Katie McDee/Scholastic
It was like any other morning. I ate my breakfast.
“Bye, Mel,” said my dad as he went out the door.
Then I heard my dad yell! I ran outside. Turkeys were on his car. My dad could not drive to work!
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Art by Katie McDee
The Day the Turkeys Came to Town
By Janice Behrens
From the October/November 2026 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will discuss the problem and solution in a fiction story.
Lexiles: 440L
Featured Skill: Plot, Problem and Solution
Standards
Katie McDee/Scholastic
The next day, more turkeys came to town. Suddenly, there were too many turkeys.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
Like any kid, I had drawn plenty of turkeys. Every Thanksgiving, we made turkey decorations. But I had no idea they were so big. And they were loud.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
In town, turkeys clogged the sidewalks. People could no longer walk in the park.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
The turkeys would not leave the bakery.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
They even took over the hair salon.
There was a town meeting.
“We need the turkeys to leave,” said the mayor.
But what would make the turkeys leave? I looked at the turkey handprint I was drawing.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
“I know!” I said. “Thanksgiving! That’s when everyone has a big turkey dinner.”
“The turkeys will not want to become dinner,” said the mayor. “But Thanksgiving is not for months!”
“The turkeys don’t know that,” I said.
Katie McDee/Scholastic
That evening, the whole town put up Thanksgiving decorations. The turkeys did not look happy.
As I went to bed, I could hear them quietly gobbling. I almost thought I heard them say “Gobble, gobble, let’s go.”
Katie McDee/Scholastic
The next morning was quiet. No more gobbling. I looked out the window and smiled. “The plan worked,” I thought.
And that was the day the turkeys left town.
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