Nate Rocks Virtual Sketchbook!

Marcus Brocket (AKA Brocket the Rocket) from The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow has teamed up with Nate Rockledge from the Nate Rocks series to bring you the Nate Rock's Virtual Sketchbook.

Hey guys! Brocket here. I'm your host for Nate's Virtual Sketchbook. Nate is amazing with a pencil, and it's awesome that I get to share his ideas with you!

Don't forget to enter the fun bonus contest at the end. Trust me, you don't want to miss out! Rock on ✌ ~ M

Nate Rock's Virtual Sketchbook

Hold onto your pants- here we go!

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Episode 3

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" he bellows. "Are you boys ready to spread some holiday cheer?"

"Sure, Mr. Fischer," I respond.

He bends down to get real close look at my face. His breath smells the same way our coffee pot starts to smell when mom leaves it on too long. 

"Nathan, I'm Santa- not Mr. Fischer," he says.

"Right, sorry." I study his face real close. That is Mr. Fischer under that white beard, isn't it? 

A nurse walks over to take us to the first room. She stops at the closed door and turns to face us. "This room is our lounge. It's where the non-contagious kids who are able to get around can go to play with other kids, read books, or just get away from their bed for a while. Kids in this room are here for everything from a broken bone to cancer treatment, to recovering from surgery." She then opens the door. 

The large room looks nothing like the stark white hallways we had been walking through. On one wall is a large colorful mural, painted with pictures of happy children playing on a playground. On the other walls, there are painted quotes and get-well signs, all done in bright colors. Cheerful music plays over a stereo, and in the corner is a decorated Christmas tree. About thirty children all stop what they are doing and look at us in a combination of shock and delight. 

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa yells, entering the room. "I hear there are some children in here who have been very good this year. Well, Santa has a surprise for you. Mrs. Claus and I have been very busy checking our lists, and we thought that you all have been so good, that we would surprise you early with your gifts. We even brought two of our best elves with us to help hand them out.

 

The children, who all seemed to be younger that me, start to gather around us, as Santa hands them gifts. Not sure what it is exactly we are supposed to be doing, Tommy and I just sort of stand there. The nurse, who showed us into the room, comes over to us and says, "Why don't you elves help the children play with their new toys?"

"Okay," Tommy says and heads over to a little boy trying to figure out how to work his new remote controlled car. 

"Excuse me, sir," a little girl says, tugging on my sleeve. "Would you like to color with me in my new princess coloring book?"

"Uh- sure," I say, wishing I had spotted the remote control kid first. I sit down at a pint-sized table with the girl, who tears out a page for me to color. I wonder how long we have to stay here until we go to the next wing. I'll bet Abby is just having a great time, sitting in her comfy clothing, with the TV on, while a nurse carts kids in and out to watch Christmas specials all day. She's probably just doing what she always does: talking or texting with Emma on her phone, while I'm here coloring a pink tutu or whatever this frilly skirt is called. 

"Oh my back! My BACK!"

I  look over to the other side of the room and see Santa lying on the floor yelling. A flurry of doctors and nurses rush over to him.

I rush over as well, to see what is going on. From what the doctors are saying, it sounds like Santa tripped over a toy, causing him to fly through the air and over a chair, before landing on the ground. 

Tommy comes to stand next to me. "Didn't anyone tell Santa he's not supposed to fly without his sled and reindeer? He whispers in my ear.

"Shhhh- that's not funny. He really hurt his back- I just heard one of the doctors say he might need surgery."

"OW- OW the PAIN!" Santa wails, "Nate? Where are you boy? Nate?"

I push my way through the crowd. "I'm right here sir. Do you want Tommy and me to finish passing out the toys to the rest of the kids here?"

"Nate, it's Christmas Eve, son! You need to finish up here quickly, and then deliver presents to children all over the world. I certainly won't be able to. Not until the doctors fix my back. I'm counting on you Nate, and so are all the children." 

"But, Mr. Fischer, I can't do that," I say, as the doctors lift him up onto a gurney. 

"I'm not Mr. Fischer, I'm Santa Claus- and you, my son, are Nate Rocks. You can do anything you set your mind to," he says. The nurse wheels him out of the room. 

"Tommy, what am I going to do?"Tommy? Tommy?" I turn around to where I thought Tommy was standing, but he is gone. In fact, everything is gone- the children, the hospital, everything. Where am I? And, why is it so cold in here?

Everything around me is frozen. Bright white snow covers the ground, and there are icicles hanging from the trees. I look up at the large white and red striped pole standing next to me. I wipe the snow from the attached sign to read the words: NORTH POLE.   

"It can't be," I say, twirling around. Behind me is a large house outlined in colorful lights. All of the house's lights are on and smoke streams from its chimney. I shove my hands in my pockets to try to stay warm, trudging through the snow and up the walkway towards the front door. 

A small little man wearing an outfit similar to the one I had on in the hospital is waiting at the front door and hurries me in. I look down at my own clothing- thank goodness- I'm back in my regular jeans. 

"Finally!" he shouts, "What is the Jack-in-the-box a 'rosie took you so long, Nate?"

"The Jack in the who?" I ask, puzzled.

 Oh nevermind, nevermind. We have to hurry. The sled is already packed and the reindeer are all waiting for you. We just have to get you changed."

"Oh, please tell me I don't have to wear another one of those goofy elf costumes again- er- I mean, it looks wonderful on you and all, but- uh- um."

"Don't be silly. You need to look like Santa of course! Lucky for us, Mrs. Clause kept some of Santa's clothing from a few years past, when his belly wasn't quite so jolly. You know how all those milk and cookies can be... a minute on the lips, a lifetime on this hips!"

The elf starts rummaging through a mountain of Santa outfits. "Ah yes, here it is. This looks like it will fit you just fine."

"Where should I get changed?" I look around for a spare room.

The elf reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of silver glittery powder. "I'll take care of that," he says, sprinkling the glitter over my head.

In the blink of an eye, my jeans and jacket are replaced with a red and white velvet suit. I hesitantly raise my hand up to my face to feel the moustache and beard.  

"How did you...?" I ask.

"Why, it's the magic of Christmas, of course. Now hurry up, there is no time to waste, the children are waiting," the elf says, pushing me out the door.

Before me, is a large, majestic-looking, golden sled, decorated with white lights and led by nine reindeer. Presents, more than I have ever seen in my entire life, fill the sleigh. As I climb aboard, I see a bright red nose shining at the front of the pack of reindeer. The reindeer begin to trot and before I know it, we are climbing into the cold sky. 

The reindeer stop at every house we see, landing on rooftops and waiting, as I easily slide down each chimney, presents in hand. I manage to get through each home without being spotted, although a few times, there were some narrow escapes. Like that one house in England. I had just placed the gifts under the tree and was getting ready to take some of the cookies that were left out, to bring back to the reindeer, when I heard little footsteps. The lights in the living room came on, right as I scooted back up the chimney, just in time. The reindeer were not happy that I had left the cookies behind, but the cookies behind, but I made up for it at the next house. They had cookies and brownies.  

I manage to get all of the gifts delivered before morning. Boy am I tired. As we head back to the North Pole, I make myself comfortable in the sled and close my eyes. 

             

Episode 2: Rock out with Nate on stage! 

Episode 1: Ride off with Nate in this fun adventure! 

Descriptive Scene Writing Contest

Congratulations Caroline Stanton!

Caroline Stanton from Ridgefield, CT holding her prize, the original sketch

Nate's sketch of a scene from Meet Marie Grace based on Caroline's description.

Everyone could have fallen in love with that place. It smelled of sweets and fruit. You heard laughter of children. To the eyes in it, it was everything. The dance studio for carnival was packed. None of the people were crying. All the colors of costumes.

                                                                                                                                                     ~ Caroline Stanton

THE NEXT CONTEST HAS BEGUN! 

Send us your scene today ✎

*Contest open to US and international and runs until December 2014

Is there a scene in a story that you would just love to see come to life? Send us one paragraph that describes a scene from your favorite middle grade book using your own words, and Nate will put his pencils to work. We'll choose a scene that we think is awesome and feature it on Fairday's Blog. Not only will you get to keep the sketch, but you'll be famous!  

You can send in your scene description to: haightjess@gmail.com.

Nate Rocks Sketch Episodes are taken from Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz. Check out our author interview!  

If you want to find out what's going on in Nate's head, stop by the Character Book Club and get ready for some hilarity! Don't worry, you don't have to eat the Sunday Surprise. ~ DMS

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