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  I need a new bum! Mine’s got a crack.

  I can see in the mirror a crack at the back.

  Did I do it on the slide?

  Or on the banister inside?

  Or when I jumped my BMX?

  Or with the fart? That happened next.

  Of course! The fart?

  That’s what blew my bum apart!

  Split the thing clean in two.

  Now I wonder what to do.

  I need a new one.

  A green one or a blue one.

  A fat one or a thin one.

  A wood one or a tin one.

  Why not an arty-farty bum?

  One not to be forgotten,

  with watercolours on the top

  and a mural on the bottom.

  Or …

  yellow

  spotted?

  Purple dotted?

  A bum with colour.

  A bum with flair.

  A bum as bright as I dare to wear.

  A bum as bright as …

  … Dad’s underwear!

  Or maybe an alien’s bum,

  made from a metal

  like titanium.

  I’d like a bum that’s safety-rated.

  The right bum …

  a knight’s bum …

  a bum that’s armour-plated.

  What about …

  a bum-per?

  Chrome?

  Why not, I say,

  from a 1960s sport coupé,

  one made in the USA.

  With accessories to compliment,

  like strips of silver smoothly bent,

  a set of lights left and righty

  for backing round in the night.

  With a bumper bum I won’t be scared

  because bumper cracks can be repaired.

  But …

  a bumper bum is huge!

  A bumper bum weighs

  a ton.

  I’ve changed my mind …

  I want a lighter one.

  A rocket bum?

  All fire and thrust.

  A robo-bum?

  Now that bum’s a must.

  No … I think it’s all too late.

  This cracked bum

  is my

  fate.

  I’m here on my own

  in this cracked bum zone.

  No one to care.

  No one to share …

  Wait!

  What’s that I hear?

  This is outrageous!

  Are bum cracks contagious?

  And Dad …

  there’s no way of knowing

  just how

  far

  it’s

  going!

  About the author

  Hi, I’m Dawn McMillan. I live in Waiomu, a small coastal village on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. I live with my husband Derek and our cat, Josie.

  I write lots of different things: fiction and non-fiction, poetry, stories for school readers and stories for picture books. Sometimes my work is serious, sometimes it’s just for fun. Every now and again I write a really crazy story — this is one of those! Enjoy!

  About the illustrator

  Gidday, I’m Ross Kinnaird. I’m an illustrator and a graphic designer and I live in Auckland. When I’m not illustrating a book, or being cross with my computer, I enjoy most activities to do with the sea. I love visiting schools to talk about books and drawing. (I’ve been known to draw some really funny cartoons of the teachers!)

  Published by Libro International, an imprint of Oratia Media Ltd, 783 West Coast Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604, New Zealand (www.librointernational.com).

  Copyright © 2012 Dawn McMillan — text Copyright © 2012 Ross Kinnaird — illustrations

  The copyright holders assert their moral rights in the work.

  This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, any digital or computerised format, or any information storage and retrieval system, including by any means via the Internet, without permission in writing from the publisher. Infringers of copyright render themselves liable to prosecution.

  ISBN 978-1-877514-57-9

  Printed in China by Nordica

 

 

  Jones, James, Whistle

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