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This is an 8th grade children's book project from students at Greenville Elementary School. The title of their story is, Annabelle is way too exception and the authors are Annabelle gauge, Isabella Cadigan jesse, padrone and Jose Rodriguez. It was illustrated by Annabelle gauge who was also doing

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our reading today. We dedicate this book to Jewel parker Rhodes, author of Ghost Boys, who helped us process the theme of acceptance and see that everyone should be treated fairly, even if they are different. Annabelle is way too exception. Sally was a hyper seven year old

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with amazingly wavy hair and a not so amazing, careless habit of shoving old toys deep into her giant wooden toy box. One day she was digging through the been when she noticed the old bunny she used to play with as a kid was disgusting. After being

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dropped in a dirty puddle. It stunk as if a skunk had spread it many times. This bunny's name was Anna Bella. Annabella had stayed at the bottom of Sally's type in for years. And all the other toys in the toy bin would make fun of her

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for being different and not as shiny and new as they were. Sometimes they would make fun of her and say things like smelly old bunny one day. Sally's brother Tommy wanted to play with her toys and his action figure. Bad man bored with the same old

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toys. Tommy asked, why don't we play with the toys in your toy thing? Sure, Sally exclaimed with enthusiasm as they dope into the pile. She grabbed the soft, clean paw of a brown teddy bear with kind button eyes. Soon they were clashing the toys together with

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joy. Annabella was not surprised that Sally decided to play with a teddy bear as he was her favorite. Sally would watch him once a week in the sink and would have him sit on her bed. NFL adjust knew that since she was a light pink stuffed

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bunny with one floppy ear and was missing a tail she would never be the favorite. She had dirt and food stands on her for because she had been used a lot when Sally was younger and the dirt and grime had built up over time. Solly never

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washed her and did not really care for her. Worst of all the other stuffed animals judged her for being used and dirty. Why do you look so weird? God man asked Annabella while they were playing together. I'm dirty because Sally used to throw me around her

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room and spill food on me. When she was younger, Annabella quickly and shyly retorted back, Oh, that's why you're so ugly and live in the bottom of the toy bin man smoked with a laugh. Annabella kept remembering what he said, and the words were floating around

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in her head. Ugly, weird! No wonder nobody plays with me. Annabelle! A thought to herself. After playing Tommy asked why are you even still playing with this dumb bunny? It's so ugly! Sally shrugged. I don't even like it anymore, but mom got it for me, so

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I guess I have to play with it since it's an old family hand me down. I don't know why she gave me this dumb bunny anyway, but I am sure it's so old. It should be falling apart by now, Sally said, rolling her eyes and making

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the face of someone eating a sour lemon. If you hate the bunny so much, you should just get rid of it. Tommy suggested. Actually I will, this beat up old bunny has been at the bottom of the been forever sally crowd. As soon as Annabella heard

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that it felt as if her heart dropped to the floor, she made a plan to run away, luckily Annabella did not have anything to pack, so the idea of running away it could be easily executed. She simply would sneak out the door. The family usually left

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cracked open for their big dog, Dewey to get in and out of the pantry and she would skulk off into the bushes, wait for them to drive away and traveled to a thrift store nearby. Once she got to the thrift store she would patiently wait for

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someone nice to pick her out of the other stuffed animals and take her home. Hopefully forever. She waited for the right time to make her escape. Finally, on a rainy friday afternoon the family loaded into their brown station wagon to go to the movies. It was

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her big chance. Annabella pulled and pushed and hauled herself out of the heap of old toys. She grabbed a hold of the edge of that wooden toy bin and heaved herself over the edge into the dark messy room just as she had planned, she snuck out

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of the slightly open door and trudged off to the side of the road. It was hard to get to the thrift store because a stuffed animal walking around in the middle of the day is a strange sight. So Annabelle decided to wait until nightfall, which was

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hours away. Once the sun had gone down and crickets were out, Annabella snuck through the thick lines of bushes down the street until she reached the thrift store. She would simply place herself along the door frame so whoever would open up the store in the morning

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would see her. I think she was a donation. Once she actually got into the bushes, a stuffed hippo glanced out the window of the thrift store into the dark bushes and saw a light pink figure wrestling there and decided to investigate. Hi bunny called the hip

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hop. Why are you here at this time of night? Annabella explained I was trying to run away to a thrift store since I am unwanted and as useless as a box of nothing. I'm sure that's not true. There's more to you than what you and everyone

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else thinks and sees. People tried to explain to the self conscious money. Really, Annabella asked in a sad tone. Yeah, just because you're different and a little roughed up doesn't mean you're any less than anyone else. Look how powerful you are when you put your mind

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to it, you can get yourself wherever you want to be. You got here after all, that's when Annabella realized that she was enough, just the way she was instead of accepting what other people said and thought about her and beating herself down with self hate, she

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had the power to make her own story even though she was old and used she had the magic of being a stuffed animal, just like all the others in the toy bin. Since you helped me, hippo. Can we be friends? Sure I would love that. After

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all, we need to have each other's backs around here, both said with a grin. Then they rejoiced in a friendship hug. I'm so happy we're friends, Hippeau explained with a smile. Me to Annabelle agreed. Hippo and Annabella studded hand in hand back to the house and

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went into sally's room. They did not go into the bottom of the bin like they usually would have because nobody deserves to be forgotten that they found Bad Man and confronted him. The things you said to hurt us might work in the comic books here from

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but not here. After finally standing up to the awful action figure, they opened the toy bin but did not climb in. Instead they leaned against it and sat knowing they were not to be at the bottom of the bed any longer. Now that we figured out

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we are no longer to be valued as less than anyone else. We can live our lives and joy and happiness. Hipbone, Annabella agreed in unison, and