Always October (35 page)

I
'm sitting at a desk in Mrs. McSweeney's house. Jacob is in the Monster Containment Chamber … the special room we prepared for him.

The moon is about to rise.

I can't wait to see what Jacob is going to turn into! Thank goodness we installed that little window in the door of the chamber. That way we can look in to see what's happening. I've got the video camera too, so after Jacob turns back into himself, we can show him what happened.

Time is short, so here's the last note I'll make for now: I haven't told Jake this yet, but next month I'm hoping to talk him into letting me take his place when the big night comes. That would still work to protect the baby, and I really,
really
want to find out what it's like to turn into a monster.

Wouldn't that just be cooler than Frankenstein's pink pajamas?

Uh-oh. Jake's starting to howl.

Mrs. McSweeney just yelled for me to bring the camera.

Gotta go—it's monster time!

B
ruce Coville grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time dodging cows (and chores) and reading voraciously. He has been a toy maker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly-line worker, a magazine editor, and an elementary school teacher. Bruce's books have appeared in more than a dozen countries and have sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are
My Teacher Is an Alien
,
Into the Land of Unicorns
, and
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
. He is also the founder of Full Cast Audio, an award-winning audiobook company specializing in family listening. (www.fullcastaudio.com).

October is Bruce's favorite month, so he is especially delighted that
Always October
is his 100th book. He lives in Syracuse, New York, and you can visit him on the web at www.brucecoville.com.

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Cover art © 2012 by Andrea Femerstrand

Always October

Text copyright © 2012 by Bruce Coville

Title page art © 2012 by Andrea Femerstrand

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www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Coville, Bruce.

Always October / Bruce Coville.—1st ed.

               p.     cm.

Summary: Best friends Jake and “Weird Lily” enter the monster-filled land of Always October, made famous in Jake's grandfather's books, to save a foundling, who becomes a monster during the full moon.

ISBN 978-0-06-089095-7 (trade bdg.)

EPub Edition © JUNE 2012 ISBN 9780062190055

Version 01182013

[1. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Supernatural—Fiction. 3. Monsters—Fiction. 4. Best friends—Fiction. 5. Friendship—Fiction. 6. Foundlings—Fiction.] I. Title.

12   13   14   15   16    CG/RRDH    10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

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