Helping Hands by Laurie Halse Anderson Page B

that hooves are kept clean and that horseshoes are in good shape, otherwise the horse could go lame.
    Fun Facts
    Horses are vegetarians! That’s right, horses are herbivores and do not eat any meat.
    Humans domesticated horses around 3500 B.C. We’ve used these amazing animals for work, play, battle, and more for thousands of years.
    You can determine a horse’s age by looking at its teeth! As a horse ages, it wears its teeth by grazing, and you can estimate how old it is by the grooves in the horse’s teeth. And horses lose their baby teeth, just like humans do.
    There are many different types of horses who lead very different lives, from wild horses on Assateague Island to race horses in the Kentucky Derby.
    How You Can Help and Learn More
    If you live near a farm or a riding school, see if you can ask a farmer for a barn tour, or sign up for a riding lesson.
    If you suspect that a horse is not being well cared for, ask an adult for help.
    Read more horse books!
Black Beauty
is a must-read classic for any horse fan.
    More horse resources can be found at:
    http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/horse/
    http://horses.about.com/
    http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/horses/

Join the Vet Volunteers on another adventure!
    Text copyright © Laurie Halse Anderson

Chapter One

    Y ou’re dumping me again, Mom.”
    “Zoe, don’t be dramatic.”
    Mom sits at Gran’s kitchen table and doesn’t take her eyes off me. I lean against the counter, cross my arms, and roll my eyes to the ceiling.
    “Zoe, it would be different if we were filming this movie only during the summer. But it’s going to take months. You can’t be out of middle school that long. Once summer starts, you can visit me for a week or two on set in Vancouver.”
    Visit
. What does that mean? I guess Mom expects to be in Canada through the summer, but how long after that? And why can’t I spend the whole summer with her?
    Mom takes a tiny bite out of her Pop-Tart and washes it down with a gulp of coffee. She doesn’t usually eat sugary stuff like that, but here at Gran’s house there’s no organic yogurt in the fridge, and the bananas on her counter are rounding the corner from deep brown to black. Pop-Tarts for breakfast it is. I’m not even remotely hungry, though. Mom wrinkles her nose and takes another bite.
    We just arrived late last night and Mom is already leaving again. She’s continuing on to New York City. We used to live there together. Then I moved to Ambler before joining Mom in California, and now it’s back to Ambler again—for me, at least. In New York, Mom is meeting once more with the movie’s costume designer and checking in with some of her old soap-opera friends. They’re my friends, too, and I don’t see why I can’t at least make the trip to New York before settling in to life in Ambler, Pennsylvania, again.
    I try one more time. “Why can’t I just spend the weekend in New York with you before you fly to Vancouver? I can take the train back here by myself, you know I can.”
    “We’ve gone over and over this. You know I promised your grandmother that I would deliver you here. New York will be much too hectic. I wouldn’t have time to have fun with you; I have too much to fit in before we start shooting—”
    “But it’s spring break here this week!” I say. “I wouldn’t even be missing school.”
    “Which is why this is so perfect. You’ll have a little time to settle back in with Gran and Maggie before having to start school again.”
    Mom gets up from the table and hugs me. A car horn blares out front.
    “That’s my cab. Listen, Zoe, we’ll check in with each other every day or so. Once I’m on set it might be a little more time between calls or emails. But I promise we’ll stay in touch, okay? Of course we will.” Mom squeezes me hard and kisses my cheek. Her breath smells like strong coffee and even stronger peppermint. She gathers up her bags and sweeps toward the