Sassy#2 -- The Birthday Storm Summary: It's summer vacation and Sassy and her family are headed to Florida to visit Grammy for her birthday celebration at the beach. Sassy can't wait! But a hurricane is swirling in the Atlantic, and when it hits, stores are closed, there's no electricity, and no birthday cake! To make matters worse, the lives of the local sea turtles are threatened because of the storm. How can one little girl make a difference in the lives of a hundred baby sea turtles? Sassy finds a way. With the help of her sparkle sack, Sassy helps everyone have an unforgettable celebration. Sassy and her family learn about the power and beauty of nature, and that being together as a family is the best birthday gift of all. Awesome kids with the Sassy Sack: Sassy#2 -- The Birthday Storm Hardback   $14.99 Paperback   $4.99 Type: Hardback Paperback Quantity:  Introduction: Chapter One: Digging for Pink "Mom! I can't find my pink swimming suit!" A huge pile of clothes seems to live in the bottom of my closet. I dig and find my favorite yellow shorts, one torn plastic sandal, two pairs of jeans, and a shiny silver belt. I also find several pairs of underwear and my lost gym clothes. But it seems my pink suit has moved away. "You don't need it. Take your green bathing suit instead," my mother answers from down the hall. "I hate the green one!" I tell her. "It looks like an army uniform." My sixteen-year-old sister Sadora sticks her head in my door. She has been packed and ready since yesterday. "Wear some big army boots and your green suit will look great," she teases. "We're going to the beach!" I yell. "I know that. Maybe the beach people will think you're starting a new fashion trend." She comes into my room. I'm sitting on the floor with clothes on my head. Usually Sadora can make me giggle, but today I don't feel like laughing. "I just gotta have that pink suit," I tell her. "Why?" she asks. "You won't understand," I tell her. "Try me," she says. Sometimes my big sister can be really cool. I wrinkle my face and think. "Because when I wear that bathing suit, the sun is always warm and bright, no rain ever falls on the beach, and I find the perfect sea shell for my collection." "So it's like your good luck suit?" she asks. "Yeah, something like that," I tell her. "And besides, it goes with my lucky pink ribbon." I tie it carefully around my puffy pony tail. "I understand about matching," Sadora says. "But what's lucky about that ribbon?" Sadora asks. "Because it was in the bottom on my Sassy Sack when Grammy gave it to me!" I explain. "Good things happen when I wear it." Sadora shakes her head. "Did you look in your dirty clothes hamper?" she asks. She sits on my bed next to my overstuffed suitcase. "It's not there," I say. "What about your bottom drawer?" Sadora asks. "Isn't that your pink drawer? Don't you have a system where you arrange your clothes by color?" "I gave that up," I tell her glumly. "It was too complicated." But I pull out the bottom drawer and look anyway. I find a pair of rose-colored socks and a sparkly pink hair barrette, but no pink swimsuit. My twelve-year-old brother Sabin bursts into the room. He's wearing the new sunglasses he bought last night at the drugstore. "You don't need the shades in the house," I remind him. "I'm going to keep them on for the entire trip," he says. "Maybe some Florida girls will think I'm a movie star!" He looks at himself in my mirror. He turns his baseball cap so the visor is in the back. He's wearing a new red tee shirt and his skinny arms look like thin tree branches sticking out. I giggle. "Which movie did you star in? The Toothpick Man?" Sadora cracks up. Sabin ignores both of us and grabs a candy bar from my bed. "Sabin! I was gonna eat that on the plane!" I tell him as I grab for the candy. "Not this one," he says with a grin as he takes off the wrapper. "Maybe it will help me build muscles." He gobbles it in two bites. I don't tell Sabin, but I have three more candy bars in my Sassy Sack. They are hiding in a zipper pocket, far away from a big brother's greedy fingers. My Sassy Sack is the coolest thing. It's more than a purse. It's like a part of me. Just touching it makes me feel happy. It's pink and purple and shiny and made of lots of different fabrics. It's got buttons and sparkles and it closes with a satin ribbon. Sadora rubs her hands over my sack. It's made of lace and silk and velvet. "Grammy gave this to you for your seventh birthday, didn't she?" she asks with a smile. "Yep. It's one-of-a-kind and I love it. I don't go anyplace without it. You know that," I tell her. "So what are you going to give Grammy for her birthday?" Sadora asks. "It's a surprise," I say. "You'll see when we get there." Sabin finishes the candy and burps. "Dad says to give me your suitcase so I can put it in the car. And he says hurry up. We're gonna miss the plane!" "You can't take it yet," I cry out. "I'm still packing." But he zips my bag shut, snatches it off my bed, and hurries out the door with it. "Sabin!" I yell. But he's gone. I can hear him clumping down the stairs. "My swimming suit must be invisible," I tell Sadora with a sigh. "Grammy never notices what we wear. She just loves it because we're there," Sadora says. She sounds wise like a grownup. "I know Grammy doesn't care about my clothes," I tell Sadora. "But do you think she'll like my new outfit anyway?" Sadora laughs. "You're impossible, Little Sister. Of course Grammy will like your new purple hookup. And Poppy won't even notice! You look like a piece of grape candy." "That's my favorite!" I tell her with a grin. I look at myself in the mirror. I'm wearing a pale purple tee shirt with shiny silver writing on the front. It says, "Beach Bum." My shorts and socks are a light shade of lavender. My shoes and shoelaces are purple. Only my hair ribbon is hot pink. Sadora is right. I look like a popsicle! "You look super, Sassy," Sadora tells me. "I would have worn that same outfit when I was nine and a half." That makes me feel really good. "Thanks," I tell her. "Why don't you add a belt?" she suggests. "Great idea! From my top drawer I pull a shiny purple belt. It has a huge silver buckle. "Perfect!" Sadora tells me as I put on the belt. "Sassy! Sadora! Let's go!" Mom calls from the bottom of the stairs. "If we miss the plane, we miss Grammy's birthday celebration. Hurry!" I take one last look around my room, grab my Sassy Sack, and turn off the light. I dig down into my sack to make sure I have a book to read on the plane. I feel something soft. I pull it out, and rolled into a ball is my pink shiny swimming suit. "I found it!" I yell with relief. "I forgot that I put it in my sack!" Sadora pats me on the shoulder. "I'm glad you found it, Little Sister. That's the kind of thing that can spoil a trip." We head down the stairs together. "This is going to be the best Florida trip ever!" I tell her as we rush out of the door and into the car. "Grammy's birthday on the beach! I can't wait," Sadora says happily.