Jeremy's baby brother

Hello Everybody!

I don't know if you remember, but I wrote in my green book about the time that Jeremy got a younger brother, Lionel. He wasn't too happy about it then, because Rufus said that Jeremy wouldn't be able to come out and play anymore because he would have to watch his brother instead, and that he would have to share a room, and loads of other stuff that sounded pretty terrible. I have to admit, hearing that, I was very glad that I didn't have a younger brother - they just sounded like such a nuisance!

But, guess what? Now that Lionel is a little bigger, he's learning to talk, and his first word was 'Jeremy'! 'Course, he's really little, so it sounds more like 'Jermy' when he says it, but Jeremy's mum says he'll get better at it, and that it's a big honor for Jeremy because Lionel must love Jeremy very very much for that to be his first word. So now Jeremy is very happy with Lionel and says he's the best little brother a boy could have and he's very excited for him to get bigger so he can come and play with our gang. He even said he wouldn't mind sharing his room with him! So, I guess little brothers aren't so bad after all? I'm still not sure if I'd like one, but maybe I'll tell Mum that I wouldn't run away if it did happen, just in case she's not sure. Do you have any brothers or siblings? Let me know what that's like- I'm so curious!

Okay, hope you all are well!

Your friend,

Nicholas

A warm cup of tea

Hello everybody!

My mum always likes to drink tea and have a pastry in the afternoon, and sometimes I sit with her. I always eat the pastries, of course, but yesterday I finally had a whole cup of tea to myself for the first time. I never used to like it, but now I think it's delicious! Mum said it's called Earl Grey, and she says it's her favorite. I think it is my favorite too! It tastes wintery and warm, and I like to put a little bit of milk and a LOT of sugar in it. Mum says I should only have two sugar cubes, but I put in two extra when she wasn't looking - it just tastes so much better when it's really sweet!

I can't have tea today though, because after school I am going to play at Jeremy's house, and I don't know if they drink tea over there. Also, we'll probably be playing Cops and Robbers again, and I'm not sure if Robbers drink tea. Do you know if they do? Well, anyway, we're going to be very busy.

Okay, I hope everyone is having a really great day, and please send me a letters or pictures- I absolutely love getting mail from my friends!

Your pal,

Nicholas

Learning to type

Wow! I never thought school could be so fun! We're learning how to type now, and it is the best! Our computer's at school have really fun programs on them that are supposed to help us type faster, so we get to play games for 45 minutes when we have a typing class - and we don't even get in trouble for it, 'cause that's the assignment! We get to compete with each other, which is really great too. I want to win so badly, because Teacher said that whoever has the fastest typing score at the end of the year will get a special prize. Jeremy can type 51 words per minute, so he's winning right now, but I am going to practice until I beat him! I can type 47 words now, so I'm not too far behind. I'll let you know how it goes!

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that Mom said she would consider letting me get a cat if I get really good grades! She says she's not promising, but I'm still very excited. I know that sometimes dogs and cats don't get along very well, but I think Rex could get along with any other pet- he's such a good dog. I want to get a cat because I can't get a lion and I think a cat would be the next best thing. Plus they purr when you pet them on the head, which is neat. Anyhow, I hope you all have a great week!

Your friend,

Nicholas

The Jewish new year and TOO MUCH HOMEWORK!

Hello everybody!

I am very excited because I get to go to my friend's house for Rosh Hashanah tonight! He told me that it is a holiday to celebrate the Jewish new year, and that we will eat apples and honey because it symbolizes a sweet new year to come. Also, he said there is something called a

shofar, which a kind of trumpet made from a ram's horn that his dad will blow into. Cool! I've never seen a ram's horn close up. I wonder if they will let me try it out, too. This is going to be so much fun!

My mom almost didn't let me go because I have so much homework to do these days. Sometimes it takes me two hours a night! Mom says I have to do it though, because that's how I will learn all of the things they are trying to teach us in school. I still think it's too much. So, I had to plan ahead and do all my homework yesterday night so that I could go to my friend's house tonight. It was worth it though- he says the food will be delicious!

Okay, I should go, but if you want to send me letters, I'd love to read them, and if you want to hear more about all the fun things that happen to me, you can read my latest book, Nicholas in Trouble!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Back to school

Hello everyone!

Well, it's time to go back to school. I am a little sad, because summer is so much fun, but I know I'll get to see all my friends again every day. Our whole gang always has such great adventures! (But you know that- you've read my books!)

Our teachers always tell us to "pay attention and behave this year!" on the first day of school. I do try to behave, but sometimes I just can't sit as still as Teacher wants us to! I like science though, so I'm usually very good during those classes. What's your favorite subject? And, are you excited to go back to school, or wishing that summer would last longer? What was the best thing that happened to you this summer? Write me a letter and I'll post it here to share with all my friends!

Rex has been very lazy these days because it's so hot outside. I want to get up and make him come play with me, but it's just too warm to do anything it seems! We drink a lot of ice tea and eat ice cream (well, Rex just drinks water, but sometimes I let him have a lick of my ice cream cone- don't tell my mom!) and lounge around the house, because it's a little nicer in here. That's one thing I won't mind about starting school- it means that fall is coming, and it will start to get a little cooler! I hope all of you are having a great end of summer, and I'll hope to hear from you soon!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Beach time

Hello Everyone!

I went to the beach this past weekend - it was so much fun! My dad and I built a sandcastle together while Mum read, and we built it right next to the water so the waves knocked it over. Then Mum let me swim in the water as long as I stayed right next to her, and it was so cool to look down through the sandy blue water at my feet on the bottom. Dad decided not to swim though, and took a nap instead. I love the beach so much, I wish we could go every day! There are crabs that make little air holes in the sand as they dig and if you're really really quick, you can catch them. I didn't manage to get any the day we were there, but maybe next time. I did get a bunch of neat new seashells for my collection though!

The only thing that wasn't so great was the sunburn I got. My mom put a big dollop of sunscreen in my hand and told me to rub it all over my body, but I thought it looked yucky, so I wiped it out on the sand when she wasn't looking. I wish I had listened to her now though, because sunburns HURT! But still, it was a pretty great day and I can't wait to go back. Maybe next time, I will find a sand dollar and then I can trade with Jeremy for the pretty rock he found that I want! Anyhow, I hope you all are having wonderful summers too, and don't forget to write me, because I love hearing from all my friends!

Your buddy,

Nicholas

Summer fun

Hello everybody!

I get to go to the Zoo tomorrow!!! Mum and Dad are taking me and I can't wait! I hope it is warm and that I get to see a lion, and that maybe he will roar for me. I think that lions are my favorite animals because they are so big and ferocious, but they like to take naps in the grass sometimes, which I do sometimes also. I asked Mum if we could bring my dog Rex along, but she said it might scare him. I told her that Rex would

be very brave, but she still said no. So Rex will have to wait for me to get home, which he is usually very good about. He just sleeps in his dog bed and tips over his water bowl with his nose when he's bored. I do wish he could come though.

The other animal I am really excited to see is a gorilla. Mum said that there is a famous gorilla in California named Koko who is able to speak a little bit of sign language (that's the language deaf and hearing-impaired people learn) and she even had a pet kitten! I wish I could meet Koko. I wonder if she would let me be her pet for awhile? I think that would be fun. I could learn sign language too, and she could pick me up and carry me and we could have adventures! I would probably have to come back in time for school though, but wouldn't that be a neat way to spend your summer? Maybe next year that is what I will do. Anyways, I better go, but don't forget to write me, and if you're having a bored summer day, there are plenty of fun games to play on my website www.phaidon.com/nicholas!

Have a great day!

Your buddy,

Nicholas

So many strange and wonderful things to eat!

Hello everyone!

A little while ago, I sent you all an email wondering what sort of strange things you all had ever eaten, and two of you responded! My friend Alfred said that he ate razor clams with his Mum -

Cool!! Were they delicious? They sound pretty yummy to me. Do you think you would like to eat them again?

Also, Rory sent me a really neat picture of the all the odd things he's eaten. Look at what he made:

Thanks so much for sending these pictures and stories - I love hearing from all of my friends!

Send me more letters and I'll share them with everyone here. Also, if you want to know more about me and my pals, you can go to www.phaidon.com/nicholas or you can read one of my books - the green book is the newest.

Have a great afternoon!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Hiking in the woods

Hello everyone!

Last weekend my parents and I took a hike in the woods with Rex. It was so fun! Now that it is summer here and warm outside, Mum lets me play outside as much as I like, which I love. We were hiking to see a little lake that my Dad's coworker had told him about, but I forget the name. It took us almost three hours to get there, and Rex kept running ahead and then running back to see where we were, so I think he probably walked twice as far as we did. It was very pretty and I took a swim when we arrived.

The water was so cool and Rex and I played fetch in the water with a stick I found. Then we sat on a rock and ate the turkey and cheese sandwiches Mum packed for us and even some peanut M & M's! It was already a great day, but then when we were walking back I found a really old, really cool coin. It's got some lady's face on it with a crown, and it says it was made in the year 1923. I wasn't even alive then! My dad said we should see if it's valuable so we can sell it, but I think I'd like to keep it and add it to my collection of really wonderful things that I keep in a box under my bed.

I wonder how many other interesting, old things there are to be found out there. Maybe I'll be an archeologist when I grow up and find them all! Have you ever found anything really neat? Write me a letter and I'll share it with all my friends here!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Home sick from school

Hi Everyone!

I didn't go to school today because I woke up this morning and I felt sick and my head

hurt so mum said I had to stay home. When I started to feel better I thought I would get to go outside and play, but mum said if you stay home sick you have to stay in bed the whole day. Staying in bed all day is boring! I think Rex was sad that we didn't get to have any fun too. His absolute favorite game is when I take one of my shoes and throw it around the yard for him to bring back to me. We can only play when my mum isn't watching though, because she gets very unhappy when I get my clothes dirty. But Rex's mouth is clean and I usually don't throw my shoe towards the muddy part of the garden!

Anyway, I'm feeling better now, and look - I just got a great letter from my friend Sandeep!

Hi Nicholas,

Thanks for the new Snakes and Ladders game and the Marshmallow Crispy Squares Cake recipe. I hate snakes but the game was fun to play! Also I like cooking. Hey - I also loved the 'magic' foot trick that you emailed around last month.

Remember in my last email to you - I told you how I made a cape out of my mum's old skirt when I was younger - and I used to pretend to be Dynamo the great magician....?

Well, here is another cool trick you can try (which I made up). Do you like to drink tea? Well, even if you don't, then just offer to make some for your mum and dad. Pop a tea bag into the mugs (it's best if you use those PG Tips Pyramid ones). Then carefully pour in the hot water and add some milk.

Now the tea bags should float, right? Well, take the tea bag out of one of the mugs, and in the other, you take your tea-spoon and carefully balance it on top of the remaining tea bag, so it looks like it is magically balancing on the edge of the mug. Make sure that you can't see any of the tea bag, and then stretch out your hand and wriggle your fingers. Concentrate hard on the teaspoon, and call your mum and dad. They'll come running to see if you are okay.

Say: "look... I have the power to make this teaspoon balance... it takes great concentration". You dad will probably run off to phone the local paper to tell them that his son is a mystic or something. In the meantime, just take out the other teabag, (wink at your mum) and when your dad returns then just say "you try..."

Of course, your dad will want to think that he has passed the power on to you, but he won't be able to make the spoon balance. Your mum will then probably wink at you and say "... he must get it from my side of the family..."

Ha! Great joke, eh?

I've not managed to get hold of your book called 'Nicholas In Trouble' but I'll have to look in a different bookshop. My sister enjoys reading your books too. She likes to read them in French!

Well, Happy Easter to you and the gang!

Cheers,

Sandeep

Thanks Sandeep! That is a great joke, I'll have to try it on my dad! I love to get letters, and if you like to get letters too, you can sign up for my club at www.phaidon.com/nicholas and you'll get my emails too. Okay, I better go before my mum finds out I'm out of bed!

Your buddy,

Nicholas

Cops and Robbers

Hello everybody!

It's raining outside today (mum says that April showers bring May flowers) so I have to play inside. Max and Rufus are coming over, and think we're going to play cops and robbers. I haven't decided which I want to be yet, but Rufus is ALWAYS a cop, because his dad is a

policeman. He says he's going to be a policeman too when he grows up, but Teacher says that if he wants to do that he had better stop being such a troublemaker

in school and forgetting his homework all the time. I think he'll make a brilliant policeman -- I bet he'd let us run around and make messes as much as we like! Max and I have all kinds of great ideas for what we're going to be when we grow up. Right now we're deciding between scuba divers and magicians (because you know how we like magic tricks!), and I think they both sound really fun. What do you want to do when get older? Write me a letter about it, and I'll post it here on my blog!

Oh yeah, and have you seen the new game on my website, www.phaidon.com/nicholas? It's Snakes and Ladders and it's so fun!

Okay guys, I hope you all have a good day!

Nicholas

Ladybugs!

Hello everyone!

Today at breakfast I was playing under the table when I was supposed to be eating my strawberries and pain au chocolat, and I noticed two ladybugs on the floor! Mum said that's because it's Spring now and all the ladybugs have woken up from their hibernation (that's a very long sleep that some animals take during the winter - I learned about it in school!). She said that ladybugs are good luck, and that it meant that I was going to have a good day today. I got very excited about my lucky day, and I told Jeremy about it as soon as I saw him, but then he got very jealous (Jeremy's one of my gang - you can read about him in my books). We decided to go looking for a ladybug for him out behind the school building so that he could have a lucky day too, but we couldn't find one, and we ended up being late for the start of class!
Our teacher was very mad at us for being late and gave us a really boring punishment at the end of the day, so I'm not so sure I think ladybugs are very lucky after all. But, maybe I just got stuck with Jeremy's bad luck because I was with him the whole time.

Have you ever had a really lucky day? Write me a letter and tell me about it, I love it when I get letters from my friends!

Okay, time to go have dinner!

Your friend,
Nicholas

Magic Tricks!

Hello everyone!

I just got back from taking a spring vacation with my Mum and Dad and my dog Rex- it was lovely! We went to visit my Granny, since she came to visit me last time. (You can read about that visit in the green book if you like - she gave me lots of attention and all sort of sweets and candies. I love it when Granny comes to stay). As soon as I got home, I found this letter from my friends -- it was so exciting!

To our cool Friend Nicholas,

My Brother Lance and I LOVED the email you sent us about the disappearing coin trick! We practiced it many times and once we had it right, we decided to put on a magic show for our friends. Everything had to be perfect! We had recently seen a great magician perform in our town, and after the show he sold magic wands for $2.00 each. I already had a black and red cape to wear and a tall velvet top hat.

My brother wore a suit jacket because he didn't have a cape. He was ok being my assistant. We have a puppet theater that we used as a ticket booth for our magic show. Four of our friends came over and our mom made buttered popcorn for the show.

I, Marc the Magnificent, will tell you how it went....AWESOME!

We started with your disappearing coin trick and our friends were amazed!

The only problem was that my five year old brother quickly told everyone that I dropped the coin down my back. We know that a good magician should never tell his tricks. I also did a card trick my uncle showed me and later pulled a green hanky out of a red velvet bag (there was a little switch inside to do this). The last trick I performed was a mind reading trick. The other person has to be in on it. You ask your partner to ask someone in the the audience to give them a number from 1-20. The magician can't know this number. Then you place your fingers on the sides of your partners head (temples) and say that you will read their mind and know the secret number. Your partner will then bite down and clench his jaw as many times as whatever the number is. This is how you know the number.

When someone clenches their jaw, you can feel this on their temples.

They should try not to make clenching the jaw so obvious.

This is a really great trick too because you are never saying or writing down the number... most people can't figure it out.

Magic tricks are as cool as ice cream...

Thank you for sharing your trick with us and we hope you like the one we shared with you!

Your friends,

Marc and Lance

Wow! That is such a cool trick! Thank you so much, Marc and Lance, I'm going to try it out on my gang as soon as possible -- I bet Jeremy will fall for it for sure! Magic IS as cool as ice cream. I'll be sure to send out more magic tricks to my friends -- if you want to get the newsletter, you can sign up for my great club by going the website www.phaidon.com/nicholas. Hope you are having nice weather, and I'll write again soon!

Your friend,

Nicholas

St. Valentine's Day is coming

Hello!

Today my teacher told our class that St. Valentine's Day was coming up and that we were all going to celebrate together. She says that Valentine's Day is a holiday about love and so you cut out little paper hearts and write nice things on them and give them to your classmates.

Jeremy asked if we had to give hearts even to the people we don't like very much and Teacher got cross and said of course we do and not to give her any more trouble. Mum is going to help me with my Valentines, and I've got some glitter and pink and red paper to make them. I think all that glitter is a bit girly, but Mum says it's nice.

I think I'll make my Valentine for Louise extra special, because she's so lovely and has a fantastic kick when we play soccer. We are going to get married when we grow up, after all, and Dad says you have to be extra nice to your wife or they get will mad at you. Anyway, I am very excited about it, because Teacher said if we're good and play nicely, St. Valentine will bring us some chocolate, and I love chocolate.

Have a great day everyone, I'm off to play with Rex!

Your friend,
Nicholas

Happy New Year

Hi again! I'm so excited that it's 2009 and I can't wait for all the fun things that will happen this year. Look, already two of my friends have sent me things they made:

Daniel made me a newspaper!

And so did Lisa!

Thank you so much Daniel and Lisa, I feel so special when I read these, it's like I'm famous! If you visit my website www.phaidon.com/nicholas, you can play games, color and write newspapers too- just like Lisa and Daniel did. My friends are so much fun!

So, my mum was telling me all about New Year's Resolutions today. She said at the beginning of every new year, you decide on a few things you want to better than you did last year. She said her resolutions are to learn how to make persimmon pudding and try to be nicer to our boring neighbors, the Billings. I told her I thought I was pretty terrific already, but then she got quite cross with me and told me to sit and think about it for awhile. I decided my resolutions would be to spend more time with my dog Rex (he's such a great dog!) and to try to be nicer to Cuthbert, even though he IS a huge sap. My mom says that those were a very good start and then she went off to go make dinner. I also decided to eat as much cake as I possibly could this year, but I kept that resolution secret because I bet mum won't like it very much-- so, shhh, don't tell! Did you make any resolutions this year?

Okay! Time for dinner!

Until next time,

Your buddy,

Nicholas