Mindy Kim and the Birthday Puppy

  Praise for Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business

  “A lovingly authentic debut that shines.”

  —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

  For Lulu the Goldendoodle and all the other dogs in my life.

  You’re the best!

  Chapter 1

  My name is Mindy Kim. I am eight years old.

  That’s right—not seven, not seven and a half, but EIGHT.

  Today is my birthday!

  “Yay!” I jumped out of my bed with Mr. Toe Beans, my corgi stuffed doll.

  The sun was shining bright outside, and even from inside my room, I could tell it was a beautiful day! And the best part? It was a Friday, and I was going to have a party after school with all my friends. I was so excited!

  “Happy birthday, Mindy!” my dad said as he opened my bedroom door. “How does it feel to be eight?”

  I quickly hid Mr. Toe Beans behind my back before Dad could see. I was eight now! I didn’t want Dad to think I still slept with a stuffed animal. Big kids didn’t sleep with dolls, and the bigger of a kid I seemed, the more likely it was that Dad would buy me a puppy. Dad had said he’d get me a puppy for my birthday. And today was finally the day!

  “Good! I feel so big now!”

  Dad put a hand to his chin, like he was thinking really hard as he looked at me. “Hmm, you do seem a bit taller than you did yesterday.”

  “Really?” I bit my lip with excitement.

  Dad laughed. “I’m just messing with you. But don’t worry, sweetie. You’re definitely still growing! Come down and eat some seaweed soup! Let’s call your grandparents!”

  Every birthday, I eat seaweed soup for breakfast. It’s a Korean tradition! And then we call my grandparents in Korea so they can wish me happy birthday before they go to sleep. Korea time is thirteen hours ahead of Florida, so it was already nine p.m. there.

  Mom used to always make seaweed soup for me, but since she wasn’t here this year, Dad made it. It wasn’t as good as Mom’s, but I didn’t tell him that. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

  Dad brought his laptop to the dining room table as I ate. Grandma and Grandpa were already on the screen, their smiles wide and eyes shining. They looked so happy to see me! And I was happy to see them, too.

  “Saeng-il chook-ha-hae, Min-jung-ah!” said Grandpa, wishing me happy birthday in Korean. He used my Korean name, like everyone else did back in Korea.

  “Gomap seum-nida!” I said thanks, bowing with respect.

  My grandparents asked me a lot of questions about how I was doing and what I was going to do today. They always ask me lots of stuff when we talk, because we only call each other on special days. I don’t know how to call my grandparents in Korea by myself, and Dad is usually too busy to do it for me on regular days.

  When we were done catching up, Dad put away his laptop and joined me at the table with his bowl of seaweed soup. I was done eating by then, but I remained sitting to keep Dad company.

  “Dad,” I asked, “why do we eat seaweed soup on our birthdays?”

  “It’s because a lot of mothers in Korea eat seaweed soup after they have their babies. Seaweed is full of nutrients that are really good for the moms.”

  Dad mentioning mothers reminded me of Mom and how she wasn’t here to celebrate my birthday. And then I realized that she wasn’t going to be here for any of my other birthdays, either. That made me really sad, all of a sudden.

  “Are you excited for your party later today, Mindy?” Dad asked with a smile.

  “Yes!” I said, trying to smile back.

  Dad frowned, as if he knew what I was thinking. I’m a really bad liar.

  “Your mom would be so proud of you, Mindy,” he said. “It was hard, but you adjusted so well to living here. And you have so many friends now!”

  “Thanks, Appa,” I replied, feeling kind of grown-up.

  I was looking forward to my party today, but I was also looking forward to getting a puppy for my birthday, just like my dad had said. But I didn’t mention that part. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

  Chapter 2

  At school, Mrs. Potts gave me a cute balloon that said IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! I also got to wear a gold paper crown on my head. I felt so special!

  The class sang me “Happy Birthday,” like we do for everyone’s birthdays. I had a big smile the entire time they were singing. I felt so lucky and grateful!

  “So, Mindy,” Mrs. Potts said after they were done. “Before we get started with our class today, why don’t you tell everyone what you plan on doing for your birthday?”

  “I’m having a party!” I said. “And everyone in the class is invited!”

  Several kids said “Yay!” and clapped with excitement. Dad had already e-mailed the other parents about the party, so I knew not everyone could come, but I still wanted to say everyone was invited all the same.

  “And,” I added, “I think my dad is getting me a… puppy!”

  The class gasped. Some kids even squealed!

  “You think?” Mrs. Potts asked, looking confused.

  “It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I saw my dad looking at shelter websites on his tablet. And he said he would get me a puppy if I was grown-up and responsible enough!”

  “Well, I’m wishing you the best today, Mindy,” said Mrs. Potts. “I hope you have a wonderful day!”

  Besides that morning, though, it was a pretty normal day of school. The only other thing that was different was that people who saw my golden crown in the hallway or in the cafeteria wished me happy birthday. When I first came to this school, I didn’t think anyone would be nice to me, but now everyone was really friendly.

  At recess, Sally let me have two turns on the swings. It made me so happy!

  After I was done, I gave her a hug. “I’m so grateful you’re my friend!”

  Sally smiled. “I’m grateful you’re my friend too!”

  When school finally ended, I gathered up all my friends who were coming to my birthday party.

  “I’ll see everyone there! Be sure to come. We’re going to have pizza, cake, and lots of fun games!”

  I made sure everyone had the address to the park. Only Sally was coming in Dad’s car with me, while the rest of my classmates had to find the way to the park themselves.

  Dad came to pick me up. Eunice was riding in the shotgun seat. Eunice is my babysitter, and she’s the one who usually picks me up from school. But not today. Dad had said he’d leave work early so he could set up for the party.

  “Are you ready for the party, Mindy?” Dad asked with a big smile on his face.

  “More than ready!”

  Sally and I got into the back seat. I couldn’t keep still for the entire car ride. I was too excited for the party and the possibility of getting the puppy!

  “I hope you like the decorations, Mindy,” Dad said. “Julie and I have been hard at work since noon.”

  “Wow, Julie left work early to help out too?”

  “Yup,” Dad said. “She said she wanted to be there for your special day!”

  Julie was my dad’s new girlfriend. They’d just started officially dating a few weeks ago, but she was really nice and made Dad happy, so I liked her already!

  On our way to the park, Sally whispered in my ear, “Hey, so do you really think you’re getting a puppy today?”

  “I hope so!” I whispered back. “It’s all I want this year.”

  “I hope you get one too!” Sally replied. “What kind of dog do you want?”

  I shrugged. I had favorite dog breeds, but when it came to actually getting a dog, I only cared about one thing.

  “Whatever dog needs a good home!” I replied. “I’ve been lo
oking at the dogs in the shelter for several months now, and every dog looks so cute but also really sad.”

  “Aw, yeah, shelter dogs always look so sad.”

  Just then I looked up, in time to see Dad glancing up at me in the rearview mirror! When our eyes met, though, he quickly glanced back to the road.

  Could he hear Sally and me? Did this mean that he’d gotten me a puppy?

  I had so many questions, and even though my heart was beating really fast, I didn’t say anything. Hopefully, this would all be worth it in the end!

  Chapter 3

  When we got to the park, my jaw dropped open when I saw the picnic area. The trees around the picnic tables were decorated with pink and white balloons, while the tables themselves were covered with sky-blue tablecloths. Plates of yummy Korean food, pizza, and board games that everyone could play filled the tables. And that wasn’t all! On one of the tables there was a huge mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINDY! written in pink frosting.

  Julie and Mrs. Park, Eunice’s mom, were finishing setting up. They gave us a wave when they saw Dad’s car pull up to the parking space.

  “Appa! Everything is so perfect!”

  I gave Dad a big hug after we got out of the car. “Thank you so much!”

  “You’re welcome, Mindy,” Dad said. “But I couldn’t have done it alone, so be sure to thank Julie and Mrs. Park.”

  “Thank you so much!” I yelled with my hands cupped together.

  Everyone laughed.

  “I meant you should thank them when we’re closer, but that works too,” Dad said with a smile.

  Sally and I jumped in to help prepare for the party before the guests arrived. We only had thirty minutes until people were supposed to start showing up! That seemed like a lot of time, but it wasn’t when I thought about how much work we had to do.

  As I was helping, I sneakily looked around for anything that could be a puppy. But the only presents on the table were much too small to be a puppy, unless Dad had gotten me a teacup Chihuahua.

  I tried really hard not to be sad. Maybe I was wrong about a puppy after all.

  Soon, though, the guests arrived, and I forgot about the puppy. We played lots of fun games, both Korean and American. We also played a big game of hide-and-seek in the playground and in the park! It was so fun!

  When my party was almost over, Dad gathered everyone at the table with the cake.

  “All right, everyone,” he said. “It’s time for cake and presents.”

  Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me, like they did in class. Only this time, some people got really into it. Dad sang into a spoon like he was singing karaoke! He was pretty off-key and made the people next to him wince, but it made me laugh. Dad was so funny.

  Soon it was time for me to blow the candles out. It was official. I was really eight!

  After that, I opened my presents. Everyone knew I liked dogs, so I got lots of new stuffed dogs and dog T-shirts. People also knew that I loved food, so they got me gift cards that I could spend on yummy things!

  Although I was happy with my presents, with every box I opened, the more sure I became that I wasn’t going to get a dog today. I was disappointed, but it was okay. Today was a perfect birthday, even without a puppy!

  That’s when I realized that Dad was nowhere to be found. I got really excited, and my hands started shaking so much that Sally had to help me open the next present. Could this mean what I thought it did?

  Just then, Sally pointed and said, “Mindy, look over there!”

  Everyone looked up and cheered.

  Dad was coming our way with a really cute puppy. I wasn’t sure what breed it was, but it didn’t matter. To me, it was perfect. It had a big sky-blue bow on the back of its collar.

  “Appa!” I squealed. “Is that my puppy?”

  At the sound of my voice, the dog perked its ears and started running. I scooped it up and gave it a big hug, and it licked my face. I was so happy that I was crying.

  People went “aww” as I gave Dad a big hug with the puppy smooshed in between us.

  “Mindy, I know you’ve been wanting a dog for the longest time, and it is a lot of responsibility. But I think you’re now ready.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad,” I said. “I promise to take good care of it and train it really well!”

  “Plus, you can always ask me for help!” Eunice chimed in.

  “And me!” Sally said. “You know we have two dogs at home.”

  “Thank you so much!” I replied to everyone.

  I was so happy. This really was the perfect birthday!

  Chapter 4

  After everyone left and we finished cleaning up at the park, Dad and I went back home with my new four-legged friend. I checked to see if it was a boy or a girl. It was a boy puppy!

  The shelter that Dad had adopted him from had given us a crate, and he was now in the crate to keep him safe during the drive. I held the crate tightly so it wouldn’t slide around much. It could have just been my imagination, but he kind of looked grateful.

  “Do you know what you’re going to name him?” Dad asked.

  I looked into the crate, where the puppy was staring back at me with large, round eyes. He was trembling a little, like he was scared, but he still had a cute smile on his bushy face.

  “Theodore!” I loudly declared. “Theodore the Mutt.”

  Dad laughed. “That’s a peculiar name for a dog, Mindy.”

  I shrugged. “He just looks like a Theodore.” It was because his bushy face kind of reminded of Teddy Roosevelt’s mustache. We’d just learned about Theodore Roosevelt in class this week!

  I didn’t tell Dad, though. He’d probably think it was weird.

  I was really excited to let Theodore out when we got home. He looked so lonely and sad in his crate!

  “Are we close to home yet?” I asked Dad.

  “We’re five minutes away, Mindy,” he replied. “Almost there.”

  “Okay.”

  I stuck my fingers into the crate so Theodore would know I was right next to him. He licked my fingers! His tongue felt soft and wet. It tickled!

  I giggled. “You’re so sweet!”

  Dad looked at me through the rearview mirror and smiled. “I’m so glad you two are getting along already!”

  At home, Dad set Theodore’s crate down on the floor and opened the door.

  Theodore immediately dashed out of the crate, barking loudly as his paws clattered all over the floor.

  “Whoa!” Dad exclaimed.

  “Here, Theodore!” I said. “Come here, buddy!”

  But Theodore just kept running around and barking. He jumped on the couch and knocked over Dad’s favorite cushions, then dashed up the stairs, only to run down them again.

  “Jeez, I hope he calms down,” Dad said. “Maybe we can distract him with some of the treats I bought from the pet store.”

  “That’s a great idea, Dad!”

  Dad went back out to the car to grab the bag of treats from his car. Alone in the house, I tried my best to get Theodore’s attention.

  “Theodore! Hey, buddy! Calm down!”

  But it was no use. The dog just kept running. He got a hold of the blanket on the couch and started pulling on it.

  I took the other end of the blanket and started pulling it, too. Theodore wagged his tail, like he thought it was a game.

  “No!” I said. “Bad dog!”

  I tried to wrestle the blanket away from him, but it was no use. And then the worst thing happened. The blanket tore!

  At that moment, Dad came back with the bag of treats.

  “Oh no!” He exclaimed. “That blanket was your mom’s!”

  He looked really sad, and I felt terrible. I was also really afraid, because this was Theodore’s first day at home and he’d already caused trouble. The way Dad was looking at Theodore was not good. He looked kind of mad!

  “Theodore, come here!” Dad said in a very firm voice. It was the voice he
used when I was in big trouble.

  Dad opened the bag of treats, and it was like magic. Theodore let go of the torn blanket right in front of Dad and stared up at him while panting with his tongue out.

  I took a treat from the bag and waved it in front of Theodore.

  “Sit!”

  The puppy didn’t do anything.

  “Hmm,” Dad said. “I guess he isn’t trained yet. Are you up for training him, Mindy?”

  He was still looking at the torn blanket, and I got really nervous. What if Theodore continued to be bad, and Dad returned him to the shelter?

  I tightly squeezed my fists. I couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.

  “I sure am!” I said really loudly. I was determined to make Theodore the best behaved and best trained dog ever. That way, Dad wouldn’t even think about returning poor Theodore to the shelter!

  After trying to make him sit a few more times, I gave Theodore the treat anyway. At least he wasn’t running around the house anymore!

  By then it was bedtime, and since Theodore wasn’t potty trained yet, Dad had to put him back inside his crate.

  “I’ll see you in the morning, Theodore,” I whispered, putting my face up against the door of the crate. “Good night!”

  As soon as Dad and I went up the stairs, Theodore started whimpering.

  “We’re just going to have to ignore him for now, Mindy,” Dad said. “He can sleep with you on your bed after he’s house-trained!”

  After Dad had tucked me in and gone back downstairs, I tried to ignore Theodore’s cries like Dad said I should. But his voice was really loud, and he sounded so sad!

  I wanted to cry.

  It’s okay, Theodore! I thought. Soon I’ll teach you how to be a good dog so you can come sleep in my room!

  Tomorrow was a Saturday, which meant I could spend a lot of time with Theodore. I was determined to make him the best-behaved dog ever!

  Chapter 5