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Sweet Valley Kids #69
Class Picture Day!
In the words of 7-year-old Jessica Wakefield...
I hate looking bad.
And today I've got to look good!
It's picture day for second-graders.
That's me!
No spills. No dirt. And no gum chewing.
That's no problem for me.
I always look perfect.
Why should today be any different?
I hate looking bad.
And today I've got to look good!
It's picture day for second-graders.
That's me!
No spills. No dirt. And no gum chewing.
That's no problem for me.
I always look perfect.
Why should today be any different?
- GenresChildrensMiddle Grade
96 pages, Paperback
Published February 10, 1997
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,149 books1,885 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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June 7, 2026Class Picture Day
Mrs. Otis says there’s supposed to be a surprise. Liz tells Jessica she thinks they’re going to write letters. Jessica says that doesn’t sound fun. She hopes it’s a party with pizza, games, and ice cream for dessert. Liz was right. They’re going to learn to write letters, and she says they have some special friends to write too. They’ll be writing to some students in Alaska. Each student sent a picture. Todd wants to know if they play soccer. Mrs. Otis says that’s a good question for whoever his pen pall will be.
She says they’ll talk about letter writing, and then they’ll choose their penpals. Then she tells them also to make sure they dress their best for class picture day tomorrow. They’ll include their pictures with their letters. Jessica thinks the surprise is ok, but she still would have preferred a pizza party. Jessica worries that their pictures won’t be as impressive. The ones they saw had snow, a moose, and a dogsled.
Mrs. Otis teaches the class about salutations and has them copy a letter on the board. She then puts all the letters in a mailbox and tells them whoever they get will be their pen pal. Charlie gets a boy named Ben that says he likes to go ice fishing all the time. Winston gets a boy named Sam Hutch that says he likes to race dogsleds. Lila picks a girl named Becky Hope that likes to play dress up. Ellen gets a girl with dark hair named Hillary. Amy gets the girl that Jessica wanted that’s a real Eskimo.
Liz gets a girl named Sally Poe. Jessica gets the boy with the dark fur suit and hat that everyone thinks Charlie should have got because he looks intimidating and have nicknamed “Moose boy”. His name is Bob Burdette, and he likes to ice fish and hunt bears with his dad. She asks Liz to trade with her, and Liz says sure. But Mrs. Otis won’t let them, and says the point is to get to know someone that’s different. Charlie teases Jessica about getting a boy pen pal. All of a sudden, Mrs. Otis surprise isn’t so nice.
The twins go home and pick out clothes for picture day. Jessica wants to wear their yellow dresses with blue flowers and shiny black shoes. Liz wants to wear shorts. They get into an argument over it. Alice tells them to wear the dresses. She’ll be sending the pictures to people and wants them to look nice. She tells Liz she can bring some clothes to change into. Liz is sullen but says ok. Liz and Jessica have ice cream. Liz asks what Jessica’s going to write to her pen pal. She says she doesn’t want to think about it. She’d rather think about picture day.
Everyone dresses up. Lila has this frilly, pink, princess dress that she’s going to wear in her cousin’s wedding. Before they take pictures, they go to the library to do some research on Alaska. Lila thinks she should be at the center of the picture. They go back to the room and work on their social studies project-making paper marche globes-. Today they’ll be painting them. Lila is worried that she’ll mess up her dress. Mrs. Otis says they’ll have to be careful and wear smocks. Jessica asks can’t they paint them tomorrow, but Mrs. Otis says no. They have to be ready for the PTA tomorrow night.
Jerry and Charlie start to tease Jessica about her pen pal again. She knocks into Lila who bumps into Charlie who knocks blue paint everywhere. Luckily, it misses Jessica’s dress. The secretary says the photographer is running late, and he’ll get to them after lunch. They then do a science lesson about volcanoes. Mrs. Otis has made a volcano. When it explodes, of course, it gets everywhere. Winston sleeve gets ripped. Mrs. Otis sends them to recess, but tells them to be careful.
Liz decides to play, but says there’s no time to change. Lila, Ellen, and Jessica play “Beauty Queens” where they walk up and down the sidewalk like models. Everyone else looks a hot mess after recess. Julie falls, and the bow comes off her shoe. Liz’s dress is wrinkled. Winston’s cowlick is back sticking up. Then there’s lunch to get through.
Jessica has a safe lunch (a turkey sandwich and carrot sticks), but she has grape juice. She decides she won’t drink the grape juice. Winston starts fooling around, balancing an orange on his nose Eva’s looses a tooth in her apple. Winston loses his balance, the orange knocks over Liz’s grape juice, and it squirts all over her dress. Mrs. Otis says she can’t get the stain out, and makes them all put their heads on their desk to calm down. She then makes them write their pen pals. Jessica wants to cover up the stain with a magic marker, but Liz says that’ll make it worse. Jessica sees Lila’s pearls and they’re the right length but she knows she won’t let Liz borrow them. Then she doesn’t have a pearl necklace so they won’t match.
Jessica writes Bob about what happened that day. Jessica has a idea to let the class pets be in the picture. Charlie says it’s a good idea. Mrs. Otis agrees if they can keep them still. While the kids are arguing over who holds them, the pets get loose. Luckily, they’re caught. Mrs. Otis gives Winston an ugly Hawaiian shirt to wear. Jessica hopes class day is just a bad dream. Jessica tries to get the photographer to come back another day because they look a mess, but he says he can’t. Jessica wants Liz to hold the bunny, but Amy is holding the bunny and won't give it up.
Jessica goes off and squirts her dress with grape juice to match Liz’s. It’s a interesting class picture. Winston makes a silly face. Eva tries to not smile, but when Winston makes the face she smiles wide and the missing tooth shows. Bob writes to Jessica and says it looks like they have fun at their school and that her smile makes her look like a movie star. Secretly -even tho he’s a boy- she decides maybe it won’t be so bad having him as a pen pal. Oh and he says he hates wearing that fur coat. It makes him look like a moose.
Rating: 5 I’m convinced that not one adult in SV has any common sense. You would think a TEACHER would know not to, on a day the class is taking pictures not to have the students painting, making volcanoes, going or letting them go to recess BEFORE the pictures are taken. Nor would she let them drink or eat anything messy. And for that matter nor would they wait until the day that the pictures are being taken to given them something to paint and it needs to be done the next day. Did Mrs. Otis really *retire* or did she get fired in the next book?
Mrs. Otis says there’s supposed to be a surprise. Liz tells Jessica she thinks they’re going to write letters. Jessica says that doesn’t sound fun. She hopes it’s a party with pizza, games, and ice cream for dessert. Liz was right. They’re going to learn to write letters, and she says they have some special friends to write too. They’ll be writing to some students in Alaska. Each student sent a picture. Todd wants to know if they play soccer. Mrs. Otis says that’s a good question for whoever his pen pall will be.
She says they’ll talk about letter writing, and then they’ll choose their penpals. Then she tells them also to make sure they dress their best for class picture day tomorrow. They’ll include their pictures with their letters. Jessica thinks the surprise is ok, but she still would have preferred a pizza party. Jessica worries that their pictures won’t be as impressive. The ones they saw had snow, a moose, and a dogsled.
Mrs. Otis teaches the class about salutations and has them copy a letter on the board. She then puts all the letters in a mailbox and tells them whoever they get will be their pen pal. Charlie gets a boy named Ben that says he likes to go ice fishing all the time. Winston gets a boy named Sam Hutch that says he likes to race dogsleds. Lila picks a girl named Becky Hope that likes to play dress up. Ellen gets a girl with dark hair named Hillary. Amy gets the girl that Jessica wanted that’s a real Eskimo.
Liz gets a girl named Sally Poe. Jessica gets the boy with the dark fur suit and hat that everyone thinks Charlie should have got because he looks intimidating and have nicknamed “Moose boy”. His name is Bob Burdette, and he likes to ice fish and hunt bears with his dad. She asks Liz to trade with her, and Liz says sure. But Mrs. Otis won’t let them, and says the point is to get to know someone that’s different. Charlie teases Jessica about getting a boy pen pal. All of a sudden, Mrs. Otis surprise isn’t so nice.
The twins go home and pick out clothes for picture day. Jessica wants to wear their yellow dresses with blue flowers and shiny black shoes. Liz wants to wear shorts. They get into an argument over it. Alice tells them to wear the dresses. She’ll be sending the pictures to people and wants them to look nice. She tells Liz she can bring some clothes to change into. Liz is sullen but says ok. Liz and Jessica have ice cream. Liz asks what Jessica’s going to write to her pen pal. She says she doesn’t want to think about it. She’d rather think about picture day.
Everyone dresses up. Lila has this frilly, pink, princess dress that she’s going to wear in her cousin’s wedding. Before they take pictures, they go to the library to do some research on Alaska. Lila thinks she should be at the center of the picture. They go back to the room and work on their social studies project-making paper marche globes-. Today they’ll be painting them. Lila is worried that she’ll mess up her dress. Mrs. Otis says they’ll have to be careful and wear smocks. Jessica asks can’t they paint them tomorrow, but Mrs. Otis says no. They have to be ready for the PTA tomorrow night.
Jerry and Charlie start to tease Jessica about her pen pal again. She knocks into Lila who bumps into Charlie who knocks blue paint everywhere. Luckily, it misses Jessica’s dress. The secretary says the photographer is running late, and he’ll get to them after lunch. They then do a science lesson about volcanoes. Mrs. Otis has made a volcano. When it explodes, of course, it gets everywhere. Winston sleeve gets ripped. Mrs. Otis sends them to recess, but tells them to be careful.
Liz decides to play, but says there’s no time to change. Lila, Ellen, and Jessica play “Beauty Queens” where they walk up and down the sidewalk like models. Everyone else looks a hot mess after recess. Julie falls, and the bow comes off her shoe. Liz’s dress is wrinkled. Winston’s cowlick is back sticking up. Then there’s lunch to get through.
Jessica has a safe lunch (a turkey sandwich and carrot sticks), but she has grape juice. She decides she won’t drink the grape juice. Winston starts fooling around, balancing an orange on his nose Eva’s looses a tooth in her apple. Winston loses his balance, the orange knocks over Liz’s grape juice, and it squirts all over her dress. Mrs. Otis says she can’t get the stain out, and makes them all put their heads on their desk to calm down. She then makes them write their pen pals. Jessica wants to cover up the stain with a magic marker, but Liz says that’ll make it worse. Jessica sees Lila’s pearls and they’re the right length but she knows she won’t let Liz borrow them. Then she doesn’t have a pearl necklace so they won’t match.
Jessica writes Bob about what happened that day. Jessica has a idea to let the class pets be in the picture. Charlie says it’s a good idea. Mrs. Otis agrees if they can keep them still. While the kids are arguing over who holds them, the pets get loose. Luckily, they’re caught. Mrs. Otis gives Winston an ugly Hawaiian shirt to wear. Jessica hopes class day is just a bad dream. Jessica tries to get the photographer to come back another day because they look a mess, but he says he can’t. Jessica wants Liz to hold the bunny, but Amy is holding the bunny and won't give it up.
Jessica goes off and squirts her dress with grape juice to match Liz’s. It’s a interesting class picture. Winston makes a silly face. Eva tries to not smile, but when Winston makes the face she smiles wide and the missing tooth shows. Bob writes to Jessica and says it looks like they have fun at their school and that her smile makes her look like a movie star. Secretly -even tho he’s a boy- she decides maybe it won’t be so bad having him as a pen pal. Oh and he says he hates wearing that fur coat. It makes him look like a moose.
Rating: 5 I’m convinced that not one adult in SV has any common sense. You would think a TEACHER would know not to, on a day the class is taking pictures not to have the students painting, making volcanoes, going or letting them go to recess BEFORE the pictures are taken. Nor would she let them drink or eat anything messy. And for that matter nor would they wait until the day that the pictures are being taken to given them something to paint and it needs to be done the next day. Did Mrs. Otis really *retire* or did she get fired in the next book?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 19, 2016READ WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY BETWEEN AGES 6-10.
REVIEW INTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1. For parents looking for something to give their elementary grade kids
2. For myself to look back to if I will ever be in need of Sweet Valley recommendations for kids these days who might choose a book over their Ipads or who knows, my future kid might be a reader too
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This is one of the sweetest stories. We all know how vain Jessica is and that she can be a bit selfish at times. However, in this story wherein accidents erupted on class picture days of all days, Jessica showed that Elizabeth matters more than having a good picture. And that is the innocence of sisterhood.
REVIEW INTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1. For parents looking for something to give their elementary grade kids
2. For myself to look back to if I will ever be in need of Sweet Valley recommendations for kids these days who might choose a book over their Ipads or who knows, my future kid might be a reader too
----------------------
This is one of the sweetest stories. We all know how vain Jessica is and that she can be a bit selfish at times. However, in this story wherein accidents erupted on class picture days of all days, Jessica showed that Elizabeth matters more than having a good picture. And that is the innocence of sisterhood.
Read
December 21, 2025This is a very low-key storyline after all the hijinks of the last couple of books. It's class photo day and the kids in second grade have to somehow stay neat and clean until it's their turn to have their picture taken. That's not at all easy when you and your classmates are seven years old, and I'm sure the intended audience will be well able to identify with that difficulty.
August 31, 2024
This time they are gonna get pen pals from far away! And the matching up of pairs is totally random. Jessica gets paired with a boy in a funny costume and the picture day gets chaotic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2013
It’s yet another change for SVK, the inside illustrations are completely different… I don’t love it 🤷🏼♀️
The class is getting Pen Pals from Alaska! Jessica really hopes hers is a pretty girl so they can swap dolls, but she ends up picking a boy, mooseboy as the class calls him. Everyone teases her and so tries to forget by focusing on how amazing she’s going to look for class picture day. She and Liz get in a fight over what to wear (they HAVE to dress identical to be twins) and Jess wins because Alice sides with her. Everyone is super dressed up - and Mrs Otis picks that day to do painting and a volcanic explosion science experiment… which almost end in disaster. But it’s Winston clowning around at lunch and causing Liz to spill grape juice on her dress that does it! Jess had the idea to have their class Pets in the pic to hide the stain but Amy won’t give up the bunny. Finally, Jess spills grape juice on herself so they can be twins again. The kids on the front are Eva, Winston and Lila (looks nothing like her). Then Jess gets her pen pal respond and Mooseboy says she looks like a movie star and she has her first swoon 🥰
My rating - 2/10 - this one really dragged for me. Hopefully this was due to this book and not the new format.
The class is getting Pen Pals from Alaska! Jessica really hopes hers is a pretty girl so they can swap dolls, but she ends up picking a boy, mooseboy as the class calls him. Everyone teases her and so tries to forget by focusing on how amazing she’s going to look for class picture day. She and Liz get in a fight over what to wear (they HAVE to dress identical to be twins) and Jess wins because Alice sides with her. Everyone is super dressed up - and Mrs Otis picks that day to do painting and a volcanic explosion science experiment… which almost end in disaster. But it’s Winston clowning around at lunch and causing Liz to spill grape juice on her dress that does it! Jess had the idea to have their class Pets in the pic to hide the stain but Amy won’t give up the bunny. Finally, Jess spills grape juice on herself so they can be twins again. The kids on the front are Eva, Winston and Lila (looks nothing like her). Then Jess gets her pen pal respond and Mooseboy says she looks like a movie star and she has her first swoon 🥰
My rating - 2/10 - this one really dragged for me. Hopefully this was due to this book and not the new format.
June 22, 2013
oh wow it seems that each book that I read about this series I had to read another book. I don't' remember what the book was about because I read the book over 23 years ago.
May 31, 2014
You don't forget your first book. Ever.
January 5, 2017
Don't remember much about this book,but I liked what I read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews