The Introduction to the Book You Are Reading (It’s supposed to set up the story. I hope it works!)
Have you ever wondered
what animals think?
Do they ever get bored?
Do they mind that they stink?
Do they look to the sky?
Do they stare at the stars?
Do they know that we’re sending
spaceships to Mars?
Do they ever feel jealous?
Or happy? Or sad?
Do they ever think fondly
of a meal they just had?
The answers to these questions are:
you must have, yes, no, yes, yes, no,
yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Hey! That didn’t rhyme!
What’s the deal with this book?!
Is it filled with good stories
or just gobbledygook?
Well, gobbledygook
is a very good thing.
You might be surprised
at the joy it can bring.
But these are good stories,
epic and true,
although when I say that they’re true,
I’m lying to you.
But you’ll enjoy them, I promise.
Grab a hot chocolate to drink
’cause it’s time to discover
what animals think.
Now, at this point you’re probably wondering how I know what animals think. Am I a mind reader? Was I raised by wolves? Did an evil doctor implant a microchip in my brain that allows me to have telepathic communications with our four-legged friends? Those are all great theories, but none are correct. The truth is, I don’t know for sure what animals are thinking. I’m just a human being, and human beings don’t have superpowers. But I’m a very good judge of character, and when it comes to the stories in this book, I’m pretty sure I’m right about what the animals were thinking. So, let me continue . . .
There’s a farm in the country,
a sweet little place,
where life moves along
at a leisurely pace.
It’s not far from the city,
the traffic, and crowds,
but instead of bright lights,
it has puffy white clouds.
It goes by the name of
Wannabe Farms.
It’s quiet and quaint
with no shortage of charms.
There’s a stream, and a lake,
and a big old red barn.
You’ll find milk, you’ll find eggs,
you’ll find large spools of yarn.
For the animals there
life is simple and slow.
They eat and they sleep,
they watch the grass grow.
But the world all around them
is building and growing,
and this gets them thinking,
and ideas start flowing.
They start to have wishes.
They hatch plots and schemes.
They start to think bigger.
They start to have dreams.
But on Wannabe Farms,
dreams never come true,
at least not the way
dreams usually do.
Is that bad? Is that sad?
No, it’s not, not at all.
Pursuing a dream
is the point of it all.
So, hold tight the book
at the end of your arms,
and I’ll tell you what happened
on . . .
Wannabe Farms.
Copyright © 2020 by Brian McCann; Illustrated by Meghan Lands. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.