Marion and the Girls' Getaway (20) (The Critter Club) - Softcover

Callie Barkley loves animals. As a young girl, she dreamed of getting a cat or dog of her own until she discovered she was allergic to most of them. It was around this time that she realized the world was full of all kinds of critters that could use some love. She now lives with her husband and two kids in Connecticut. They share their home with exactly ten fish and a very active ant farm.

Tracy Bishop has loved drawing since she was a little girl in Japan. She spends her time illustrating books, reading, and collecting pens. She lives with her husband, son, and hairy dog, named Harry, in San Jose, California.

Marion and the Girls’ Getaway Chapter 1

Perfect Weekend, Perfect Idea

The fire crackled in the fireplace. Marion Ballard snuggled into her cozy blanket. She turned the last page of the book in her lap. It was the latest in one of her favorite series, Hero Horses. And it was ending just the way Marion had hoped. The stallion carried the injured rider five miles through a storm to safety!

Marion closed the book with a snap and sighed. This was turning out to be a pretty perfect weekend so far!





The night before, Marion had a sleepover with Amy, Liz, and Ellie. They were her best friends—and her partners at The Critter Club, an animal rescue shelter they had started in their town of Santa Vista.

The girls had a sleepover almost every Friday. This one was at Ellie’s house. They had made tacos for dinner—tofu tacos for Liz, who was vegan. They’d watched a movie about a dolphin. Then, this morning, Mr. Mitchell had made waffles for breakfast.



And tonight was such a cozy evening at home! Marion loved it when her mom made a fire in the fireplace. She loved reading by the warmth. She didn’t even mind playing Go Fish with her little sister, Gabby, ten times! As long as it was by the fire.

Hmm, thought Marion. What should she do next? She scanned a nearby bookshelf. Should she reread one of the other Hero Horses books?



Marion’s eyes fell on some big leather-bound albums. Photo albums! Oh, she could look at those for hours. Some of them went way back. They had photos of her mom and dad when they were Marion’s age! Some of the albums had photos of Marion as a baby. And photos of Marion as a toddler. And photos of toddler Marion with baby Gabby.



But Marion pulled down the newest album. She knew it had photos from the past year. Gabby in her school play. Marion holding Teddy, her class’s pet hamster.





Marion flipped the page. Here were photos of last year’s ski trip. Marion in her ski helmet. The Ballard family at the top of the mountain. A moose they’d spotted near the ski cabin. It was actually their cousin Lou’s cabin. But he let the Ballards use it at least once a year.



Suddenly, Marion had an idea. A perfectly fantastic idea. It combined so many of her favorite things: friends, fun, the ski cabin, and wildlife sightings!

But first, she had to get her mom and dad to agree.