London Art Chase
Other books by Natalie Grant
Glimmer Girls series
A Dolphin Wish
(Book Two)
ZONDERKIDZ
London Art Chase
Copyright © 2016 by Natalie Grant
Illustrations © 2016 by Cathi Mingus
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ePub Edition © January 2016: ISBN 978-0-310-75269-1
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Art direction: Cindy Davis
Cover design and interior illustrations: Cathi Mingus
Content contributor: Naomi Kinsman
Interior design: Denise Froehlich
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 /DCI/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my glimmer girlsâGracie, Bella, and Sadie. You're my greatest adventure. I love you.
CONTENTS
T
hank you to Naomi Kinsman for bringing your genius creativity and beautiful patience to this process. None of this would be a reality without you.
A
clothes tornado had struck, sweeping Maddie, Mia, and Lulu right along with it. Hats, shoes, T-shirts, skirts, jeans, sweaters, coats, and even a feather boa or two were strewn across Maddie's bedroom. Piles spilled over the edges of their suitcases and covered the floor, topped here and there with various dolls from Lulu's collection, Maddie's sketchbook and colored pencils, and Mia's endless collection of books.
“Girls, what in the world . . .?”
One look at Miss Julia's face and Maddie burst out laughing. Even without checking, she knew Mia was laughing too. Topping the list of what she loved about being a twin was thisâthe way she and Mia could almost always read each other's minds. A close second was the way she and Mia fit together, like the chords and melody of a song. Mia was only three minutes older, but she was also three inches taller and three times faster to know the just-right thing to say. Mia always had a plan, but Maddie was the one who'd convince Lulu to play along. Plus, Maddie could stop any argument between her twin and her little sister in its tracks.
“We're picking the most London-y things we can find!” Lulu announced, throwing her arms around their nanny in a giant hug. “Come and see!”
Miss Julia hugged Lulu back. “It looks to me like you've picked everything in your closets!”
Mia's eyes lit up the way they always did when she had a new plan. “I know! Let's have a fashion show. Miss Julia, you can help us pick our outfits.”
“Mommy said we could choose first, and then she'd check our suitcases to make sure we had everything we need,” Lulu said.
“Everything you need, plus a princess dress?” Miss Julia teased.
“We're going to see a palace, so I definitely need my princess dress.” Lulu fished her crown out of the pile and placed it on her head. “
And
this, of course.”
“Did I hear something about a fashion show?” Mom asked as she came up the stairs.
Her eyes went wide as she took in the disaster that used to be Maddie's room.
“Mom,” Maddie said, catching Mia's eye. “You should be in our fashion show too. We can go in your closet and help you choose perfect outfits for your concerts.”
“Gloria Glimmer . . . sporting her princess finest,” Dad called up from the kitchen.
Mom winked at Maddie. “Nice try, kiddo, but after seeing this room, I'm not letting the three of you anywhere near my closet. I'd love to watch your fashion show, though.”
“Go sit on the couch. And close your eyes. And count to 100,” Lulu said.
“Wait!” Mia said. “We should make a list of all the places we're going. We're going to the palace, right?
“Yes, and to the Tower of London,” Mom said.
“What's that?” Lulu asked.
“At the Tower of London, there's a room where you'll see jewelry and crowns that belonged to real princesses and queens.”
Mia picked her way across the mess and returned with a notebook and pencil. “Okay, so the palace and the Tower of London, and what else?”
“We'll see art, won't we?” Even though Maddie already knew the answer, she had to ask again.
“Exactly. You'll go to the National Gallery of Art, where they have every kind of painting, plus a gallery where kids can make their own art too. And we'll see cathedrals and Big Benâ”
“Who's Big Ben?” Lulu asked.
“Remember the clock in
Peter Pan
?”
“Ooh, will we see him too?” Lulu clapped her hands.
“Lulu, you know Peter Pan's not real,” Mia said.
Lulu opened her mouth to argue, but Maddie jumped in to stop the fight before it started, “Why's the clock called Big Ben?”
“You know, I'm not sure,” Mom said.
“It's actually not the clock that's called Big Ben,” Miss Julia said, reading off her phone. “Big Ben is the Great Bell inside the tower that chimesâalong with a lot of other smaller bellsâevery quarter hour. Some
people think the Great Bell is named after Sir Benjamin Hall because he oversaw its installation. But others think it's named after Benjamin Caunt, England's heavyweight boxing champion.”
“Fashion show time!” Lulu shouted, twirling around in the assortment of clothes she'd been pulling onâshiny purple boots, a fringed skirt, a multicolored, striped T-shirt, and a glittery, hot pink sunglasses.
“We'd better go downstairs,” Miss Julia said.
“And close your eyes!” Lulu called after them. “Count to 100.”
They'd only reached 40 by the time Maddie, Mia, and Lulu had lined up on the stairs.
“Open your eyes!” shouted Lulu, and then, “WAIT! Keep them closed. Get Daddy to play the piano. We need fashion show music!”
“How are they supposed to keep their eyes closed and get Dad too?” Mia asked.
“Upstairs, upstairs!” said Lulu, pulling her sisters up to the landing.
When Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 wafted up the stairs, the girls sashayed back down again, this time with extra flair to match the music.
“These are our touring-round-town outfits,” Mia said. “Including comfortable shoes so we can walk and walk.”
Mia was wearing her favorite shoes. Lulu still wore her purple boots. Maddie had shoved her feet into ballet
flats after pulling on a skirt and her favorite scarf and jacket. Mia was wearing her favorite T-shirt. It had shooting stars.
“You might want to add an umbrella,” Miss Julia said. “And jackets. It rains almost every other day in London, even in June.”
“It won't rain for the Glimmer tour,” Lulu said. “It will be just lov-e-ly.”
After the girls floated up and down the stairs modeling a full range of outfits, Mom and Miss Julia gave them a standing ovation. Then Dad kissed the tops of each of their heads.
“Now, let's finish packing those suitcases,” Mom said. “And see if we can find Maddie's floor again before dinner. Deal?”
“Can we have pizza?” Mia asked.
“Barbecue chicken pizza!” Maddie suggested.
“And Doritos?” Lulu added. “And Cheetos and bologna?”
“Maybe pizza,” Mom said, eyeing them each in turn. “Plus salad. And maybe, if we get all our packing done, chocolate cookies for dessert.”