This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine.
Andrew Marcus desperately wants freckles like his classmate Nicky Lane. He is easily distracted because he is thinking so much about freckles. A classmate named Sharon overhears Andrew asking Nicky how he got his freckles. Sharon offers to sell Andrew her secret formula for freckle production. She will only charge 50 cents. Andrew gathers his allowances together and pays Sharon. She provides a recipe that includes vinegar, ketchup, mustard and olive oil.
While Andrew’s mother is playing cards with a neighbor, Andrew mixes the concoction and drinks it. He doesn’t gain any freckles, but he gets a terrible stomachache. When his mother returns, she wonders if she needs to take him to the doctor. Then she discovers his ingredients strewn around the kitchen and sends him to bed with some stomach medicine.
Refusing to let Sharon win, Andrew returns to school with freckles he’s made using blue magic marker. The teacher gives him a formula of her own for removing the freckles, which includes soap and water. She tells him he’s handsome without them. When Nicky asks her for some of the freckle remover, she tells him he looks good with his freckles. As the book ends, Sharon pulls Nicky aside and tells him she has a secret formula for freckle removal she’s willing to share for 50 cents.
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Andrew’s mother checks him over before school to make sure he’s clean and dressed appropriately. She gives him medicine and sends him to bed after his freckle mixture makes him sick. Andrew’s teacher gives him the “antidote” to his freckle problem in the form of soap and water. She tells him he is handsome without freckles.
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