Honest, Sweet, and Entertaining "This touching story of friendship -- how easy it is to lose and how hard to regain - will touch a chord with many children." (News-Press) In I Miss Franklin P. Shuckles, author Ulana Snihura explores the difficult themes of childhood friendship in conflict with the pressures of popularity and group acceptance. Never heavy-handed, this story, following the friendship of a little girl, Molly Pepper, and her "geeky", gifted, new neighbor, Franklin P. Shuckles, is both funny and very moving. When Franklin moves in next door to Molly over the summer, she has no one else to play with. So, Molly befriends him, despite the fact that "he has skinny legs and wears funny glasses". Although he can"t catch, he is great at telling stories, and their summer together is wonderful. When school begins, everything changes: Molly is embarrassed by her "awkward" friend and alienates him. Soon, though, she finds that she misses him -- badly. So, after trying very hard, they"re friends again ... forever. A heart-warming story, I Miss Franklin P. Shuckles teaches a valuable lesson in a light and laughable way.