Dream Machine Read online

  Maddie’s car was purple and paisley and had a sequined fabric racing skirt around the bottom. Hers was called the Fast and the Fabulous.

  Emily’s car was called Solid Gold since it was definitely solid and Emily had spray-painted nuts and bolts gold and applied them to her car.

  Bella called her car the Dream Machine.

  “What are all those doodads you’ve got on there?” asked Maddie.

  “My Dream Machine doesn’t have ‘doodads,’ ” said Bella. “Those are sensors that can measure the amount of air left in its tank, plus compressed air and also a hose to reinflate it!”

  Everyone was super impressed.

  “I think it’s race time!” Emily said excitedly.

  The four friends carried their cars out to Bella’s driveway. Using chalk, they marked a starting line, race track, and finish line. Maddie brought along a checkered starting flag she had made too.

  With balloons inflated, they positioned the four cars next to one another. Together they chanted, “On your marks, get set . . . GO!”

  Everyone let go of their balloons and jumped back.

  Three cars blasted off.

  But the Dream Machine sputtered. Then scooted. Then stopped only an inch from the starting line.

  Bella picked it up while her friends chased after their speeding cars. She felt a rush of the same embarrassment.

  If she couldn’t make a simple balloon-powered car, how would she be able to make it on the robotics team?

  CHAPTER 8

  Less Is More

  “I don’t understand,” said Bella, studying her car. The sensors were still in position. The refill tank was full, so maybe the sensor malfunctioned?

  “Try it again,” said Emily, who had returned with the others to the starting line. Bella inflated the balloon again, set the car in position, and . . . nothing.

  “Ugh!” Bella kicked the Dream Machine in frustration. One of the sensors fell off, making things worse.

  Maddie picked up Bella’s car and the broken sensor and handed both to her friend. “Try it now?” she suggested.

  “I just did!” said Bella.

  “No. I mean try it now that a piece is missing,” explained Maddie. “I didn’t want to say anything before because your car looked so cool. But you know what they say: Sometimes less is more.”

  Bella raised an eyebrow. Maddie’s usual rule, especially when it came to accessorizing, was: more is more. But Bella decided to give her car another try.

  This time the car actually moved! Not very fast, but it was clear Maddie had a point. Without the additional weight, the car could actually roll.

  “To the clubhouse!” yelled Bella.

  “Don’t you want to race again?” asked Sam.

  Bella shook her head. “You guys go ahead. I’ve got to hop online and do some research first!”

  Half an hour later, Bella rejoined her friends in the driveway.

  “Whoa!” said Maddie when she saw Bella’s car. The car had none of the “doodads” from before. No bells, no whistles, no compressed-air tank—nothing.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” said Bella. “How can it be my car when it looks so low tech? But here’s what I learned from my research. Race car designers don’t just make cars sleek to look cool. They do it to minimize drag and wind resistance. They also select specific wheel sizes for performance, and try to eliminate extraneous ergonomic impediments.”

  “Um, English, please?” said Sam.

  Bella flipped her car over and showed them the underside. “See? I removed the extra tank to make it much lighter than before. And I made the wheels bigger, so my car would roll faster and be less likely to skid.”

  “Well, let’s test out your theory!” said Maddie excitedly.

  Again the friends inflated their balloons and lined up their cars.

  “On your marks, get set, GO!”

  This time, all four cars shot forward, with one car taking a distinct lead over the others: the new-and-improved Dream Machine. Cheering, the four friends ran after them, all the way to the finish line.

  Maybe I do have something to contribute to that robotics team after all, Bella thought happily.

  CHAPTER 9

  The Big Day Disaster

  Week after week, Bella kept showing up for robotics meetings. The team’s robot was looking really cool. Most of the time, Bella just did whatever the older kids instructed her to do. Occasionally she’d ask a question—she really did want to learn more about robotics, after all!

  When the day of the competition finally came, Bella’s mom drove her to the town hall.

  Bella took a deep breath and walked in. Throughout the halls there were lots of adults and older kids in team T-shirts yelling, cheering, and carrying half-assembled robots.

  When Bella finally found the exhibit hall, she gasped at the sight of it. There were booths everywhere, each with a team of kids, a presentation explaining their project, and a robot on a display table. There were robots rolling, robots climbing, robots printing out data results, and so many other cool projects.

  “Bella! Over here!”

  Bella turned. There was Mrs. Jacobs, wearing a bright green MASON CREEK ROBOTICS TEAM T-shirt. The next thing she knew, Bella was wearing one too. It was big on her, but Bella was thrilled. Now she felt like she was officially part of the team!

  There was just one problem: The team wasn’t working very well as a team. Bryce was upset and Naomi was frantic. All the other kids were crowded around a smartphone, offering suggestions to a girl named Jenna. She was trying to get the robot to work, but she wasn’t succeeding.

  “Jenna! Shut it down and start over.”

  “Jenna, press one-two-three at once. That will override the system.”

  “Just turn it off. Not the phone, the bot. You need to reboot it.”

  Meanwhile, the robot seemed to be trying to respond to several commands at once. They had programmed it to move until it detected light on its solar panels. Then it was supposed to go retrieve a potted plant, bring it to the light source, and position it accordingly. Instead, it was rolling back and forth under the light source the team had set up. It kept knocking over potted plants. Dirt was spilling everywhere!

  “This is a disaster,” wailed Bryce.

  “We have to get it together!” said Naomi. “We are up for judging in five minutes.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” said Jenna. “It’s not listening to me!”

  Just then Bella had a thought.

  “Um . . . could I try something?” she asked Jenna.

  Jenna looked up from the screen, startled. But she seemed to realize that she wasn’t going to be able to get the robot to work. She handed the phone to Bella.

  “Thanks,” said Bella. She pulled up the string of commands on the phone and quickly began to edit it. When she was finished, she handed the phone back to Jenna. She swept the dirt off the display table and put the plant into the robot’s arms.

  “Try it now,” she told Jenna.

  Jenna did as she was told . . . and so did the robot.

  “Woo-hoo!” All the team members began to cheer as the robot started moving toward the light source, then rotated the plant into position.

  Just then the judges arrived at their booth. Bella thought they looked impressed as they took notes.

  As soon as the judges had moved on, all eyes turned to Bella.

  “How did you get it to work?” asked Naomi.

  Bella smiled and showed her teammates the string of commands. “I realized that we had added several unnecessary steps to the equation. It occurred to me that we might be more successful if we cut them out and streamlined it. Sometimes less is more,” she added.

  “Nice work,” said Naomi with a genuine smile.

  Now hopefully less would be more to the judges, who were already totaling everyone’s scores.

  CHAPTER 10

  Dreams Come True

  “Are we too late?” asked Sam, running up to Bella.
Maddie, Emily, and Bella’s parents followed seconds later.

  “Nope,” said Bella. “Check it out.”

  She borrowed the phone controller from Jenna and put the robot into action. Once again, it performed perfectly.

  “That is so cool!” said Emily.

  Bella smiled. Now this was a dream machine.

  A crowd was gathering around the judging stand. The judges had posted the results!

  Naomi ran over, and Bella and the rest of the team waited with bated breath.

  When Naomi ran back, Bella burst out, “So? How did we do?!”

  Naomi smiled. “Our team won the silver cup—we got second place overall!”

  The Mason Creek Robotics Team jumped up and down and cheered.

  Then Naomi turned to Bella. “Bella, I’m sorry for the way I treated you when you first joined the team.”

  “So am I,” added Bryce. “We should have given you more of a chance from the start. After all, if it hadn’t been for you, we would have finished in last place—not second!”

  “Thanks, guys. Although I wish we had come in first,” Bella admitted.

  Naomi laughed. “Well, we came in fifth last year, so this is a big win for us! And next year maybe we will come in first. You’re staying on the team, right?”

  Bella raised her eyebrows. “Well, yeah, I guess,” she said, both surprised and flattered. “I actually have an idea that might be fun to try out. Have you guys ever programmed a race car?”

  Naomi and Bryce’s eyes got wide. “A race car robot?! That sounds awesome!” said Naomi.

  Bella smiled. She was really happy she hadn’t given up on the robotics team—or on her Dream Machine. As it turned out, sometimes you just had to work a little harder for your dreams!

  How to Make . . .

  A Balloon-Powered Race Car

  What you need:

  Balloon

  Flexible straws (3)

  Tape

  Water bottle

  Bottle caps (4)

  Sponge

  Scissors

  Barbecue skewers or chopsticks (2)

  Step 1:

  Make the jet by putting the long end of a flexible straw into the balloon.

  Step 2:

  Use tape to secure the straw and the balloon and to make sure no air will escape.

  Step 3:

  Lay the water bottle down. With scissors, poke two holes in the bottle. The holes should be directly across from each other on the part of the bottle that will be the back of the car.

  Step 4:

  Slide a straw through the two holes. This is the axle. Adjust the axle so it goes straight across.

  Step 5:

  Repeat steps 3 and 4 at the top of the bottle, which will be the front of the car.

  Step 6:

  Slide a barbecue skewer through each straw.

  Step 7:

  Cut your sponge into squares that will fit into the bottle caps. Then wedge a square of sponge into each bottle cap to make the wheels.

  Step 8:

  Use a spare skewer to poke holes into the center of each sponge.

  Step 9:

  Push the sponge side of each wheel onto the ends of the skewers coming from the straws.

  Step 10:

  Use scissors to poke two more holes. One toward the top of the bottle, and one on the bottom of the bottle.

  Step 11:

  Push the jet into place so that the straw’s balloon end pokes out the hole toward the top and the open end pokes out the bottom.

  Step 12:

  Blow up the balloon by blowing through the straw, then quickly put your finger over the end of the straw to stop air from escaping.

  Step 13:

  Put the car on a smooth surface.

  Step 14:

  Let go!

  Here’s a sneak peek at the next Craftily Ever After book!

  The next day, Emily woke up still thinking about dogs. She really wanted one. But how could she convince her parents? She remembered what Sam said about it being a big responsibility. What if . . . ? That was it! She had an idea!

  Later that morning, Emily called Sam and excitedly explained her plan.

  “If I pitch in more at home, my parents will see how responsible I am,” she said. “Then they couldn’t possibly say no to a dog. I’ll take out the garbage and unload the dishwasher without being asked, set the table, and—”

  “Okay, but how will you show them you know how to care for a dog?” asked Sam.

  “Well, I could . . .” Emily hadn’t thought about that.

  “You could practice by helping me with Bibi,” suggested Sam.

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Martha Maker is a dedicated crafter who is always working on a project—or several! When she’s not writing books, you can often find her at her favorite community garden with her paint set. She lives in Washington, DC, with her family, which includes two kids, two dogs, and two guinea pigs.

  Xindi Yan left behind a small city in China to realize her dream of being a published artist. Having always wanted to illustrate children’s books, she buried herself in countless books and drawings, collecting them even today. Xindi currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and dreams about having a puppy in the near future.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Martha-Maker

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Xindi-Yan

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

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  First Little Simon hardcover edition August 2018

  Copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Designed by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustrations by Xindi Yan © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title from the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1731-1 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1730-4 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-1732-8 (eBook)