Flower Power (7 page)

Katie nodded. Now she understood—at least a little—why Suzanne was mean to Miriam. She was jealous that Miriam’s braces were prettier than her night brace.

Katie thought for a minute. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be so bland,” she said finally.

“What are you talking about?” Suzanne asked.

Katie opened her desk drawer and pulled out a package of glitter stickers. “We can decorate the cloth strap with these.”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea,” Suzanne agreed. “They’re glittery. And I’m known for my glitter.”

“Exactly,” Katie agreed.

“I’ll have the funkiest night brace in history,” Suzanne said. “It’ll be so much cooler than Miriam’s red and pink wires.”

“Oh, definitely,” Katie agreed. She grinned. Suzanne would never change.

But that was okay. In fact, Katie liked that some things stayed the same. She had
enough changes in her life. After all, for Katie Kazoo, things changed as often as the wind blew. One, two, switcheroo!

Get some flower power of your own. Follow these instructions to make the same paper flowers Mr. G. used to decorate class 4A.

You will need:

Colored tissue paper

Green pipe cleaners

Scissors

A ruler

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut tissue paper into 5-inch by 7-inch rectangles.

2. Stack five tissue-paper rectangles. You can use rectangles that are all the same color or different colors.

3. Fold the stack of papers like an accordion.

4. Wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around the middle of the stack of accordionpleated tissue paper.

5. Gently separate each layer, pulling upward toward the middle of the flower.

6. Make a few flowers and put them in baskets around your house. It will feel like springtime, anytime.