, Ivy.”

  “Thank you for saving me, too,” Ivy said. “I might have broken my leg or arm if I hadn’t landed on you.”

  “Soft animals don’t break. We can rip, but then someone can sew us up again.” Piper sighed. “I’m glad you’re here, Ivy. I feel braver with you.”

  Ivy felt warm inside. She’d never had a toy friend before. If they were forgotten, at least they had each other. “And I feel braver with you, Piper.”

  Ivy liked that being friends made them both braver. It gave her a brave idea.

  “I don’t know if anyone will come,” Ivy said, “so let’s save ourselves.”

  “How?” Piper asked.

  “You’re a flying squirrel, right?” Ivy said. “That means you can fly!”

  “No,” Piper said sadly. “Homer was right. I pretend I can fly, but really, I can only fly down.”

  “Don’t you see?” Ivy asked, smiling. “That’s perfect!”

  “It is?” Piper asked.

  Ivy nodded. “Down is where we want to go.”

  Ivy wrapped her arms tightly around Piper’s neck. “Ready? Set? Fly!”

  Piper pushed off the branch. He spread his legs wide. The skin between his paws stretched to catch the air, like a parachute. “Wheee!”

  Ivy kept her eyes open and held on tight. Piper swerved and turned to avoid branches and leaves.

  “Wheee!” she said.

  They hit the ground with a thump and a bounce.

  “Are you okay?” Piper asked.

  “No!” Lilyanna whined. “My hair is wet! It has sticks in it! And I’m”—she shivered—“dirty!”

  “I meant Ivy,” Piper said.

  Ivy moved her arms and legs. No broken parts! “Yes, I’m okay,” she said. “That was amazing!”

  “Are you kidding me?” Lilyanna asked. “This is not amazing! It’s night. It’s raining. We’ve been forgotten.” She sniffed. “It’s Fern’s fault!”

  Ivy sniffed back at her. “It is not! Fern and I were just fine until Sophie and Ethan came outside!”

  “Fern didn’t even want to borrow you,” Lilyanna said coldly.

  Ivy paused. It was true. Fern hadn’t wanted her, and Ivy hadn’t wanted to be borrowed. Something had changed, though.

  Ivy had liked being played with again. Fern had said, I don’t usually play with dolls, but I like you because—

  Because why?

  Ivy really wanted to know.

  “I’m sorry,” Lilyanna said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’ve never been forgotten before.”

  “I have,” Ivy said.

  Piper and Lilyanna both gasped.

  Ivy nodded. “I was forgotten in a box for a very long time. It was lonely and sad, but—”

  Piper and Lilyanna looked surprised.

  But? Ivy couldn’t believe she’d said that word, either. Wasn’t being forgotten the worst thing that could ever happen?

  Being forgotten had been lonely and sad, but—

  Ivy had made new friends.

  A child had played with her again.

  She’d had a brave adventure.

  She smiled. “Being forgotten means you can be found again.”

  Overnight the rain stopped. The stars came out. Then Ivy watched the sunrise, pink and gold. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  She listened to the birds singing and the squirrels chattering.

  She heard the leaves swish high above her in the trees. Ivy closed her eyes and remembered the view from up there.

  “I spent the whole night outside, like a real flying squirrel!” Piper said proudly. “We’re nighttime animals, you know.”

  Ivy opened her eyes. “And I saw the world from up in a tree. I’ll never forget it!”

  They both looked at Lilyanna.

  She shrugged. “I got dirty for the first time.”

  “Really?” Ivy asked, surprised. “Hasn’t a child ever played with you in a garden?”

  Lilyanna shook her head. “Never.”

  Ivy felt sorry for her. “Dirt is only on the outside. It doesn’t change who you are on the inside,” she said. “My boots have been muddy many times. Anne always cleaned them with a wet washcloth.”

  “I can go in the washing machine. It says so on my tag.” Piper showed them. “Machine washable! Then I go around and around in the dryer. It’s warm and toasty in there. When I’m done, I’m fluffy and smell sweet.”

  “Shh!” Lilyanna said. “Someone’s coming!”

  Then Ivy heard the footsteps, too. It was Fern! Dad walked beside her carrying a big ladder.

  “Ivy and Piper! Here they are! How did they get out of the tree?” Fern picked up Ivy. She moved Ivy’s arms and legs. “Thank goodness she’s not broken!”

  “The wind must’ve blown them down.” Dad set the ladder on the ground. “And what’s this?”

  They both looked at Lilyanna sitting among the scattered pine cones and pine branches that had been Fern’s fairy house. Only the stone path was left.

  “I just wanted to make a fairy house for Ivy,” Fern said. “But Sophie had to make Lilyanna a campsite right next to me, and Ethan threw Piper into the tree. Why do they have to ruin everything? If they had let me play by myself, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “I know,” Dad said. “Sophie and Ethan are just excited that you’re here.”

  “But when we play together, they take over. It’s not fair that I have to share everything all the time.” Fern looked up at Dad. “The hardest part is sharing you. Sophie and Ethan get you every day. I only get you on vacations.”

  Dad put his arm around Fern. “I’m sorry, honey.”

  “I miss you,” she said, leaning against him.

  “I miss you, too,” Dad said. “I miss you every day that we’re apart. I can see that we need to make a few changes, though. I want you to be happy here.”

  Fern hugged Dad and he hugged her back.

  “I’m glad to know how you feel,” Dad said. “Let’s think of new ideas to make things better, okay?”

  “Okay.” Fern saw a movement in the trees. Sophie and Ethan were peeking around a tree trunk. They were trying to hide, but the tree was too small and they were easy to see. Fern giggled because they looked so funny.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Fern called to them.

  “We just wanted to play with you,” Sophie said, coming out from behind the tree.

  “I do want to play with you sometimes,” Fern said. “But other times I like to do things on my own. I’d like you to ask me first.”

  Sophie and Ethan both nodded.

  Fern took a deep breath. It was hard to tell everyone how she felt, but it did make her feel better. “Sophie, I need some things that are only mine—like my drawer. When you put notes in there, I feel like a visitor in your room, not like I belong there.”

  “Oh,” said Sophie. “I wanted to show you I’m happy you’re here. I won’t do it anymore.”

  Fern thought about what Dad had said about making things better. “I have a new idea,” she said. “Dad, could we get a whiteboard for our room? Sophie could write messages to me there. And I could write messages to her?”

  “Yes!” Sophie said.

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Dad said. “We’ll get a whiteboard this week.”

  “And the fairy house isn’t ruined forever,” Fern said. “It just needs to be put back together.”

  “We can help with—!” So
phie stopped. She looked down at the ground. “Can we help?”

  Fern smiled. “Yes.”

  “I can look for some pine branches,” Dad said.

  “I’ll get more rocks!” Ethan said.

  “Lilyanna and I will help with the pine cones!” Sophie added. “She’s an outdoorsy princess!”

  Ivy heard Lilyanna sniff. This time it didn’t sound like an unhappy sniff, though.

  Ivy looked over at Lilyanna’s dirty face. A few pine needles were stuck in her long hair, but her eyes glittered with happy tears.

  This will be one of my best memories ever, Ivy thought.

  That night, Fern gave Ivy a bubble bath in the sink.

  She cleaned Ivy’s boots with a warm, wet washcloth.

  She brushed and braided Ivy’s hair.

  Nicole helped Fern use her sewing machine. Together they made a nightgown for Ivy to wear while her sweater and pants were in the washing machine and dryer (with Piper!).

  Then Fern tucked Ivy into blankets beside her. Across the room, Sophie tucked Lilyanna into bed with her, too.

  Fern opened a book. “Once upon a time,” she read aloud, “there was a girl named Cinderella.”

  As Fern read, Ivy imagined the whole story. She didn’t hear Lilyanna sniff once. Not even when Cinderella was dirty from cleaning the fireplace ashes.

  Dirt is only on the outside, Ivy thought.

  In the middle of the story, Dad came in and listened, too. He waited in the doorway until Fern finished. “And they lived happily ever after.”

  Then he came in and kissed Sophie and Fern on their foreheads. “Good night, sweethearts. Nicole and I thought we’d all go to the beach tomorrow. Would you like that?”

  “Yes!” Sophie said.

  Fern nodded. “Can Ivy come, too?”

  “Of course.” Dad kissed Ivy’s tiny forehead. “As long as she doesn’t climb any more trees!”

  “Ivy does like adventures.” Fern laid her cheek on Ivy’s head.

  Dad smiled. “Fern, I have a new idea. At the beach tomorrow, let’s take a little walk together, just you and me.”

  Fern grinned. “That would be fun.”

  After Dad turned out the light, Fern said good night to Sophie. “Do you want to bring some buckets tomorrow? We could build a sandcastle for Lilyanna.”

  “And Ivy!” Sophie said.

  Snuggled next to Fern, Ivy remembered. This time, she didn’t start with Anne’s birthday party.

  She remembered the fairy house.

  She remembered the view from up in the tree and flying down with Piper.

  She remembered a warm bubble bath and listening to a story tucked in blankets with Fern.

  Maybe borrowing isn’t so bad after all, she thought.

  In fact, maybe borrowing was just right.

  At the end of two weeks, it was time for Fern to go home to Mom’s house. She wanted to see Mom and Dusty, but she knew she’d miss Dad, Nicole, Ethan, Sophie, and Ivy.

  It was time for Ivy to go home, too.

  At the library, Ethan showed Anne the drawings he’d made in Piper’s journal. Piper was flying up and down through the trees. “He was a real flying squirrel!”

  “Lilyanna went to the beach!” Sophie showed Anne her drawing of Lilyanna building a sandcastle with Piper and Ivy. “Lilyanna’s an outdoorsy princess.”

  Fern opened Ivy’s journal to the first page. “Once upon a time, there was a doll named Ivy,” she read aloud. There were stories and pictures of Ivy in the fairy house. Ivy at the beach. Ivy going down the slide at the playground. Ivy climbing the garden vines and listening to Fern read stories. Fern had filled up four pages!

  “Nicole and I made Ivy a nightgown,” Fern said. “I left it in my drawer for Ivy to wear the next time I’m home at Dad’s.”

  Next time! Ivy liked those words.

  “Let me know when you’re coming,” Anne said. “I’ll reserve her for you.”

  Fern gave Ivy one last hug. “I never much played with dolls, but I like you,” she whispered into Ivy’s ear, “because you’re a good listener and a great friend.”

  Ivy’s heart was full. She didn’t even mind being put on the Book Buddies shelf. She was glad to see her toy friends again.

  “Story time!” Anne called to the families in the library. “Today I have a surprise. I’m reading books about gardens, and I have a new toy for the Book Buddies shelf. He’ll be our special guest today.”

  A new toy? Everyone tried to peek as Anne pulled something from her tote bag.

  Ivy saw a long white beard and a tall, pointy purple hat. “I couldn’t resist him!” Anne said. “He’s Nugget the garden gnome!”

  Ivy smiled as Anne led the families off to story time. She wasn’t the new toy anymore. It would be fun to tell Nugget about being borrowed. It might be scary or hard at first, but it was wonderful in the end.

  “Are they gone?” Dazzle asked, stretching his legs.

  “I had a great borrowing,” Marco Polo said. “I drove a toy car and slept in a dollhouse.”

  “A dog grabbed me,” Roger said. “He took me outside!”

  “My heart almost exploded with worry!” Olive clucked. “Thank goodness the child found Roger just in time. He was nearly buried!”

  Roger nodded. “It was great!”

  “I got dirty,” Lilyanna said. “Did you know dirt is only on the outside? Mud and sand wash off.”

  “Ivy and I got stuck in a tree. I rescued us by flying down.” Piper smiled proudly at Homer. “Because down was where we needed to go.”

  “And we were forgotten,” Lilyanna added quietly.

  The other toys gasped.

  “Oh my!” Olive covered Roger’s ears with her wings. “A toy’s worst nightmare!”

  “It was awful,” Lilyanna agreed. “But then Ivy said being forgotten means you can be found again.”

  “And we were!” Piper said.

  “Wow,” Banjo said. “What an adventure!”

  Homer nodded. “What did you think of your first borrowing, Ivy?”

  Ivy thought for a moment. It had been an adventure. Some parts had been hard, but most parts were wonderful.

  She didn’t know where to begin. So she started at the end. “I think that. . .”

  The toys all leaned close to hear.

  She grinned. “I can’t wait to be borrowed again!”

  When story time was over, Ivy didn’t hide behind Dazzle’s tail. She sat up straight so the children would see her. She wanted them to know that she was a good listener and a great friend. She was not afraid to get her boots dirty. She wanted to be borrowed.

  There were lots of empty pages still in her journal—plenty of room for more adventures with other kids. Kids who needed a special friend to play with and read to and listen to them.

  Then after each borrowing, she’d come back to Anne and her Book Buddy friends at the library. Over and over.

  Happily ever after.

  CYNTHIA LORD is the author of award-winning middle-grade fiction titles such as the Newbery Honor Book Rules, Touch Blue, Half a Chance, A Handful of Stars, and Because of the Rabbit. She is also the author of the Hot Rod Hamster picture book and early reader series as well as the Shelter Pet Squad chapter book series. Cynthia Lord lives in Maine.

  STEPHANIE GRAEGIN is the author-illustrator of Little Fox in the Forest and the illustrator of many other picture books, including You Were the First by Patricia MacLachlan and Water in the Park by Emily Jenkins. Stephanie Graegin lives in Brooklyn.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2021 by Cynthia Lord

  Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Stephanie Graegin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and re
cording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  First electronic edition 2021

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending

  The illustrations in this book were created digitally.

  Candlewick Press

  99 Dover Street

  Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

  www.candlewick.com

 

 

  Cynthia Lord, Ivy Lost and Found

 

 

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