Trouble at Table 5 #2: Busted by Breakfast

By Tom Watson and Marta Kissi

From the author of Stick Dog comes the second book in a highly illustrated early chapter book series about three best friends whose plans, missions, and schemes are sure to shake up their school.

Simon always has a lot to say. And sometimes he can’t stop talking—even in the middle of class.

When Simon gets in trouble for jabbering at school, his best friends, Molly and Rosie, think up a plan to keep him from getting grounded at home! It involves cars, suds, and pink plastic flamingos!

But will their big plan turn into an even bigger disaster?

HarperChapters build confident readers one chapter at a time! With short, fast-paced books, art on every page, and milestone markers at the end of every chapter, they're the perfect next step for fans of I Can Read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062953452

Tom Watson

Tom Watson lives in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and son. He also has a dog, as you could probably guess. The dog is a Labrador-Newfoundland mix. Tom says he looks like a Labrador with a bad perm. He wanted to name the dog "Put Your Shirt On" (please don't ask why), but he was outvoted by his family. The dog's name is Shadow. Early in his career Tom worked in politics, including a stint as the chief speechwriter for the governor of Ohio. This experience helped him develop the unique, storytelling narrative style of the Stick Dog books. More important, Tom's time in politics made him realize a very important thing: Kids are way smarter than adults. And it's a lot more fun and rewarding to write stories for them than to write speeches for grown-ups.

Book preview

THERE ARE TIMES when Simon just cannot be quiet. He has to talk. And there is no way he can stop until he’s done telling us everything.

That’s what happened yesterday.

In Mr. Willow’s class.

At Table 5.

Simon got to school later than us because Rosie and I rode bikes and he walked.

Simon broke his bike. He rode it on the rock trail at Picasso Park, but it isn’t the kind of bike that’s made for that. It has thin tires for streets and sidewalks, not thick tires with bumps on them for trails and stuff.

So the bike got all busted up. It has two flat tires and the wheel rims are bent.

Molly! Rosie! Simon called to us when he hurried into the room. He was excited about something, I could tell. Rosie could tell too. He kicked his backpack under the table and sat down. Do you guys know what Cocoa Puffs are?!

We nodded.

Well, I didn’t know what they were until today, Simon began. "They’re little brown, ball-shaped, sugary dynamos of chocolaty goodness. The great thing about Cocoa Puffs is the whole eating process. It’s like three scrumptious chocolate discoveries in one."

We just stared at him. He was pretty excited. He couldn’t wait to tell us more. And the more he spoke, the faster his words came out.

The first several mouthfuls of Cocoa Puffs start out super crunchy, he explained. The first burst of chocolate flavor is like CRUNCH! BAM! WAKE UP! It’s chocolate time! That’s the first discovery. But then, about halfway through the bowl, all the Cocoa Puff balls have absorbed some milk and they’ve started to lose their crunchiness. And, you know, that’s kind of a bummer. Because who wants to eat soggy stuff?

Simon stopped to lick his