Realistic

Fiction Can-do Canines by anna kenna illustrated by Diane Palmisciano

Can-do
Canines by Anna Kenna
illustrated by Diane Palmisciano

PAIRED
You Can Bank on It
READ
 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Content Standards
Strategy: Reread Social Studies
Skill: Sequence Economics

Vocabulary
afford, loan, profits, prosper,
risk, savings, scarce, wages

Word Count: 2,191**

**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in
captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.

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ISBN: 978-0-02-119236-6
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Printed in the United States of America.

10 11 12 13 14 D O C 22 21 20 19 18 D
 Genre Realistic Fiction

Essential Question
How do we get the things we need?

Table of Contents

Can-do
Canines
by Anna Kenna
illustrated by Diane Palmisciano

Chapter 1
Dogs Rule! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2
Canine Chaos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3
The Name Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 4
A Mystery Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

PAIRED You Can Bank on It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

READ
Focus on Literary Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
 Chapter 1
Dogs Rule!
Jamila walked in, closed the front door, and dumped
her backpack on the kitchen counter. “Hi, Mom,”
she called.

“Hi, honey,” her mom replied over the drone of the

clippers. It wasn’t hard to guess that her mom was
working—as usual.

When Jamila entered the laundry room, her mom was

clipping a large black poodle. “Hi, Alfred,” said Jamila in
a friendly voice as she tickled the dog under the chin.
Like most of her mom’s customers, Alfred didn’t look
too pleased about being groomed.

2
 Jamila’s mom was a professional dog groomer. She used
to work at a dog-grooming salon, but when that closed,
she set up a business at home. “It’ll only be for a couple
of months,” she’d told Jamila. That was a year ago!

Jamila’s mom switched off the clippers. “So how was

your day?”

“I slayed a dragon that was rampaging through the

school bus, wrestled a python in the library, and had
another call from Hollywood,” replied Jamila.

Her mom smiled. “Just a regular day, then?”

“Totally,” said Jamila.

Her mom picked up the scissors. “Almost done here.

There’s some yogurt and fruit in the refrigerator.”

As Jamila was scraping out the last of the yogurt

from the container, there was a knock on the door, and
she opened it to find a tall man with dark curly hair
standing there. “I’ve come to get Alfred,” he said.

“Sure,” said Jamila. “Come in.”

Jamila was used to the comings and goings of dog

owners. They were always dropping off or picking up dogs.
You could even see the path they’d worn across the grass.

After he left, Jamila’s mom came in. “Whew, I feel as

if I’ve been wrestling a python myself,” she said as she
took off her apron and flopped into a chair. “That Alfred
is a real handful.”
3
 Jamila thought her mom looked tired. Her hair was
scooped into a loose ponytail, and there were dark
shadows under her eyes. “How many dogs today?”
Jamila asked.

“Let’s see,” said her mom, sighing as she tucked a stray

hair behind her ear. “There were Wilma and Fred this
morning. You know those two Yorkshire terriers? Brodie
was after lunch, then that crazy cocker spaniel, Lucy, and
now Alfred.”

“Right,” said Jamila. She could see why her mom

looked so worn out! Even after the last dog had left
for the day, her work wasn’t finished. She’d always rush
around, scrubbing out the tub, sweeping hair off the
floor, and spraying air freshener all around.

“I’m so over this,” she’d often say. “I can’t wait for

the day we have our house to ourselves.”

4
 Jamila knew her mom dreamed of moving her
business out of the house, but she couldn’t see it
happening anytime soon because that would be
expensive.

And although her mom was skilled at dog

grooming, Jamila knew that it wasn’t like earning
regular wages—business could get slow, and money
could get scarce. Right now, however, Jamila’s mom
was in the middle of the busiest time of the year.
The county dog show was coming up, and all the
dog owners wanted their pooches to look their best.

“Don’t forget that Melissa’s coming after school

tomorrow,” said Jamila as her mom put the broom
and dustpan away. “We’re going to work on our
science project together.”

“Yes, I remember,” said her mom. “But just warn

her that I’ll be working, okay?”

“She knows,” said Jamila. “I told her the dog

show’s on.”

Her mom yawned. “Okay, what are we going to

have for dinner? Did I hear you say something about
a dragon casserole?”

5
 Chapter 2
Canine Chaos
The next day, Jamila and Melissa arrived home from
school to the familiar hum of dog clippers. “Hi, Mrs. J.,”
said Melissa, poking her head around the door.

“Hi, Melissa,” said Jamila’s mom. “Meet last year’s

Supreme Grand Champion. His name is Bob.”

“Hello, Bob,” said Melissa, giggling as a small white fluff

ball with a wrinkled face blinked its bulging eyes at her.

The girls set up their science project on the kitchen

table. They were testing the gluten content of different types
of flour. Jamila set three bowls and a jug of water on
the table. Next, she carefully put a spoonful of flour into
each bowl.

There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Jamila’s

mom yelled. “Bring him in, Mrs. Cruz,” they heard her say.

The girls heard loud panting and the soft thud of paws,
and suddenly a huge brown dog burst into the room. He
looked like a woolly mammoth, without the tusks, and was
towing a thin woman at the end of a long leash.

“Oh, my goodness,” said Jamila’s mom. “Just a moment,

I’ll …” It was too late . The huge animal bounded onto the
table, one of his massive paws landing in a bowl of flour.
With a yelp, he skidded across the table, sent the other
bowls flying, and landed on top of Melissa.

6
7
 “I am so sorry, girls,” Jamila’s mom kept saying as
she helped them clean up the mess. Melissa’s clothes were
caked with a sticky paste, she had a smudge of white flour
on her cheek, and her notebook was soaking wet. Floury
pawprints led to a cage in the hallway where the culprit
now whimpered pitifully.

“It’s okay,” said Melissa, smiling sweetly. “Honestly.”

But Jamila wasn’t prepared to risk setting up the

experiment again. “Maybe we’ll do it at your place
tomorrow,” she suggested to Melissa while looking
pointedly at her mom. A short time later, Melissa left.

That night when Jamila was getting ready for bed, her
mom came in. “Honey, I’m so sorry about what happened
today,” she said.

Jamila looked at her mom. She still had her apron

on, her dark hair was dusted with flour, and she looked
really upset. Jamila couldn’t help herself. Her serious look
changed to a grin. “Actually, it was pretty funny,” she said.

Her mom sank onto the bed and grinned sheepishly.

“What a fiasco. I call that dog the yeti, and now you
know why!” They both laughed until tears were rolling
down their faces.

Jamila’s mom wiped her eyes and suddenly looked

serious. “Today made me realize one thing,” she said.
“This just can’t go on. It’s not fair to you, and it’s really
getting me down.”

8
 “It’s okay, Mom, really,” said Jamila.

“It’s not,” said her mom firmly. “When the dog show
is over, I’m going to the bank to apply for a loan to set
up my own dog-grooming salon. With the number of
regular clients I’ve built up, I hope they’ll see my business
as a good investment.”

Jamila knew that it would be difficult to get a loan

from the bank, but she loved seeing her mom so excited
about her business. One way or another, she knew her
mom would figure out how to make this work.

9
 Chapter 3
The Name Game
The next two weeks were busier than ever with dogs
coming and going from morning until night. Since the
yeti incident, the front of the house was out of bounds
to dogs, and Jamila’s mom put up a sign telling clients
to bring their dogs around to the side door.

One afternoon, Jamila’s mom said she had something

to show her. “Come on,” she said. “It’s not far.” They
jumped into the car, and after a short drive, they pulled
into the parking lot of a small strip mall.

“See that place there?” said her mom, pointing to a

vacant store between a restaurant and a dry-cleaning
shop. “It would be perfect for a dog‑grooming salon.
It needs some walls knocked down and some plumbing
work, but it’s a good possibility.”

“Did the bank give you

a loan?” asked Jamila.
For Her mom shook her head.
Lease “First, I have to estimate how
much everything will cost.
It’s turning out to be more
expensive than I thought,
but we’ll see.”

10
 Jamila’s mom was in a good mood for the rest
of the week, and on Friday night, they went to their
favorite restaurant for dinner.

“We’ll have to think of a name for the salon,” said

Jamila’s mom as they waited for their order.

“Cool,” said Jamila. She grabbed a napkin

and borrowed her mom’s pen. By the
time they’d finished eating, they had
made quite a list: Hound Heaven,
Pooch Parlor, Canine Clippers,
Paws ’n’ Claws. He a
ven
nd r
Ho u h P a r l o e r s
“We’re great at this,” said Pooc ne Clipp
Cani ‘n’
P aw s
Jamila, passing the napkin to her
mom. “Maybe we should open an
advertising business instead.”

The week after the dog show, Jamila arrived home

to find her mom sitting at the dining table instead
of running around like usual. Jamila knew right away
that something was wrong.

“No loan?” she asked.

“No loan,” her mom replied.

11
 She explained that the bank manager had been
very nice and really wanted to help, but he couldn’t
take the risk of offering her the size of loan she
would need.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” said Jamila. She gave her mom

a hug and then made two strawberry smoothies.
For a while, they sat in silence, sipping their drinks.
Finally, Jamila asked, “So, does that mean our cool
salon names are wasted?”

“Not wasted,” said her mom, “just on hold for the

moment, I guess.”

As she said that, Jamila noticed her mom’s face

suddenly change. Her eyes had become focused,
and she was sitting up straighter. “What is it?”
Jamila asked.

“I’ve just had an idea,” said her mom. “I don’t

know why I didn’t think of it before.” She rushed
into her bedroom to make a phone call, leaving
Jamila staring after her.

As Jamila noisily sucked the last of her smoothie,

her mom came out of her bedroom with a huge
smile. “We’re going for a drive on Saturday,” she
said, but no matter how hard Jamila quizzed her,
she wouldn’t say where.

12
 Chapter 4
A Mystery Journey
On Saturday, Jamila and her mom headed off on the
freeway. Her mom was singing along to the radio. Jamila
hadn’t seen her so happy in ages.

An hour out of town, they took an exit and were

soon driving past fields of tall crops. After a few bumpy
miles along a dirt road, they turned in to a farm gate.
As they pulled up, a woman came out to greet them.

“Pam, you’re looking fantastic!” said Jamila’s mom as

the two hugged each other.

“This is Jamila,” said her mom.

“Hi, Jamila,” the woman said. Her

face crinkled pleasantly as she smiled.

While Pam went to get

some keys, Jamila’s mom
explained that she used
to work for Pam and her
husband and that they’d
taught her all she knew
about dog grooming. Later
they sold their dog‑grooming
salon and ran a mobile
business until they retired
last year.

13
 They followed Pam to
a garage where she lifted
the door to reveal a large
van with a picture of a
well‑groomed dog on the
side. Slowly it dawned
on Jamila what her mom
wanted to do. “Oh, I get
it,” she said, and they
all laughed.

On the way home, Jamila’s mom explained that Pam

had agreed to sell the van to her and let her pay it off
out of her profits. “And the bank has agreed to a small
loan for the setup costs,” she said. “So, we can afford this
without dipping into our savings.”

“But how did you know about the van?” asked Jamila.

“I knew Pam and her husband had retired,” her mom

said. “I just hoped they hadn’t sold the van yet.”

“It’s very generous of them to help you out,”

said Jamila.

“They’ve always been mentors to me,” her mom

explained. “I think they just want to see me do well.”

A week later, Pam and her husband delivered the van.

They also gave Jamila’s mom a list of their old clients and
some leftover bottles of dog shampoo.

14
 “May you prosper with this old van, my dear,”
said Pam.

“Yes,” her husband added. “We wish you the very best.
It’s great that the vehicle’s going to be used again.”

After Pam and her husband left, Jamila and her mom
climbed inside the vehicle. There was a big bathtub,
a grooming table, and lots of storage space for all the
lotions and potions that cluttered their laundry room.

“Isn’t it great?” said Jamila’s mom, smiling.

“It sure is,” said Jamila, easing herself into the tub.
“But I wonder if you’ll get the yeti in here.”

Jamila’s mom clasped her hands with excitement.

“We’ve still got to choose a name for the business,”
she said. “Where’s that list we made?”

“Don’t need it,” said Jamila. “I’ve come up with

something even better.”

“Right, let’s hear it,” said her mom.

Jamila tapped out a pretend drum roll on the

side of the tub. “Can-do Canines,” she said. “What do
you think?”

“Can-do Canines?” Her mom repeated the phrase,

rolling it around on her tongue. “Brilliant,” she said,
throwing her arms around Jamila. “Can-do Canines!
I absolutely love it.”

15
 Respond to
Reading
Summarize Character

Use important details from Can-do Setting

Canines to summarize the story. Beginning

Your graphic organizer may
help you. Middle

End

Text Evidence
1. What kind of fiction is this story? How can you tell?
GENRE

2. What events in Chapter 3 led Jamila’s mom to try

to get a loan from the bank? SEQUENCE

3. What does investment on page 9 mean? Use clues in

the sentence to help you figure it out.
SENTENCE CLUES

4. Write about the sequence of events that led to Jamila’s

mom finding a solution to her problem.
WRITE ABOUT READING

16
 Genre Expository Text

Compare Texts
Read to find out how banks help people get what
they need.

Paired Read: You Can Bank on It

You Can Bank on It

Banks help people to buy homes and start
businesses. In Can‑do Canines, Jamila’s mother asked
the bank for a loan to help her realize her dream of
setting up her own dog‑grooming salon.

Making Money Making a Profit

When you deposit money
Banks are businesses
in a bank, the bank pays too. Every business
you interest. The longer needs to earn a profit.
A profit is the money
you leave the money in an
you make after you
account, the more interest it have paid all your costs.
earns. Say you put $1,000 Banks earn a profit by
in the bank, and you are borrowing money from
some customers and
offered 3 percent interest
lending it to others.
every year. After a year, it They pay to borrow
will be worth $1,030. The money but charge
$30 is the interest the bank more to lend it. The
difference is the profit.
pays you to use your money.
Darren Greenwood/DesignPics

On the other hand, if you borrow money from a

bank, you have to pay the bank for the use of that
money. This fee is also called interest.

17
 Starting a Business
Most new businesses need to borrow money to
get started. The obvious place to go for a loan is
a bank.

(bkgd ) Darren Greenwood/DesignPics, (br) Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images

In Can-do Canines, Jamila’s mom asked the bank
for a small loan to set up her salon. Like most new
businesses, a mobile dog-grooming salon would have
some start-up costs. For example, Jamila’s mom
would need to pay for advertising and to purchase
grooming products. Let’s say all this cost around
$10,000. If the bank loans her that money,
it will charge her interest on the loan.

A bank teller serves a customer.

Charging Interest
Imagine Jamila’s mom
takes out the $10,000
loan for five years,
and the bank charges
5 percent interest on the
loan every year. At the
end of five years, Jamila’s
mom will have to pay
the bank $12,500.00. The
extra $2,500.00 is the fee
she will pay the bank for
lending her the money.

18
 Thanks to changes
in technology,
people can do
their banking
without having
to leave home.

Keeping Your Money Safe

The idea of banking is believed to have started
thousands of years ago. It’s thought that in ancient
times, temples were kinds of banks. People used them
as places to keep gold and other valuable goods.

Banks are continually changing. Today, many people

use plastic cards instead of cash. You can withdraw
money using a cash machine, and you can do most
of your banking online. In fact, there are some banks
(bkgd) Darren Greenwood/DesignPics, (tl) Ariel Skelley/The Image Bank/Getty Images

you can’t visit because their services are only available

online. Even though banks have changed a lot over
thousands of years, they’re still the safest place to
keep your money.

Make Connections
How do banks help people get what they need?
ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What did you learn from both texts about the ways
banks help businesses? TEXT TO TEXT
19
 Focus on
LIterary Elements
Similes Similes are figures of speech that compare two
things by using the words like or as. For example,
busy as a bee means very busy.

Read and Find O n page 6 in Can-do Canines, Jamila

describes the dog as looking “like a woolly mammoth.”
This means that the dog has a thick coat of long fur.

Your Turn
Find a scene in the story Can-do Canines that includes
at least one description. Rewrite the scene, replacing the
description with a simile. See if you can rewrite more
than one description with a simile.

20
 Literature Circles Fiction Thinkmark

Literature Circles
Fiction

Thinkmark
Characters
Who are the main characters in Can-do Canines?

Setting
Where did the story Can-do Canines take place?
Over what time period did it take place?

Sequence of Events
What happened first, then, next, and finally
in Can-do Canines?

Plot
What did Jamila’s mom want to do?
Why didn’t her first plan work out?
What was her next plan? How did it work out?

Make Connections
Think of a business you know. How is that
business like the business in Can-do Canines?
 Meeting a Need

GR S • Benchmark 50 • Lexile 790

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