Page 1-Pg. 50 in Martin Bridge

Dear Book Club,

We will have our final meeting of the summer at 5:00 p.m. next Wednesday the 24th (see schedule).

We'll be talking about Martin Bridge Onwards and Upwards. I have read up to pg. 50 so far. Martin loves a  TV show called "Zip Rideout", his mom loves to get good bargains at yard sales, and she also likes to learn new instruments.
 
I would like everyone to make a comment about this question (it could even be just one sentence): 

Q: Name one problem that Martin faces in the first 50 pages of this book.

Second, I noticed that the author uses a lot of hard words in this book. 
I would  like everyone to pick one of the following words/sentences and explain to us what it means:


Example:  "The boys stopped fighting and sheepishly scuffed at the ground"(pg. 9)
Sample comment:  If you are sheepish, it means that you are embarrassed. You might act sheepish if you take the last cookie and your sister asks you what happened to it.


1. "Alex was always full of harebrained ideas."(pg. 11)


2. "Listening to his mom negotiate was excruciating."(pg. 11)


3. "She was ruthless and could bargain almost anyone down to almost nothing." (pg. 14)


4. Martin made fun of his mom's playing. "Very funny," she said, undaunted." (pg. 21)


5. "He felt a smidge of sympathy for Mrs. Baddeck, his school's music teacher..." (pg. 21)


6. Her enthusiasm for music was infectious. (pg. 22)


7. Play something for us!" Mr. Bolger said jovially (pg. 24)



8. "That doesn't sound very good," he said, bluntly. (pg. 35)


9. His tree fort was a sanctuary. (pg. 36)


Please comment as soon as possible so that your explanation can help the rest of us as we read :)


More later,


Mr. Bolger

Ps: for those of you who feel ambitious,  you may earn three Skittles for each comment you post!
The more you comment... the more Skittles you can earn. 
(And I owe some of you Tootsie Pops.... ) 

:)