Book excerpt: This modern retelling of the classic Yiddish folktale and Caldecott Honor book It Could Always Be Worse asks: What do you do when the school lunchroom gets too crowded? The students at Parley Elementary have a hard time using the space in their lunchroom efficiently. When they get tired of shoving and arguing, they write a letter to their principal asking for help. She responds by moving all the science projects into the lunchroom. Now it's even more crowded! Through a series of letters and increasingly hilarious scenarios, the lunchroom gets more and MORE chaotic. When the principal finally announces that the lunchroom is once again only to be used for lunch, the students are overjoyed with the result.