Get ready for big adventures!
Collect all three adventures!
(scroll down to read excerpts)
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Book 1 The Incredible Skydiving Adventure Book 2 The Incredible Motorcycle Adventure Book 3 The Incredible Scuba Diving Adventure |
Read the first chapter of The Incredible Skydiving Adventure...
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It sat at the intersection of two major highways in the area, which meant there were always people passing through on different adventures.
These ladybugs were different than your usual ladybugs. They had taken the "Oath of the Buddy." Something they learned from an old and faded sign that hung on the pop shop wall next to the bottling room.
The buddies didn't know how long it had been there, but they knew it was way before they were hatched. And they had looked at them so many times they knew them by heart. But they didn't know exactly what they meant.
That's because some of the words were worn out and starting to fade away. The little bugs knew enough to figure out they were rules for buddies, though. And they wanted to be buddies,
Good buddies.
Buddy One had a lot of big ideas about what it meant to be a buddy. But they weren’t really sure what it meant, so they started by just calling each other buddy.
One day, the ladybugs were under their favorite table, waiting for root beer, when one of the customers sitting there started to talk loud. "Men are adventurers. They don't just sit around drinking expensive root beer."
Buddy One crawled up the table and peeked over the top to see what that booming voice looked like. It was a big human person with dreadlocks, wearing a T-shirt. He was talking to his friend at the table.
His friend waved a hand toward the old barn-slat walls and Buddy's Root Beer barrels that were the tables. "Well, bud, I feel like I'm in a lodge in Alaska. What could be better than drinking root beer in a wonderful place like this? ”
"Just what we are about to do. Grab a buddy and go skydiving!" He stood up between his chair and the table. The ladybug had to fly back down to the floor to get out of his way as he reached for his mug of root beer. He drank it down so fast a little splash bounced off the corner of his mouth and sailed onto the floor.
Right next to the ladybugs.
The Ladybug Buddies got excited. The root beer at Buddy's Pop Shop was poured from giant kegs into cold frosty mugs. The waitress always sloshed a little off the top when she got to the table she was serving. Sometimes the customers sloshed some over, too. When that happened—and it always happened—the Ladybug Buddies were there to slurp their fill.
"Hey, Buddy, we should go skydiving with this dreadlocks dude and his buddy."
Buddy Two stopped slurping his root beer for a moment. "Why in the world would we want to go skydiving?"
"Didn't you hear him? He said, grab a buddy and go skydiving. Because that is what buddies do."
"They are men, and we are ladybugs. Big difference. Really big."
"But he said they were buddies,” Buddy One reminded him. “Just like us. Maybe anybody can be a buddy. Of course we are ladybugs, but we are different than regular ladybugs, right? We are buddies. And buddies do cool things. Like skydiving."
"Listen, Buddy. You know ladybugs can't fly high enough to skydive. Furthermore it's as dangerous as..." He turned around to look his buddy in the eyes, and didn't see him anywhere. Then, there he was! Nested in dreadlocks as the big skydiver dude was walking out the door!
So many thoughts raced through Buddy Two's head. Starting with the rule, "Never leave Buddies." So, he flew toward the door. He really didn't like the idea of skydiving, but he knew he was a buddy and had taken the Oath and everything. But the door slammed shut before he got there. Looking through the glass, he could still see his buddy . . .
Headed to a beat-up old truck with the dreadlocks dude.
These ladybugs were different than your usual ladybugs. They had taken the "Oath of the Buddy." Something they learned from an old and faded sign that hung on the pop shop wall next to the bottling room.
The buddies didn't know how long it had been there, but they knew it was way before they were hatched. And they had looked at them so many times they knew them by heart. But they didn't know exactly what they meant.
That's because some of the words were worn out and starting to fade away. The little bugs knew enough to figure out they were rules for buddies, though. And they wanted to be buddies,
Good buddies.
Buddy One had a lot of big ideas about what it meant to be a buddy. But they weren’t really sure what it meant, so they started by just calling each other buddy.
One day, the ladybugs were under their favorite table, waiting for root beer, when one of the customers sitting there started to talk loud. "Men are adventurers. They don't just sit around drinking expensive root beer."
Buddy One crawled up the table and peeked over the top to see what that booming voice looked like. It was a big human person with dreadlocks, wearing a T-shirt. He was talking to his friend at the table.
His friend waved a hand toward the old barn-slat walls and Buddy's Root Beer barrels that were the tables. "Well, bud, I feel like I'm in a lodge in Alaska. What could be better than drinking root beer in a wonderful place like this? ”
"Just what we are about to do. Grab a buddy and go skydiving!" He stood up between his chair and the table. The ladybug had to fly back down to the floor to get out of his way as he reached for his mug of root beer. He drank it down so fast a little splash bounced off the corner of his mouth and sailed onto the floor.
Right next to the ladybugs.
The Ladybug Buddies got excited. The root beer at Buddy's Pop Shop was poured from giant kegs into cold frosty mugs. The waitress always sloshed a little off the top when she got to the table she was serving. Sometimes the customers sloshed some over, too. When that happened—and it always happened—the Ladybug Buddies were there to slurp their fill.
"Hey, Buddy, we should go skydiving with this dreadlocks dude and his buddy."
Buddy Two stopped slurping his root beer for a moment. "Why in the world would we want to go skydiving?"
"Didn't you hear him? He said, grab a buddy and go skydiving. Because that is what buddies do."
"They are men, and we are ladybugs. Big difference. Really big."
"But he said they were buddies,” Buddy One reminded him. “Just like us. Maybe anybody can be a buddy. Of course we are ladybugs, but we are different than regular ladybugs, right? We are buddies. And buddies do cool things. Like skydiving."
"Listen, Buddy. You know ladybugs can't fly high enough to skydive. Furthermore it's as dangerous as..." He turned around to look his buddy in the eyes, and didn't see him anywhere. Then, there he was! Nested in dreadlocks as the big skydiver dude was walking out the door!
So many thoughts raced through Buddy Two's head. Starting with the rule, "Never leave Buddies." So, he flew toward the door. He really didn't like the idea of skydiving, but he knew he was a buddy and had taken the Oath and everything. But the door slammed shut before he got there. Looking through the glass, he could still see his buddy . . .
Headed to a beat-up old truck with the dreadlocks dude.
Read the first chapter of The Incredible Motorcycle Adventure...
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check out those motorcycles. They look cool. Really cool!”
“But we just got here, Buddy. Don't you think we had enough adventure for one day?”
“What if we never get another chance like this?” insisted Buddy One. “We could miss out on the biggest adventure of our lives!”
“Right now, I wouldn't care so much.” Buddy Two was being honest. “I'm just glad to be back in the pop shop. Maybe these guys will come again another day, and—”
He stopped talking because when he looked over at his buddy, he wasn't there anymore.
He was already flying out the door when a customer went out.
For a minute, Buddy Two just sat there. Because it had been a long day and he was tired of being a good buddy. He was even thinking of looking for a nice crack in the wall to take a nap in. But he had taken the Oath of the Buddy, and everything, and believed in sticking by his buddy.
Maybe if he just watched out the window while Buddy One looked over the motorcycles, that would be good enough. Yep, there he was. Jumping up and down on the buttons, and running across the handlebars, already.
Uh-oh, this did not look good.
Buddy Two was trying to make a decision he did not want to make. But just then, one of the motorcycle dudes got to his feet and drank down the last of his root beer. “Get a move on, bud!” He slammed the empty mug back onto the table. “Or are you too much of a wimp to take on the Big Woody?” Then he gave his buddy a punch on the shoulder that made him spill some of his own root beer.
“Who are you calling a wimp?” The other motorcycle dude got to his feet, too. “I'm not afraid of the Big Woody, no matter how big and wild it is. Let's go!”
They were leaving! What if they took off before Buddy One noticed, and he went tearing away with those motorcycle dudes to the Big Woody all by himself? There was no more time to decide. If the door to the pop shop closed behind the motorcycle dudes, Buddy Two would have to wait until someone else left, just to get outside. So— without another thought—he dropped his bottle cap of root beer and launched himself onto the black leather jacket one of the dudes was wearing.
Rrrrring!!! The bell on the door sounded loud as the two motorcycle dudes busted through. Almost everybody in the pop shop looked at them.
“Big Woody, here we come!” The first dude yelled, and punched the other one in the shoulder, again.
If Buddy Two hadn't flown out of the way, he might have been squashed! But he was outside, now, and went racing toward the truck as fast as he could. He had to warn Buddy One about where these dudes were going before they took off! Even the ladybugs had heard about the Big Woody before.
It was the biggest, wildest piece of wilderness around.
“But we just got here, Buddy. Don't you think we had enough adventure for one day?”
“What if we never get another chance like this?” insisted Buddy One. “We could miss out on the biggest adventure of our lives!”
“Right now, I wouldn't care so much.” Buddy Two was being honest. “I'm just glad to be back in the pop shop. Maybe these guys will come again another day, and—”
He stopped talking because when he looked over at his buddy, he wasn't there anymore.
He was already flying out the door when a customer went out.
For a minute, Buddy Two just sat there. Because it had been a long day and he was tired of being a good buddy. He was even thinking of looking for a nice crack in the wall to take a nap in. But he had taken the Oath of the Buddy, and everything, and believed in sticking by his buddy.
Maybe if he just watched out the window while Buddy One looked over the motorcycles, that would be good enough. Yep, there he was. Jumping up and down on the buttons, and running across the handlebars, already.
Uh-oh, this did not look good.
Buddy Two was trying to make a decision he did not want to make. But just then, one of the motorcycle dudes got to his feet and drank down the last of his root beer. “Get a move on, bud!” He slammed the empty mug back onto the table. “Or are you too much of a wimp to take on the Big Woody?” Then he gave his buddy a punch on the shoulder that made him spill some of his own root beer.
“Who are you calling a wimp?” The other motorcycle dude got to his feet, too. “I'm not afraid of the Big Woody, no matter how big and wild it is. Let's go!”
They were leaving! What if they took off before Buddy One noticed, and he went tearing away with those motorcycle dudes to the Big Woody all by himself? There was no more time to decide. If the door to the pop shop closed behind the motorcycle dudes, Buddy Two would have to wait until someone else left, just to get outside. So— without another thought—he dropped his bottle cap of root beer and launched himself onto the black leather jacket one of the dudes was wearing.
Rrrrring!!! The bell on the door sounded loud as the two motorcycle dudes busted through. Almost everybody in the pop shop looked at them.
“Big Woody, here we come!” The first dude yelled, and punched the other one in the shoulder, again.
If Buddy Two hadn't flown out of the way, he might have been squashed! But he was outside, now, and went racing toward the truck as fast as he could. He had to warn Buddy One about where these dudes were going before they took off! Even the ladybugs had heard about the Big Woody before.
It was the biggest, wildest piece of wilderness around.
Read the first chapter of The Incredible Scuba Diving Adventure...
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When no one answered, Buddy Woody looked for Buddy Curly, who had been right next to him a few minutes, ago. Where did he go? Buddy Woody glanced along the walls covered in old barn wood, all the way to a big stone fireplace off in one corner that only had fire in it during the winter. Right now, it had a huge iron pot with a plant in there.
Finally, he caught sight of his buddy strutting around under the big barrel table next to theirs. His chest was puffed out and he had a bottle-cap hat pulled low over his eyes. Every so often, he would pause so everyone could see his biceps.
“What do you think you were you doing, buddy?” He asked when he finally came back over.
Buddy Curly answered the question with another question. “Didn’t you see those guys walk in?”
Buddy Woody looked up at a few guys sitting around the table. They had short haircuts and tight T-shirts that showed off their big muscles. Some of them had tattoos with anchors on their arms.
“Look how strong they all are! Let’s get closer.” Buddy Curly flew over to the table where he could hear the conversation. The cool thing about the Buddy's Pop Shop was listening in on the conversations. People came from all over to get the world famous Buddy’s Root Beer. There was a new flavor blend in the shop that week: one of the reasons Buddy Woody had about three times more than usual. So Buddy Curly swooped back over to hear more of the conversation while Buddy Woody waddled over along the floor.
“That is some great root beer, Chief,” one of the guys said to the biggest man the ladybugs had ever seen.
“The Buddy's Pop Shop never disappoints,” the big man answered back. “Finish quick, we still have some miles to go before we get to the base.” For the next couple of minutes the four men were busy gulping down the sweet brewed soda and talking quietly.
“You think Chief will assign swim buddies as soon as we get in?” a man nearest the ladybugs asked the guy sitting next to him.
The Ladybug Buddies moved in closer. Swim buddies? They didn’t know what swimming was, let alone a swim buddy. But all of a sudden, they were interested.
“Probably, first thing,” the other man responded. “You can’t start this training without a swim buddy.”
“If the Chief lets us choose our own buddies, the two of us should stick together.”
“Did you hear that?” Buddy Curly was buzzing with excitement. “They're sticking together just like us! We learned that one the hard way. Remember? These guys must be real buddies, too.”
“I wonder if they are going to buddy training.” Buddy Woody was still a little slow since he just drank half his body weight in root beer. “We've only been winging it this whole time—trying to figure out how to be buddies on our own. Making plenty of mistakes along the way, too.”
“Maybe there's a buddy training center where they are going. We gotta check this out!”
“Mount up Gentlemen!” The tough looking men gulped down the last of their drinks and got up to leave. “If you haven't chosen a swim buddy, yet, make your decision on the ride back to the base. There will be a swimming exercise as soon as we get there.”
As they headed for the door, there was no pushing or shoving. Everyone moved quickly and with purpose. One guy even held the door for the others. The buddies flew out with them to get a look at the truck. What a sight that was! A big green truck with the letters U.S. NAVY on the side. Now things were starting to make sense. These were Navy men. From what the buddies heard around Buddy's Pop Shop, every Navy person was a hero!
The Ladybug Buddies flew outside with the group and then stood on the planter box under the window for a few seconds so Buddy Woody could catch his breath after all that effort he made getting himself off the ground. While they waited, they watched the Navy men climb into the truck.
“Well, what do you think Buddy? Should we go to the training with them?” Buddy Woody already learned they should talk about decisions. Good buddies work together and did not just run off and hope for the best. He had learned that lesson the hard way, too.
“You bet, buddy! There is something really different about these guys. They talk different to each other than everyone else and they're trying to be buddies just like us. Let’s mount up, too.”
They didn't wait another second because they did not want to be left behind. So, as the motor on the giant truck rumbled to life, they launched themselves into the air, again, to join them. What they didn’t see was a huge lizard that was watching them closely from under one of the flowers. Suddenly—before they hardly got a chance to jump—a long sticky tongue flashed out at them!
Faster than you can blink your eyes.
Finally, he caught sight of his buddy strutting around under the big barrel table next to theirs. His chest was puffed out and he had a bottle-cap hat pulled low over his eyes. Every so often, he would pause so everyone could see his biceps.
“What do you think you were you doing, buddy?” He asked when he finally came back over.
Buddy Curly answered the question with another question. “Didn’t you see those guys walk in?”
Buddy Woody looked up at a few guys sitting around the table. They had short haircuts and tight T-shirts that showed off their big muscles. Some of them had tattoos with anchors on their arms.
“Look how strong they all are! Let’s get closer.” Buddy Curly flew over to the table where he could hear the conversation. The cool thing about the Buddy's Pop Shop was listening in on the conversations. People came from all over to get the world famous Buddy’s Root Beer. There was a new flavor blend in the shop that week: one of the reasons Buddy Woody had about three times more than usual. So Buddy Curly swooped back over to hear more of the conversation while Buddy Woody waddled over along the floor.
“That is some great root beer, Chief,” one of the guys said to the biggest man the ladybugs had ever seen.
“The Buddy's Pop Shop never disappoints,” the big man answered back. “Finish quick, we still have some miles to go before we get to the base.” For the next couple of minutes the four men were busy gulping down the sweet brewed soda and talking quietly.
“You think Chief will assign swim buddies as soon as we get in?” a man nearest the ladybugs asked the guy sitting next to him.
The Ladybug Buddies moved in closer. Swim buddies? They didn’t know what swimming was, let alone a swim buddy. But all of a sudden, they were interested.
“Probably, first thing,” the other man responded. “You can’t start this training without a swim buddy.”
“If the Chief lets us choose our own buddies, the two of us should stick together.”
“Did you hear that?” Buddy Curly was buzzing with excitement. “They're sticking together just like us! We learned that one the hard way. Remember? These guys must be real buddies, too.”
“I wonder if they are going to buddy training.” Buddy Woody was still a little slow since he just drank half his body weight in root beer. “We've only been winging it this whole time—trying to figure out how to be buddies on our own. Making plenty of mistakes along the way, too.”
“Maybe there's a buddy training center where they are going. We gotta check this out!”
“Mount up Gentlemen!” The tough looking men gulped down the last of their drinks and got up to leave. “If you haven't chosen a swim buddy, yet, make your decision on the ride back to the base. There will be a swimming exercise as soon as we get there.”
As they headed for the door, there was no pushing or shoving. Everyone moved quickly and with purpose. One guy even held the door for the others. The buddies flew out with them to get a look at the truck. What a sight that was! A big green truck with the letters U.S. NAVY on the side. Now things were starting to make sense. These were Navy men. From what the buddies heard around Buddy's Pop Shop, every Navy person was a hero!
The Ladybug Buddies flew outside with the group and then stood on the planter box under the window for a few seconds so Buddy Woody could catch his breath after all that effort he made getting himself off the ground. While they waited, they watched the Navy men climb into the truck.
“Well, what do you think Buddy? Should we go to the training with them?” Buddy Woody already learned they should talk about decisions. Good buddies work together and did not just run off and hope for the best. He had learned that lesson the hard way, too.
“You bet, buddy! There is something really different about these guys. They talk different to each other than everyone else and they're trying to be buddies just like us. Let’s mount up, too.”
They didn't wait another second because they did not want to be left behind. So, as the motor on the giant truck rumbled to life, they launched themselves into the air, again, to join them. What they didn’t see was a huge lizard that was watching them closely from under one of the flowers. Suddenly—before they hardly got a chance to jump—a long sticky tongue flashed out at them!
Faster than you can blink your eyes.
