Welcome to a fun story about a girl named Carla and her amazing sandwiches! Carla loves to make sandwiches that are different from everyone else’s. Let’s see what happens when she brings her special sandwiches to school.
On Monday, Carla sat next to Buster at lunch. Buster looked at her sandwich and said, “What are you eating? It’s all green and slimy!” Carla smiled and said, “It’s an olive, pickle, and green bean sandwich. I made it myself. Want to try some?” But Buster said, “No way! That’s gross!” Carla just laughed and said, “It’s not gross. It’s different!”
The next day, Carla’s sandwich was long and had something yellow and white inside. Leslie asked, “What is that?” Carla replied, “It’s my Banana-Cottage-Cheese Delight on a toasted baguette.” Leslie made a funny face and said, “That’s disgusting!” But Carla said, “It’s not disgusting. It’s creative!”
On Wednesday, Carla’s sandwich was orange and brown and made a crunching sound. Natie asked, “What is that?” Carla said, “I call it Carla’s Crunch. It’s peanut butter, crackers, and cheddar cheese in pita bread. Want some?” Natie said, “No way! That’s sick!” But Carla said, “It’s not sick. It’s unique!”
On Thursday and Friday, Carla brought more unusual sandwiches. By Monday, no one wanted to sit with her. But then Miss Pimento announced a picnic for the next day. Everyone was excited!
At the picnic, Buster realized he forgot his sandwich. Carla offered him one of hers. At first, Buster didn’t want it, but he was so hungry that he decided to try it. To his surprise, he loved it!
After Buster tried Carla’s sandwich, everyone wanted to taste it. Carla shared her sandwich with the whole class, and they all thought it was delicious. The next day, everyone brought their own creative sandwiches to school. There were asparagus and salad dressing sandwiches, pistachio and tangerine sandwiches, and even a pizza sandwich!
When it was time for lunch, Buster asked Carla what kind of sandwich she had. Carla smiled and said, “Today I have… peanut butter and jelly.” Everyone was surprised! Carla said, “I like to be different.”
The story of Carla’s sandwiches teaches us that being unique is special. Just like Carla, everyone has something that makes them different and amazing. Celebrate what makes you, you!
Thank you for reading about Carla’s Sandwiches. Remember, being different is wonderful, and trying new things can be fun!
Create Your Own Unique Sandwich: Just like Carla, you can make your own special sandwich! Gather some ingredients from your kitchen with the help of an adult. Try mixing different flavors and textures, like sweet and salty or crunchy and soft. Once you’ve made your sandwich, share it with your family and ask them what they think. What makes your sandwich unique?
Sandwich Art: Use paper, crayons, and other craft materials to create a picture of your dream sandwich. Think about the colors and shapes of the ingredients you would use. Would it be tall or flat? Would it have stripes or spots? Share your sandwich art with your classmates and explain why you chose those ingredients.
Question Time: Think about a time when you tried something new, like a food or activity. How did it feel? Was it fun, scary, or exciting? Share your experience with a friend or family member. Why is it important to try new things, even if they seem different or unusual at first?
**Sanitized Transcript:**
Welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I’m Allison Janney, and today I will be reading “Carla’s Sandwich,” written by Debbie Herman and illustrated by Sheila Bailey.
Carla brought unique 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? I brought extra.”
“No way!” said Buster, pinching his nose. “That’s gross!”
“It’s not gross,” said Carla. “It’s different. 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-Cottage-Cheese Delight,” said Carla, “on a tasty toasted baguette.”
“Bananas and cottage cheese?” asked Leslie, sticking out her tongue. “That’s disgusting.”
“It’s not disgusting,” said Carla. “It’s creative.”
“It’s disgusting,” said Leslie, and she went to sit next to Natie instead.
On Wednesday, Carla’s sandwich was orange and brown and lumpy. It crunched when she bit into it. “What is that?” asked Natie, who was sitting next to her now.
“I call it Carla’s Crunch,” 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 Natie, scrunching his face. “That’s sick!”
“It’s not sick,” said Carla. “It’s unique.”
“It’s sick,” said Natie. 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.”
“Hurray!” everyone shouted. “A picnic! Yippee!”
The next day, when the lunch bell rang, the kids ran to get their picnic lunches. “I have peanut butter and jelly,” Natie announced to the class. “I have baloney,” 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. He and Leslie laughed. So did Natie.
“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.
“All right, 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 sandwich. “What is that?”
“For your information,” said Carla, “It’s a lettuce, tomato, raisin, bean sprout, pretzel, and mayonnaise sandwich. I call it the Combo Deluxe.”
“It looks more like a Wormbo Deluxe!” teased Buster. Leslie and Natie 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. “I can believe it,” Buster said sadly. “I forgot my sandwich.”
“That’s awful,” said Leslie, biting into her baloney sandwich. “A real bummer,” said Natie, chomping on his peanut butter and jelly.
Soon everyone was eating — everyone except Buster. Carla looked at Buster. She looked at her sandwich. She looked 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. He looked at Carla’s sandwich. “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?”
Buster eyed Carla’s sandwich again. “You don’t know what you’re missing…” Carla sang out. Buster couldn’t take it anymore. He looked around. Everyone was busy eating. 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 sandwich carefully. He looked at Leslie, then Natie, 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 Natie.
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 Natie in disbelief. “What does it taste like, Buster?” 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 Natie in shock. “It was?” asked Leslie in surprise.
“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. And then Natie 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 Natie. “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 Natie, “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 the sides.
“So, what kind of sandwich is that?” Buster asked.
“Yeah, Carla,” said Leslie. “What’s inside?”
Natie 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 Natie asked together.
“Peanut butter and jelly,” said Carla, biting into her sandwich. “I like to be different.”
The end.
I picked “Carla’s Sandwich” because I like the idea of kids learning to celebrate their uniqueness. The things that make you, you are special. There’s no other person like you in the world, and that should be celebrated. I think, at the end of the story, the kids learn to appreciate Carla’s uniqueness, and I love that part of the story.
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