Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™

Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

by Riley Obach

Comprehension
Genre
Skills and Strategy
Realistic • Character, Setting,
fiction Plot
• Sequence
• Prior Knowledge

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.6.5

ISBN 0-328-13320-5

illustrated by Martin Lemelman

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Reader Response
A
Special
1. In what settings does this story take
place? What other setting does Zeke

Festival
think about?
2. What do you know about families that
helped you understand this story?
by Riley Obach
3. On page 13, you read about the
clattering of the food carts. Based on
what you know about clattering, write
what clattered and clatter mean in the
following sentences:
• The pans clattered to the floor.
• Those garbage collectors made such a
clatter.
4. Think of a celebration you and your
family enjoy. Using a chart like the
one below, compare your family’s
celebration with the celebration in this
story.
Celebration
illustrated MyLemelman
by Martin Family’s
in the Story Celebration

Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York
Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois
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 School was nearly out for the summer, and
Zeke didn’t know what he would be doing
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for during vacation. Last summer had been very
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions. exciting for Zeke. He went to the Bahamas
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,
a division of Pearson Education.
to visit Gramps, and it was one of the best
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),
summers of his life. It was the first time he
Background (Bkgd)
had flown in an airplane. He went fishing
Illustrations by Martin Lemelman
with Gramps every morning. He helped cook
Photograph 16 PhotoEdit
fish over an open fire. He swam in the ocean
ISBN: 0-328-13320-5
every day. One night he even slept outside
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
under the stars.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher And if all that wasn’t exciting enough,
prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or thanks to Gramps, Zeke’s trip was full of
likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Permissions Department,
Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025. music!
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
3
 Gramps was a musician and played in a
band. He played a drum called the goombay
drum. Gramps showed Zeke how he had
made the drum himself by stretching goatskin
over a metal container.
When it was time to play, Gramps heated
the drum to tighten the goatskin. It made
the drum sound very deep. Zeke could not
believe the sound of Gramps’s drum.
Gramps let Zeke play the drum only at
home. When the band played at parties,
Gramps kept the goombay drum right by
his side.

Now a year had passed, and Zeke began

to think about visiting Gramps again. As soon
as summer vacation began, Zeke asked Mom,
“Can I go to the Bahamas to see Gramps this
summer?”
“No, not this summer, Zeke,” said Mom,
with a grin. Then she saw how disappointed
Zeke looked. She added, “Maybe the
Bahamas will come to you.”
“What do you mean?” asked Zeke, but
Mom wouldn’t say anything more.

4 5
 Mom’s cooking in the kitchen was just
as strange. She often made a small pot of
conch chowder for the family’s dinner. A
conch is a kind of shellfish that you find in
the Bahamas. But now Mom was cooking
giant pots of chowder and storing silver
cans of it in the freezer.
“Is the ocean running out of conch?”
joked Zeke. “Who is going to eat all that
chowder?”
Mom laughed but wouldn’t explain.

Later that day, Zeke asked Dad the same

question, but Dad just answered, “Wait and
see.” Of course, that made Zeke even more
curious. How could the Bahamas come to
him?
What was even more mysterious was that
Dad brought home some colorful cloth and
bright feathers. Every night for a week, Zeke
could hear Dad sewing on the machine.
What is going on? thought Zeke. He tried
to find out what Dad was doing, but Dad kept
him out of the sewing room.

6 7
 Zeke couldn’t get any clues from Mom
and Dad about what they were up to. So he
decided to write a letter to Gramps. Zeke was
sure Gramps could help him figure out what
his parents were doing.
Zeke mailed the letter and waited for an
answer. But before Zeke could get a reply
back from Gramps, the mystery got even
more interesting.

On Saturday, Mom and Dad woke up

Zeke very early. “Come on,” said Mom.
“Hurry and get dressed. We have a surprise.
We’re going to the airport.”
Now Zeke was really confused. What did
Dad’s sewing and Mom’s cooking have to do
with going to the airport?
But Zeke went to the kitchen and sat down
to breakfast. At least it wasn’t conch chowder!
An hour later the family was in the car.
Mom and Dad chatted the whole way. They
talked about everything except why they were
going to the airport.
8 9
 Dad drove them home. When they got
inside the house, he said, “Now everyone wait
here. I have something special for you all.”
Dad went into the sewing room. Soon,
he came out with four bright costumes. He
passed them out to Mom, Zeke, and Gramps.
He held up the one for himself to show them.
“After you put on these costumes, meet me
at the car,” Dad said.
When Zeke got to the car, Mom and Dad
were loading silver cans of conch chowder
into the trunk. Gramps was already in the
When they got to the airport, Zeke found back seat with his goombay drum!
out why they were there. Gramps was just “Get in, Zeke,” called Gramps. “Let’s go.”
getting off a plane! Zeke ran to Gramps and
hugged him.
“Gramps! I’m so happy to see you,” said
Zeke. Then he whispered, “Did you get my
letter?”
“Yes,” Gramps said. “I did get your letter.”
“And what is the answer? Why was Dad
sewing? Why was Mom cooking so much
chowder?”
Gramps hugged Zeke. “You’ll have to wait
and see,” he said.
“Oh no,” groaned Zeke. Everything was
still a mystery.
10 11
 “Where are we going?” asked Zeke. Mom and Dad unloaded the cans of conch
“We’ll be there in ten minutes. Then you’ll chowder from the car. They brought them
find out,” Mom answered. to a food cart. Other vendors were selling
Just as Mom had promised, in ten minutes chicken and ice cream. Some vendors were
Dad parked the car. Zeke saw many people selling arts and crafts.
in bright costumes. There was music playing, On the street, bands were playing drums,
and the smells of delicious food filled the air. horns, whistles, and bells. People everywhere
It was a street festival! were dancing to the lively music.
“This is the Goombay Festival, Zeke,” Zeke heard the bells jingle and the
explained Gramps. “It’s a festival that clattering of the food carts. He watched
celebrates our Bahamian background.” everything with wide eyes.

12 13
 There was another surprise to come. Dad
disappeared for a short time. When he came
back, he was walking on stilts. He waved to
Zeke from up above.
“Come and dance,” he called to Zeke and
Mom in a loud voice. They joined a dance
line that was moving down the street.
Zeke kept looking for Gramps.

Moments later, Zeke spotted Gramps. He

was with his band from the Bahamas.
“Will you let me borrow a drum?” asked
Zeke.
“No,” said Gramps. But Gramps had a
surprise for Zeke. Gramps had two goombay
drums.
“I made this drum for you to keep, Zeke. I
want you to play with our band.”
“Wow! Thanks,” Zeke said. “I guess Mom
was right. She said I wasn’t going to the
Bahamas, but the Bahamas would come to
me. Now I know just what she meant!”
And Zeke played his drum with Gramps’s
band as Dad and Mom followed along
behind.
14 15
 Drums Around the World Reader Response
Drums are important to many cultures 1. In what settings does this story take
around the world. In Japan people study place? What other setting does Zeke
drumming for years to perform at temple think about?
ceremonies. Some Japanese drum groups are 2. What do you know about families that
famous and travel all over the world. helped you understand this story?
Drums are important in much of 3. On page 13, you read about the
Africa too. They are used for music and clattering of the food carts. Based on
communication. Drum traditions in the what you know about clattering, write
Bahamas came from Africa. what clattered and clatter mean in the
following sentences:
Native Americans use drums for
ceremonies and celebrations. At powwows • The pans clattered to the floor.
men gather around a large drum, beating it • Those garbage collectors made such a
and singing along. clatter.
4. Think of a celebration you and your
family enjoy. Using a chart like the
one below, compare your family’s
celebration with the celebration in this
story.
Celebration My Family’s
in the Story Celebration

Native American ceremonial drum

16