In the book, a Polish girl named Wanda Petronski attends a Connecticut school where the other children see her as "different" and mock her.

This outrageous and obvious lie becomes a game, and the group of girls in her class, headed by Maddie and Peggy, mock and corner her every day before school demanding that she describe all of her dresses for them.

[4] Nevertheless, Wanda's lovely nature, kind heart, and forgiveness are revealed later when she tells the teacher to give the students the drawings.

[5] A 2004 study found that it was a common read-aloud book for third-graders in schools in San Diego County, California.

"[7] Ewa Thompson, professor of Slavic studies at Rice University, argued in a 2020 New Oxford Review article that the book perpetuates negative stereotypes about Polish-Americans.