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....

In letters to an elderly pen pal, eleven-year-old Julie describes how her mischievous younger brother is always getting her in trouble, how she is dealing with painful juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and how she struggles to finish a fund-raising race on crutches.In letters to an elderly pen pal, eleven-year-old Julie describes how her mischievous younger brother is always getting her in trouble, and how she is dealing with painful juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.