Wanda Petronski is different—she has a different name, she is plain and poor, and she is shy and quiet. But Peggy, Maddie, and the other girls tease her because she claims she has one hundred dresses, even though she wears the same drab one every day. Maddie wishes they wouldn’t tease her, but does not speak up until it is too late and the Petronskis leave due to their poor treatment. Written for younger tweens, even reluctant readers with little experience reading chapter books will sail through this simple story. Girls may identify with the story more, and can learn about the cattiness and bullying that often occurs between them in real life. All readers will take away from the story the moral that just because someone is different does not make it right to tease and bully them.
