The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo

Can Freddy leap past his middle-child malaise? This classic story from Judy Blume has a fresh new look!

Freddy Dissel has two problems. One is his older brother, Mike. The other is his younger sister, Ellen. That leaves Freddy in the middle, feeling like the peanut butter part of a sandwich, squeezed between two pieces of bread like a great big middle nothing.

So when Freddy hears about the school play, he knows it’s his chance to shine—even if the play is being put on by the big kids, and even if Mike says that everybody can jump. But nobody can jump quite as well as Freddy, which makes him the perfect Green Kangaroo—and the star of the show!

Judy Blume, one of America’s most popular authors, is the recipient of the 2004 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of beloved books for young people, including Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (which celebrated fifty years in 2020), and novels for adult readers, including Wifey, Summer Sisters, and In the Unlikely Event. Her work has been translated into thirty-two languages.Visit Judy at JudyBlume.com or follow her on Twitter at @JudyBlume.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is the author of Where Are My Books?. Her illustrations also appear in Sea Monkey and Bob, written by Aaron Reynolds; I’m Bored (a New York Times Notable Book), Naked!, and I’m Sorry, written by Michael Ian Black; as well as ten Judy Blume chapter books and middle grade titles. For more info, visit DebbieOhi.com or @InkyElbows on Twitter.