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Dr. Fell
and
the
Playground
of
DOOM
DAVID NEILSEN
SNEAK PEEK
DAVID NEILSEN
CROWN BOOKS
Neil_9781101935781_3p_all_r1.indd 3
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Chapter 1
Every child had a story about the house, each wilder than
the last. It was a house of imagination, a blank canvas just
waiting to be painted with the gleeful brushstrokes of youth.
Every parent in the neighborhood had forbidden their children from entering the house, and every parent in the neighborhood knew full well their children were disobeying them.
But when local real estate agent Dorothy Canvaswalter
placed a Sold banner atop the aged, weather-beaten For Sale
sign that had stood sentry on the front lawn for years, even
the parents were disappointed.
Its like the heart of the neighborhood is being ripped
right out, said PTA Co-President Candice Gloomfellow.
I still remember when little Johnny broke his arm falling down those rickety stairs, agreed PTA Co-President
Martha Doomburg with a wistful tear in her eye.
Every adult on Hardscrabble Street, as well as all those on
nearby Vexington Avenue and Von Burden Lane, and nearly
all on Turnabout Road (Old Lady Witherton could not be
bothered), wondered about the new owners. Would they be a
tidy family? Would they be a handy family? Would they be
a noisy family?
The children of Hardscrabble Street, Vexington Avenue,
Von Burden Lane, and Turnabout Road did not wonder
about the new owners. As word spread of the sale, they gathered in twos and threes to stand in front of their magnificent
former playhouse and sigh, pout, even weep. Some felt childhood was over. Others felt they had lost their best friend. All
felt mildly resentful of the sale and were determined to dislike whoever ultimately moved in, no matter what.
2
Why would anyone buy that house? asked ten-yearold Gail Bloom, staring longingly at a second-floor balcony
on which shed fenced the imaginary-yet-dastardly Lord
Dunderhead only days before.
Maybe theyve got kids, answered her eight-year-old
brother, Jerry, with his rose-colored viewpoint, eyeing the
flat roof where only last week hed set up his slot-car track
and raced the cars wildly in circles for hours on end. This is
a good neighborhood for kids.
But its our place, complained Gails best friend and
Jerrys worst nightmare, ten-year-old Nancy Pinkblossom,
imagining the infamous Stairway of Death down which
shed tumbled each and every one of her Pretty Patty dressup dolls. Who said they could just come and take it away
from us?
The three children stood in place a moment more on that
warm spring Saturday morningeach gathering and storing
away an admittedly short lifetimes worth of memories. Finally, at some unspoken signal, they turned away almost in
unison.
What should we do today? asked Gail.
We could go to the river, answered Jerry, referring to
the tiny trickle of a stream that snaked behind Hardscrabble
Street. Theres lots to do near the river.
She wasnt asking you, Snothead, said Nancy automatically, too upset to muster up a real insult.
Wanna go see if Lindsey Brackentwigs home? suggested Gail.
Sure, said Jerry. Shes fun.
3
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2016 by David Neilsen
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright 2016 by Will Terry
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint
of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Crown and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhousekids.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Neilsen, David.
Dr. Fell and the playground of doom / David Neilsen. First edition.
pages cm
Summary: Three children must defeat a mysterious doctor who builds an irresistible and
dangerous playground in their neighborhood and then uses his power to heal children who get
injuredstealing some of their life essence in the processProvided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-101-93578-1 (trade) ISBN 978-1-101-93579-8 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-1-101-93580-4 (ebook)
[1. Good and evilFiction. 2. SupernaturalFiction. 3. NeighborhoodsFiction.] I. Title.
II. Title: Doctor Fell and the playground of doom.
PZ7.1.N4Dr 2016 [Fic]dc23 2015017787
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Random House Childrens Books supports the
First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
ATTENTION, READER:
THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED ADVANCE EXCERPT
Neil_9781101935781_3p_all_r1.indd 4
12/23/15 6:39 AM
Dr. Fell
and
the
Playground
DOOM
of
By David Neilsen