mussed (Page 2) Alan argued a lot, small, knobby-kneed, nervous., gnawing at his thumbnail, his face smudged, his red hair mussed, shirttail hanging out, shoelaces untied.
---- messy or untidy; rumple

coax (Page 10) But half an hour later, as he was stubbornly dancing about outside in the moonlight to warm himself, Tom’s dog Martha had come along with six other dogs, all in a pack, and Billy had coaxed them into the igloo and blocked the door with an orange crate, and after the dogs had stopped wrestling and nipping and barking and sniffing around, they’d all gone to sleep in a heap with Billy in the middle, as warm as an onion in a stew.
---- persuade or try to persuade by pleading, sweet talk, charm

fume (Page 29) She’d come after us fuming and shouting threats, and suddenly the doors of the coat closet would slam open, and out we’d roar on our minibike in blood-red crash helmets and white jump suits, our scarves streaming out behind us!
---- rage, anger, fury

hobble (Page 36) And then Alan began to sneeze and finally had to hobble off into one of the horse stalls, hugging his stomach, to recover.
---- To walk or move along haltingly or with difficulty; limp, shuffle, totter, stagger

reassure (Page 43) Billy didn’t believe Joe’s story, but still . . . he’d find it reassuring if Tom ate some worm, too.
---- To restore confidence to, encourage, comfort, set mind at rest, support

antidote (Page 52) He clutched his stomach, and groaning, half fell, half staggered out of bed and hobbled toward the door, bent double. Maybe there was an antidote.
---- a remedy, cure, solution

serene (Page 60) Billy gulped it triumphantly, serene, untroubled.
---- calm and unruffled, peaceful, quiet

nonchalant (Page 70) Alan and Joe gazed nonchalantly at the ceiling.
---- Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent, casual, relaxed, off hand

bloated (Page 78) You ever seen him refuse something to eat? By the time we start home he’ll be bloated, drowsy, belching.
---- abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas, swollen, stuffed, full, overfed

fringe (Page 90) Joe peered furtively out through the fringe of the bedspread.
---- a decorative border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips, often attached to a separate band; tassel, border, trimming

recounting (Page 96) The four boys all began talking at once, accusing, recounting, explaining.
---- to narrate the facts or particulars of, telling, describing

cistern (Page 107) Not if we put him down the cistern. (Page 108) You can’t put Billy down in that cistern all by himself. Suppose there’s water in it? It’s fifteen feet deep.
---- an artificial reservoir or tank for holding water