SAVE OUR PLAYGROUND! Stars of the Show: The Adventures of Allie and Amy by Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson

RING! ALLIE RACED TO GET THE PHONE.

"WANT TO GO TO THE PLAYGROUND?" SAID HER BEST FRIEND AMY. "MEET YOU DOWNSTAIRS IN SIX MINUTES!"

Scurrying down the sidewalk, the two friends come to a screeching halt when they spot the headline on the paper at the news stand.

PLAYGROUND CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

TOWN PLAYGROUND NOT SAFE!

The two girls skim the article until they come to a paragraph that says there's going to be a street fair to raise money to repair the playground equipment. Immediately they start planning an act for the street fair, interrupted by the skateboard boys Dave and Martin careening down the sidewalk, who declare that they are going to be the stars of the street fair teaching kids their daring and dangerous moves.!

HUH! sniff Allie and Amy, replying that they'll have to set up a Bandaid Stand for their customers. The two meet up with their friend Gracie the comic, who says she's signing up to do a comedy act. The three can't wait to start planning their acts, and as they pass the Candy Basket they spot their friend Jasmine juggling Life Savers to get ready for the street fair. But when Amy buys them two bags of Gooby Gobs, Allie announces that her head hurts and the Gobs taste terrible. Suddenly she wants to go home, and when they arrive back at her apartment, her mom finds that she has a fever and calls  Dr. Bogwell.

"SHE MUST HAVE ONE FULL WEEK OF BED REST!" INTONES DR. BOGWELL.

That's terrible news! Can Amy find a way to make a solo act succeed without her best friend? But Madame Lulu the Fortune Teller tells Amy...

"THE SHOW MUST GO ON!"

And go on it does with a little help from their friends and frenemies, in Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson's Stars of the Show: The Adventures of Allie and Amy 3 (QUIX) (Aladdin/Quix Books), and the playground is made safe for all the kids, that is, after they get over the sick bug that Allie gave them all. Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson are the co-creators of the mega-selling Magic School Bus Series, and with the lively illustrations of Jamed Burks, are reunited in this easy-reading series, The Adventures of Allie and Amy.