Ugly duckling.

You were all set to live the rest of your life judging books by their covers. It was efficient, and you got to read a lot of great books that way. You were happy.

Then it happened.

There was that one book. The one you were sure you wouldn’t like. Maybe it was the cover art or the jacket copy that turned you off. Maybe you got sick of all the hype surrounding it. Maybe you read a bad review. Maybe your friends made fun of it, and you agreed—that sounded like the worst book ever.

But there you were. Stuck in the airport. Or waiting to meet a classmate at the library. Or aimlessly wandering around a bookstore.

And there it was. You turned around, and it was staring straight at you.

That’s when you made your fatal mistake. You picked it up.

“Good for a laugh,” you thought as you turned to the first page.

You didn’t stop turning pages until you got to the end. You weren’t laughing.

You loved it.

You loved this book you were sure you couldn’t.

Now what?

The “ugly duckling” merit badge is part of the merit badges for readers series. The badge may be posted on your site or blog. Tell us why you’ve earned (or will never earn) it in the comments.