My Brother Made Me Do It

Oh, BRRRRROTHER
Hi. I'm Julie Welsh. My nine-year-old brother is always cooking up schemes...and I get blamed. Because I'm older. Eleven, to be exact. But Frankie has his good points too, as I told Mrs. Kaplan, my 89-year-ald pen pal, who lives in Kansas. I write Mrs. Kaplan about everything. Even my secrets. She was the first one I told about my juvenile arthritis. Mrs. Kaplan understands everything. She has arthritis too. I was feeling tired and achy all the time, and discouraged. Then Mrs. Kaplan gave me ideas about running for student council, and though I could barely lift my legs, Frankie made me want to compete in a fun run. Just when I thought my life was a permanent time-out, you'll never believe what happened....

Peg Kehret’s books for young readers are regularly recommended by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the Children’s Book Council. She has won ＂children’s choice＂ book awards in nineteen states and has also won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and the PEN Center West Award for Children’s Literature. A longtime volunteer at the Humane Society, she often uses animals in her stories.

Peg and her husband, Carl, live in a log house on ten acres of forest near Mount Rainier National Park. Their property is a sanctuary for blacktail deer, elk, rabbits, and many kinds of birds. They have two grown children, four grandchildren, a dog, and two cats. When she is not writing, Peg likes to read, watch baseball, and pump her old player piano.