Buster's Book Battle Arthur

# Every day when you're walking down the street

# Everybody that you meet

# Has an original point of view

# And I say, hey, what a wonderful kind of day

# If you can learn to work and play

# And get along with each other

# You got to listen to your heart Listen to the beat

# Listen to the rhythm The rhythm of the street

# Open up your eyes Open up your ears

# Get together and make things better by working together

# It's a simple message and it comes from the heart

# Believe in yourself for that's the place to start

# And I say, hey, what a wonderful kind of day

# If you can learn to work and play and get along with each other

# Hey, what a wonderful kind of day

# Hey, what a wonderful kind of day, hey! #

Hey, DW.

-Hey!

-Whoa!

GLASS SMASHES

Come on, I want that Panda.

Rats! Your turn.

All right, right down the middle.

Step aside and see how it's done.

Ah!

Hey guys, what are you doing?

LOUD CRUNCH

Congratulations, you win!

But all I did was eat a pretzel.

That's exactly right.

Now, would you like the giant hippo or the giant panda?

Boy, you can get toys and prizes for doing anything these days.

Through a new cloud-computing-based internet technology partnership,

-Lakewood Elementary is instituting IRP.

-What's IRP?

The Independent Readers Project.

It allows you to take computer quizzes on books you have read.

-More tests?

-These tests are strictly voluntary, you choose to take them.

Correct answers earn you points

and your point totals will be posted in the corridor.

After two weeks, points can be used to purchase these exciting prizes.

-Prizes? We get prizes?

-What kind of prizes?

Oh, the usual knick-knacks.

Coloured erasers, smelly pencils, key chains, yo-yos,

-cloyingly vulnerable beanbag kittens.

-Oh, beanbag kittens?

We get those just for reading books?

Another bit of precious childhood magic transformed

into a crude Pavlovian system of behavioural reinforcements.

ALL CHATTER AT ONCE

Hello, honey, how was...?

No time to chat, Mum, I've got to read.

-Read, read, read.

-Love that school!

Good night, Venus, good night, Mars.

Good night, comet, good night, stars.

Good night, Nebulous, and the distant quasars.

With short books like this, I can read, like, 20 in one night.

Good night, black hole.

Sweet dreams, cosmic void.

-I've got seven IRP points.

-Not bad.

-I wonder how many points

-I

-got.

I finished the book I was reading last night.

Just a sec, I have 16 more books I read yesterday.

You got 23 points?! How is that possible?

-Well, Arthur, you know I've always been a big reader.

-Since when?

Look at that - 35 points.

That's my Francine.

How did you get so much?

I'm reading a series about teenagers who are descended from Norse gods.

-Loki Benediktssen And The Teenage Aesir.

-It's gigantic.

And the bigger the book, the more points you get.

If I can make it to 500, I'm going to get a skateboard.

-You can win a skateboard?

-Didn't you read the flyer?

Can I get points for reading the flyer, too?

See? Right there.

What's that book series called again?

Loki Benediktssen And The Teenage Aesir.

Wow, this must be, like, on a 14th-grade reading level.

I wonder if I can read it all on one night.

"So there was no way Vidar and the dwarves were going to make it

"to the prom unless I found the cloak of falcon feathers.

"But that could have been anywhere."

Oh, man, 34 chapters to go.

I think I need a short nap.

Hurry up, Vidar! If we don't get to camp soon,

we might never get the Necklace of Tears.

I'm not Vidar, I'm Buster,

and I have no idea what you're talking about.

That's because you skimmed all of chapters four and five.

But they were really boring.

I couldn't pronounce any of the characters' names.

GROWLING Look out, the wolf!

Oh, I don't like this book.

When it's not boring, it's terrifying.

Aagh...

Dagmar, the captain of the cheerleading squad

is the daughter of which Norse goddess?

Oh, I don't know, how am I supposed to remember?

BEEPING

15 points, that's it? But Francine got 35 on the same book.

That's because you didn't get all the questions right.

You only get points if you answer correctly.

Oh, at this rate,

I'm not even going to be able to get the banana-shaped eraser.

Video games? What happened to all the reading you wanted to do?

I gave up. I'd be 50 by the time I won a skateboard.

Maybe you just need a different book.

-Why don't you try the one I'M reading?

-That's not a book.

Sure it is, it's called City Of Droids.

My friend Tomas at the paper wrote it.

He asked me to give my opinion before his agent sends it out to publishers.

What's it about?

A cyborg detective named Kilgore who solves crimes in the 22nd century.

A crime-solving cyborg?

Today we'll learn about the early history of our very own city.

-Psst, Buster?

-Who said that?

Detective Travis Kilgore, cyborg model XT 25, Crime Unit.

I need your help.

The alien spy discovered Dr Cowe's secret formula.

We need to stop him

before he delivers it to the enemies of the Federation.

Oh, OK. What should I do?

Come with me, there's a teleporter over here.

Buster, what are you doing?

I'm helping Detective Kilgore chase the alien spy who stole...

Oh, it's, er...it's something that's happening in my book.

You're really into that book. Do you get a lot of IRP points for it?

I don't know, let me ask.

How many points can I get

for reading City Of Droids by Tomas Greenberg?

Let me see. What did you say it was called? City Of Droids?

Hmm, I don't know that one.

I'm sorry, Buster, the book is not listed.

-There's no test.

-What?! You mean I can't get ANY points?

Not every book has a test in the IRP computer network.

In fact, they have omitted many of the classics.

No Treasure Island, no Watership Down. See for yourself.

I've wasted the last three days

reading a book that doesn't even have a computerised quiz?

I wouldn't call it a waste if you've enjoyed the reading experience.

But I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it got me a skateboard.

Cheer up, Buster, you still have time to read

the Loki Benediktssen books, or at least one of the books.

I didn't like those books. I like THIS book, a lot.

What does liking books have to do with anything?

IRP is about reading a lot, very quickly,

and remembering every single detail.

But I DID read a lot.

You should give Loki another shot - it's not THAT bad.

Who knows, you might win some marbles.

Just not the right book for you?

Tell me, Buster, why do you need to read for points anyway?

-Just read the rest of MY book.

-Well, it's not really a book yet.

At least, not according to IRP.

Of course it's a book - it's got a plot, doesn't it?

An exciting plot and great characters, too.

Dude, give the little man a break.

Maybe he WANTS to read about the teenage son of a Norse divinity

and win prizes while he's reading it.

Listen, dude, maybe he should read the book he actually enjoys reading.

Well, my books are on top of the young adult bestseller list,

so take that!

Whoa, I can't believe this is actually happening in my room.

It's not. It's a metaphor.

There! Now, just finish the book and get the skateboard.

-What, and read this mass-market formulaic trash?

-How do you DO that?

I time travelled back through a wormhole.

I didn't want to do this but...

I always knew you were a bore...

That's it, I'm out of here. I got enough people reading my book.

What do I care whether you get a skateboard or not?

Well, kid, my work here is done. It's all up to you now.

Yes, the big day is finally here, children.

Time to cash in those IRP points for goodies and prizes.

I can't believe this origami swan cost me 75 points.

What are YOU getting?

-Well, I only ended up with 38 points so I got this straw.

-Not bad.

I guess you decided to give up going for the skateboard?

Yes, the cyborg detective book was just too good.

What? This thing for 500 points?

I read non-stop for two weeks.

You know, you could just get two beanbag kittens - they're adorable.

Or get this Loki Benediktssen And The Teenage Aesir calendar.

I'm so sick of that series, I never want to read a word of it again.

Anyway, Arthur, you've got to read City Of Droids,

it's the most amazing story.

Once you pick it up, you never want to put it down.

Psst, Buster.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd