Tyler Timothy Bradford and the Birthday Surprise, by Mary Lou Carney, was a simple, yet short story about a young boy who always seems to forget something. One morning when he woke he knew that he had to do something special for his teacher’s birthday but he just couldn’t figure it out. It was Mrs. Berry’s 30th birthday and everyone was instructed to bring in something in the amount of 30 to celebrate Mrs. Berry’s. Some students bought jellybeans, paper clips, and pennies but Tyler bought the best gift of all. He bought 30 ants! On his way to school he found a crumbled cupcake in his book bag and used the crumbs to make a trail for the ants to follow him to school. One by one they marched in a straight line into the classroom and Mrs. Berry loved it. “What a perfect gift! They’re going to love their new home!” She used the ants for the ant farm and “Tyler would never forget it”.
