Philadelphia!
written with Brandi Dougherty
illustrated by Francesca Gambatesa
Grosset & Dunlap
An Imprint of Penguin Random House
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Dedicated to mom and daughter adventures.
GROSSET & DUNLAP
Penguin Young Readers Group
An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as
“unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this
“stripped book.”
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a
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The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility
for author or third-party websites or their content.
Text copyright © 2016 by GDL Foods, Inc. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Francesca Gambatesa. All rights reserved.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Printed in the USA.
Library of Congress Cataloging–in–Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-0-448-48395-5 (pbk)
ISBN 978-0-448-48396-2 (hc)
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Alfie sighed and pulled at a loose string on his bedspread.
His sister, Emilia, sat next to him with her arms crossed.
She sighed, too. Their great-aunt Zia Donatella laughed.
“Such facce tristi,” Zia said in Italian. “Such sad faces!”
“Do you really have to go?” Alfie asked as Zia packed
her suitcase.
“Yeah,” Emilia added. “Can’t you stay just a little bit
longer?”
Zia smiled and sat down beside them on Alfie’s
bed. “I’m meeting friends in Oslo in a few days. I can’t
disappoint them, either!”
~1~
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“That’s in Norway, right?” Emilia asked.
“Yes!” Alfie answered before Zia had a chance. “It’s
the capital of Norway.”
Alfie and Emilia had known for a while that Zia’s
stay with the Bertolizzi family was coming to an end, but
it didn’t make her leaving any easier. After all, Zia had
traveled the world a few times over. She’d visited places
as far and wide as Morocco, Russia, and Argentina!
~2~
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Staying with Alfie, Emilia, and their parents was
probably the longest Zia had lived in one place in quite a
while.
Alfie looked at all the maps that hung on the walls of
his bedroom. Having Zia around and hearing her travel
stories made Alfie love geography even more. He also
realized how little time he’d actually spent in his room
since Zia had been their guest.
“Won’t it be nice to have your bedroom back?” Zia
asked, as if reading his mind.
Alfie shrugged. “It will. But I’d be happy to let you
keep it if it meant you were staying longer.” He’d grown
used to the lumpy pullout sofa in the office. It didn’t really
bother him anymore.
“Or you could stay in my room for a while!” Emilia
jumped in. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Alfie raised an eyebrow. Now that Emilia was
thirteen, she spent more time in her bedroom than ever.
It was hard for Alfie to imagine her giving that up.
~3~
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Zia laughed again and touched the brightly colored
stone necklace she always wore. “You’re both very sweet.
Maybe next time I’ll stay in your room, Emilia.”
Alfie perked up at the thought of Zia being their
guest again. He got up and walked over to the big world
map tacked to his wall. He looked at all the places they’d
visited since Zia came to stay: Naples, Italy; Paris,
France; Hong Kong, China; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and
New Orleans, Maui, and Miami in the United States.
Alfie turned to Emilia
and grinned. “Look at
all the places we’ve
gone!”
Emilia jumped
up and joined him at
the map. “We’ve actually been
around the world.”
Not only was Zia a first-class world traveler herself,
but she had turned Alfie and Emilia into seasoned
~4~
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travelers as well—all thanks to a little magic.
Zia rolled up a pair of jeans and placed them in her
almost-full suitcase. “I don’t know what you two are
talking about,” she said with a smile. “But I do know that
someone will be twelve in a couple of days!”
Alfie beamed. He couldn’t wait for his birthday. And
he was so glad Zia would still be there to celebrate with
them. “That’s right,” he said. “You know what would be a
great birthday present, Zia?”
“What, ragazzo?”
“You staying with us longer!” Alfie replied.
“Yes!” Emilia chimed in.
Zia smiled, closed her suitcase, and zipped up the side.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go make a snack. Good food
makes everything better.”
Alfie and Emilia had a hard time arguing with that.
They raced out of the room and followed Zia down to the
kitchen.
~5~
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The next morning at breakfast, Alfie walked into the
kitchen and found his parents rushing around as usual.
Emilia sat at the table eating her scrambled eggs with
her head stuck in a history book. Emilia was passionate
about history in the same way that Alfie loved geography.
Alfie poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a
seat next to Emilia.
Just then, Zia breezed into the room. She stopped
short and looked at Mom and Dad. “You two look
exhausted!” she said.
Alfie looked up and saw that Mom’s shirt was
wrinkled on one side, and Dad was yawning. Zia was
~6~
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right: They looked frazzled, tired, and worn-out.
“Big project at work,” Mom said, taking a bite of toast
while she tried to smooth out her shirt. “I was up half the
night.”
“And I’ve got a very important meeting first thing this
morning,” Dad added. “Clients are flying in from New
York.”
~7~
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Zia sighed. “You both really need a break. You’ve been
working nonstop for months!”
“Yeah, Mom and Dad,” Emilia agreed, looking up from
her book. “We’ve barely even seen you.”
Alfie nodded. Mom and Dad were always
busy, but lately it had reached a crazy
point.
Dad kissed Emilia on top of her head.
“We’ll be home for dinner tonight. I promise.”
“Yes, we’ll see you tonight!” Mom
said with a tired smile.
Alfie was about to bring up plans
for his birthday party when Dad
ruffled Alfie’s hair and grabbed his
briefcase. “See you tonight, champ!”
he said as he headed for the garage.
Mom trailed right behind, balancing
her bag and travel coffee mug. “Have a
good day!” she called back.
~8~
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Alfie, Emilia, and Zia stared at one another. It felt like
a tornado had just blown through the kitchen.
“What are we going to do?” Alfie asked.
“I don’t know.” Emilia shook her head. “They barely
even sleep anymore. It’s crazy!”
Zia poured herself a cup of coffee. “I have an idea,”
she said. “We’ll make a special dinner tonight and talk
to them about finally starting to plan that family trip
they’ve been dreaming about. I think if the three of us
band together, we might be able to convince them.”
“Good idea!” Alfie said. “We’ve been talking about
that for ages.”
Emilia nodded. “I guess I stopped thinking about it
since Alfie and I have traveled so much on our own lately.
But you’re right, it’s definitely time!”
Alfie laughed. “Where should we go with Mom and
Dad?”
“Norway sounds interesting,” Emilia joked. “Mind if
we tag along on your trip, Zia?”
~9~
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Zia laughed.
“Do you like visiting Norway?” Emilia asked.
“Believe it or not,” Zia said, “this will actually be my
first time going. I’m really looking forward to it, and I’ll
let you know all the details.”
“How about some place in the United States, like
San Francisco?” Alfie chimed in. “Didn’t you say you’ve
always wanted to visit there, too?”
“Yes, I have! And I know your parents would like that.
There are plenty of cities in the United States they still
haven’t visited.”
“We could take a ferry to Alcatraz and ride the cable
cars!” Emilia said.
“And eat burritos!” Alfie added.
“Or what about Boston?” Emilia said. “There’s so
much history there. The American Revolution, the
Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s house . . .”
“Boston definitely has plenty of history!” Zia agreed.
Alfie flopped back in his chair. “There are so many
~10~
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cool places. How are we supposed to choose just one?”
Zia laughed as she put away the breakfast dishes.
Alfie and Emilia stood up to help. “We’ll talk more about
it tonight,” Zia said. “In the meantime, you two should
brush your teeth and get ready for school. I don’t want you
to be late!”
“Okay,” Alfie and Emilia replied. They hurried to
get ready for their day, but Alfie couldn’t stop thinking
about where they might go. There was Seattle, New York
City, Chicago . . . and that was just in the United States!
It was exciting to think about a new trip as a family. He
just hoped Mom and Dad could finally stop working long
enough to plan something.
~11~
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