And then they all sit down and read the wonderful stories together. Sara trades flowers for a story about a family of buttons. Millie and Walter trade a shell for his story called “Why Orange Is the Best Color.” Rufus writes little sister Annie a story for her birthday about a girl who shrinks to the size of a teacup. And once he’s in business, he starts creating little gems for his friends and family. Why have a lemonade stand when you can have a story stand? That’s what Rufus, a boy with a big imagination, decides. Olive must track down the thief and teach him the joys of reading – and sharing – stories. The thief, meanwhile, doesn’t quite know what to do with the stories he’s stolen. But when a mysterious figure steals all of the books in town, Olive decides to set out straight into an adventure of her own. Olive is a shy girl who prefers reading about adventures to having them herself. “With no dragon, my story is STUCK!” Then he discovers the One-Stop Story Shop, which just might be what he needs to finish his tale…but not exactly the way he had planned! The Story Thief A story that does all these things doesnt seem quite right, though, and the one thing the whole family can agree on is that the best story has to be your own. “How can I finish my story?” the knight wails.

But to his dismay, he learns that the dragon has gone on vacation. “Come out and meet your match, you great big beast!” the knight announces. One day, a brave knight sets out for the cave of a terrible dragon. Just beware of the pirates and angry tiger. Sure, the author wrote many drafts, and the illustrator took a long time creating the art, but then what? How’d it get into your hands? Well, open the cover and read through these pages to find out. You may think you know how this book was made, but you don’t.

The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli