{"product_id":"izzy-kline-has-butterflies-isbn-9780399550836","title":"Izzy Kline Has Butterflies","description":"\u003cb\u003eSo many moments, both big and small, make up a year. Beth Ain chronicles them all in this heartwarming novel in verse, perfect for back to school--no matter what that looks like!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It's a new school year, and Izzy Kline is having some feelings. There are plenty of reasons for the butterflies in her stomach to flap their wings. There’s a new girl in her class who \u003ci\u003emight\u003c\/i\u003e be a new best friend. The whole grade is performing \u003ci\u003eFree to Be . . . You and Me\u003c\/i\u003e—and Izzy really wants a starring role. And new changes at home are making Izzy feel like her family is falling apart. First-day jitters, new friends, an audition . . . How many butterfly problems can one kid take?\"\u003cb\u003eBeautiful and real.\u003c\/b\u003e Once you've entered Izzy's head you won't want to leave.” – \u003cb\u003eWendy Mass\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Candymakers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\"A \u003cb\u003eheartwarming\u003c\/b\u003e story about life’s happy moments, frightening flashes, and annoying boys.” – Elly Swartz, author of \u003ci\u003eFinding Perfect\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Captures the soap opera that is fourth grade with \u003cb\u003ehonesty, humor, and heart\u003c\/b\u003e.\" -- \u003cb\u003eKirby Larson\u003c\/b\u003e, Newbery-Honor Wunning author of \u003ci\u003eHattie Big Sky\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eCharming\u003c\/b\u003e… Recommended for middle grade readers who are graduating to chapter books and in search of characters to love.” – Melanie Conklin, Kidliterati blog and author of \u003ci\u003eCounting Thyme\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eBright and believable\u003c\/b\u003e, just right for young middle graders.\" -- \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eBuoyant\u003c\/b\u003e. Ain’s verse format is ideally suited to the novel’s examination of profound concepts while maintaining a lighthearted tone.\" – \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"Izzy Kline takes readers through a year of \u003cb\u003evulnerability, self-searching, and triumph\u003c\/b\u003e… Heartwarming.\" – \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\"A well-rounded portrait of a \u003cb\u003ethoughtful and unique main character\u003c\/b\u003e. Ain makes use of all a poet’s tools—repetition, rhythm, rhyme, distillation, silence, and ambiguity… The authenticity of Izzy’s voice demonstrates that fourth grade is fourth grade, no matter when.” – \u003ci\u003eThe Horn Book\u003c\/i\u003eBeth Ain grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she and her best friend were free to finger-paint in the basement, and make plays, and get in and out of fights and hysterical fits of laughter, all to the soundtrack of \u003ci\u003eFree to Be . . . You and Me.\u003c\/i\u003e She is glad to have friends and family who encouraged her to be creative with her memories. She is the author of several books for children, including the Starring Jules series. She lives in Port Washington, New York, with her husband and two children. Visit her online at bethain.com.\u003cp\u003eSummer Slide\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile I am busy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eswimming in pools and lakes,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eroasting marshmallows on a stick,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esinging camp songs with camp friends,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003escratching the itchy bite in the middle of my back--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecaterpillars are busy too.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBusy eating their way out of their cocoons\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand into something else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomething that\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eflutters\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhen I cartwheel\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edown the backyard hill,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhen I ride my bike\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edown into the cul-­de-­sac,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eskidding to a screech when the mail truck rolls up with those cards.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoom assignments, like anyone cares which room they happen to be in with that old,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eyelling teacher and that brand-­new class of kids with only one person I used to like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efor five minutes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein kindergarten.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLilly, with two l’s\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhere there should be only one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsed to like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003euntil I had a playdate with her, and she cried the whole time and told me her toys\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebelonged to a superhero princess from Mars,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat she was just watching the stuff for a while,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTAKING VERY SPECIAL CARE of it,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat was why she could not share it with me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a good one. Lilly with two l’s was clever\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eat least.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnyway,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethere were other friends to make\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand not make\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat year we moved here,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall those years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut last week, when the mail truck rolled up\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eas I rolled\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edown,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat’s right about when the cocoon burst.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRight about when that VERY HUNGRY caterpillar became one VERY ANGRY butterfly or\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eelse one million butterflies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaking me--on that last night before fourth grade--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003einto a night owl,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esomething moms say when they talk about us to their friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomething they say that isn’t exactly the way it is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI am a night butterfly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlitting around in my bed,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein my head,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall the way until 7:25 in the morning,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhen the alarm clock, whose name is Mitchell\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand who isn’t really an alarm clock\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut who is a giant dog of the Saint Bernard variety,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elicks my face.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMessy hair, rolled around and around in due to certain BUTTERFLY PROBLEMS,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emessy hair\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand shorts\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand a tank top.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSummer doesn’t end when school starts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDoesn’t end with the reading of that\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eroom assignment card.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomething they don’t teach you at school.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou learn it on your own when it is too hot\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto pretend to be nice to Lilly with two l’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToo hot to build a building out of marshmallows and very thin pretzel sticks,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand without talking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn activity Mom will think\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esounds like loads of fun when I see her later\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand when she forces me to tell her\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eone interesting thing about my day that does not have\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto do with being hot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe good news is the old, yelling teacher is Mrs. Soto and she doesn’t yell,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eeven when I laugh during the silent building of the marshmallow buildings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNothing else interesting after that,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexcept for a girl named Quinn Mitchell\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho stayed quiet during the marshmallow exercise and who helped our table build a very tall,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eleaning tower without my help since\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI was disqualified\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand she never said anything except at the end when we\/they won, when she said\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eno thanks to motormouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut she said it through a smile and also she fluttered her eyelids,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elike a butterfly,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand we all laughed because it wasn’t mean,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eit was funny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd the only thing I could say back was\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emy dog’s name is Mitchell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMath\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOuch!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy middle finger. Yes, that one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe finger that used to be guarded and important ever since I learned it could curse\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epeople.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEver since someone else’s cursed me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJackson.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is on fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmashed between my table and Jackson’s chair,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich was flung out on purpose,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe way boys do things on purpose\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewithout even knowing that they are doing them\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eon purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI pull it quickly to my mouth--the cursed finger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKiss it? Lick it? Bite it off? What would be a good idea?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI look into the 4 sets of 2 eyes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof the FOUR ANNOYING BOYS who are staring,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewaiting for me to cry\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elike a girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI bite my lip.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat’s 8 eyes, I think.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMultiplication.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne math fact memorized.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf it all had to do with the staring eyes of boys\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho want you to fail, math would be easier\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto understand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think this too while not crying,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhile not kicking the chair back into his table,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enot kicking him back into his table.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBravery, James would call it later,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunder his teenager breath.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe breath that I notice so much because it is so loud--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esighing, annoyed breath.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, anyway, that is James’s under-­the-­breath answer when I say um a lot as I tell him\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand Dad the story of my bruised finger and its Popsicle-­stick splint.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is our night with Dad.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur night at Dad’s weird apartment,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich he hasn’t decorated except for a framed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeatles’ Magical Mystery Tour poster on the wall\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand a big stack of medical journals\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eon a glass coffee table\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewith sharp edges\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat matches his own sharp edges\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut nothing else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat do you call that? I ask when I tell them how I held in my tears with all my might.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same kind of thing that always happens on my night with you, my dad answers,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehis voice edgy like the coffee table.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDinner with a side of drama, he says.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHalf smiling, half something else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFractions, also easier with people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProof of your giftedness at acting, my mom will say tomorrow, hugging me tight when I tell her about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe nurse gave me ice and a splint and said it was okay to cry in her office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInstead of crying I said when will it feel better?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill heal one million times faster if you smile, she said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI’m not good at math, I said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey heard us laughing all the way in the front office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndoor Recess\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI usually do not like the movies they show us\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eduring indoor recess because they are\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebabyish or else they are about ogres\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand I hate the whole idea of ogres.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven Shrek.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI get why they made a movie about him, but I always wish they would just let us color or something at indoor recess.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLet us be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut this was something today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis Free to Be . . . You and Me video.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was something different from the start, and not just because there was singing and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emusic, which I love, but--and this is IMPORTANT--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebecause it was funny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo babies are talking in a nursery and they don’t know if they are boys or girls because\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethey are both bald.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat’s funny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then there are so many other funny things,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efunny characters, funny songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDon’t dress your cat in an apron, someone says later, because it just doesn’t make any sense\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto wear things that don’t make any sense\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efor who you are.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat was the point, I think.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then another, called “Helping,”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich isn’t actually about helping at all\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand which made us all laugh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven the boys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then I got the idea that this whole thing is about LIFE LESSONS,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esomething Mom says in a big TV news voice she saves only for when she’s talking to me about something\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eimportant,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand she thinks important things are funny, apparently,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor that they should be funny,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich is funny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut she’s right.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI absolutely always remember the things\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat made me laugh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike the idea that “Parents Are People,”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esomething they say in one of the songs,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor that women can do anything men can do.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFunny that anyone ever thought any different, I mean.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe’re going to put it on--the whole fourth grade--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein a concert,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand all I want is to sing a solo.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI want to sing “When We Grow Up” because I think it is meant to be sung\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI hope no one else in the whole fourth grade can sing,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethen maybe I’ll have a chance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI hope Quinn Mitchell isn’t as good at singing as she is at building things out of food.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd I hope they make a boy sing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s All Right to Cry.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause that would make me laugh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then I would remember it forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat LIFE LESSON.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter-School Activities\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou don’t do a play in third grade or fifth grade at Salem Ridge Elementary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly in fourth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd fourth grade, as far as I can see,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis when you--ahem--I will be the most nervous I will ever be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot third or fifth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause I was younger in third.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill be older in fifth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLess nervous.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn middle school I will like boys,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI am told\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby my grandmother,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho thinks I like boys now,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe way I go on and on\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eabout these FOUR ANNOYING BOYS in my class,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho make me want to scream, even though they can be funny when they make farting noises\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor flip their eyelids inside out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut it is hate, not like.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI only like James, my big brother.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQuinn would like an older brother but she has an older sister, who talks on her phone all day and night and slams her door a lot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI have to walk you to drama, James mutters at me after school.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI have to be a good actress so I can get a good part in the fourth-­grade play.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOkay, I say, and I go on and on about trying to be serious enough to get the part of Baby Girl in Free to Be . . . You and Me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, you’re serious, he says, which makes me want only to be silly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI cross my eyes at him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe says why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy? I say.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause the P is silent. The pee, get it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat’s not a very serious-­acting kind of joke, I say.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFree to Be . . . You and Me is not a play for serious actors, he says.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell that to Marlo Thomas, I say. Marlo Thomas--according to my music teacher,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho is new and just married and wonderful\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand who used to be Miss Hall for the first six weeks of school and is now Mrs. Johnson.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Mr. Johnson, her new and young and just-­married husband, is the orchestra conductor--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, according to Mrs. Johnson, Marlo Thomas is the writer, the creator,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof Free to Be . . . You and Me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI know James does not know who Marlo Thomas is, because my brother is not the type of person to know something like this.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe knows rock bands and sports teams and--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe’s the sick-­kids lady, he says. Has a famous hospital for sick kids.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo way, I say.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTruth, he says. Ask Mom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter drama with Elana, who teaches me to sing and to act, because they are intertwined, she says,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI call my mom at work and ask her about\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarlo Thomas’s hospital.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSt. Jude’s, she says. That kid and his memory, she also says.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe had thought James would be president one day with that memory,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen I hang up, James has gone to his room and I know that means I can’t tell him he was right.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCan’t watch him stick out his pierced tongue at me and wonder how much it hurt and what made him do it and what it tastes like with ice cream on it, or spaghetti, and does the spaghetti get tangled up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCan’t duck when he throws a pillow at me to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emake me stop asking\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSO MANY QUESTIONS!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI may not remember everything the way James does,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut I bet I will always remember\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhat James’s pierced tongue looks like.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the rest of my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe James can still be president.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe lots of people will vote for him\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebecause they have been hoping\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall this time someone would come along\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewith something as interesting\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eas James’s tongue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnglish Language Arts\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome things in Free to Be . . . You and Me make me think that the writers are trying to tell us something--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis what I would say if I were writing an essay about Free to Be . . . You and Me\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eon a test, which I would not be\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebecause that would be too interesting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike when--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethis is a SUMMARY--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea new kid moves in and he’s worried about making friends and all that but then he meets his neighbor, who is a girl, and she says she has no friends either and neither does this other kid she plays with. Well, since we all have no friends, the new kid says, and we all like to play together, maybe we ought to start a club.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat’s funny, right?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI mean, they all say they have no friends but they have each other.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat is an INFERENCE--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ean inference gets extra points on a test.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, last year there was no Quinn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was in the fourth class,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand I didn’t know anyone in the fourth class.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere used to be three classes until there were so many kids,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etoo many kids for three teachers to handle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo they made a fourth one, and somehow all the kids I never knew anyway ended up in the fourth class.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis year I am in the fourth class, and Fiona and Sara--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe best friends I made in kindergarten, after the playdate with superhero-­princess\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLilly with two l’s--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eare in a class together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey only play together now,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eat recess.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly take dance together and play soccer together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoccer was always their thing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand not mine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll those girls high-­fiving and running so fast\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein a group.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI never knew what to do or where to go\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand I’m not good at losing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDance was my thing for five minutes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebefore singing became the only thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat’s it, THE END for everything else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow Fiona and Sara are in Friendship Club together, and not a made-­up friendship club,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea real one,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erun by the school!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey get to skip recess once a week and do something together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s like Girl Scouts, my mom said\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhen we got the letter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly I didn’t know we ever got the letter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe decided for me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI doubt it’s for you, she said later,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eafter I’d found out about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter it was too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI believe most things she says but\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emaybe not this one thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEveryone wants to be in a friendship club.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd I love Girl Scout cookies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrozen Thin Mint cookies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI watch Fiona and Sara leave lunch a few minutes early\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efor Friendship Club.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd I make a CONNECTION to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFree to Be . . . You and Me,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esomething else you get extra points for on a test.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDidn’t you get invited to join, Izzy? Sara asks me\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eon her way out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI shrug because my real answer is too complicated\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand because she looks so happy to be going,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhether I have been invited\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eofficially\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor not.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305462485221,"sku":"NP9780399550836","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780399550836.jpg?v=1767730293","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/izzy-kline-has-butterflies-isbn-9780399550836","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}