Better With Butter
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5.0 • 7 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A girl with anxiety disorder finds an unlikely friend -- and emotional support animal -- in the form of an adorable fainting goat.
Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything -- amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone.
Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared.
But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal.
Only Butter isn't any old goat. She's a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs -- her.
Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything -- amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone.
Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared.
But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal.
Only Butter isn't any old goat. She's a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs--her.
Soon, the two are inseparable, and Butter thrives under Marvel's support. But Butter also helps Marvel. Everything is better with Butter by her side, and Marvel starts to imagine a life in which she doesn’t have to be so afraid . . . until she’s told she might have to give up Butter forever. Will Marvel find a way to fight for her friend? Or will she revert back to the anxious, lonely person she used to be?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this heartwarming novel set in Northern California, Piontek (The Spirit of Cattail County) conveys the calming and strengthening power of connecting with an animal. Diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder, self-proclaimed coward Marvel McKenna views her worries as armor that helps her prepare—"It takes a lot of work to be afraid of everything." When she's not dwelling on global problems, the implied-white sixth grader's mind is filled with worries about making friends, taking tests, and public speaking—including an upcoming presentation in front of the whole school. But after rehearsal for the event makes her freeze on stage, Marvel pushes her fear aside to rescue a baby fainting goat from a group of eighth graders intent on startling it. Marvel's parents agree that she can keep the goat, dubbed Butter, until the owner is found. When she is with the animal, Marvel's anxiety subsides and, for the first time, she feels confident. As a result, Marvel would like Butter to serve as an emotional service animal at school; before that can happen, though, her intimidating principal requires that Butter pass a difficult obedience test. Marvel's honest first-person voice sheds light on an experience of living with chronic anxiety, conveying conflicts and progress with clear internal detail. Ages 8–12.
