What Ollie Saw, Joukje Akveld [ebook reader ink .TXT] 📗

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She called on Ollie.

Ollie stood up.

He went to the board.

“Hold on,” said the teacher. “Not so close.”

Ollie stopped.

He tilted his head.

Left.

Right.

And left again.

“Well?” said the teacher.

She tapped with her pointer.

Ollie said: “Bird with a big pointy beak, and then a whole lot more.”

Someone laughed.

(That someone was Gus.)

Someone else laughed.

(That someone else was Bea.)

And someone sighed.

(That someone was the teacher. Her ears quivered from it.)

The teacher pointed again.

Ollie took a step forward.

“No, no,” said the teacher.

Ollie stopped.

He tilted his head.

Right.

Left.

And right again.

“Well?” said the teacher.

She tapped with her pointer.

Ollie said: “Fish with tails,

in the deep sea.”

More laughter.

(From Gus.)

(And also from Bea.)

But no sigh.

The teacher put her pointer in a corner and said: “Ollie, you need glasses.”

Ollie didn’t think so.

OF COURSE NOT.

But his mother did.

And so did his father.

And so did Ollie’s sister. Especially her.

(“I knew it,” she said.)

It was four against one.

You’ll know who didn’t get his way…

…and where Ollie had to go.

“Better?” asked Ollie’s mother.

“Better?” asked Ollie’s father.

“Better?” asked Ollie’s sister and his teacher.

Ollie said nothing.

His thoughts went back.

Back to the cows and the cars.

Back to the boat, and the board in his classroom.

“Well,” said Ollie.

He frowned.

He scratched.

He pondered.

(Until his face was positively puckered.)

“WELL?!”

asked Ollie’s mother,

Ollie’s father,

Ollie’s sister,

and his teacher.

They held their breath.

“Well, no.”

Because Ollie was sure, very, very sure,

that he didn’t need glasses…

…at least, not all of the time.

SOME NOTES

ON THIS BOOK’S PRODUCTION

Sieb Posthuma began his creation of the artwork for this book with much pig-sketching practice to make sure he rendered Ollie exactly right. When Sieb was ready to move to final art, he began by using Ecoline (liquid watercolor paint) on paper for the background, and then drew lines over it with pencil. He made the lines final with East Indian ink (black ink), and then erased pencil lines that were still visible. For final coloring, he used further Ecoline. Sieb paid particular attention to the endpapers, which portray almost 500 pairs of glasses.

The text was set in Italian Old Style MT, created by a staff designer at Monotype in 1911. It was influenced by ITC Golden Type, which was designed by William Morris, Sigrid Engelmann, and Helga Jörgenson in 1890.

This e-book was created by Westchester Publishing Services.

Production was supervised by Leslie Cohen and Freesia Blizard

Book cover and interiors designed by Patrick Collins

Edited by Arthur A. Levine