The TV Kid — Betsy Byars / Betsy Cromer Byars

Lennie lives in the Fairy Land Motel with his mom. But Lennie's own fairyland is in TV shows. There, he can win gobs of money, meet interesting people, have a much better time than in real life. He even invents a commercial for a new product called "Friend."

When he's not watching TV, Lennie spends lots of time in empty summer houses. There, he can make believe how wonderful it would be to live in a house.

But then his daydreams lead him into a real situation that could cost him his life -- he is bitten by a rattlesnake. And Lennie finds out that no imaginary "Friend" is ever as good as a real person!