Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

What happens to ants in the winter? Most ants dig deeper into the ground where it is warmer. Timmy, however, is no ordinary ant. He is curious and loves adventures. Most of Timmy’s colony of ants just roll their eyes when they hear about Timmy’s adventures thinking that they are just tall tales. Timmy doesn’t mind, and he doesn’t let them discourage him. Thankfully, he has some family that not only encourages him but has helped him in his pursuits.

Today was an unusual day for ants because it snowed in Timmy’s neighborhood. While the other ants underground were doing their normal ant duties, Timmy finished his chores early and headed for the exit. He took his cousins Sparky and Johnny and also his brother, Franklin, with him.

Together they started moving snow, which was just like moving sand but colder!

Sometimes they would stop and start throwing snowballs at each other!

It was a lot of fun, but they knew that there was more fun waiting for them outside, so they’d start moving snow again.

They all had their red snow hats on, red mittens, and red boots that Aunt Bluebell had made for them. Ant’s feet get cold too, you know! Soon they made it to the outside and saw the blue sky as well as lots and lots of snow.

Timmy had been outside yesterday before the snow started falling. He had talked with his friend, Commander Dragon, the dragonfly, and arranged to be picked up and flown to the nearby park. When they emerged from the anthill, they saw Commander Dragon nearby.

“Good morning, Commander Dragon!”

“Good morning, Timmy. I see you are all ready for some fun today! Hop on, and we’ll be off!”

The four ants crawled up onto the dragonfly and he flew them to the nearby park. Once they crawled off of the dragonfly, they saw some amazing activities happening. There was a giant pond and he saw some humans were ice-skating on the pond.

Timmy was amazed at how they glided so smoothly on the water. How did they glide on water like that, he wondered. He walked up to the water and noticed that it was hard and not wet, like the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’ that he had sailed on when the weather was warm.

He stepped onto the hard water and was surprised, as he instantly slipped and fell! Sparky and Johnny laughed as they tried to help Timmy up. As they tried to help Timmy they found themselves falling too! Franklin, however, went slowly and found out that if you take your time, you would glide and not fall.

“Hey guys,” Franklin said, “get up slowly and you will glide!”

Timmy, Sparky, and Johnny got back up to their feet and tried moving slower and soon they were gliding. They were a little shaky at first, but soon got the hang of it and were gliding quickly around the hard water, laughing and chasing each other.

When Timmy stopped to rest, he saw his train friend, Areean nearby. Areean was pulling something behind him that almost looked like a surfboard.

“Areean!” Timmy yelled to get his attention. “Where is the water to surf around here?”

“Surf?” Areean responded. “I’m not surfing silly. We are sledding on the snow!”

“What is sledding?”

“There’s a little hill over there and we jump on these sleds, sliding quickly down the hill! It’s kind of like sliding down a slide, but you go much faster. Do you want to try?”

“Sure we do! How do we get there and what will we use as sleds?”

Areean told them to climb onto his sled so that he could carry them to the top of the hill. He found some fallen leaves that they could use as sleds.

They watched as Areean sat on his sled and started sliding quickly down the hill!

“Woo hoo!” Areean squealed with excitement.

Timmy went next as he was the bravest of his cousins and older brother. He jumped onto his leaf and started screaming, “A-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah!” as he slid like lightning down the hill.

This hill wasn’t that long for a human, but it was miles for a tiny ant! Sparky was too afraid to try it, but he slapped Johnny on the back which made Johnny fall on his tummy, and onto the leaf! The leaf started sliding and off he went down the hill!

Franklin, being the oldest, didn’t want to show that he was afraid, so he jumped onto his leaf, and down he went.

By the time they all reached the bottom of the hill, they were exhausted from the excitement and the thrill of it all. Areean could tell that they were tired, so he picked them up and carried them on his sled, back up the hill.

“Thanks, Areean!” they all said in unison.

“That was almost like the thrill of sky-diving,” Timmy said.

“Really?” Franklin asked. “Maybe I’ll have to try that with you, next time you and Dante go.”

When they made it to the top of the hill, they found Sparky and Commander Dragon waiting for them.

“Thanks for the ride, Areean! Say hello to your brothers, Fenix and Dante, for me!”

“Sure thing, Timmy.” With that Areean hopped back onto his sled and away he went down the hill again!

Timmy and the others climbed back onto Commander Dragon’s tail and rode home. They were cold and tired, yet this was some winter fun that they could probably do anywhere when it snowed! Sparky said that he would try sledding next time. He gave Timmy a ‘High 5’ and then they rode the rest of the way home in silence.

This was another adventure that the other ants would not believe. This time, however, he had his cousins and big brother that experienced too!

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

There are many bodies of water in the world. Some are very large and some are rather small. To Timmy the Ant, a puddle seemed like an ocean! It had been raining a lot near Timmy’s home, which had created a lot of rivers and oceans. Classes were canceled, due to all the water, so Timmy decided it was time to go check out the nearby ocean!

He had learned about the Atlantic Ocean in school, so he decided to name his ocean the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’! He thought the name was pretty clever.

The sun was shining, finally, when Timmy left the anthill. He had a fun sailor hat on and he also wore his fancy backpack with his parachute inside.

When he arrived at the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’, he searched around for a suitable boat. He found a large leaf floating nearby, so he jumped onto it.

As he floated, gently at first, he found a stick that he thought could be used to steer his boat. He then imagined that he was a sea captain. In his mind, he saw himself with a captain’s hat and a big wheel to steer his large ship. He also imagined a big sail on his ship.

“All ahead full!” he shouted.

He could feel the breeze blowing his ship across the ocean. The waves were rocking his ship to and fro! He imagined the great adventures he could have exploring faraway lands and meeting new creatures.

Suddenly, his boat stopped, as it had reached dry land. He used all of his strength to pull his boat ashore so that it wouldn’t float away while he was exploring this new land.

Even though he wasn’t really in a new land, he was having fun imagining that it was. He found a blade of grass and pretended that it was a sword and he slid it through his belt.

As he walked around, he saw a large animal sleeping nearby.

He drew his sword and sneaked up on it slowly. “Ahoy there you!” Timmy shouted, “Stand your ground!”

The animal slowly opened one of his eyes and saw Timmy, standing proudly with his sword drawn, like he was going to attack.

“Who do you think you are, waking me from my nap? You know I could just smash you with my paw?” the animal angrily snapped at Timmy.

“Well, no!” Timmy answered. “I’m pretending to be a sea captain and that you were an animal that I could slay. I’m very sorry to have awakened and disturbed you, sir. My name is Timmy the Ant. What’s yours?” Timmy asked.

“My name is Leo the Cat. Now SCRAM!”

Timmy tipped his hat at Leo and went on his way….Quickly!

Walking a little further, he saw a dragonfly sitting on some flowers.

He thought that he had better take a different approach this time, so he didn’t draw his sword. He simply said, “Ahoy there sir, or madame, my name is Captain Timmy from the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’.”

“Ahoy there, Captain Timmy! My name is Commander Dragon,” he chuckled, “from the Blue Skies Airlines.”

Timmy politely tipped his hat and said, “It’s very nice to meet you, Commander Dragon! How are the Blue Skies today?”

“The ocean was rather windy and it blew me to the shore of this strange land!” Timmy explained. He was hoping that his new acquaintance would enjoy some make-believe, too.

Commander Dragon smiled and said, “The sky was windy too! That’s why I landed early today. Since the wind has subsided now, would you like a ride back to your boat?”

“Well, that would be very nice, kind sir!”

“Then climb aboard and we’ll be off!

Timmy climbed aboard and they took off. Up, up, up they flew. As they flew, Timmy remembered that he wore his parachute backpack, so he yelled up to the Commander, “I’m going to jump now!”

Before the Commander could reply, or slow down…Timmy jumped and then pulled his ripcord of the parachute.

As he was floating down, he realized that he didn’t know where his ocean was and he may have jumped too soon. He was heading for a field of grass. Looking around, he saw his ocean and boat in the distance, but he knew he was too far away to steer his parachute there in time. He was just going to have to explore the grassy area on his way to his boat.

The grass was soft to land on. He folded his parachute, the way Dante had shown him, and returned it to his parachute backpack. He made sure that he still had his sword, then started walking toward the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’!

Walking through the tall grass was like walking through a jungle for a small ant. He imagined that there might be wild animals in there so he kept one of his hands on his sword, just in case.

Suddenly, he heard a noise and felt a hot breath behind him. Timmy was so frightened, that he just started running as fast as he could!

He didn’t look back! He just ran and ran!

He thought it was a lion, a tiger, or something scary like that!

He kept running until he finally got to his boat. He jumped onto it and it started sailing…

Out of breath, but safely on his boat, he turned around and saw what was chasing him.

It was only a field mouse!

The mouse had stopped at the edge of the ‘Ant-lantic Ocean’ and was waving to Timmy!

It wasn’t a lion or tiger after all!

That was enough adventure for one day. Captain Timmy sailed his boat toward home. This was a fun day, but he was tired. He planned on writing about his adventures when he got home. He wanted to share them with his classmates when he went back to school. He decided he would title his story, ‘The Sea Adventures of Captain Timmy!’

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

It was a warm, sunny day, and the colony was very peaceful today, although he didn’t understand why that was. Timmy found his cousin Johnny, and they decided to go outside of the anthill to explore. Johnny was younger than Timmy and had not been outside of the colony very often. Timmy was more than happy to tell Johnny about some of his adventures. As they walked, he told him of his trip to the park, where he saw his first picnic; to the playground where he met the small humans, Mae, Winter, and Areean; and when he met Tom the Snail.

Timmy was so excited sharing his stories of adventure, that he almost ran right into a huge, colorful…something!

As they walked around it, a creature hopped up nearby, saw them smiling and investigating the egg he had hidden under the tulip flower.

He hopped closer and said, “Happy Easter to you both!”

Timmy and Johnny looked up and Timmy said, “Good day to you! My name is Timmy and this is my cousin, Johnny!” Now, Johnny had never been on adventures before, so he was a bit nervous, but he shyly said, “It’s nice to meet you!”

“We are ants from a nearby ant colony. I’ve never seen a creature like you before,” Timmy said.

“My name is Thumper and I’m a bunny! Actually, I’m an Easter bunny and I see that you have found one of my Easter eggs that I hid under the tulip.”

Timmy was confused. “What is an Easter Bunny and what is an Easter egg?

“Well, I have been told that ‘Easter’ means new dawn in the east. I was also told that I was born on a day that humans celebrate a holiday that they call Easter,” Thumper explained, “So my parents told me that I was an Easter bunny!”

“That is very exciting,” Timmy said.

Thumper continued, “There is a legend that bunnies lay eggs and then hide them at this time of year for children to find. So I have hidden some eggs for someone to find and you two found the first one! Would you like to see some more?”

“That would be wonderful, but how do we do that? You can move so much faster than we can!” Timmy said.

Why don’t you climb up onto my ears and I’ll take you around?” Thumper answered.

So Timmy and Johnny climbed and climbed until they reached the tip of Thumper’s ears. Thumper was soft and furry. It felt so good on their feet. Timmy was on the left ear and Johnny had climbed up the right ear.

Thumper started hopping over to a bush with lots of pink flowers on it. “Do you see it?” he asked.

They looked and looked but all they saw were flowers. “No, I don’t see it anywhere. All I see are flowers!” Johnny said sadly.

“Look closer!” said Thumper. He put his head down a little so that they could see better.

“I SEE IT!” Timmy shouted. “It’s bright pink with purple polka dots!”

“It’s beautiful!” Johnny exclaimed when he saw it too! “Let’s find some more!”

Thumper hopped all over the place and showed them all sorts of colorful eggs. They were so excited that Timmy and Johnny started hopping up and down too.

They saw a blue egg with purple stripes under an apple tree.

They saw a turquoise egg with pink polka dots in some tall grass!

They were all so beautiful that they didn’t know which egg was their favorite.

Then they saw a purple egg with magenta stripes! Or was it a magenta egg with purple stripes? It was hidden in a flower bush and they almost missed seeing it.

They couldn’t wait to get home to tell all of their cousins about the Easter bunny and the wonderfully colored eggs they had seen today. Johnny was also very excited about the ride on the Easter bunny’s ears! He had never experienced anything like this before.

Timmy was getting used to riding on interesting things, but this was very special for him too. Thumper hopped back to the tulip where they met, let Timmy and Johnny climb back down to the ground, and said again, “Happy Easter! Thank you for sharing this fun day with me!”

“It was a great day, and we think your Easter eggs are the most beautiful things we’ve ever seen! Thank you for the ride, and Happy Easter to you too!” Timmy said to Thumper.

“Yes, Happy Easter and thank you, Thumper!” echoed Johnny.

Thumper hopped away. Timmy and Johnny started walking back to the anthill. Johnny didn’t stop talking the whole way back. This was the best day he ever had! Timmy smiled and laughed as Johnny talked. He learned that Easter was a very special day, which is probably why the anthill was so peaceful today! It was a day he would always remember.

Written by and partially illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

Beaches are not where you would normally find ants. You certainly wouldn’t expect to find surfing ants, but Timmy is not an ordinary ant. Timmy is a brave ant who explores and tries almost anything. He’s been learning how to surf recently.

Since his last adventure at sea and after going to Frog Island Waterpark, Timmy thought he was ready to try surfing. He knew that his friend Fenix knew how to surf, so he took some lessons from Fenix.

Today was Saturday, so he didn’t have to do many chores. He got up early and called his friend Commander Dragon and asked him for a ride to the beach. Fenix was going to meet him there.

Commander Dragon was happy to fly him there, but only as far as the boardwalk. Commander Dragon explained that there were sea birds that like to eat dragonflies, so he was not going to get too close to the ocean.

Once he arrived at the boardwalk, Timmy jumped off, thanked his friend, and ran to meet Fenix at the surfboard rental area. Fenix was already there waiting for him.

He had already rented them both surfboards. Fenix’s was light brown with a couple of pink flowers on it.

Timmy’s was a blue with a pink stripe down it and it was just the right size for Timmy! “COWABUNGA!” Timmy cried in excitement.

Fenix tucked his board under his arm,

then lifted Timmy onto his board to carry them towards the beach. Timmy put his board under his arm too!

When they got close to the water, they set their boards down and watched the other surfers for a while. They learned that this was a good way to see how the waves were and make sure the other surfers were having a good time too.

Today was a surfing competition in Virginia Beach so they got to see a lot of good surfers.

After watching for a while, they practiced kneeling and jumping to their feet on their surfboards while they were still in the sand. This helped them to get ready for the real thing in the water.

Then they took their boards down the beach a little further, to get away from the competition, and ran into the water with their boards.

Fenix and Timmy laid on their tummies and paddled with their arms for a long time until they got past the waves and the water was calmer. It’s very tiring work to get out there so they sat on their boards for a while and rested while watching other surfers.

Once Timmy felt rested, he noticed that the waves were picking up, so he turned his board towards the shore so he’d be ready to catch a good wave. Then, he saw it! The perfect wave was coming, so he started paddling and then, JUMPED UP!

He held his arms out and the wave started pushing him to shore. “COWABUNGA!” he squealed with delight. Before he knew it, he was at the shore and his first ride was finished and it was amazing!

Timmy turned around and saw Fenix had caught a great wave and was surfing like a pro! He was smiling from ear to ear! When he came running out of the water, he yelled, “WOW, did you see that Timmy? Wasn’t that amazing, dude?”

“It was tubular!” Timmy laughed. They were so excited and happy that they ran back to the water, paddled out, and surfed some more. They had a lot of amazing rides that day, in addition to some wipeouts. By lunchtime, they were both tired and hungry. Fenix helped Timmy carry his board back to the rental area and turned them in.

Timmy saw that his friend, Commander Dragon had returned and had seen Timmy’s last ride in.

“Your surfing was the bomb dude!” Commander Dragon said to Timmy. “Fenix, you were carving those waves nicely too! Totally tubular!”

Timmy and Fenix appreciated Commander Dragon’s comments. They felt very proud of how they surfed today. Timmy hopped up on the dragonfly, turned, and said, “Bye Fenix! I can’t wait until next time! Thanks, surfer dude!”

“You betcha, dude,” Fenix smiled. “I’ll catch ya on the flipside, dude!” Timmy and Fenix both like to talk like surfer dudes.

On the way home, Timmy told Commander Dragon all about the waves, the competition they saw, and the waves they rode. By the time they arrived home, he was tired and hungry. Luckily, Aunt Pickles had lunch waiting for him, and she was excited to hear about his day of surfing.

Written & partially illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

Timmy the ant lives under the ground with thousands of sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and his mother, Queen Sally.

An anthill is the result of many ants digging tunnels in the ground and carrying the soil back up to the surface. Most ants don’t mind doing this, but Timmy has a dream about being a famous explorer.

He is always looking for something new and exciting to explore. Today was no different, in Timmy’s world. All the other ants were busy digging, or doing what ants do, but Timmy was going on an adventure.

Last week, he went skydiving with his friend Dante. Today, Dante’s older brother, Fenix, was taking Timmy spelunking!

What is spelunking, you may ask? Well, spelunking is when you explore natural caves that have amazing formations in them.

Now some may think that tunnels and caves are all the same, but even though there are some similarities, they are also VERY different. Fenix had told Timmy that the caves they were going to visit today, were VERY different from ant tunnels. Timmy was very excited to explore these differences with Fenix.

Fenix arrived at the anthill after breakfast on Saturday morning. He had a helmet and backpack on. Lolly, Fenix’s grandmother, had made a special place on Fenix’s helmet where Timmy could ride safely.

The helmet also had a light on it so that they could see into dark places inside the caves.

Fenix picked up Timmy and helped him onto his helmet. Then he got onto his bike and started riding it to the nearby cave.

When they arrived at the cave, Fenix locked up his bike and walked to the cave entrance.

He also explained to Timmy that this cave was called a cavern and that there would be surprises inside!

Fenix turned on his helmet light and walked into the cave. To Timmy’s surprise, he saw that the cave had lights inside and it wasn’t dark at all.

“Why are there lights inside? I thought it was going to be dark,” Timmy asked Fenix.

“Well, Timmy, this is a cave that has already been explored and now they let people inside to tour through it,” Fenix explained. “My helmet light is so that we can see into some of the darker areas that do not have lights.”

As they walked, they saw some things hanging from the top of the cave. Fenix pointed to them and told Timmy that they were called ‘stalactites.’ He then explained that water drips down from the above-ground collecting minerals and they slowly create these formations hanging ‘tightly’ to the cave ceiling.

“Wow, look over there!” Timmy exclaimed, pointing at some other stalactites that looked blue. “Those stalactites are blue and are coming up out of the ground. They are in the water, too!”

“Well, actually Timmy, they look blue because there are blue lights in the water. Also, the ones coming up from the bottom of the water, and the ones over there coming up from the ground are called ‘stalagmites’ and not stalactites,” Fenix explained.

Timmy was confused as they looked similar but some were hanging and some seemed to be growing upwards. “What’s the difference, Fenix?”

“Well, Pops told me that the easiest way to remember the difference is this way: Stalactites hang tightly to the ceiling (‘tites’ hang tightly); Stalagmites are mounds on the ground (‘mites’ are mounds on the ground),” Fenix answered.

Pops was Fenix’s grandpa and always had fun ways to help Fenix remember things. Then, Fenix continued to say, “When the water and minerals continue to drip from the stalactites, they start forming the mounds on the ground.”

“Wow, our tunnels are nothing like the tunnels in these caves!” Timmy said. “I can’t wait to tell my cousin, Sparky, all about this place!”

“Did you know that these caverns were formed millions of years ago?” Fenix asked Timmy.

“You’re kidding me, aren’t you?” Timmy smiled.

“No! Really, Timmy. They weren’t discovered until a couple of hundred years ago, but they have been forming for millions of years. I read about this in school!”

“That’s amazing!” Timmy said in disbelief. “I wonder if there are any ant tunnels that are that old?”

“Probably not; but ants have been digging tunnels and creating colonies for thousands of years, and probably longer than humans have been around!” This information also surprised Timmy, but Fenix had started walking again. “I guess it is time to go back home now, Timmy.”

Fenix walked back to the cave opening. “This sure was an amazing exploration day, Fenix. Thank you very much for taking me here. You sure do know a lot about caverns!” Timmy said to Fenix.

“Thanks, Timmy, and you’re welcome. I enjoyed showing it to you and I always enjoy spelunking! Did I tell you that exploring caves is called spelunking? Isn’t that a funny word?” Fenix said laughing.

Timmy laughed at the word, too. When they got to the cave entrance, Fenix turned off his helmet light and walked to his bike. He unlocked his bike and they started home.

When they got to Timmy’s anthill, Timmy climbed out of the special space on Fenix’s helmet onto Fenix’s hand. Fenix lowered him to the ground and waved goodbye.

Timmy tipped his hat towards Fenix and then started towards his anthill. Timmy was thinking about all of the new things he learned today as he crawled down the tunnel. He thought that this would be amazing information to share on Monday at school. Won’t Mr. Eaglebud, his teacher, be amazed at all of this new information? Timmy knew that he would be!

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

Timmy is an ant, but he’s not your everyday ant that just moves sand from here to there. He’s an ant that loves to go exploring; meet new creatures, and try new things. These are things that most ants would never do, but Timmy is not afraid to try anything.

Today, he had the chance to try something really exciting! Timmy was going skydiving. Do you know what skydiving is? First, you go up in an airplane with a parachute strapped to you.

A parachute is a cloth that fills with air so that you can float slowly down from high places. Most of them are very colorful like balloons. They can be rectangular or round.

Some you can steer and some you can’t. Next, when the airplane gets high enough…you JUMP out of the plane! On your way down, you pull this cord that is attached to the pack on your back, and the beautiful parachute opens, fills with air, and then you start floating down to the ground.

Most people are afraid to try this, and most ants NEVER get the chance! Today, Timmy was going to try it with his friend, Dante.

Dante’s grandfather, Gill-the-pilot, was going to take Dante and Timmy up in the plane so they could skydive. Dante’s grandmother, Lolly, made a parachute pack for Dante and one for Timmy.

Dante’s pack was bright blue, and inside was a parachute that was orange and turquoise. Dante said that he called it ‘aquamarine’ because it was like his favorite character, Aquaman!

The parachute pack that Lolly made for Timmy was much smaller and was red. Inside was a blue and green parachute.

Dante picked up Timmy early one morning at the anthill. Timmy climbed up onto Dante’s hand, but before they could leave,

Queen Sally hollered up to Dante saying, “Please take good care of Timmy today!”

Dante promised and off he ran back to his house where Gill-the-pilot, was waiting to take them to the airport.

As they climbed into the car, they saw the beautiful parachute packs that Lolly had made. This made them more excited to try them on.

When they finally arrived at the airport, they put their packs on. Dante also wore a helmet and goggles, but Timmy didn’t need to because only humans had to do that.

Then Dante carried Timmy while they walked over to the plane with Gill-the-pilot. The plane was a beautiful red plane and it had the name ‘Red Baron’ on it.

Gill-the-pilot said that he named it that because it was red and he had a favorite song, when he was a kid, about a German pilot that was called the ‘Red Baron.’

They all climbed into the airplane, buckled their seat belts, and Gill-the-pilot started the engine. Soon they were moving down the runway getting faster, faster, and faster! Then, they were flying! Up, up, up they went! Timmy was looking out the window and his eyes were big and wide as he watched the ground get farther and farther away.

“OK,” yelled Gill-the-pilot, “time to jump!”

“Are you ready Timmy?” Dante asked.

“I think so,” Timmy answered, even though he was very nervous.

“Just remember, as soon as you jump, pull your cord to open your parachute,” Dante reminded Timmy. “See you in the air!” he smiled. “Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll come to find you on the ground as soon as we land!”

Dante opened the plane’s door. Timmy took a deep breath and…JUMPED!

He seemed to be falling very fast, which was extremely scary, but as he pulled his cord, out came the beautiful blue and green parachute! He then started floating slowly downward.

He looked around and saw Dante’s orange and aquamarine parachute floating nearby.

They both started looking all around as they floated. They could see for miles and miles. They saw lakes, trees, and buildings in the city. As they got closer to the ground, Timmy saw Dante point to a giant ‘X’ on the ground. Dante had explained earlier to Timmy to use the handles on his parachute to steer. When you pull on them it helps you to steer and helps you to land where you want to land.

Today they were supposed to land on the giant ‘X’.

Timmy tried his best and he landed close to the ‘X’ but Dante landed right on top of it! Timmy knew that he needed more practice to be as good as Dante. Dante gathered up his parachute and then ran over to help Timmy.

“Wasn’t that amazing?” Dante asked Timmy.

“Wow, it was awesome! We were so high! I was falling fast and then floating! It was scary and exciting all at the same time! I’ll bet no other ant in the world has EVER done this before!” Timmy said, without taking a breath.

I’m sure that Timmy was correct about that. Dante picked him up and carried him over to the car where Gill-the-pilot was waiting for them. Gill-the-pilot had landed the plane and driven to the ‘X’ earlier to pick them up. As they rode home, Dante and Timmy were telling Gill-the-pilot about all the things they had seen while they floated down.

When they arrived home, Dante showed Timmy how to fold his parachute and put it back into his pack so that it would be ready for next time.

Next time?

Timmy couldn’t wait!

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

My name is Timmy.

I am an ant that loves to go on adventures.

Today is a school day, but we aren’t going to school.

We are going on a field trip!

Queen Sally met us this morning and wished us a VERY fun day!

“Gosh, where are we going?” I wondered. Franklin, my big brother, heard me and said, “I don’t know, but I heard Uncle Billy say that he was super excited for us!”

We were all ready to go, so we marched out of the anthill.

We saw a whole line of school beetles waiting for us. I have never seen so many of them all in one place!

All the beetles had names. There was Mr. Beetleman, Mrs. Saltybeetle, Mrs. Beetletoes, and Mr. Beetlelegs.

My teacher, Mr. Eaglebud, had a large horn. He talked into it, told us to stay in line, and start climbing onto the school beetles.

When it was my turn, I climbed up onto Mrs. Beetletoes.

Then, Mr. Eaglebud made another loud announcement!

“Today we are going to a water park to go swimming, and also to ride on water rides!” We all started clapping and cheering!

The school beetles started moving and soon we made it to the water park.

Franklin, my big brother, said that I should go with him so that he could show me all of the rides.

We went to the ‘Cattail Slide’ first.

Franklin started climbing and told me to follow him.

We climbed and climbed.

Then, Franklin hopped off the cattail onto a green leaf! The leaf bent over and he went sliding down and then…KERSPLASH…into the pond below.

He hollered up to me, “Your turn Timmy! JUMP!”

I leaped onto the leaf, and…SWOOSH…I started sliding so fast that I could hear myself giggling, and then, I was up in the air…and…KERSPLASH!!!

I had barely come up out of the water when I heard Franklin yelling, “Come on! I want to show you the Lily-pad Water Slide!”

We ran over to the stream and hopped onto a passing lily-pad. Franklin yelled, “Hang on because this starts moving very fast!”

Water was splashing and we started spinning on the lily-pads.

Just as I thought it was going too fast, we splashed into the pond!

I came up out of the water laughing.

“That was scary and fun!” I laughed.

We rode on hopping frogs, that leaped from lily-pad to lily-pad before landing in water;

Dragonflies took us up in the air, then we jumped onto lilies and then into the pond below;

Then, at the end of the day, we floated and relaxed on lily-pads that had pink and red lilies on them.

I laid on my back, looking at the clouds, thinking that this may have been the most fun I’ve ever had.

We didn’t want the day to end, but we heard Mr. Eaglebud’s loud horn again as he said, “Time to go home!”

We all crawled slowly back to the school beetles. We were very tired, but we all thought that we were the luckiest ants in all the world!

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

My name is Timmy. I am an ant that loves adventure more than anything else. Today is a school day, but our class is going on a special trip. Mr. Eaglebud, my teacher, told us yesterday to sleep well and bring lunch as it would be a long day. None of us knew where we were going, but we knew it was going to be exciting, and that was all that mattered.

Aunt Pickles and Auntie Bluebell worked hard last night, making us all backpacks and putting special lunches inside. Queen Sally met us all this morning and wished us a VERY enjoyable day!

“Gosh, where are we going?” I wondered aloud.

One of my older brothers, Franklin, heard me and said, “I don’t know, but I heard Uncle Billy say that he was super excited for us. He didn’t say anything else though to give me a clue!”

Once we were all ready to go, we marched out of the anthill and were surprised to see a whole line of school beetles waiting for us.

I’ve never seen so many of them all in one place.

Mr. Eaglebud had a large horn and he talked into it, told us to stay in line, and start getting onto the school beetles.

I saw Mr. Beetleman, Mrs. Saltybeetle, and even Mr. Beetlelegs (he was my regular school beetle), but I guess today I was going to ride on a new beetle.

When it was my turn, I climbed up onto Mrs. Beetletoes along with my cousin Sparky. After we were all on the school beetles, Mr. Eaglebud made another loud announcement! “Today we are going to a water park for a fun-filled day of swimming and rides!”

All of my older cousins started cheering because they had been to a water park before. Most of us had never been before so we didn’t know just how much fun it was going to be. We started cheering anyway because the excitement was contagious.

All the school beetles started moving and before long we made it to the…

FROG HAVEN WATER PARK

We were all so excited that we jumped off of the school beetles like lightning. Mr. Eaglebud laughed saying that we almost looked like lightning bugs!

Franklin said that I should follow him so that he could show me all of the amazing rides and fun. We went first to the ‘Cattail Slide.’ Franklin started climbing and said, “Follow me!” We climbed up a long stem and then around this brown thing at the top. Franklin explained that was the cattail.

I watched as Franklin hopped off the cattail onto a green leaf! When he landed, the leaf bent over and he went sliding down and then…KERSPLASH…into the pond below!

He came up out of the water and hollered up to me, “Your turn Timmy! JUMP!”

Once the green leaf was close enough, I leaped and…SWOOSH…I started sliding so fast that I could hear myself squealing with laughter, and maybe a little fear too! Then, I was up in the air and…KERSPLASH!!! It was amazing! I swam back to the nearby land and looked back as Sparky was flying into the water.

Franklin wasted no time and was yelling, “Come on! I want to show you the ‘Lily-pad Water Slide!’ We ran over to the edge of a narrow stream and hopped onto a passing lily-pad. Franklin yelled back to us, “Hang on because this starts moving very fast!”

He wasn’t kidding, as the water was moving faster and was going over rocks all of the sudden. Water was splashing and we started spinning. Just as I thought it was going too fast, we splashed into the pond!

I came up out of the water laughing, “That was scary and fun!”

The rest of the day we rode on hopping frogs that leaped from lily-pad to lily-pad before splashing into the water.

There were dragonflies all over the place that took us up into the air.

Sometimes they would fly over ponds where there were lilies and we would jump into the pond below.

Then, finally, we spent the last part of the day floating and relaxing on lily-pads that had pink and red lilies on them.

They were calm and just floated gently.

I was lying on my back, looking at the clouds and thinking that this may have been the most fun I’ve ever had.

I don’t think any of us wanted the day to end, but then we heard Mr. Eaglebud’s loud horn as he said, “Time to go home!”

We all headed back to the school beetles, but we moved rather slowly. Our legs were almost too tired to climb onto the beetles. I think that I must have slept on the ride back home because I had more energy when we arrived back at the anthill!

I said goodbye, and thank you to Mrs. Beetletoes before running inside to share all of my adventures and fun with Queen Sally. Today, I felt like I was one of the luckiest ants in the whole world!

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

Do you know what a train sounds like?

Have you ever ridden on a train before?

I am an ant and my name is Timmy!

We have to walk down our anthill to get anywhere.

My Aunt Pickles took me to the park one day. Girls were playing on swings and slides.

I got to swing once, but it was kind of scary for a little ant.

I also got to slide too, which was fast and only a little scary.

Today, I went to the park and I saw a little boy playing with a toy train.

He picked me up and put me onto it.

He moved the train around and around saying, “Chugga, chugga, chugga, WOO WOO!”

That was a lot of fun! He then put me on the red caboose and around I went again. “WOO WOO!” I cried out loud too. “Chugga, chugga, chugga!” Areean said aloud. He told me that on a real train the engine has a whistle that blows with the WOO WOO sound.

It was now time for me to go home. I hope someday I get to ride a real train and they let me blow the train whistle.

Written & Illustrated by: Laurie Trotman

Hello! My name is Timmy and I am an ant.

I like to discover new things to do.

Sometimes I ride on a school beetle and go to school!

Last week, when I was on my way to school, I was reading a book. It was such a fun book, with a lot of pictures, that I forgot to get off the beetle when we went by the school.

I jumped off the beetle and saw a park. There were swings, slides, and children playing everywhere. I saw a little girl playing in the sand with a dolly.

I walked over to the sand and said, “Hello, my name is Timmy, what’s yours?”

The little girl said, “My name is Mae! I didn’t know that ants could talk!” “Well I can talk,” I said, “but I’ve never been to a playground before. Miss Mae, will you show me around this playground?” Mae was very excited. She picked me up and ran to the swings.

First, she showed me how she likes to swing. She was laughing and said, “This is so much fun. Are you ready to try?” I was excited, but also very frightened because I’m so small. Mae put me on the swing and pushed me VERY high!

I thought that I was going to fly off. I asked her if she would please help me off the swing. Just then, another little girl came up to us. Mae said that this girl was her sister. Her name was Winter.

I removed my hat, bowed, and said, “Good day Winter! It is nice to meet you!” Winter’s eyes lit up and then she asked if she could hold me. She asked if I wanted to go down the slide with her.

It was a very high slide that went around and around. I asked if we could go on the smaller slide first. I was a little afraid, but Winter was very kind to me and held me close. “Sure,” she said, “Hold on tight, here we go!” We slid straight down.

It was only a little scary.

It was now time for me to go back home to my anthill. Mae and Winter asked me if my mom lived in the anthill. “Yes,” I said. I told them that my mom is a queen ant and her name is Queen Sally. She is very beautiful.

“Now, I need to go home, clean my room, and eat dinner,” I told them. “Thank you for showing me all of the fun things to do at the park. I hope to see you again real soon!” Then I waved goodbye and ran to get back onto the school beetle.

Playing in the park was fun, but I was tired. When I got home, I did my chores, ate dinner, and went straight to bed.