I Pledge Allegiance
Read I Pledge Allegiance Online
Authors: Pat Mora
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Text copyright © 2014 by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2014 by Patrice Barton
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mora, Pat.
I pledge allegiance / by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez ; illustrations by Patrice Barton. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: “Libby and her great-aunt, Lobo, both learn the Pledge of Allegiance—Libby for school, and Lobo for her U.S. citizenship ceremony.” —Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-307-93181-8 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-375-97109-9 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-307-97556-0
[1. Pledge of Allegiance—Fiction. 2. Citizenship—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Great-aunts—Fiction. 5. Mexican Americans—Fiction.] I. Martinez, Libby. II. Barton, Patrice, illustrator. III. Title.
PZ7.M78819Iak 2014 [E]—dc23 2013009711
The illustrations in this book were created using pencil sketches painted digitally.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-97556-0
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
In loving memory of our dear aunt Lobo, and to all new citizens of the United States
—P.M. & L.M.
For my dear aunt Pam
—P.B.
On Monday when I get to school, my teacher, Mrs. Adams, asks, “Did your great-aunt pass her test?”
“Yes!” I say. “She is very smart.”
I tell my class all about my great-aunt. She is eighty years old, and my family calls her Lobo, which means “wolf” in Spanish. (She calls us her lobitos—her “little wolves.”)
Lobo studied very hard. She learned all about America.
“That’s wonderful!” says Mrs. Adams. “Libby’s great-aunt passed her citizenship test!”
My teacher claps. My class and I clap, too.
On Friday, Mom and I will go with my great-aunt to a special place. She will say the Pledge of Allegiance, and she will become a citizen of the United States. She is going to practice all week so she won’t make any mistakes.
“We’re going to practice the Pledge of Allegiance this week, too,” says Mrs. Adams. “On Thursday, Libby can lead us in saying the Pledge so she will be ready for her great-aunt’s special ceremony on Friday. Will you do that, Libby?”
“Yes,” I say. I like being in front of the class. I hope I can remember all of the words.
Mrs. Adams says, “Long ago, in 1892, a man named Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. He hoped that girls and boys would promise to be good citizens. Now, let’s all read the Pledge together.”
