eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Pacha’s imagination is bigger than the Andes Mountains, homeland of her ancestors. In her dreams, the plants and animals on her PJs come alive—and she journeys with them to learn more about herself.
Then after a stress-induced asthma attack, her magical pajamas carry her into an epic dream where she encounters a handful of critters lamenting the state of their home. Disguised as a little gorilla, Pacha joins in, and together they decide to organize a Nature Festival that brings all species together. Full of musical plants and dancing animals, the PACHA JAMMA festival is a worldwide call to action to save the planet from destruction.
But Mr. Tick seems to be scheming to disrupt the festival. With the help of her plant and animal friends, Pacha races against time to decipher a cryptic puzzle that outlines Mr. Tick’s dastardly plans. But just as she is on the verge of victory, a massive hurricane threatens them all . . .
This exciting tale with a message of empowerment and environmental responsibility, including lots of fun science facts and a bonus augmented-reality animation feature, is “a critical tool in giving children a sense of themselves, the power of their dreams and the natural world around them” (Mos Def/Yasiin Bey, actor and recording artist).
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781630477059 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Morgan James Publishing |
| Publication date: | 09/10/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 200 |
| File size: | 29 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
| Age Range: | 7 - 11 Years |
About the Author
An award-winning artist and educator, Aaron Ableman is what happens when Charlie Chaplin meets Dr. Seuss. Aaron is an inspired leader in the emerging self-literacy movement and his life has been heralded in publications such as the LA Times, CNN, NY Times, MTV, Climate Reality Project, Origin Magazine, and the SF Examiner. Aaron is a CoFounder of BALANCE Edutainment & Imagination Heals, and the originator of the Pacha’s Pajamas brand. He is also a beatboxer, singer/rapper, soccer player and loves making crafts, especially dreamcatchers.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
LITTLE GIRL, BIG DREAMS
Pacha was a little girl with big dreams. Her dreams were bigger than the biggest elephant at the zoo. Her dreams were bigger than the Andes Mountains, the homeland of her parents and ancestors. She dreamed of lost secrets and upside-down rainbows. She dreamed of dancing in front of huge crowds. But her biggest dream was for everyone to come together.
Sadly, real life wasn't so dreamy. Maybe it was the hazy weather lately that made it hard to breathe. Maybe it was the plastic bag that looked like it was dancing in the wind. That AND she had to perform the Earth Day musical tomorrow!
Sometimes life seemed easier when she hid in her room, frozen in time like a frog under a winter lake.
When Pacha and her father got home from school, she started wheezing and coughing, and her toes scrunched up in pain.
"I can't breathe! I ... feel like ... Ms. Wheezer blew a hurricane down my throat!"
Ms. Wheezer was a name that she had given her breathing problem, trying to make it sound as silly as she could so it wouldn't scare her. But that didn't work this time; this felt like the worst attack ever.
With blue lips, she huffed and puffed. Her father calmed her by cuddling her in his arms, encouraging her to let the attack pass like clouds in the sky. She took a deep draw on the inhaler her father handed her and finally found her breath. As if right on time, her mother entered the front door.
Pacha's mother set the groceries on the floor. "Amor, did you have another attack?"
Pacha fell into her mother's arms and cried: "Why does this happen to me?!"
"Ai mi vida, I know this is so hard for you," her mother responded calmly, "but let's remember that struggling only makes it worse. If you see life like a dream, even nightmares can't take you off track!"
But Pacha was still sobbing. "Can you ask Ms. Wheezer to get a new job? I'm sick of being sick!"
"Well," I wish I could make Ms. Wheezer go away for good ... but I do have something that could help you feel better ... something for you to wear like a hero's cape, especially on nights like tonight."
With that, Pacha's mother brought out a colorful pair of pajamas, which looked like they were glowing. They were covered with dancing animals and singing plants. "These are magical pajamas!" her mother said. "When I was your age, my mother made me pajamas woven from baby alpaca fleece — a fabric of royalty and medicine people. She told me that every stitch was a prayer, giving thanks to Pachamama."
"¡Ai, Mamá! They're as soft as a chinchilla's belly!" Pacha exclaimed as she giggled for the first time all day. Hugging her mother and feeling a tingle in her heart, Pacha closed her eyes. She imagined the PJs were a special friend or a magic carpet carrying her to distant lands. Perhaps this pair of jammies could be her new dreamcatcher?
That evening, as Pacha put on her new PJs, she had a funny feeling that her life was changing. What's more, she had lots of questions for her father.
"Does the sky breathe?" she wondered. "Does it choke on all the smoke and storms in the air these days? And before people, did animals make the rules?"
Pacha paused as her eyes rested on an old gorilla mask on the shelf near her bed. She had worn it for the Halloween performance last year. She had forgotten her lines, but there was no worrying about that now. Putting it on, she danced like a goofy gorilla, exclaiming, "Can I be a dancing girl-illa in these pajamas?" as if all her problems had gone away. Her father laughed. "So many questions, mi angelita.Maybe if you jump in bed faster than a little jaguar, you will find the answers in your dream."
Pacha stuffed the gorilla mask into her pajama pocket, snuggled into bed, and drifted away.
CHAPTER 2TROUBLE IN THE WATERS
It all began when a whale shouted to a hummingbird — something that doesn't happen in just any dream.
"Help! Help! I'm drowning!" yelled the whale.
The crimson-chested hummingbird stopped midair and hovered above the splashing beneath her. Pacha was hiding behind a tree near the shore, shocked by what she was seeing. When the whale cried again, Pacha felt a choke in her own throat! "I wish I could help that whale but I can barely breathe myself," she thought.
FUN FACT
Are hummingbirds magical?
Hummingbirds can dive at 60 miles per hour — that's as fast as a car driving on the highway! Because of their speed, they are known as messengers and time stoppers. To keep up their energy, hummingbirds need to eat every 15 to 20 minutes. They feed off hundreds of flowers per day, drinking their nectar and pollinating the next flower they visit (helping the flowering plants to produce seeds). Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward, forward, up, down and sideways, and even hover in the air! They teach us to let the past go and appreciate the magic of the present moment. Legends say the hummingbird is a messenger between worlds, spreading joy, healing, and sweetness during times of great change. In many cultures, hummingbird feathers are prized for their magical powers.
* * *
"Something is stuck in my blowhole!" the whale gasped.
Pacha wheezed into the soft folds of her PJs. She wanted to help the whale but felt woozy and helpless.
FUN FACT
What are whale songs?
Whales use sound and calling to communicate. The whale belly is a special place for hearing and feeling the music of the oceans. The largest whales can send a call, or song, around the entire planet's oceans and speak directly to another whale on the other side of the world! Smaller toothed whales also use sound and calling to "see." This is called echolocation. The sounds bounce off other objects or animals to tell the whale the shape, distance, and texture of its surroundings. In many cultures, whales represent creativity and intuition. They can also symbolize the regenerative cycle of death and rebirth.
* * *
Despite her discomfort, Pacha was amazed to hear these animals speaking in her language. The only animals she'd ever heard talk were beatboxing parrots and singing goats. Pacha squinted as the tiny hummingbird peered into the hole on top of the whale's head. Using her tiny beak, the colorful bird pulled out a plastic bag.
The whale spouted a huge jet of water and took a deep breath. "Thank you for saving my life! You never know how nice it is to breathe ... until you can't. Have my kind lived for over 50 million years just to wash ashore with sea trash? But please let me introduce myself ... my name is Wilder the Whale, the baritone-bass in the Seven Seas whale choir!"
"You're most welcome, Wilder. My friends call me Hum. I'd say you're one lucky whale. I have always loved whales. I never knew little ol' me could help someone like you. Sometimes I feel powerless when I'm facing big problems ... but I can't let that stop me!" Pacha smiled, watching as Hum zipped above a branch of the tree she was hiding behind.
"I've never seen this planet in such bad shape!" Hum said. "Birds everywhere are fighting over scraps of garbage! Just the other day, an albatross friend of mine discovered an island of trash floating in the ocean that looked bigger than Buenos Aires! What's happening?"
Hum started to cry little hummingbird tears. "I can't figure it out! Even the bees of the PolliNation are disappearing by the bazillions ... what do we do?"
Pacha wondered if she should join the troubled animals or stay out of sight for a bit longer. She wanted to help, but didn't want to startle them. It was a good thing she kept hiding, because out of nowhere, a jaguar appeared in a suit and tie. The jaguar looked awful, with tufts of hair missing from his body.
"Jag, what's wrong?" Hum asked. "You look miserable!"
The burly cat sniffed the wind, raised his hazel green eyes to the sky, and cleared his throat. "The planet is angry and so am I! I've been running along the edge of the rainforest for hours without a drop of water all day. Every time I stopped for a drink I was chased off ..."
FUN FACT
What's special about the jaguar?
The jaguar is an important creature that helps to keep nature in balance. Quick and agile, the jaguar is the largest of the big cats in the Americas. A majestic animal found in habitats ranging from desert to rainforest, this big cat is threatened by hunting and habitat loss. The jaguar is loved in traditional cultures for its spotted coat, and stories have told of its skin magically forming the heavens and stars. A symbol of courage, the jaguar represents the power to face one's fears and confront one's enemies with love.
* * *
"But let me not forget," the big cat said changing the subject. "I bring news from the Organization of Organized Organisms. There is war ... between the hungry and the hungry-for-more. The jungle is shrinking day by day and something in the air is making the weather act strange. If things keep going this way," said the feline, ripping off his tie. "I may lose my job! Time, like the rain that fills our watering holes, is running out."
Pacha wanted to join the animals, but she worried that as a human they might blame her for their problems. Plus, when she spoke up in groups, she often felt like a squeaky mouse in a crowd of elephants. So rather than introduce herself, she climbed the tree and watched silently from atop a branch.
Just then, Pebble cracked out from a boulder in the grass. "Ya'll think you have it bad?" he shouted. "There's a crack in my heart and it's getting wider every day! My friends are being blown up and ripped away from their underground families. They're traded, used up, and thrown away — and I can't do anything about it because I'm just another sandstone fighting to keep myself together! We can't just wait around, watching the world fall apart grain by grain ..."
Moaning like a ghost from an old haunted house, Tree creaked into the conversation. "I have problems too, but mine are worse than a spider monkey on a bad hair day!"
FUN FACT
Have you ever heard a tree talk?
Reaching down into the ground and up to the sky at the same time, trees represent life, growth, antiquity and strength. Some trees actually "talk" or "sing" to each other. When a willow tree is attacked by caterpillars or webworms, it lets off a natural chemical that warns other trees nearby of danger. The other trees then start pumping a chemical called tannin into their leaves, making it difficult for insects to swallow the leaves. Trees also can bring on the rain by a process called transpiration — they cool the land by drinking water through their roots and then release that water into the sky through invisible openings in their leaves. And did you know that one fully grown, leafy tree can provide enough oxygen for ten people to breathe for a whole year?
* * *
When Pacha realized that she was sitting in a talking tree, she almost choked on her tongue. She wanted to jump down, but that would have revealed her to the animals, which she wasn't ready to do.
"All we trees do is give, give, give — and we receive so little in return! I just hope that I don't end up another dead stump like so many of my aunts and uncles. Whatever happened to a simple thank you? This is supposedly the year of the forest, but it seems more like the year of the saw."
A terrified shiver went through the tree, shaking Pacha to her core. Pacha looked around to get her bearings in case she needed to jump. When she looked down, she saw that the old toy gorilla mask had fallen out of her pocket and onto the ground. "Oh, no!" she thought. "If one of the animals sees the mask, they might discover me."
Pacha was overcome by danger below and stormy clouds above. She was out of breath again. She felt the inhaler in her pocket, but that might blow her cover. She longed for her parents. If Mama were here, she'd flip Pacha's frown rightside up. And if Papa were here, he'd say something that would help her see ways out of the situation. Or at least remind her to calm herself by counting her breaths backwards from five to one.
Just as Pacha was feeling she would blow her top, a mushroom popped up from the earth. "Why is everybody so down in the dumps? All things can change, and I can change ANYTHING! I am Señor Champigñón and I can turn plastic into guacamole! I can change trash into compost to feed the gardens and help the forests regrow!"
With that, a stray gust of wind blew down through Tree's branches, nearly knocking Pacha down. She was struck in the shoulder by one of Tree's limbs. At first she thought it was a gust of wind, but then it crossed her mind that the Tree might be mad at her. Maybe the Tree didn't like a primate in pajamas? Pacha tried her best to avoid the branches thrashing about her. Just as she was stepping towards another branch, her pajamas snagged and she lost her footing ...
CHAPTER 3MR. TICK
In the grasses down below, someone else was having a bad day too. A lowly tick lumbered onto the stage wondering, of all times, why a "fire drill" had to happen during his big moment, the grand gathering of the Parasites. How could it be that just when everyone gathered on the grass, a huge gorilla fell from the sky, causing everyone to lose their marbles? Much to Mr. Tick's frustration, the mask was now blocking the main pathway to the outdoor theater. Once everyone was finally more or less assembled, Mr. Tick grabbed a microphone, apologized for the disruption, and launched into his story.
"When I was just a young tick, I wished I could be a bedbug and bite humans. In my teens, I wanted to be a cockroach and eat the crumbs on the kitchen counter — more variety. In my adulthood, I worked to spread my fame like a virus. But now that I'm older, I am happy to be a simple tick." He huffed and puffed with his sagging belly. "We ticks, like good parasites, bypass human food and go straight for the jugular!"
The crowd of parasites erupted in a scary chant: "Juggalo! Juggalo! Juggalo!"
Mr. Tick talked like a smarty-pants and yelled to get his point across. "Parasites! We know we have done well with the rise of humans! But with the help of other species who also benefit from humans, we can keep this gravy train going!
"Today we are overjoyed to welcome several high-level ambassadors from the rodent kingdom. They are thinking about my proposal for a truce between all species that live better with humans than without them. Thank you again for being here." Mr. Tick gestured to three elderly blind mice in dark overcoats and sunglasses near the front. He huffed and puffed again, "Do you have any messages for the Parasites from the great order of Rodentia?"
One of the mice hopped onto her lounge chair. "We bring many greetings and good tidings on behalf of mice, rats, and squirrels everywhere. We, like you parasites, thrive in human cities where we live fatter than in the wild. In the outback, you just can't order a burger and fries, if you know what I mean. We are excited to see what you are proposing. Danke!"
"With the help of our rodent friends, we can bring the dogs and cats onboard, which will seal the deal!" Mr. Tick shouted when the cheering died down. "With your support, we will keep the human population growing." His fat belly rubbed against the microphone, making a grumbling sound that echoed through the theater.
"Seven billion humans and counting!" Mr. Tick continued. "This is a good thing not only for parasites, but for rodents and all species who live off of these fearful yet strangely powerful two-legged critters. Curiously, if humans keep growing, small will become the new big!"
Roars of ticks, rodents, wasps, lice, bedbugs, and fleas thundered across the grassy knoll.
"You make a great point, Mr. Tick," a tapeworm shouted. "We parasitic worms love the new varieties of human available these days! The large human tastes like bacon; the little human tastes like candy. My favorite flavor is french fries — I smell them a mile away!"
"That's right!" said Mr. Tick. "Just imagine eating as much as you like, whenever you like, whatever you like — whomever you like. Doooo whaaaatya like! Freedom is knowing where your next meal is coming from! We can create a New Food Order! As the human footprint grows, so shall we!"
"NFO! NFO! NFO!" the crowd chanted.
Mr. Tick picked up two baby plants and raised them over his head. "These are the new kings of the plant kingdom! They fatten up more people than anything. Yes, parasites and rodents, I am talking about NEW corn and NEW soybean. These plants will make our dreams come true!"
But just as he said that, he heard a gasp from above, and looked up to see a human slipping from a tree branch and — as if in slow-motion — falling toward him. Pacha crashed directly on top of Mr. Tick, scattering the entire event into chaos.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Pacha's Pajamas"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Balance Edutainment.
Excerpted by permission of Morgan James Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.