Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Ears of Louis
    The Ears of Louis
    The Ears of Louis
    Ebook62 pages48 minutes

    The Ears of Louis

    By Constance C. Greene

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The tale of a boy, his ears, and one little change that makes a world of difference

    Louis is a talented kid with many great qualities. He plays a mean hand of poker and can crack his knuckles louder than any other kid in his class. He’s even trusted to walk his kid brother home from school. But looking at Louis, most people don’t notice these excellent qualities. They don’t see his kind eyes or his strong legs. Instead, all they see is two big ears.

    Louis has been called every insulting name in the book: Dumbo, Elephant Ears, even just plain Ears. He is the target of the school’s worst bullies, especially skinny Ernie. It seems as if every day, Louis flees from one antagonist to another.

    Then one day, Louis’s poker partner and good friend, Mrs. Beeble, gives him a good-luck charm—and Louis starts to believe it might actually be working. All of a sudden, he doesn’t mind the bullies so much.

    Could Louis’s transformation be real? Are his ears somehow shrinking? Or is his newfound swagger helping him grow? Constance C. Greene’s heartwarming tale tells the story of one boy’s quest for self-discovery, courage, and happiness—and the ears that make his journey possible.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateFeb 10, 2015
    ISBN9781504004381
    The Ears of Louis
    Author

    Constance C. Greene

    Constance C. Greene was the author of over twenty highly successful children’s and young adult novels, including the ALA Notable Book A Girl Called Al, Al(exandra) the Great, Getting Nowhere, and Beat the Turtle Drum, which is an ALA Notable Book, an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice, and the basis for the Emmy Award–winning after-school special Very Good Friends.

    Read more from Constance C. Greene

    Related to The Ears of Louis

    Related ebooks

    Children's Social Themes For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Louis's Zoo

      Aug 2, 2023

      Louis's Zoo
      4 min read

    • Article

      Mr. Leith

      Jul 1, 2020

      Mr. Leith
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Quiet Boy

      Jan 28, 2019

      The Quiet Boy
      29 min read

    • Article

      Reservoir Cats

      Feb 3, 2022

      Reservoir Cats
      2 min read

    • Article

      secret Agent Cows

      Oct 1, 2019

      secret Agent Cows
      7 min read

    • Article

      An unexpected LESSON

      Mar 9, 2021

      An unexpected LESSON
      6 min read

    • Article

      Winter Term

      Sep 6, 2022

      She walked to school along streets named for English poets, but the one thing everyone in Melbourne knew about her suburb was its nameless canal. It was held to be behind headaches, sore throats, and babies who wouldn’t settle, and was considered lit

      19 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Aug 9, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Dogs

      Jan 27, 2020

      The Dogs
      13 min read

    • Article

      The TRUFFLE SEASON

      Aug 24, 2021

      The TRUFFLE SEASON
      6 min read

    • Article

      Little House

      Jun 5, 2023

      On Monday nights our mother made popcorn and served it to us in mugs with milk poured over. My younger sister and I carried our mugs into the family room and ate the popcorn with spoons, like cereal. We were five and seven. Until we were allowed to s

      21 min read

    • Article

      Spider's Corner

      Jul 1, 2023

      Spider's Corner
      6 min read

    • Article

      Haunted By Taylor Swift

      Aug 4, 2022

      Haunted By Taylor Swift
      11 min read

    • Article

      Like Mother, Like Daughter

      Apr 20, 2022

      Like Mother, Like Daughter
      8 min read

    • Article

      Ann Beattie

      Sep 15, 2017

      I’d started to visit Olivia more often because it was obvious she was lonely. The ALS lady who’d been moved to Hopkins had been Aunt Olivia’s closest friend, leaving aside Merton Hillstead, who actually went home. Even the friendly paperboy who somet

      23 min read

    • Article

      Singing The Same Tune

      May 19, 2021

      Singing The Same Tune
      2 min read

    • Article

      All In The Family

      Sep 7, 2022

      All In The Family
      9 min read

    • Article

      The 100 Club

      Jan 31, 2021

      “Did you wash it?” That’s the first thing people usually ask Julia Mooney when they hear she wore the same dress for 100 days. The New Jersey schoolteacher and artist donned one grey, button-down frock day in, day out to make a wider point about cons

      6 min read

    • Article

      Lady Of The Lake

      Aug 2, 2020

      Lady Of The Lake
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down

      Apr 20, 2022

      You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down
      8 min read

    • Article

      Projections of Life

      Jun 1, 2023

      Projections of Life
      14 min read

    • Article

      Singing The Same Tune

      May 19, 2021

      Singing The Same Tune
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Great Escape

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Great Escape
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Ears of Louis

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Ears of Louis - Constance C. Greene

      1

      Louis had been doing fine in life until he hit first grade. He could crack his knuckles really loud, he could skip a stone over the water so it bounced five, sometimes six, times.

      He also wasn’t bad at mumblety peg.

      That was four years ago.

      Then cousin Marge came calling from Cincinnati. She and Louis’ mother were drinking tea in the living room when he got home from school.

      My, my, cousin Marge said, peering sharply at him, haven’t seen you since you were a pup. You’ve grown some but not as much as I would’ve thought.

      I was never a pup, Louis said.

      "Where do you suppose he got such big ears? cousin Marge said, as if he hadn’t spoken. Certainly not from my side of the family."

      Louis’ ears aren’t big, his mother said in a stiff voice. Besides, remember Clark Gable.

      Who’s Clark Gable? Louis asked.

      He was a famous movie star and very handsome, his mother said. He always got the girl.

      The last thing in the world Louis wanted was to get the girl. Still, a famous movie star.

      Next, Louis could remember sliding down the slide at school. He closed his eyes against the rush of air and the ground crowding up at him. It was like flying.

      Hey, Elephant Boy, a voice said, you’d better watch it. The wind gets tangled up in those ears, you might wind up in Alaska.

      Louis had opened his eyes to a ring of mouths, all opened wide, laughing. He had put his hands over his ears to shut out the sound, or maybe to hide them. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was they were laughing at him.

      Louis thought that if he kept quiet and pretended he didn’t mind, they’d stop and life would be as it had been before.

      What made it worse was you’d never notice his mother and father’s ears, his brother Tom’s were teeny and his baby sister’s you could hardly see, they were so small. It was a wonder she heard anything at all.

      Some days were worse than others. On a bad day, Louis went home and kicked his bed until his toe throbbed. Then he hid the blanket Tom couldn’t go to sleep without and once, he even punched his baby sister in the stomach. Her stomach was so fat she hardly felt a thing. She blew spit bubbles at him which made him madder than before.

      Louis started taping his ears to the side of his head with Scotch tape. He’d wait until Tom fell asleep in the next bed. He didn’t want Tom to know. When he’d finished taping, he’d kneel down beside his bed and pray to God to make his ears small and his muscles big. In the morning, his ears were still big and his muscles small.

      It was a bad combination.

      Skinny Ernie was the worst. He’d lie in wait behind a tree, then pop out, shouting, You’re some sweet kid, Sugar Bowl!

      Louis would crack his knuckles, yell Race you! and run like the wind. Away from one tormentor and into the path of another.

      Dumbo, Dumbo, how’s about a sack of peanuts for lunch? someone else would taunt.

      That was why Louis needed big muscles. To knock their blocks off.

      After times like these, Louis always had the same dream. In it, he was winning a race. He was passing everybody, he was way out ahead. He was first crossing the finish line. Before he could stop himself, he took off into the air, the wind caught in his ears, and he dipped high and low, like a kite, on his way to Alaska.

      Down below, they were laughing again. The sound billowed up at him and his face was hot with shame. When he woke, his mother was standing by his bed.

      What’s the matter, Louis? You were shouting in your sleep. Are you all right? she asked anxiously.

      I’m O.K., Louis mumbled, so she’d go away and leave him alone. I’m fine.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1