Under Development

Are Not!

by Stacy Goodman

(approx. 500 words)

Genre: Children's

Development Status: Active, Sept. 2025

[Spread 1]

Mom picks the kids up from school.
Brother and sister climb into the back, already bickering.
Baby is buckled into his car seat, his window rolled all the way down.
Brother: “Did not!”
Sister: “Did too!”
Mom: “That’s enough, you two.”

[Spread 2]

Brother: “Am not!”
Sister: “Am too!”
Mom: (focused on the road).
(Outside, unseen by the siblings, a firetruck waits at the light.)

[Spread 3]

Brother: “Don’t cross this line!”
(He swipes his finger through the air, drawing an invisible wall.)
Sister: (leans across it with a grin) “Did too!”

(Illustrator note: show a bold cartoon-style dashed line dividing the backseat. Brother
fuming on one side, Sister leaning way over it with a mischievous grin. Baby sits in the
middle, oblivious, looking out his open window.)

(A fireman leans in, smiling at the baby, placing his hat on the baby’s head and handing
him a tiny kitten. The car moves on.)

[Spread 4]

Brother: “You started it!”
Sister: “Did not!”
(Traffic stop: circus parade outside. A clown hands the baby a balloon through the
window. The car moves again.)

[Spread 5]

Brother: “You’re a liar!”
Sister: “Am not!”
(Next to them, an ice cream truck. The ice cream man hands the baby a cone. The car
moves on.)

[Spread 6]

Sister: “You’re mean!”
Brother: “Am not!”
Sister: “Are too!”
(Car pulls into driveway. Baby now holds all his treasures: balloon, kitten, ice cream
cone, still wearing fireman hat.)

[Spread 7]

Brother and Sister (together): “…Hey! Where did you get THAT?!”
Mom: (turning, eyes widening) “What in the world…?”
Baby: (big grin).

[Final Page]

Mom: “We’re home!”

Sometimes if you’re too busy saying “Are not!” you’ll miss the “Are too!” that makes life
sweet.