“What’s in Katy’s Pocket?” Friend, Mar. 1995, 30–31
What’s in Katy’s Pocket?
If you want a friend, you must show that you care (Children’s Songbook, page 262).
“I have something in my pocket,” Katy told Stan, the school bus driver. She was wearing a new flowered jumpsuit, with extra deep pockets.
“Is it a shiny new quarter?” asked Stan.
“No. I have three quarters, but they’re all at home. I’ll tell you what’s in my pocket on the way home.”
Katy took her seat next to her best friend, Lucy. “I have something in my pocket,” Katy told Lucy.
“Is it candy?” asked Lucy.
“No,” said Katy, “but I brought two cookies in my lunch, so I could share one with you.” Katy and Lucy smiled happily at each other and compared lunches all the way to school.
“I have something in my pocket,” Katy told Mrs. Raker, her teacher.
“Is it a fresh, new pencil?” asked Mrs. Raker.
“No. I have a new pencil, but it’s in my schoolbag.” Katy sat down and put her new pencil in her desk.
At recess, Katy told her classmates, “I have something in my pocket.”
“Is it a ball?”
“Is it a ring?”
“Is it a bug?”
“No, no, no.” Katy smiled mysteriously and reached into her pocket to touch her surprise.
“Is it a hole?”
Everyone laughed. “No,” Katy said, “I don’t have a hole in my pocket.”
“I know—it’s your hand!”
Katy laughed again, because she had just pulled her hand out of her pocket. “No, it’s not my hand.”
“Tell us what’s in your pocket, Katy?”
“I’ll tell you right after school.”
The rest of the day, Katy’s friends wondered what was in her pocket. They peeked at her from behind their books, and giggled at their guesses.
Just before the bell, Lucy raised her hand.
“Yes, Lucy?” said Mrs. Raker.
“May we have a minute to find out what Katy has in her pocket, please?”
“Yes, Lucy. Katy, what do you have in your pocket today?”
“I have a party in my pocket!”
“A party!”
“A party?”
“How can you carry a party in your pocket?”
Katy drew a folded piece of paper from her pocket. “I’m having a birthday party next Saturday, and this invitation is for all of you—Mrs. Raker and Stan-the-bus-driver too. That’s what I was carrying in my pocket.”
The class cheered as Katy tacked her party invitation on the bulletin board. “Hurray! Hurray for Katy’s pocket!”
Illustrated by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki