by Judy Blume | Grades: 1-3 | Lexile Level 570
More than anything in the world, Andrew Marcus wants freckles. His classmate Nicky has freckles--they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. But when Andrew asks Nicky where he got them, Nicky just says he was born with them. Some help he is! That's when Sharon offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe--for fifty cents, she promises, Andrew can look just like Nicky. His freckleless days are over! He rushes home to whip up the concoction. Grape juice, vinegar, mustard...
But what starts out as a simple freckle juice recipe quickly turns into something disastrous. Andrew is still determined to get his freckles, and to show that pesky Sharon that she doesn't know everything--and he has the perfect solution! Or does he?