April FOOLS the World
April LOVES playing pranks, until her little brother decides it's finally time the joke is on her . . .
Click the PLAY button below to listen along to the audio story, but don’t forget to scroll all the way down. This month’s story has plenty of pictures to enjoy!
*Or, You can order “Cosette Goes to the County”, by emailing me directly at caitlinnicoleevans@gmail.com - autographs and laughs included!
Happy April Fool’s Day!
April 1st is the perfect excuse to fool friends and family. Pranks should be playful not harmful, but sometimes April takes it a bit too far. She LOVES a clever trick – jumping out of closets to scare her little brother, putting worms in her mother’s pie, and tricking her classmates by tying together the laces of their shoes.
One day, April learns that there is a holiday made just for her . . . April Fool’s Day! She decides she has to play the BIGGEST, best-est, most perfect prank ever.
But, what happens when April’s funniest prank isn’t so funny after all . . .?!?
April FOOLS the World
by caitlin nicole evans
Dedicated to Charlie Marr. You are very lucky to have the two funniest, kindest parents I know - may your father teach you how to moon like the best pranksters of them all . . .
April LOVED to play pranks.
She was very good at fooling everyone. Especially her friends and family.
She would dress up in a spooky costume, hide in the closet, and jump out at the perfect moment to scare her little brother.
It was pretty funny . . .
She would wait all day while her mother baked a pie. When it was cooling on the counter, April would sneakily stuff a handful of earthworms inside.
That one was hilarious!
At school, April played all kinds of pranks.
Tying shoelaces together.
Feeding homework to the dogs.
And squishing great globs of super glue on to the teacher’s seat.
Not everyone found April’s pranks funny.
Which was precisely why April’s parents never told her about April Fool’s Day.
It was the one day of the year that everyone was meant to pull a prank, but April didn’t need any more encouragement.
Fortunately for April, she was visiting her favourite joke shop one day to buy some much needed items.
A fake rubber hand, some ketchup “blood”, and a few new marvellously spooky monster masks. The usual purchases for a true prankster!
April saw a sign hanging in the prank shop window:
“What’s so special about April 1st?” She asked the shopkeepers, Tom and Judy.
“It’s April Fool’s Day, of course!” Judy said.
“The day to play the biggest prank of all!” Tom added.
April felt very EXCITED, but she also felt a lot of pressure.
This holiday was named after her and it was all about pranks!
She would have to pull out all the stops . . .
April went home and drew up some plans.
But, no prank felt quite big enough.
She didn’t just want to fool her brother, or her parents, or her classmates at school.
April wanted to fool . . .
. . . THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!
She decided she would have to do something so shocking no one could ignore it.
After some mischievous mulling and tricky thinking, April finally had a plan.
“I know just what I’ll do!” April said to herself, all alone in her room.
(But, April wasn’t alone. Just like his big sister, April’s brother had learned how to be pretty sneaky too! While April prepared her biggest prank yet, he watched from a small crack in the closet . . . )
April got down to prank-making business.
She trimmed and she cut.
She sewed and she stitched.
She gathered and she glued.
Finally, she had the perfect costume to fool the world.
“TADA!” April exclaimed, standing in front of her mirror.
She giggled, happy with her scheme, and went to bed excited for the next day.
In the morning, April woke up bright and early. It was finally here - April 1st!
She stuffed her costume in her backpack and made her way to town, which hopefully would be packed with people. She needed an audience to witness her prank.
When she arrived, she headed straight to central park, dipped behind a fountain, and changed into her clever disguise.
Finally ready, she popped out for the world to see.
No longer April, but . . .
. . . AN ALIEN!
April would fool everyone into believing that extraterrestrials had landed on planet earth.
It was a pretty awesome plan . . .
April peeked, poked, and popped around town, trying to stir up a frightened frenzy.
They really think I’m an alien, thought April. PERFECT!
To her pleasant surprise, a man and woman suddenly appeared carrying a microphone and a large video camera.
It was the channel five news!
I’m really going to fool the world. April could not have planned it any better.
She started to make alien noises, as the camera captured every minute.
“GLEEP. GLURP.”
“BORK. SCHNORK.”
“E.T. PHONE HOOOOMMMEEEEEE . . .”
April had accomplished her task. She had tricked the whole wide world.
But, unfortunately, she still had to go to school.
She decided to keep wearing her costume.
After all, it was April fool’s day all day long!
At school, her little brother saw her first.
She waved with a giggle.
“Oh no”, he said. “ALIENS!”
She sat at her desk, and everyone stared.
Surely they were shocked to find an alien in their class - especially math!
April giggled into her mask.
It was the best day of school ever.
When she went home, April decided to see if her mother would give her dinner.
“Aliens don’t like pie.” Her parents said.
No pie! April decided it was time to reveal the truth . . .
“It’s ME!” April said . . .
But, her family still frowned.
“Oh, no!” Her brother exclaimed. “It’s pretending to be APRIL!”
April was very confused.
Couldn’t they see it was all just a joke.
“It’s me, you guys. It’s really April.”
Her parents tutted their tongues.
“This is very bad,” they insisted.
“The alien has clearly taken over April’s body!”
“Well, at least there’s more pie for me,” her brother smiled.
April was NOT smiling.
She wasn’t happy about missing dessert, and now no one would believe her.
This was ridiculous.
Of course it was her!
How could she convince everyone she wasn’t really from outer space . . .?!?
I have to find the news team, April decided.
She left just after dessert, while there was still light outside, hoping the reporter and camera man would still be in town.
She towed along her costume, proof it was all just a harmless prank.
She finally found the news team. They were about to enter the prank shop, but April caught their attention.
“I have to get on the news!” April exclaimed. “I have to tell everyone I’m not REALLY an alien!”
“Oh no,” the news woman shrieked, even though April looked like a human.
“The extraterrestrial’s DON’T come in peace!” The reporter exclaimed.
“They’re taking over our bodies!” The camera man yelled.
The news team was so frightened, they ran into the bushes.
April was left all alone, and frankly, quite frightened herself.
She felt frustrated and fearful.
Weren’t pranks supposed to be funny?!?
Well, this one wasn’t.
At least not for April . . .
“APRIL FOOLS!”
Everybody shouted at once.
They popped up from bushes, and peeked out from the trees.
The whole town had been hiding, it seemed.
April’s jaw dropped.
“What on EARTH?!?” She exclaimed. “April fool’s?”
“The jokes on you, for once!” April’s little brother emerged from the crowd.
“I knew it was you, April. I made sure to let everyone know your secret plan.”
“What about the news team?” She asked.
“That’s just Tom and Judy. Tom and his wife own the prank shop so they had plenty of good disguises. Including Tom’s fake mustache! I saw you making your costume, and I decided it was time to teach you a lesson.”
Her little brother really did look upset.
“Sometimes your pranks aren’t very funny.”
It seemed everyone agreed.
“Pranks are okay if they are harmless,” her father added, and April realized you had to be considerate.
You could hurt someone if you weren’t careful, and that wasn’t funny at all.
“Alright, alright. You got me,” April admitted.
After a long day, everyone finally went home, happy to know they had NOT been invaded by aliens . . .
April Fool’s day was over for yet another year, and April had definitely learned a tough lesson.
But . . .
She still liked to play a prank every now and then . . .
The next time her mother baked a pie, April didn’t want all that hard work to go to waste.
So, she sprinkled the top with a handful of gummi worms.
When dessert arrived on the table EVERYONE shared a laugh.
“Good one, April!” Her father said.
“Yummy!” Her brother giggled, biting the head off a sugary worm.
“Let’s eat!” Her mother smiled, happy her pie hadn’t been ruined.
April was happy to discover pranks could still be pretty funny.
Only this time, no one was harmed.
Well, almost no one . . .
THE END, EARTHLINGS . . .
Reading Recommendation: It turn’s out April is all about ALIENS, so this month check out The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Mark Fearing. The story is a twist on the classic tale of the three little pigs. Instead of barnyard animals and one big bad wolf, this is a story about my favourite . . . aliens! They are building houses on planets across the universe, while trying to stay safe from the big bad robot. The aliens have fantastic names: bork, grok, and nchklwishk! The twists and themes within the story make this book out of this world. Wacky words and sounds make it fun to read aloud night after night to your little ones. 5 out of 5 galatic stars . . .
Stay tuned next month for the return of Helga and Herman. That’s right, folks . . .
It’s the HAMSTERDAM sequel!!!
So make sure you squeeze in some extra bed time reading, and check out the original before May 1st . . .
One more note, B-Side Readers . . .
If you still haven’t purchased a copy of my first full length book - COSETTE GOES TO THE COUNTY - message me to order your very own autographed edition. Shipping available in North America. Email caitlinnicoleevans@gmail.com, or @caitlinnicoleevans on Instagram/Facebook for details.
HAPPY READING, EARTHLINGS . . .
