Chapter One
It was true that Zoomi’s mother had been telling her about the new baby for months. It was true that Zoomi had helped turn her old room into the baby’s new room with slime murals and a new coat of blueberry-jam-flavored paint. It was true that Zoomi had come up with one hundred perfect names for the baby—like Bloomi and Gloomi and Foomi. But most of all, it was true that Zoomi was going to be the greatest big sister of all time.
“I love babies!” Zoe said when Zoomi told her the news. “I can help you figure it all
out.”
But Zoomi didn’t need help. Zoomi was great at all kinds of things—zooming, for one. But also making up fun games to play, and laughing and being furry. So she would certainly be great at this, too.
“I’m probably going to win the best big sister award,” Zoomi said. “Everyone’s going to be so impressed.”
“Hmm,” Zoe said. “I don’t think there’s a best big sister award.”
Zoomi shrugged. Zoe was just jealous. And Zoomi could understand that. Now that she was going to be a big sister, she probably wouldn’t have much time left for playing with Zoe. Zoomi knew she would be in charge of giving the baby mud baths and teaching her how to jump on one foot and, most importantly, showing her the rainbow mud slide and the pineapple portal and probably even the sprinkle swamp, the tastiest swamp in GlumbleGlibble. Babies were small. She would fit great in Zoomi’s favorite pink-and-pizza-striped backpack.
But when Zoomi’s baby sister finally came home, something didn’t feel quite right.
“Zoomi, meet your sister! This is Fizzle,” Zoomi’s mom said. Her parents had just brought Fizzle home from where all babies are found: in a shiny silver shell on the sands of GlumbleGlibble Beach. Fizzle was smaller than small and her fur was a sparkly silver. She had big eyes, thirteen arms, and a pointy tail.
“FIZZLE!” Zoomi exclaimed. “It’s me! Zoomi! The best big sister ever, here to taste the walls with you!” Zoomi stuck her tongue out. She had been dying to taste the freshly painted blueberry walls.
But Fizzle did not stick out her tongue.
“It’s easy. Just stick your tongue out like this.” Zoomi showed Fizzle again, more slowly this time.
Instead, Fizzle farted.
And Zoomi’s mother did something very strange. She laughed. Zoomi’s mother
never laughed when Zoomi farted.
“If you don’t want to lick walls, would you like to take a ride in my unicycle-copter? I just learned how to fly it yesterday and I’ve only crashed it forty-two times, which is way less than Doug crashed theirs, so I’m practically an expert.”
Zoomi waited for Fizzle to cheer or hug her or say
you are the best big sister I could have ever hoped for! But all Fizzle did was make a tiny spit bubble.
“Aw, so cute!” Zoomi’s mother said.
So Zoomi tried making a spit bubble. Hers was much bigger and spittier than Fizzle’s. If Zoomi’s mom thought that tiny thing was cute, wait until she saw Zoomi’s spit!
“Oh, Zoomi, please don’t do that,” her mother said, wrinkling her nose.
“But—” Zoomi began.
“You seem bored. Why don’t you go play on your own for a bit?” her mother interrupted before Zoomi could even offer to fart.
“Why would I do that? I have a sister,” Zoomi said.
“A
baby sister,” Zoomi’s mother said, as if that explained everything.
It most certainly did not explain
anything.
Copyright © 2025 by Corey Ann Haydu, Illustrated by Anne Appert. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
