???? Kids Book Read Aloud: CARLA’S SANDWICH by Debbie Herman and Sheila Bailey

Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:

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Hello, my reading friends! It’s Ani. Today’s shout-outs go to Caitlyn, Emily, Mattheo, Anna, Elijah, and Eric. Hello, everyone! I am so happy that we all get to read together. Are you ready for a story? Well, today we’re going to read about a little girl who has some very unique tastes in food. Let’s see how her classmates feel about her culinary creations as we read “Carla’s Sandwich.” If you have a copy, go get it so you can read along with me.

**”Carla’s Sandwich,” written by Debbie Herman, illustrated by Sheila Bailey.**

Carla brought unusual sandwiches to school. Buster noticed it first; he was sitting next to Carla at lunch one Monday.

“What are you eating?” Buster asked. “It’s all green and slimy.”

“It’s an olive, pickle, and green bean sandwich,” said Carla. “I made it myself. Would you like some?”

“No way,” said Buster, pinching his nose. “That’s gross.”

“It’s not gross,” said Carla. “I like to be different.”

“It’s not different,” said Buster. “It’s gross.” And he went to sit next to Leslie instead.

On Tuesday, Carla’s sandwich was long, with something yellow and white oozing out the sides.

“What in the world is that?” asked Leslie.

“It’s my banana and cottage cheese delight,” said Carla, “on a tasty toasted baguette.”

“That’s disgusting,” said Leslie, sticking out her tongue.

“It’s not disgusting,” said Carla. “It’s creative.”

“It’s disgusting,” said Leslie, and she went to sit next to Nady instead.

On Wednesday, Carla’s sandwich was orange and brown and lumpy. It crunched when she bit into it.

“Ugh,” said Nady, who was sitting next to her. “What is that?”

“I call it Carla’s,” said Carla. “It’s peanut butter crackers and cheddar cheese in a lovely pita bread. I brought extra. Would you like some?”

“No way,” said Nady, scrunching his face. “That’s sick.”

“It’s not sick,” said Carla. “It’s unique.”

“It’s sick,” said Nady, and he went to sit next to Marcus instead.

On Thursday, Carla brought a chopped liver, potato chip, and cucumber sandwich. On Friday, she brought a sardine and mustard sandwich with sunflower seeds. By Monday, no one wanted to sit next to Carla, so she ate by herself.

At the end of the day, Miss Pimento made an announcement: “Tomorrow we will have a picnic!” Everyone shouted in excitement.

The next day, when the lunch bell rang, the kids ran to get their picnic lunches.

“I have peanut butter and jelly,” Nady announced to the class.

“I have bologna,” said Leslie.

“Tuna!” called Buster. “Hey Carla, what do you have?”

Carla didn’t answer.

“It’s probably a ketchup, spinach, and jelly bean sandwich,” joked Buster, and he and Leslie laughed, as did Nady.

“It is not,” said Carla.

“Let’s have some quiet in here,” said Miss Pimento, “or we won’t be able to have our picnic.” The class was suddenly silent. Then the children followed Miss Pimento two by two down the hall, out the door, and down the block to the park.

“Alright, everyone,” said Miss Pimento. “Find a place to sit and bon appétit!” Carla took a bite of her sandwich.

“Yuck!” said Buster, pointing at Carla’s lunch. “What is that? A worm sandwich?”

“For your information,” said Carla, “it’s a lettuce, tomato, raisin, bean sprout, pretzel, and mayonnaise sandwich. I call it the Gumbo Deluxe.”

“It looks more like a Wormbo Deluxe,” teased Buster, and Leslie and Nady burst out laughing.

Buster rummaged through his knapsack. “Uh-oh,” he said quietly. He rummaged some more. “Uh-oh,” he said again. He dumped everything out of his bag. “Ugh, I can’t believe it,” Buster said sadly. “I forgot my sandwich.”

“That’s awful,” said Leslie, biting into her bologna sandwich.

“A real bummer,” said Nady, chomping on his peanut butter and jelly.

Soon everyone was eating—everyone except Buster. Carla looked at Buster, then at her sandwich, then back at Buster.

“You can have one of mine,” she offered. “I brought extra.”

Some kids snickered. “No thanks,” said Buster glumly. “I’m not that desperate.”

Doris ate her egg salad sandwich, and Rufus ate his tuna. Herbert ate his salmon salad sandwich, and Barbara ate her turkey. Buster’s mouth began to water. Maybe bean sprouts aren’t so bad, he thought.

“It’s really quite delicious,” said Carla, catching Buster’s glance. Buster quickly turned away. Susan ate her corned beef sandwich, and Harris munched his taco. Fabio ate his chicken sandwich, and Gordon ate his meatloaf. Buster was growing hungrier by the minute, and his stomach growled loudly. Raisins are kind of fun, he thought, and who doesn’t like pretzels?

Marcus ate his cheese sandwich, and Darcy ate her bagel. Buster eyed Carla’s sandwich again. “You don’t know what you’re missing,” he said out loud.

Buster couldn’t take it anymore. He looked around; everyone was busy eating, and no one was watching him.

“Okay,” he whispered to Carla.

“Okay what?” asked Carla.

“Okay, can I have one?” he whispered again.

“Can you have one what?” asked Carla.

Buster blurted impatiently, “Can I please have one of your sandwiches?”

Everyone looked up. Carla smiled and handed Buster a Combo Deluxe. Buster examined the lettuce, tomato, raisin, bean sprout, pretzel, and mayonnaise sandwich carefully. He looked at Leslie, then Nady, then Carla, and then he took a very small bite. All eyes were watching as he chewed and swallowed.

“Well?” asked Leslie impatiently.

“Well?” asked Nady.

Buster didn’t say anything. He looked at everyone and took another bite, and another, and another.

“I can’t believe he’s eating it,” said Nady in disgust.

“What does it taste like?” asked Leslie. “Is it gross?”

Buster didn’t answer; he was too busy eating. When the last bite was gone, Buster licked his fingers and smacked his lips. “Yum,” he said. “That was the best sandwich I ever ate!”

“It was?” asked Nady in horror.

“It was?” asked Leslie in dismay.

“It was,” said Buster, smiling at Carla.

Carla beamed. “I bet you’d all enjoy the Combo Deluxe,” said Carla. “Who’d like to try some?”

Slowly, Leslie raised her hand. Then Nady raised his, then Darcy, Susan, Rufus, and Fabio. Soon all the kids had their hands in the air. Carla took her last sandwich, broke it into small pieces, and handed them out to everyone.

“Wow!” said Leslie, tasting her piece. “This is terrific!”

“Yeah,” said Nady. “It tastes great!”

“Tomorrow I’m going to bring a creative sandwich too,” said Leslie. “Maybe it’ll be a mustard sandwich with baked beans and French fries. What do you think of that, Carla?”

“Sounds good,” said Carla. “And it’s definitely creative.”

“I’ll bring a spaghetti and soy sauce sandwich,” said Buster as he sat down next to Carla.

“Yum,” said Carla and Leslie together.

“I don’t know what I’m bringing yet,” said Nady, “but it’ll be unique.”

The next day, everyone in Miss Pimento’s class brought an unusual sandwich to school. There was an asparagus and salad dressing sandwich, a pistachio and tangerine sandwich, and even a pizza sandwich.

“What did you bring today?” Carla asked Buster.

“I’m not telling,” said Carla. “You’ll have to wait until lunchtime.”

The morning seemed to last forever, but finally, the lunch bell rang. While Buster was munching away on his spaghetti and soy sauce sandwich, he glanced over at Carla. This time, her sandwich was not green, it was not slimy or lumpy, and nothing was oozing out at the sides.

“So what kind of sandwich is that?” Buster asked.

“Yeah,” Carla said Leslie. “What’s inside?”

Nady looked at Carla, waiting for an answer.

“Well,” said Carla, “today I have peanut butter and jelly.”

“Peanut butter and jelly?” asked Buster in disbelief.

“Peanut butter and jelly?” Leslie and Nady asked together.

“Peanut butter and jelly,” said Carla, biting into her sandwich. “I like to be different.”

Do you know what I love about Carla? She isn’t afraid to be different. I think it’s a very good thing that we’re all different, so be confident in who you are because you are very, very special.

I hope you enjoyed our story today, and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel to stay up to date on all my latest videos. See you next time!

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This version removes any informal language, maintains clarity, and ensures a more polished presentation.