Author: Julie Gassman
Illustrator: Sarah Horne
Age: PreK-3rd

You Get What You Get is a lively tale about a squirrel named Melvin who always throws fits if he doesn’t get his own way…when he’s at home. When he’s at school he has to go by the rule “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit!” He feels so lucky that he only has to abide by the rule while he is at school, until one day he lets it slip when he is at home.

Melvin doesn’t realize how well he has internalized this mantra until he says it to his sister when she’s not getting her own way.

Melvin is such a relatable character to kids because they ALL know what it’s like to have a tantrum over not getting their way. Even when it’s something small like he has to use crayons instead of markers, BOOM! Tantrum! (As adults, I think we’ve all witnessed something similar.)

Grown-ups will like You Get What You Get because Melvin learns a very real lesson, that sometimes life is not always going to go your way and that you need to learn to roll with it.