Bob and Larry in

The Case of the

Missing

Patience

story by Karen Poth

Be kind and compassionate to one another,

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

—Ephesians 4:32

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dear Parent: Your child’s love of reading starts here!

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts

Dear Parent:

Your child’s love of reading starts here!

Every child learns to read in a different way and at his or her own speed. You can help your young reader improve and become more confident by encouraging his or her own interests and abilities. You can also guide your child’s spiritual development by reading stories with biblical values and Bible stories, like I Can Read! books published by Zonderkidz. From books your child reads with you to the first books he or she reads alone, there are I Can Read! books for every stage of reading:

SHARED READING

Basic language, word repetition, and whimsical illustrations, ideal for sharing with your emergent reader.

BEGINNING READING

Short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts for children eager to read on their own.

READING WITH HELP

Engaging stories, longer sentences, and language play for developing readers.

READING ALONE

Complex plots, challenging vocabulary, and high-interest topics for the independent reader.

ADVANCED READING

Short paragraphs, chapters, and exciting themes for the perfect bridge to chapter books.

I Can Read! books have introduced children to the joy of reading since 1957. Featuring award-winning authors and illustrators and a fabulous cast of beloved characters, I Can Read! books set the standard for beginning readers.

A lifetime of discovery begins with the magical words “I Can Read!”

Visit www.icanread.com for information on enriching your child’s reading experience.

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Begin Reading

Welcome to the City Detective Agency.

This is Bob and Larry.

They are GREAT detectives.

Bob carries his badge.

Larry carries his stuffed badger.

The badger helps Larry be brave.

One day, Bob and

Larry were teaching

a SWAT class.

Chief Nezzer came in.

He brought three new detectives.

“This is the Pod Squad,” Nezzer said.

“Teach them to be great detectives.”

Bob and Larry were glad to help.

RING!

Bob picked up the phone.

Mrs. Carrot had seen the Masked Door Slammer!

Bob and Larry had been looking for the Door Slammer for weeks!

They had to hurry.

“Come on,” Bob said

to the Pod Squad.

But they did not all

fit in Bob’s car.

They took the Pod Squad’s van.

Oh no! About halfway there,

the van stopped working.

The detectives were stuck!

Bob and Larry pushed the van.

The peas sang songs.

By the time they got to the scene of the

crime, the Door Slammer was gone.

“Sorry, fellas,” said Mrs. Carrot.

She closed the door.

“Rats!” said Larry.

“Looks like we missed him again!”

“This is your fault,” Bob said

to the Pod Squad.

“Yeah,” said Larry, “and now

we have to walk home!”

Bob and Larry hurt the

Pod Squad’s feelings.

On their way back

through the park,

the detectives came

upon another crime!

“It was a bicycle!”

Madame Blueberry said.

“It knocked over my

hot dog cart and kept going!”

A trail of mustard led

Detectives Bob and Larry

to another crime!

The bicycle had ruined

Pa Grape’s wet cement too!

This Bicycle Bandit had to be stopped!

Bob turned to the Pod Squad.

But the peas had fallen down a hill.

They were covered in yellow

police tape.

“Can’t you do anything right?”

Bob asked.

The detectives followed the

bandit’s trail.

It ended in Scooter’s backyard.

They found the Bicycle Bandit!

It was Lil’ Pea!

“Why did you do it?” Bob asked.

“Hold on,” the Pod Squad said.

“We don’t think this little fella

is a criminal.”

Just then Laura Carrot ran

into the yard.

“It’s all my fault!” Laura shouted.

“I was teaching Lil’ Pea

how to ride his bike.

“He did everything wrong.

I said mean things and I pushed him!

I’m sorry, Lil’ Pea. I wasn’t very nice.”

Then Bob realized something.

He and Larry had done the same

thing to the Pod Squad.

He and Larry were supposed to

teach the Pod Squad.

Instead they got angry with them.

“We’re sorry,” Bob said to the Pod Squad.

“Yeah, God wants us to use nice words

and encourage one another,” Larry said.

Bob and Larry spent the

rest of the day teaching

the Pod Squad to be great detectives!

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to

one’s glory to overlook an offense.

—Proverbs 19:11

ZONDERKIDZ

Bob and Larry in the Case of the Missing Patience

Copyright © 2011 Big Idea Entertainment, LLC. VEGGIETALES®, character names, likenesses and other indicia are trademarks of and copyrighted by Big Idea Entertainment, LLC.

Illustrations © 2011 by Big Idea Entertainment, Inc.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

EPub Edition © JUNE 2011 ISBN: 978-0-310-72734-7

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN 978-0-310-72730-9

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Mary Hassinger

Art direction: Karen Poth

Cover design: Karen Poth

11 12 13 14 15 16 /SCC/ 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.

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Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dear Parent: Your child’s love of reading starts here!

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts