What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
SOLVED: Children's/YA
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SOLVED. Looking for a 1990s or 1980s children’s chapter book: neat girl & messy new girl become friends
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Someone found this on Reddit for me; it’s Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan by Natalie Honeycutt.
What I remember:
• The main character is a neat, organized girl (somewhere between 2nd-5th grade). She’s loves school and staying organized. She is a teacher’s pet and loves to do her homework and keep things tidy. She is lonely and has no friends.
• Her bedroom is in the attic of her house and she imagines she is a princess in her “castle” up there.
• She brings soup in a thermos to school.
• A new girl joins her class — messy, loud, chaotic and carefree. I think she had long red hair and her name may have started with S.
• The girls clash, especially when they have to work on a school project together.
• There’s a scene where the messy girl comes to class soaking wet and makes a big mess in the classroom. She gets the neat girl wet even though she wore galoshes to stay dry.
• The messy girl brings a newt to school at some point and the neat girl is disgusted.
• The neat girl is not very popular at first, but as she loosens up, she becomes more accepted.
• The messy girl visits the neat girl’s attic “castle” and doesn’t like the princess fantasy, or maybe the neat girl was embarrassed about it and tried to keep it a secret but it was revealed somehow.
• The two eventually become friends and neat girl learns to loosen up and have more fun.
The cover likely showed both girls with their arms crossed — the neat one frowning or serious (short, darker hair), the messy one smiling and mischievous (red hair).
Its’s not Teacher’s Pet by Hurwitz. I’ve had no luck, please help!