AUDIENCE: (Except for a few crotchety people in the back, everyone stands up and starts clapping. Henry considers tap-dancing but decides against it.)
EMILY: (Speaks to Henry. The crowd is so loud only he can hear her.) I can’t believe it. They listened. WE DID THIS.
HENRY: We really did!!!! (Thinks he might happy-cry too, and knows he’d be okay with that. A bunch of B-5 students jump out of their seats and run up to Ms. Graham.)
SKINNY MAN WITH TIE: (waits for crowd to settle down) The excitement is refreshing, if you ask me. I hope you all stay this engaged for our next topic, which has to do with standardized testing.
HENRY: (too excited to groan, wipes a happy tear from his eye)
BLAKE
AVIVA
Date: March 5
Tonight it felt like we were in the center of a movie (and we kind of were, with the news station filming the whole time). When we found out Ms. Graham was getting her job back, we screamed and jumped and cheered and everything was so loud I could hardly think but it was wonderful-wonderful-wonderful!
Ima and Aba came to the school board meeting to support our team. The whole night they kept sneaking peeks at me, and I wondered if maybe I had food stuck in my teeth or something. On the drive home, I found out why.
They said I’m turning into such a remarkable-young-woman. With a good head-on-her-shoulders, and a passionate soul.
Ima twisted around in the front seat so that she could see my eyes. She said they’ve been thinking about our conversation. That they think I’m right—that we DO need to make this decision together. Ima suggested we set up appointments to go visit a few different schools, including Sequoia Middle School (where Emily will be going) and La Ventana. Aba added that they cannot/will not send me to any school they feel is unsafe, but that they can try/will try to be open-minded.
I wanted to climb right over the seats and hug them. But I didn’t, for obvious seat belt–related reasons. Plus, I didn’t want to make this a big deal. (Even though I kind of feel like it is.)
KAI
Whoop-whoop, Frog!
Can’t wait! Ms. Graham is coming back!!!
Tonight was tight! The KCAL 7 News team caught a bunch of us midhug. We straightened up real fast. I was smiling all over the place, but I gave an extra-nice smile for the camera. Then the reporter caught sight of Ms. Graham. “Ms. Graham, is there anything you’d like to say to our viewers?”
She stood there for a moment, like maybe she didn’t know what to say. But then she leaned into the microphone. “Just this—I’m eager to get back in the classroom and work with my extraordinary students.”
Us too, Ms. Graham. Us too.
HENRY
SCENE: Ms. Graham’s classroom on her first day back. Nobody can believe this is really happening.
KAYLEY: Say something, Ms. Graham!
HENRY: (cups hands around mouth) Speech! Speech! Speech!
MS. GRAHAM: (stands in the front of the classroom, wearing her frog-tastic socks and smiling)
AVIVA: (yells in an unusually loud voice) We missed you, Ms. Graham!
EVERYONE: (turns to look at Aviva in shock)
HENRY: I’ve never heard you talk that loud in my life!
MS. GRAHAM: (all choked up) I missed you too. I’m so glad to be back.
EMILY: Ms. Graham! Are you crying?
* * *
—
CECILIA
Hola Abuelita,
The town of White Oak has the most beautiful library in the world, with high ceilings and stained-glass windows. Kai and I meet next to the water fountain and then read together, trading books. Both our elementary schools feed into the same middle school, so next year we’ll be together again. How’s that for luck?
Our recipe book is halfway done. We’ll mail a copy along with the soccer photo album that Mami’s been making. Love you mucho!
I remember what you said before, “No hay mal que por bien no venga.” You said that sometimes the good that comes out of something bad isn’t clear to us at first. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I think maybe it’s a nice way to look at the world.
WORDS TO PRACTICE
library = biblioteca
water fountain = bebedero
Besos y abrazos,
Cecilia
EMILY
Status:
Dear Hope,
I can’t wait to celebrate with Ms. Graham tomorrow!!! A bunch of us are coming in early to help set up for the party.
I got to thinking about Harold and the Purple Crayon again. Even though I don’t go around drawing my world with a purple crayon, maybe I still get to make up my own story?
I guess for that reason, middle school isn’t looking so bad. Yippee!
Love and guts,
Emily
HENRY
SCENE: Class party, celebrating Ms. Graham’s triumphant return to the classroom and Henry’s never-ending awesomeness. Serving lemonade, honey wheat pretzels, cheese pizza, shrimp chips, and snickerdoodle cookies.
HENRY: Nothing goes with lemonade like some good shrimp chips.
KAYLEY: Just ignore him until he says something relevant.
HENRY: Salty and crispy. With a slight fishy taste. What more could you ask for?
KAYLEY: Ms. Graham, would I get in trouble if I dumped my lemonade on Henry’s head?
MS. GRAHAM: No comment.
SHARON: Maybe we can come up with a new project.
HENRY: Let’s pick something easy. How about world peace?
MS. GRAHAM: There’s still three months left of the school year…I bet you all can come up with something. Based on what you’ve accomplished thus far, I doubt anything’s out of your reach.
HENRY: Awww. Even Kermit’s getting misty-eyed. Long live the frog!
KAYLEY: (laughs)
HENRY: What? What’s so funny?
KAYLEY: YOU are, remember?
HENRY: Thank you, thank you. (small bow) Finally! My humor is appreciated.
MS. TILDY: (enters classroom, carrying a huge box) Excuse me, Ms. Graham. I’m sorry to interrupt. But you’ve received some letters. I’ve been collecting them for you. (Heaves box down on a table. The box is overflowing.)
SHARON: WOW.
MS. TILDY: Yes. (Appears distracted by Kermit. Henry hopes she doesn’t recognize the frog from when he was released in her office.) Ahem. I think perhaps the news coverage has gotten you some attention. Apparently, your students aren’t the only ones you’ve made think.
BLAKE: You’re famous!
MS. TILDY: Oh, and a few of the letters are addressed to your class, Ms. Graham. I guess they’ve caught some people’s attention too. Couldn’t imagine why? (smiles and winks at class)
MS. GRAHAM: What can I say? They’re pretty frog-tastic. (gestures to classroom) Look at these walls.
KAYLEY: What? (modestly) No biggie—we just put up a few affirmations.
BLAKE
IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE…
About the Malala Fund and Malala Yousafzai’s amazing work:
Check out her website: malala.org
About Malala herself:
Yousafzai, Malala, and Patricia McCormick. I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2014.
About the issue of homelessness:
National Alliance to End Homelessness: endhomelessness.org
National Center for Homeless Education: nche.ed.gov
National Coalition for the Homeless: nationalhomeless.org
Strategies to End Homelessness: strategiestoendhomelessness.org
About other creative ways to address poverty:
Heifer International: heifer.org<
br />
UNICEF: unicef.org
The Water Project: thewaterproject.org
About fun ways people are spreading kindness:
The dude. be nice. project: dudebenice.com/pages/dbnproject
Make A Difference Day: makeadifferenceday.com
Ripple Kindness Project: ripplekindness.org
Rosa’s Fresh Pizza: rosasfreshpizza.com
Spread Kindness: www.spreadkindness.org
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In some very special classrooms during my childhood, I believed that what I thought and felt mattered. Since I was shy, I could easily have flown under the radar. Perhaps for that reason, positive feedback and acknowledgment from a teacher were like gold. I believe that teacher-child connection can shape a child’s life. My extraordinary teachers are the inspiration for Operation Frog Effect.
My fourth-grade teacher, Mr. Alan Nubling, transformed his classroom into a mini-world, where we tackled social issues, had our own jobs, and managed pretend money. My ballet teacher, Eva Pokorny, felt like a second mom. Mr. Nubling and Mrs. Pokorny are but two of many educators who have positively affected my life or the lives of my children. I’d like to acknowledge Mrs. Brown, Mr. Busse, Mrs. Curro, Mr. Forbes, Mrs. Forbes, Alan Greenbaum, Mr. Haug, Mrs. Hinson, Mrs. Kaio, Mr. Kane, Mrs. Keefer, Mrs. Lang, Mrs. Lashkeri, Mrs. Laurentowski, Mrs. Lerned, Mrs. Liddell, John Wey Ling, Mrs. Lorimer, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Luvi, Mrs. McCook, Mrs. McCrory, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Odell, Mrs. Ortgies, Mr. Prendergast, Mrs. Raives, Mr. Roberts, Mrs. Robbins, Mrs. Sage, Mrs. Schlemmer, Ms. Scheimer, Mr. Simonson, Ms. Sorenson, Mrs. Spellman, Mrs. Vick, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Waters, and Mrs. White.
When I first embarked on this project, I knew it was crucial to represent the diverse and wise voices I see and hear every day as a school-based counselor in California. This story is not about any of the kids I work with—all the characters are completely fictional—but I am continuously impressed and inspired by the perseverance, strength, optimism, and wisdom I see daily in students, despite sometimes challenging circumstances. Spending time with these young people gives me hope for the future.
It was important to me to get every single one of these voices right. I wanted to portray realistic characters whose lives and voices reflect the richness of their background, but who are also well-rounded humans with both strengths and weaknesses. I found myself relying heavily on the advice and guidance of many generous readers.
I’d like to say a heartfelt thank-you to the following authenticity readers who shared insights, wisdom, support, and perspective: Alexandra Alessandri, Luvi Avendano, Keisha Carroll, Tina Chow, Kristy Curro, Andrea Del Valle, Nina Faiello-Simpson, Laura Guerra, Omario Kanjini, Chin Koh, Maria Lawson, Stephanie Lyon, Sherri Merideth-Cheatham, Luma Mufleh, Polo Orozco, Martha Zavala Perez, and Helen Wong. I am eternally grateful for the time and dedication you all put into my characters, and the feedback. If I’ve gotten things right, it’s largely because of your thoughtful suggestions and insights; any mistakes that remain are my own. #WeNeedDiverseBooks!
Thank you to my early readers, who helped me sift through a mangled mess of unstructured ideas and turn it into something that made sense—Carie Appleton, Ben and Noah Scheerger, Chad Morris, and Deborah Halverson. A thousand thank-yous to Maya Motayne, who was an early reader at Random House. Thank you to Maria Claver and Alexandra Wilkinson for your expertise about community resources. Thank you to Shana Corey, for helping me see the forest among the trees, for discovering the frog-tastic Kermit, and for offering gentle guidance. Thank you always to Deborah Warren for your never-ending support through all the ups and downs. Thank you to art directors Maria Middleton, Bob Bianchini, and Stephanie Moss for your artistic expertise, as well as Barbara Bakowski for your keen eye for detail. Thank you to Andy Smith for the frog-errific cover. Thank you to Gina Perry for your skill in bringing Blake’s story to life. Long live the frogs!
I’m sending thanks to many writers and organizations for their research on women’s and social issues around the globe. Among the most helpful resources for this project were I Am Malala (by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick), NPR (npr.org), USA Today (usatoday.com), Think Progress (thinkprogress.org), Schooling for Life (schoolingforlife.net), United We Dream (unitedwedream.org), and International Business Times (ibtimes.co.uk).
I am also indebted to several websites for fun frog facts, including Save the Frogs! (savethefrogs.com), Smithsonian.com (smithsonianmag.com), Earth Rangers (www.earthrangers.org), and the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org).
Thank you always to my family. To my children, for being the wonderful people you are and for helping me grow in ways you’ll someday understand. Rob—I love you more every day. Thank you for your support and kindness. Mom and Dad, you’ve always made me feel that I mattered, that what I wanted to say mattered, and that anything was possible. Thank you for that special gift. I am eternally appreciative. The best way I can repay you is by passing it on…to my children, to my friends, and to my students. #KindnessMatters #PayItForward
Thank you to my Mom Tribe: Dorothy, Holly, JA, Janet, Jessica, Jill, Jodie, Joy, Kristi, Lois, Lyndall, Maria, Marjie, Michelle, Stephanie, Tara, Tina, and Valerie. I’m honored to have your company on this fantastic, trying, fulfilling journey we call parenthood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SARAH SCHEERGER is a clinical social worker who works in schools with at-risk kids, helping them figure out who they are and who they want to be. Sarah is also the author of several other books for children and young adults, including YA novels, picture books, and chapter books. Operation Frog Effect is her middle-grade debut and was inspired by her innovative fourth-grade teacher. Sarah lives with her husband and their children in California.
sarahlynnbooks.com
@sarahscheerger
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Operation Frog Effect Page 15