A Little Fun; A Little Contest (Jody Feldman in July)

Okay, this month on Smack Dab is dedicated to fun!
Totally up my alley!
My books, for those of you who don’t know, are full of games and puzzles and other challenges. That spells fun to many kids, but not all. Before I wrote a single word, I planned for that truth, tried to conquer it. One of my first editorial decisions was to place the puzzles within the context of the plot so readers could either stop and solve them or read on and watch the characters do the dirty work. I did not want to be the cause of extreme frustration.

On the flipside, however, I did want the challenges to be, well, challenging. I was one of those kids (still am) who thought games and puzzles and such were nearly as exciting as roller coasters. Nearly. In that spirit and in keeping with this month’s theme, I’ve put together something fun. At least I hope you think it is.

And if you solve it, let me know in the comment section. What the heck. Let me know if you don’t. Anyone who comments earns a chance to win both Gollywhopper Games books and a Gollywhopper Games t-shirts. However, if you have the right answer, I’ll send you a second set to share with anyone you see fit. (No cheating; we're on the honor system here.)

Solve This to Win

The following words are in alphabetical order. Rearrange them into a different, logical order. Once you do, examine the stream of words. If you merge the ending of one word with the beginning of the one next in order, you will find a different, common, 4-letter word. Do it again with another pair, but this resulting word was originally an abbreviation that’s found its way into common usage. Two steps to go. Of the letters in those 2 new words, delete the one that comes first alphabetically and the one that comes last alphabetically. Last step. Rearrange those 6 remaining letters to form a new word; it’s something some books do.

after
basket
bird
blue
book
brain
dirty
fight
food
laundry
midnight

Got it?
Let me know in the comments.
Need a clue? Look at the first comment.
Don’t want to play, but still want to win? Just comment.

Enter through July 21, 2014.