DEXTER THE TOUGH by Margaret Peterson Haddix Accelerated Reader: Level: 4.2. Pts. 3. Take the Quiz! Book Description: When Dexter presents his perky teacher with his first assignment, it reads, "This morning I beat up a kid. I am tuf." Ms. Abbott pushes him to add details and much more to his story. With each revision readers learn more about why Dexter is angry, confused, worried, lonely, sorry, and why he hit Robin in the bathroom, and they see the developing friendship between the two boys. They discover that on Dexter's first day at his new school, he is left abruptly in a hallway by the school secretary and is laughed at when he falls on a slippery floor. They find out about his father's cancer and that he is living with his grandmother in Kentucky because his parents are at a hospital in Seattle. Slowly, they learn, along with Dexter, that the incident didn't happen exactly as he remembers it. An appropriately happy ending wraps up all of the loose ends. Haddix does an excellent job of capturing the voice of a fourth-grade boy. Dexter is a multifaceted character who thinks about his actions and emotions like a smart, confused kid, never like an adult. Occasional full-page drawings nicely portray the actions and feelings of the characters in this easy chapter book.