What Happened Next? By A. H. Stokes.

What Happened Next. By A. H. Stokes. ISBN:13: 978-1-951088-18-7 $19.95.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? is a juvenile contemporary fiction chapter book for ages 7 through 12. It is comprised of three short stories. 

Each of the three short stories in WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? is bilingual, with paragraphs alternating between English and Spanish.

The three short stories contained in WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? are, “The Window”, “The Bracelet” and “The Bicycle.” All three short stories have three different endings the readers can choose from. 

The Window – The fifth-grade boys are playing on a school’s playfield during school hours. Gioele is the undisputed leader of the group. He is manipulative and calculating. A nearby resident’s house window is accidentally broken due to the violation of school rules. Who gets the blame and who actually broke the window may not be the same person.

The Bracelet - Two girls, Felicity and Sienna, declare themselves to be best friends forever. They present each other with identical engraved bracelets to signify their relationship. The bracelets are engraved with each other’s names. They swore to never take them off. But one of them is seen at school no longer wearing her bracelet. What is the mystery surrounding this reversal?

The Bicycle - It is easy to identify with Agustín; a boy from a disadvantaged family who has a dream of one day owning a bicycle. One birthday, he is given a used bicycle as a gift. Now he would no longer be ostracized and ridiculed by the other boys at school. But something happens to the bicycle. What happens? 

The author, A.H. Stokes, an engineer by profession, worked as a Test & Development Engineer for General Motors, the sole proprietor of a managerial & technical consulting firm, and the V. P. of Operations and Business Development for CAE Tech. He is an instructional specialist at an elementary school located in southwest Detroit, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. He  has become enamored with the culture.