I liked this book because of the well-developed characters. Molly is depicted as being very brave and outgoing while the narrator is timid and wishes she was as brave as Molly. The conflict in the plot enhances the story because Molly becomes scared and the narrator has to take on the courageous and brave role of their friendship. Once the narrator discovers that Molly can be scared at times too, the narrator feels better about how timid she can be and finds courage within herself. This is very relatable to readers as many people perceive a person to be better than them in some way, only later discovering they are much more similar than originally perceived, and that is what I believe to be the big message of the story. ( )

This book must be one of my all-time favorites. It is about elementary-aged children. The main character, Molly, is the girl that most of the children look up to. She has an aura of confidence and bravery that the other children wish they had. She isn’t afraid of bugs, she is friendly to everyone, etc. The narrator is a little girl of the same age and she speaks of her desire to be more like Molly. She goes on a trip with Molly and her family to the countryside and is constantly worries about impressing Molly and feels like she messed it up multiple times. At the end of the story, Molly informs her parents that the narrator is the brave one and she was her best friend. When Molly said this about her, the narrator feels much more confident in herself. It really demonstrates children’s needs for others’ approval. I would read this book to students of all ages. It would teach them that it is ok to feel shy and timid sometimes, and good to look up to other people, but everyone gets scared sometimes and you never know who is looking up to you. ( )