Skateboard Dudes Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  CHAPTER 1

  Check This Out

  CHAPTER 2

  Trick Lessons

  CHAPTER 3

  Take Two

  CHAPTER 4

  Skateboard Spectacle

  CHAPTER 5

  Finally My Go

  EXTRA STUFF

  • Skateboard Lingo

  • Skateboard Must-dos

  • Skateboard Instant Info

  • Think Tank

  • Hi Guys! (Author Letter)

  • When We Were Kids

  • What a Laugh!

  Skateboard

  Dudes

  Felice Arena and Phil Kettle

  illustrated by

  David Cox

  MACMILLAN

  First published 2003 by

  MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

  15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

  Reprinted 2004, 2005 (three times), 2006, 2007, 2008 (twice), 2009

  Visit our Web site at www.macmillan.com.au or

  go directly to www.macmillanlibrary.com.au

  Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.

  Copyright © Felice Arena and Phil Kettle 2003

  All rights reserved.

  Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication data

  Arena, Felice.

  Skateboard dudes.

  For primary school children.

  ISBN 13: 978 0 7329 8959 0.

  ISBN 13: 978 0 7329 9179 1 (Set 2).

  ISBN 10: 0 7329 8959 0.

  ISBN 10: 0 7329 9179 X (Set 2).

  1. Skateboarding – Juvenile literature. I. Kettle, Phil.

  II. Title. (Series: Arena, Felice. Boyz rule).

  A823.3

  Project management by Limelight Press Pty Ltd

  Cover and text design by Lore Foye

  Illustrations by David Cox

  Printed in Hong Kong

  These electronic editions published 2010 by

  Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 1, 15 -19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Boyz Rule! Skateboard Dudes

  Felice Arena & Phil Kettle

  Adobe eReader ISBN

  9781458610614

  EPub ISBN

  9781458610621

  Mobipocket ISBN

  9781458610638

  On-line ISBN

  9781458610607

  Macmillan Digital Australia

  www.macmillandigital.com.au

  Visit www.macmillan.com.au/primary to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find subject catalogues, teacher support material and news of professional development events.

  CHAPTER 1

  Check This Out

  On a quiet Sunday afternoon on the front steps of the local library, Josh is showing off his skateboarding tricks to his best friend Con.

  Josh “Hey Con, check this out.”

  Josh squats down on his skateboard with his hands almost touching the ground. He suddenly leaps up. He and the board are airborne for several seconds. He lands safely with both feet on the deck and rides off without losing his balance.

  Con “Wow, that’s cool.”

  Josh “Yeah, it might look easy, but it takes a lot of practice. It’s called an ollie.”

  Con “What about your pads and stuff—aren’t you s’posed to have them on?”

  Josh “Ah, Mum says so but I don’t need ’em.”

  Con “Can I’ve a go?”

  Josh zooms off on his board pretending not to hear Con.

  Josh “Watch this!”

  Josh rushes towards the steps that lead from the library’s entrance. He shows no sign of slowing down. As he approaches the edge, he suddenly flings himself and the board over the steps and drops with a thud onto the pavement. He lands safely, again without losing balance.

  Con “That was unreal! I never knew you were so good.”

  Josh jumps off his board and runs to the top of the steps. He slowly rolls around Con.

  Josh “Thanks. That’s called an acid drop. There’s these steps near my auntie’s place where I practise when I have to go there . . . so I don’t get bored.”

  Con “Give us a go now.”

  Josh “Hey, check this out.”

  Con is becoming more and more frustrated with Josh. He decides to run directly in front of Josh, making him stop abruptly only a few centimetres from him.

  Con “I said, ‘can I’ve a go?’”

  CHAPTER 2

  Trick Lessons

  The boys hang around, not making eye contact. They continue to nag each other.

  Josh “No you can’t.”

  Con “Why?”

  Josh “Because.”

  Con “Because why?”

  Josh “Because it’s my board and I don’t want you wrecking it.”

  Con “I won’t wreck it. I just want a quick go.”

  Josh “You don’t even know how to skateboard.”

  Con “Yeah, I do.”

  Josh “Then how come you broke your arm on one when you were away last holidays?”

  Con “That wasn’t my fault. I didn’t know there was a humungous hill coming up. It just got a bit fast, that’s all. And now my folks have banned me from skateboarding for a whole month.”

  Josh “Yeah, right. Well how come you didn’t tell me that before?”

  Con “I dunno. I didn’t think it was cool.”

  Josh “I think you’re just saying that to make me feel sorry for you . . . so I’ll give you a go.”

  Con “Err . . . no way. I don’t want you feeling sorry for me. Forget it then.”

  Con turns and begins to walk away from Josh.

  Josh (shouting) “Hey! Where are you going?”

  Con “Home.”

  Josh “Wait. You can have a go now.”

  Con stops and heads back to Josh.

  Con “I can?”

  Josh “Yeah, but let me just show you this.”

  Josh pushes away on his skateboard and once again zooms towards the edge of the steps. This time, as he approaches the edge, he flips his board onto a rail that runs along the steps. Josh grinds his way down the rail but suddenly loses his balance towards the bottom. He topples over and hits the ground with a hard whack.

  Josh (screaming) “Arrrwhhh! My ankle!”

  CHAPTER 3

  Take Two

  Con rushes to Josh’s side. He helps him up but Josh finds it painful to stand on his right foot.

  Con “Are you okay?”

  Josh “I can’t believe I fell. I usually get that trick.”

  Con “It looked amazing until the very end. But are you okay?”

  Josh “Yeah . . . I think. I might’ve sprained my ankle.”

  Con “It looks swollen.”

  Josh “It really stings.”

  Con “Maybe you should get some ice on it or something.”

  Josh “Nah. I’ll
be okay. I’ll just walk it off.”

  Josh attempts to walk but groans in pain as he steps down on the swollen foot.

  Josh “Maybe you’re right. I better go get it looked at. Mum’ll freak— she told me not to skate without safety gear.”

  Con “Lean on me and I’ll help you get home.”

  One week later Josh is back skateboarding again around the entrance of the local library. Con soon appears.

  Con “Hey Josh. Haven’t seen you all week. Looks like your ankle’s better.”

  Josh “Yeah. It was only a small sprain.”

  Con “So, what about my go then?”

  Josh “What?”

  Con “You were gonna give me a go on your board last week—just before you hurt yourself. Remember?”

  Josh “Oh yeah. Um . . .”

  Con “Well?”

  Josh quickly changes the subject, still not really wanting Con to ride his skateboard.

  Josh “Do you wanna come with me to watch a skateboard competition? It’s on next Sunday. All these awesome skateboard champs are coming to town.”

  Con “You kidding? That’d be so unreal.”

  Josh “Cool. Ask your folks and if it’s okay, I’ll meet ya outside your house on Sunday at 10 o’clock. Right, here goes . . .”

  Con “Here goes what? And what about my go?”

  Once again Josh ignores Con. He races off on his board and attempts the same trick that caused him to sprain his ankle only a week before.

  Con “What are you doing? Are you crazy? You’re gonna hurt yourself again.”

  But it’s too late. Josh jumps onto the rail and slides down the rail. Again, he falls off. This time he breaks his wrist.

  CHAPTER 4

  Skateboard Spectacle

  It’s the day of the skateboard championships. Josh (who now has his wrist in plaster) and Con are among a large crowd seated in front of a giant U-shaped ramp. They’re watching a number of professional skateboarders show off their style.

  Josh “That’s so cool! That’s what they call a drop in.”

  Con “They’re really good.”

  Josh “Awwrh, what an awesome drop 180-degree kick turn!”

  Con “How’s your wrist?”

  Josh “Okay. It comes with being a great skateboarder. I bet these guys have broken bones all the time.”

  Con “Yeah, but at least they’re wearing the right protective gear. You really should wear your wrist guards and knee pads.”

  Josh “Yes Mum . . . awwrh, unreal! Did you see that?”

  Suddenly an announcement comes over the loudspeakers, calling for anyone in the crowd to have a try on the ramp. The crowd goes wild, especially Josh and Con.

  Josh “No way! Why did I have to break my wrist! Awwh man, they would’ve picked me.”

  Con “Yeah, or me.”

  Josh “Err, in case you’ve forgotten, you’re not allowed to skateboard.”

  Con “Yes I am.”

  Josh (scoffing) “Yeah right. What’s with your story about being grounded for a month?”

  Con “It’s true! And by the way, my month is up today. I’m not grounded anymore. So I can skateboard again.”

  Josh “Oh what! He’s pointing at you!”

  Con “What?”

  Con turns to see an official pointing directly at him, beckoning him to come out of the crowd and have a go on the U-ramp. Con excitedly accepts. Josh can’t believe it.

  Josh “Now look who’s crazy! You can’t skateboard.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Finally My Go

  Con is padded up by a couple of officials and is given a skateboard. He begins to roll up and down the ramp. He picks up speed, then all of a sudden is doing some amazing tricks, like a professional. He flips, kick-turns, twists and does an ollie grab. The crowd roar and cheer, and Josh watches on, totally amazed by his friend.

  Josh (to himself) “He really can skateboard.”

  Con “Yahoo!!!!!!!!”

  Con finishes his breathtaking routine. He returns to Josh as the crowd claps, impressed by his terrific performance.

  Con “So now do you think you’ll be able to let me have a go on your board?”

  Josh simply nods his head, speechless. And as for Con, he can’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

  Skateboard

  Lingo

  deck The top surface of a skateboard.

  nose grind When you grind on the front trucks of your board. Not when you pick your nose!

  ollie When you and your skateboard leap into the air. This is the first trick that you learn on a skateboard.

  trucks The trucks are the metal bars attached underneath the deck of the skateboard. The wheels are attached to the trucks.

  Skateboard Must-dos

  Make sure that you oil your trucks before you use your board.

  Cover your knees and elbows with padding. It really hurts if you fall on your knees or your elbows!

  Try to go as fast as you can. You might be able to set a new record for the fastest skateboard rider in the world.

  With the help of your friend, build your own skateboard ramp.

  Invent your own skateboard trick.

  If you are going to use materials from your father’s workshop, make sure that you ask him first.

  Sometimes it is fun to get your dog to tow you around the park on your skateboard.

  If you want your skateboard to go faster, you have to either push harder or go down a big hill.

  The most important thing to remember is that you have to always wear safety gear when you ride a skateboard.

  Skateboard

  Instant Info

  The first skateboards were more like scooters. They date back to the early 1900s.

  In the 1950s the trucks that are now on skateboards first became popular.

  In 1970 the first urethane wheels were made and used on skateboards. These are the wheels that are used today.

  Fifty million skateboards were sold in a three-year period from 1962.

  Almost fifty per cent of skateboard injuries result from hitting uneven surfaces or surfaces with sticks, stones and cracks.

  Over sixty per cent of injuries occur in the hands, arms and wrists.

  Skateboards today have flexible decks and narrow wheels. These things make it easier to do tricks and to make them go faster, but modern boards are not as stable as the older-style skateboards.

  Think Tank

  1 What is a bowl?

  2 What is an ollie?

  3 How do you make your skateboard go faster?

  4 Should you wear a helmet when you ride your skateboard?

  5 What is a nose grind?

  6 What is a flip?

  7 What is a kick flip?

  8 What is a board slide?

  Answers

  1 A bowl is where you go skateboarding.

  2 An ollie is is a jump and is usually the first trick you learn on a skateboard.

  3 To go faster, you push harder or go down a really steep hill.

  4 You should always wear a helmet when you skateboard.

  5 A nose grind is when the front trucks of your board grind into the path—not when you pick your nose!

  6 A flip is when your board does a 360° turn.

  7 A kick flip is when you kick your board in the air.

  8 A board slide is when you use the middle of your board to slide down a rail.

  How did you score?

  • If you got all 8 answers correct, then you should become a professional skateboarder.

  • If you got 6 answers correct, make sure you don’t move out of the park.

  • If you got only 4 answers correct, then maybe you should keep practising or just ride your bike.

  Hi Guys!

  We have heaps of fun reading and want you to, too. We both believe that being a good reader is really important and so cool.

  Try out our suggestions to help you have fun as you read.

  At school, why don’t you use “Skateboard Dude
s” as a play and you and your friends can be the actors. Set the scene for your play. What props do you need? You might like to bring your skateboard to school. You might like to try to make your own skateboard ramp.

  So . . . have you decided who is going to be Josh and who is going to be Con? Now, with your friends, read and act out our story in front of the class.

  We have a lot of fun when we go to schools and read our stories. After we finish the kids all clap really loudly. When you’ve finished your play your classmates will do the same. Just remember to look out the window—there might be a talent scout from a television station watching you!

  Reading at home is really important and a lot of fun as well.

  Take our books home and get someone in your family to read them with you. Maybe they can take on a part in the story.

  Remember, reading is a whole lot of fun.

  So, as the frog in the local pond would say, Read-it!

  And remember, Boyz Rule!

  When

  We Were Kids

  Phil “Did you ever fall off your skateboard when you were a kid?”

  Felice “Yes. I was in a major race with my best mate when my skateboard hit a stone. I came off my board and landed on my arm.”