Nobody's Perfect? The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubenstein

For Beatrice Bottomwell, Friday begins just like any other day.

She matched her socks.

She made a sandwich for her brother Carl's lunch. She used exactly the same amount of peanut butter and jelly.

She's does it all just right, with a smile.

But Beatrice has an unusual problem. She has never, in her admittedly short life, done anything wrong. (Her Number Two pencils have impeccably perfect pink erasers, never used.) Her fans and curious news media folks question her closely every morning on her way to school. No, she didn't forget to make up her bed. Nope, she didn't forget her homework. She's famous as the Girl Who Never Made Mistakes.

It's actually a burden that weighs heavily on Beatrice's shoulders. In cooking class in school that day, she has quite a fright.

At school Beatrice was on on a cooking team with her best friends, Millie and Sarah. Beatrice went to get four eggs when... she slipped. The eggs went flying! Beatrice was about to make her first mistake.

But she didn't. She caught one in her mouth, two in her hands, and one with her right foot.

It is an amazing catch--a perfect catch, really. But to Beatrice, it is too close for comfort. Her confidence is blown.

And coming up that night is the school talent show, and Beatrice is set to do her juggling act--with water balloons, yet. The pressure is on, and if Beatrice drops one, it's going to be a doozie!

KABLOOOOOIE!

When Beatrice makes a mistake, it's a perfectly spectacular, in Mark Pett's and Gary Rubenstein's The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2016), and it's actually a great relief for Beatrice. Being perfect is quite a responsibility and Beatrice Bottomwell's comedown and resulting release from her own perfection is unmistakable! Like King Midas and his perpetual golden touch, Beatrice finds that keeping up perfection is no fun. Says School Library Journal, "Pett's beady-eyed cartoon illustratons are expressive and winsome, a perfect complement to this story of a girl finding out that it's okay to be imperfect."