by Devon Smith

Devon Made It in NYC( )

Devon Made It (in NYC)Text and illustrations copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Aaker and Devon Smith

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of briefquotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address [contact info to come]

ISBN-13: 978-1494400811

ISBN-10: 1494400812

Typography and design by Brandon Ly.

This book is dedicated to my family, in general. I especially want to

thank Sami, Maile, Kailyn, Landon, Nana, Papa, Janny, Rich, Jojo and

Brian, who came out for Thanksgiving. I also want to thank Cooper

and Tea who sorta supported me. I also want to thank the Essermans

who let us stay in this NYC apartment. And I also want to thank my

parents, most of all. For my dad who helped me think of ideas that I

want to make, and for mom who helped me co-write this book.

Love, Devon.

by Jennifer AakerLyrics by Doug Gleicher

Devon Made It in NYC

Illustrations by Aly Flock

and Devon Smith

Devon Made It in NYC( )

4

Gather ‘round, listen up to this urban legend

about a clever boy named Devon who was only eleven.

See the thing about Devon: people knew he was smart.

He had a knack for inventing, a true scientist at heart.

5

For Dev there was no problem too tough to tackle.

So he went to take his talents to the Big Apple.

Every time something happened that presented a problem

Devon put his mind to work and would quickly solve ‘em.

6

On the way to the plane, his first challenge to face:

“I need to charge my gadgets but they’re in my suitcase!”

“My gear’s almost dead and I’ve no place to plug it.

Aha! I’ll create some chargeable luggage!”

He wrote the idea down in his journal

where he noted possible inventions to solve every hurdle.

7

Finally he landed,

watch out New York!

Dev was excited to

go get to work.

8

Finding issues around, coming up with solutions…

next invention: a “music and mopping” fusion.

Devon sat down at the table in the kitchen,

his favorite place to work where few could listen.

9

He sketched out a music-while-mopping machine

that would rock T-Pain and get the floor clean.

10

He grabbed his notebook and jotted it down,

then put it away to discover this town.

11

When he stepped

out, he noticed

pollution in the sky.

“How will we live

if our earth cannot

thrive?”

He dreamt up a

machine to suck

dirt from the air -

leaving a green,

clean world that

we could share.

12

13

Next stop was Dylan’s, but the store was so crowded,

“Let’s see if there’s something I could do about it.”

14

Right there at the store Devon thought out a plan,

mapping out the locations where customers should stand.

This way he could cut down the crowds and congestion,

and nobody would suffer from Candy Depression.

15

When Devon got home,

he went right to the kitchen.

But when he reached for his journal

he saw it was missing.

He searched every corner

and inch of the house.

But after hours of searching

it still wasn’t found.

“It’s gone, I’ve lost it!

How could this be?!

I should’ve known of those

pickpockets in NYC!”

16

Devon couldn’t sleep, so much hard work was gone.

“There’s no way I’ll make back all the work that I’ve done.”

Then a knock at the door, “That’s strange. Who is this?”

And he heard a voice say, “Hello? Devon Smith?”

Devon wasted no time sprinting right for the door.

“My journal, thank you! I can worry no more!”

“This is he!” Dev yelled back with inventor’s composure.

“Who’s asking? Speak up! State your name! Who goes there?”

“My name is Dario and I’ve found your journal,

I thought it’d be right if I came to return it.”

17

18

“Well Devon,” said Dario,

looking impressed,

“Letting go of this journal

makes me kind of depressed.

So I’d like to make you an

offer straight up.

I’m the founder of a brand

new start-up.

I love all your work,

and I want to see more.

Could we start selling your

products in all of our stores?”

19

Devon’s jaw dropped, he couldn’t believe it!

His mom overheard and grinned, “Go on, take it!”

20

So Devon accepted this newest endeavor,

making him the youngest inventor ever.

All the things in his journal were quickly created,

each stamped with the logo, “Devon Made It.”

21

His inventions were awesome,

his name celebrated;

when he made something new

the whole country paraded.

22

Every week “Devon Made It” is globally trending,

just wait till you see what he’s got patent pending!

23

With every new day Devon sits down and strives

to invent things he pictures could change people’s lives.

‘Cause to Devon success and a new gadget’s worth

is not measured in sales, but its impact on earth.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my mom for helping me write the book. And to Aly

Flock who did the illustrations, to Doug Gleicher for the rhymes, and

to Brandon Ly for designing the book.

Dear Readers,

Thank you for reading this

book. I am Devon, and I

live in California but I live

in NY right now, and this

book takes place in NY. I

hope you have an adven-

ture like this sometime in

your life.

Devon