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            James held his chosen books close to his chest as he waited in the line to check out. Once he reached Ms. Jones’s desk, he tipped his stack of books on the counter.

            Ms. Jones raised her eyebrows at the towering pile. “How many books do you have here, James? Don’t you know the checkout limit is five?”

            James grinned sheepishly. “I was hoping you would let me check out a few more. I feel like I’m always running out of things to read.” He looked at Ms. Jones, hope shining from his eyes.

            Ms. Jones tapped her desk in thought. “Well, what if you check out five now, and you come and get the rest after school?” She glanced around at the rest of James’s sixth-grade class. “If you really want extra books, you’ll have to come back later.” She gave him a small smile.

            James gave her a smile of thanks in return. At home, he read constantly, and usually finished his library books within a day or two. He only stopped reading when he was at school or when his mom made him do things like eat meals or go to bed. Even then, the stories he read came alive in his mind as he wondered what would happen to them next.

            After picking up his extra books after school, he ran home, eager to start reading. He read two books from his favorite series before dinnertime. Cody Barton’s adventures were the best. Eager to start another adventure, James ate as fast as he could and ran back upstairs into his room. When he opened his bedroom door, however, he was greeted with a surprise.

            A strange man dressed in dusty clothes and wearing a cowboy hat stared at James with a steely glint in his eye. A silver pistol hung at his belt, his hand mere inches from it. “What’s going on here, kid?”

            James’s jaw dropped in shock. “Who are you?” He wondered if he should scream out for Mom and Dad.

            The stranger’s eyes took in James’s small room. “My name’s Cody Barton. I think I must have hit my head harder than I thought when Bart’s horse bucked me from his back.”

            James’s shock increased. “Cody Barton?” Looking a little closer at the man, he realized he looked exactly as he’d pictured him as he read Cody’s adventure books. Was he dreaming? He shut his eyes and gave himself a hard pinch. He told himself he must be imagining things, and Cody would be gone when he opened his eyes again. Taking a few seconds to calm down and slow his breath, he opened his eyes to find Cody staring at him with concern.

            “You okay, kid? You look like you might pass out. Better get some water or something to drink.”

            James took a shaky breath. “Yeah, let me go get a drink.” He stepped out into the hall in a daze. He turned to go downstairs and found the way barred by a silver-and-green alien. This time, he did scream. The alien’s fingers and tentacles reached toward him and he turned and ran, thudding straight into a space astronaut. James fell to the floor, but the astronaut seemed unaffected as he rushed toward the alien, firing a laser gun as he went.

            The alien let out a hideous screech and crumpled to the floor, looking like nothing but gelatinous goo. After making sure the alien was no longer a threat, the astronaut turned to James. “Are you all right, son? Those type-three life forms can be pretty nasty.”

            James looked into the astronaut’s face and recognized him. “Commander Taylor?” His voice came out small and strained.

            Commander Taylor stuck out a hand and helped James get to his feet. “Yes, but I can’t give autographs right now. I seem to have misplaced my ship. Can you point me in the right direction?”

            James blinked at the hero of the space saga he’d read recently. “Um, yeah. Let me just go find out.” Without waiting for a reply, he ran down the stairs, yelling for his parents. Things were beyond strange around here.

            Turning the corner that led into the kitchen, James spotted Captain Ben from the fire station with his dalmatian, Spot, sitting loyally next to him.

            James walked right past the once-fictional characters, unable to deal with any more strangeness. He sighed with relief when he finally saw Mom, loading dishes into the dishwasher. “Mom, what’s going on around here?”

            “What do you mean, Buddy?” Mom turned her face to James in concern. Seeing the panic on his face, she walked over and put a hand on his forehead. “You don’t feel feverish. What’s wrong?”

            The back door opened, and a woman walked in, wearing an apron over her full skirts and a bonnet over her hair. Mom turned to her, saying, “Oh good. Mary, do you mind finishing up while I take care of James?”

            James stared at the strange woman. “Who are you?” This was someone he didn’t recognize from any book.

            “Oh, that’s Mary. Don’t you remember her coming to help us out?” Mom gave James an affectionate squeeze. “She used to work for the Duke of York, but now she works for us.”

            The Duke of York? With raised eyebrows, James asked the question he was afraid to get the answer to. “Did you read about her, Mom?”

            Mom nodded, unconcerned. “Of course. How else do you think she got here?”

            James ran in fear, bolting out the back door into the cool, night air. He ran, not really caring where he went. A roaring started in his ears, which grew louder as the air warmed up around him. Great gusts of wind knocked him down to the ground, and he tumbled in the grass. Coming to rest on his back, he was greeted by the sight of an enormous blue dragon coming to rest beside him.

            “Claude,” James whispered the dragon’s name. He saw the evil dragon’s eyes burn red, and he knew he didn’t have a chance. He curled into a ball, waiting for flames to engulf him.

            “James.” Mom shook him awake as daylight seeped through his window. “Get up. It’s time for school.”

            James looked around his room in a panic. “Where did he go? He was going to roast me alive!”

            Mom placed her hands on James’s shoulders, forcing him to calm down enough to look at her. “Hey, it’s all right. It was just a dream.”

            James’s racing heart thumped wildly in his chest. A dream?!

            Mom picked up the book by his bed. “Were you reading all night? You shouldn’t read so late. You’ll sleep better, you know.”

            James finally calmed down as the last of the dream left him. “Uh, yeah. I won’t do it again.”

            Mom patted his back. “Come on, it’s time to get ready for school.” She got up to leave, but turned around at the door. “And no reading until you’ve got everything else ready.”

            James nodded as she left the room. He vaguely remembered reading all the books he’d gotten from the library last night. It had to have been way past midnight when he finally collapsed in bed. He shook his head as he got dressed. Maybe there was such a thing as too much reading.