Tag-Along Tim

Tag-Along Tim by Rachael Stein illustrated by George Ulrich HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Tag-Along Tim by Rachael Stein illustrated by George Ulrich Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02728-9 ISBN-10: 0-547-02728-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Andrew was going to the park to play ball. His little brother Tim said, “I want to go, too.” “No way,” said Andrew. “Playing ball is for big kids. You don’t even go to school yet!” Tim turned to Mom. “Please, can I go to the park with Andrew?” 2

Mom said to Andrew, “I’m sure Tim will be very good.” Andrew felt his cheeks get red. He said, “You can play ball when you’re seven. I’ll take you with me then, okay?” 3

Mom said, “Tim can watch while you play ball.” Andrew frowned at Tim. “Why do you always follow me around? Why do you go everywhere I go?” 4

Mom said, “That’s enough, Andrew! You can take your brother to the park, or you can stay home. You decide.” Andrew glared at his little brother. “Okay, you can come with me.” 5

Saturday was Andrew’s birthday. Dad had promised to buy Andrew a special present in the city. Tim asked, “Can I come? I want to get you a present!” “But Dad . . .” began Andrew. 6

Dad said, “People in a family care about one another.” “Okay,” mumbled Andrew. At the toy store, they bought balloons and hats for a birthday party. Then Andrew picked out paints for his present. 7

When they got home, Andrew said to Tim, “I want to paint by myself. You’ll only make a mess.” Dad said, “Andrew, you should be a good example for your brother. You can show him how to paint.” Andrew tried, but Tim splashed paint on himself. 8

Later, Tim went to his room to play. It was more quiet than usual. Andrew walked by Tim’s room and saw that he had built a tower of blocks. Just as Tim put one more block on the tower, it crashed to the floor. “What are you doing?” asked Andrew kindly. “I want to build a fort, but it keeps falling down,” said Tim. 9

“I’ll help you build a fort,” Andrew said. He showed Tim how to stack the blocks carefully. “Can you show me how to build a castle?” asked Tim. “Sure I can,” said Andrew. “That’s what brothers are for.” 10

Responding TARGET SKILL Understanding Characters What do you know about Andrew? What does he say? What does he do? How does he feel? Make a chart. Talk About It Text to Self Think about your little brothers or sisters, or your friend’s brothers or sisters. What do they do when they want to play with you or your friend? 11

buy WORDS TO KNOW city family myself school party seven please LEARN MORE WORDS crashed example special TARGET SKILL Understanding Characters Tell more about characters. TARGET STRATEGY Summarize Stop to tell important events as you read. GENRE Realistic fiction is a story that could happen in real life. 12

Level: J DRA: 18 Genre: Realistic Fiction Strategy: Summarize Skill: Understanding Characters Word Count: 358 1.5.25 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13:978-0-547-02728-9 ISBN-10:0-547-02728-1 1032763