Penguin Readers Level 2: "Flour Babies" (Penguin Readers (Graded Readers))

Eleven days into The Great Flour Baby Experiment, the rest of the boys in Room 8 - the classroom for underachievers and troublemakers - are ready to drop-kick their six-pound flour "babies" into the creek, but not Simon. He's keeping his flour baby clean and dry, maintaining its weight, and never, never leaving its side, even if the rest of the class thinks he's crazy. Maybe he is. But Simon's flour baby is helping Simon figure out his own life - why his father walked out on him, and how strong his mother is, raising him alone. In fact, Simon might not be able to give up his flour baby as the day of the giant, glorious Flour Free-for-All approaches....