CHAPTER ONE
Marvin Goes to School
It’s early morning, and Marvin is watching James get ready for school.
“I have Art today,” James says. “Mr. Chang is the best. I wish you could meet him.”
Marvin has heard James talk about the art teacher before. Mr. Chang tells James, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”
This means that if you do something wrong when you’re making a picture, it isn’t really wrong, because it leads the way to something new.
Marvin tries to remember this when he makes pictures of his own.
For instance, when he’s drawing a flower and his leg slips, he can turn the flower into a rabbit, like this:
Or when he’s drawing a starfish and he makes too many points, he can turn it into a dinosaur, like this:
“Hey,” James says suddenly. “Why don’t you come to school with me?”
Marvin can’t believe what he is hearing.
School!
He has always wanted to go to school with James. He’s so happy that he runs around in circles.
James laughs. “Does that mean yes? We have to hurry! You can ride in my pocket.”
James puts his finger on the desk. For one second, Marvin thinks of Mama and Papa. He knows he should ask them about going to school with James. He thinks they probably wouldn’t like it.
But there isn’t time. And anyway, he is so excited! He’s going to school! At school, James has a whole life that Marvin knows nothing about. Now he will get to see James’s friends. He will go to Art class. He will hear what Mr. Chang has to say about happy accidents. It will be amazing!
Marvin runs toward James’s finger and takes a flying leap.
James lifts him up and drops him gently into his shirt pocket, where Marvin can peek out. Then James grabs his backpack and yells, “Bye, Mom!”
“Good-bye, dear,” says Mrs. Pompaday. “Don’t forget your lunch.” She hands him the brown padded lunch bag that keeps his food cool.
“Ba ba, ya ya!” says William, who is in his high chair, eating breakfast.
And then James swings open the front door of the apartment, and they are on their way to school.
First, they go down the hall.
Then they ride in the elevator.
Then they are out on the street.
Marvin loves going outside with James. It’s a pretty fall morning. The air is crisp and the leaves are turning red and orange and gold. Marvin is snug inside the warm pocket as he peeks over the top.
The city is full of new sights and sounds. Marvin sees a lady walking five dogs on leashes. He hears the loud, long honk of a taxi horn. On a street corner, a man is playing a violin.
James walks for several blocks, in the shadows of tall buildings. People rush past. Cars rush past. Leaves flutter onto the sidewalk.
“Here we are,” James tells Marvin finally.
They climb the steps to a big building. This must be school!
The first thing Marvin notices about school is that it’s very noisy. The second thing he notices is that it’s very crowded. There are kids everywhere! They are pushing and hurrying through the halls, laughing and talking with their friends.
“I have to go to my locker to drop off my backpack,” James whispers to Marvin.
Soon they are standing in front of a wall of metal lockers, and now some kids are talking to James.
“Hi, James!”
“James! Over here!”
Marvin is glad that James has friends at school. Marvin knows he is James’s best friend so he wants what’s best for James … and having human friends is good for James.
“Art is first,” James tells Marvin.
Yay! Marvin will finally meet Mr. Chang.
The art room has colorful pictures all over the walls. There are big tables in the middle of the room, and at each table are pencils, paints, crayons, and markers.
So many art supplies! Marvin can’t wait to get started.
Mr. Chang has spiky hair and it is blue. Marvin has never seen blue hair! He wishes beetles had hair so his could be blue.
“Hello, class,” Mr. Chang says. “Today we are working with pastels. Come choose a picture of something you’d like to draw.” He holds up a box. Marvin can see that it is full of postcards. There are postcards of places, flowers, animals, and cars.
James reaches into the box and pulls out a postcard of something … a bright orange butterfly!
A butterfly isn’t as good as a beetle, but it’s close. James sits at a table by himself. He sticks his finger in his pocket. “Do you want to help?” he whispers to Marvin.
Of course Marvin wants to help! It has been so long since he’s had a chance to make a picture with James.
Mr. Chang says, “Think about color. Think about touch. Look at what’s on your postcard and draw what it would feel like if you touched it.”
Marvin has seen butterflies in the park with James. He thinks about how a butterfly might feel, so light and free.
He watches James draw the butterfly. James waits a minute, to make sure nobody is looking, then sets Marvin down on the edge of his paper.
He puts an orange pastel crayon near Marvin and crumbles a little of it in a pile.
Marvin crawls across the paper to the orange pastel. Gently, he rubs his feet in the orange dust and begins to draw.
Text copyright © 2017 by Elise Broach
Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Kelly Murphy
