Sophie the Clown in Crinkle Town

By Cathy Zygocki and Jessica E. Paquette

Sophie Ah Choo is a spirited young clown in the world of Circus Land. She lives quite happily with her parents in Snuggle-Ville, a neighbourhood in the capital city, Topsy-Turvy. She attends clown school and spends time with her friends and her dog, Noodles. She is safe and contentuntil her world is turned upside down by an evil mastermind.

Maximilian is the wicked ringleader of the Wonderfully Spectacular Circus in Crinkle Town. He sends his nasty recruits, Mrs. X and Mr. Y, to Snuggle-Ville to kidnap clowns for his show. Sophies parents catch the attention of the kidnappers, and soon her mother and father have been taken to Crinkle Town!

Sophie is determined to do anything to save her parents from Maximilian. She must leave her happy home in Snuggle-Ville and make her way to Crinkle Town. Along the way, shell have to follow her heart, face her fears, and do her best on this quest of a lifetime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781475973235

Cathy Zygocki

Jessica Paquette is a writer, musician, and visual artist with a BA from the University of Toronto. This is her first children’s book. Visit her online at www.jessicaepaquette.com.

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Copyright © 2013 Jessica E. Paquette.

Illustrator: Cathy Zygocki

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-7321-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7322-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7323-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013901364

iUniverse rev. date: 3/8/2013

CONTENTS

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

For all children in the world

who laugh and play.

I

F ar beyond our dreams, far beyond the reaches of our sun, and far beyond the reaches of the star-filled arms of our Milky Way, there exists a world of endless possibilities. Within this world are majestic mountains, friendly oceans, and clever rivers. There are countries, towns, and lands in between. One of the most fascinating places to visit, though, is Circus Land. Circus Land has style. You might even say it has pizzazz. Its residents are energetic and vibrant. Circus Land is marked by three major cities: Ba-loons, Rainbow POP, and Topsy-Turvy.

Topsy-Turvy is Circus Land’s capital city, and it is the largest. It has five charming neighbourhoods teeming with life. These include: Ferris Wheel Gardens, Rabbit Burrows, Magic Hat Square, Small Park Grove, and Snuggle-Ville. Snuggle-Ville backs on to the edge of the Bushy Bush Forest, and it is where our story starts.

The streets of Snuggle-Ville are lined with slanted, multicoloured houses. The trees grow bubble gum leaves. Wispy white clouds made of whipped cream waft lazily in the air above. During the day, the sky is always blue and full of sunshine. At night, it is star-studded, much like a magician’s cape sprinkled with diamonds. The stars always come out to keep the full moon company.

Snuggle-Ville is home to a family of clowns called the Ah Choo family, who live at 121 Butterscotch Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Ah Choo—otherwise known as Cecil and Ginger—have a lovely daughter named Sophie and an orange fluffy dog they call Noodles. The Ah Choos live in a house that is tall, blue, and exceptionally crooked. They have a bubble gum tree planted in their front yard, a cupcake bush by the door, and a licorice garden under the big window. Their neighbours live in similarly slanted houses—some in huts with lollipop antennas. The Ah Choos are grateful to live in a neighbourhood where cupcakes and candy grow from the ground, making dessert preparation easy. Sophie is especially grateful and delights herself by eating the red velvet cupcakes.

Sophie is a little clown. Her skin is the colour of a pink carnation. Her honey brown eyes are bright and probing. Under each eye, there are three freckles. Yes, just three. Her flaming red hair, which at times may seem untameable, is usually tied into two pigtails high on her head and bobs from side to side whenever she skips. Most importantly, in the middle of her face, is a shiny, red, round nose. You can always catch her wearing a pair of purple overalls and a white turtleneck with sleeves pulled back to the elbows.

Every morning Sophie wakes up with a smile. Today is no different. Although she has not yet opened her eyes, her lips have already curled into a soft crescent. The sunshine that spills through the yellow curtains of her bedroom warms the pink walls and illuminates the birch wood furniture. Sophie stretches and yawns as she sits up in bed, propping her back against the comfy white pillows. Her bed is close to the wall, so she reaches towards the window and pushes back the curtains. Her neighbours are in their yards. Some are walking their dogs. She waves at those who look her way.

Golly! Thank you for this brand new day! Sophie proclaims as a morning salutation. Her red hair, a tangled mess from a night of active dreaming, shines like a ruby in the sun’s rays. A fresh breeze enters the room and cools her skin. Sophie blows a kiss out the window.

Before getting out of bed, Sophie swims across the crisp white sheets and peppermint-patterned comforter and reaches for the brush on the nightstand. As she tries to bring order to her hair, she reflects on last night’s dreams. She was a movie star again—a famous actress in a popular film about a dragon-slaying princess. Of course, she is the princess. Sophie takes her brush and stands on her bed; "En guard," she says, stabbing the air, pretending to slay imaginary dragons.

After settling down, Sophie grabs hair ties from the top of the nightstand and ties her hair into two pigtails. When Sophie finishes her morning ritual, Noodles nudges open the door, as if on cue. Wagging his tail excitedly, he runs into the room and sniffs the little clown’s slippers on the pink rug by her bed. Then he sits still, watching carefully as Sophie reaches into the drawer of her nightstand. She takes out a dog treat!

Noodles, come here, she says, petting his head. His tail continues to wag incessantly. Noodles stands on his hind legs and places his paws on top of the bed. With his nose, he sniffs the treat in Sophie’s hands.

Fetch, Sophie says, throwing the dog treat.

Noodles runs, or rather, slides on the hardwood floor towards the treat. He eats it up in no time.

As Sophie walks around her room, the light continues to touch everything in sight. Pictures of the little clown with her parents and friends hang in frames on the wall above her desk and dresser. She hears the birds singing outside and whistles along with them. A collection of stuffed animals sit together in one corner of Sophie’s room; a wooden chest holds an assortment of costumes in another. A clean pair of purple overalls and a white turtleneck await on the cushion of the wicker chair by the dresser. She changes from her flannel pajamas into her day clothes. When she is done, she slips into her moccasin slippers and runs out of her bedroom in a mad dash down the narrow, hardwood hallway. Noodles follows close behind her. The wood panels creak under foot and paw.

Hurriedly and making a lot of noise, Sophie runs down the stairs into the kitchen.

Hey Mom! Hey Dad! says the little clown.

Good morning, says her mother.

Hi kiddo, says her father.

The little clown takes a seat at the wooden table. Cecil, her father, is across from her reading The Circus Land National newspaper and drinking hazelnut-flavoured coffee. He lowers his paper and watches as Sophie settles herself. Okay, now that we’re all here, he says clearing his throat, I wanted to tell you that there’s another travel warning to Circus Land.

Really! Not again, says Sophie.

Yes. Reporters are saying that there have been more mysterious sightings of those Giant Mosquitoes above Snuggle-Ville.

That’s horrible, says Ginger, as she sets a plate in front of her daughter. It’s Sophie’s favorite dish: scrambled eggs and cranberry toast. Thank you, says the little clown absentmindedly. I thought they were going to get rid of them.

Well, Sophie that’s still the plan, Cecil says lowering his voice. Don’t go repeating this because we don’t know for sure, and there hasn’t been a press release, continues Cecil, "but the mayor seems to think that they’re not bugs at all. Yesterday, while I was in his office, he said that they’re people dressed as insects. Trespassers. He considers them dangerous. The article in today’s paper is telling everyone in Snuggle-Ville to be careful."

Geesh, that makes me feel bad—so much for my good mood. I was feeling so happy when I woke up, says the little clown sulkily.

Well, let’s not let this ruin our day any more than it has, says Ginger while looking down at Sophie and then at Cecil. There are plenty of other things to focus on. Everything will be fine, she says brightly.

Despite her mother’s reassuring words, a thread of anxiety wrapped itself around Sophie’s heart. I hope Mom is right, Sophie thinks inside her head.

Her mother hums her way back to the kitchen counter. "If Mom is worried, she hides it well," the little clown mumbles.

Most of the time, Ginger is dainty and bubbly like champagne. Her skin is orange like a peach. Her hair is an arrangement of long auburn curls with interwoven strands of blue, purple, green, and yellow, resembling ribbon. Sometimes, she ties parts of her hair into a bow on her head. Her dark brown eyes are charming and highly imaginative. Just like her daughter, she has three freckles under each eye. Her delicate face holds in its centre a red, round nose. But it is her heart-shaped lips that make her stand out. Ginger’s heart-shaped kiss is her signature. On non-school days, you can catch Ginger fluttering from one neighbour’s yard to the next, chatting with everyone while sporting yoga pants, a purple tank top, and runners.

At the kitchen counter, Sophie observers her mother sprinkling cinnamon onto the rolls she baked earlier that morning. The cinnamon reminds Sophie of a perfume that Ginger wore one evening when she hosted a party at their home. For the time being, her worries about the Giant Mosquitoes dissolve as she has a flashback.

Hey Mom, remember that party you threw last July? Sophie asks.

Yes, what about it?

Before the guests got here, do you remember how you let me use your cinnamon perfume?

Oh yeah, says her mother, smiling over her shoulder. And remember how I matched your outfit with mine? I say, we were a very fashionable mother-daughter pair, says Ginger, fondly remembering.

I felt like a movie star that night—we looked so glamorous, says Sophie.

I know, you are definitely your mother’s daughter, says Cecil, smiling.

Sophie smiles back and then goes back to watching her mother, who is now by the sink washing dishes.

When Ginger is not hosting parties, she is a teacher at the Art of Clowning Around School (ACAS), where Sophie is a junior clown. School is only three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On school days, Ginger and Sophie walk together. Ginger wears dresses to class that are both feminine and airy. She wears red stilettos to make her thin frame seem taller. Ginger has a PhD in Clowning First Class from Circus Land’s University of Great Performers. Located in Rabbit Burrows, Topsy-Turvy, the university is where Ginger and Cecil met and fell in love. As a First Class Clown, Ginger is fully qualified to teach any level of clowning at ACAS. She chooses to teach senior clowns.

Ginger senses Sophie’s eyes on her. Keep eating your breakfast honey; we don’t want to be late for school.

I don’t want to go to school, Sophie mutters under her breath as she takes a bite of her cranberry toast. Sophie is eleven. Soon enough, she will be twelve, which means that she will enter middle school. But first she must pass her entrance exams. In terms of academics, Sophie is at the bottom of her class. The little clown often asks, What’s the point of homework, anyway? The answer is painfully obvious: "there is no point."

There are so many things I’m better at, Sophie would say, trying to reason with her parents. She’d list the activities she’d much rather be doing. I could be skipping, playing hand games, singing… Often Sophie rolls her eyes at how slow the adults are at understanding these things. Homework? Who cares!

Well, Missy Miss Shoelace, Sophie’s teacher cares, and so do her parents. They’re concerned that she is not putting enough time and energy into her studies. The truth is, Sophie does try. She’s just not very successful. Why can’t I have the confidence to be better at school? Why can’t I perform in front of others? the little clown asks Noodles hopelessly whenever she practices in her room.

That’s it! she’d said once. "If I can’t be good at school, then at least I can be good at playing with my friends and being happy outside of school. When I grow up, I want to be an actress. Wouldn’t it be so cool Noodles if I was brave enough to act in front of a crowd? Wouldn’t it be so cool to be famous?" But then, the realization of her limitations seems to dampen those dreams. Missy Miss Shoelace has warned Sophie several times over the last four months to clean up her act.

For the time being, Sophie tries to suppress these thoughts about school as she tries to focus on breakfast instead. Yet, for some reason her mind does not want to let it go. Yes, I love the circus. I just wish I were a better performer. Why do I get