The New Adventures of Matt & Mandy

The Coopers have a family tradition where each person says something nice about the other people at dinner.

I’m glad I married such a great cook.

No fair, Mom. You say that every time Dad cooks.

I like that Mandy says hi to me at school, even when she’s with her friends. Tony’s sister acts like she doesn’t know him.

I like how Matt is a good friend to Franco.

Franco’s easy to like. Most of the kids are nice to him these days.

But there’s this other kid in my class—Carter. He can’t really read, and some of the kids think he’s dumb. Ms. Wood made me his reading partner.

And … ?

Well, Carter isn’t dumb. He says he was just born with a brain that has trouble reading. So he has to work harder at it.

You know what? Kids can see Franco’s crutch. If they could see Carter’s problem, maybe they’d be nicer to him too.

I think that’s a very wise observation.

This soup tastes really good, Dad.

And it looks good on your shirt too.

Dad, does that count as another compliment?