A Book by its Cover

Looks can fool you - and at Whit's End, they're fooling everybody at once. Katrina starts tutoring Melissa, a student whose stylish clothes and grown-up charm hide the fact that she can barely pass a simple quiz - and when the truth comes out, Melissa throws a tantrum and threatens to tell her parents Katrina is a terrible teacher. Meanwhile, Connie and Eugene sneak a peek at the painting Jack has been hiding for the library exhibition and find... a horrible jumble of streaks and scribbles. Certain they must save their friend from public embarrassment, they work up the nerve to tell him his masterpiece is dreadful. But the mess turns out to be just the spare canvas where Jack cleans his brushes - his real painting has been sitting safely behind his desk all along. And when Katrina stands her ground with Melissa, the tears behind the bravado finally spill out, and a scared, embarrassed girl gets the patient help she truly needs.

Found on Wish You Were Here Album 21 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0277 It Happened at Four Corners A long drive to Four Corners inspires a tall tale of a dying prospector, a torn treasure map, and two rescuers who must decide whether gold is worth more than trust.

1 of 2 0278 The Fifth House on the Left A road trip to Hollywood lands Bernard and Eugene inside a movie producer's mansion, where the glamour of show business collides with questions about what's real.

2 of 2 0279 The Fifth House on the Left When a devastating earthquake rocks Los Angeles, two visitors from Odyssey must put aside their frustrations with Hollywood's shallow, guarded world and help wherever they're needed.

0280 Gone... After more than a month away, Bernard and Eugene return to Odyssey to find the whole town saying goodbye - and a race against the clock to reach the one farewell that matters most.

0281 ... But Not Forgotten With Whit away and his shop descending into chaos, the overwhelmed caretakers of Whit's End must decide whether a quiet, unassuming stranger can be trusted to keep the doors open.

0282 The Fundamentals At a Christian basketball camp, a talented player who refuses coaching and a knowledgeable young believer both discover that fundamentals matter more than natural gifts.

0283 A Book by its Cover While tutoring a student whose polish seems too good to be true, Katrina - along with a snooping Connie and Eugene - learns the hard way that first impressions rarely tell the whole story.

0284 The Election Deception When her private notebook vanishes during a heated student council race, an honest candidate watches her own words turn up everywhere they can hurt her most.

0285 George Under Pressure An overworked seminary student's family stages a surprise picnic to rescue him from exhaustion, forcing everyone to confront what his calling is truly costing them.

1 of 2 0286 Tom for Mayor When a suspicious government inspection threatens Tom Riley's farm and Odyssey's mayor suddenly resigns, Tom's friends push the reluctant farmer into a hard-fought campaign against forces working behind the scenes.

2 of 2 0287 Tom for Mayor With his farm shut down and his mayoral campaign on the line, Tom Riley sets out to prove the environmental report against him isn't what it seems.

0288 The Twilife Zone A boy's new talking toy chicken offers jokes and friendship, but its comfort comes at a price that keeps climbing.

0289 A Call for Reverend Jimmy When casual comments convince Jimmy that he's destined for the pulpit, he throws himself into preaching - while Donna squirms as her father's sermons keep mining her most embarrassing childhood moments.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Melissa Michelle Stacy-Hanna

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Producer Phil Lollar Director Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Katrina Shanks is still learning what it means to be a Christian. Connie is helping her, and Katrina and Eugene have agreed to remain friends while they sort through their feelings. With Whit away and Jack Allen managing Whit’s End, both Katrina and her friends are discovering how easily appearances can mislead them.

Jack is preparing a painting for an exhibition at the library. Connie wants to see it, but he keeps the canvas covered and asks her to wait until it is ready. After Jack later says that he has finished, he leaves without showing it to her. Curiosity gets the better of Connie and Eugene. They slip upstairs, uncover a canvas, and stare in horror at a jumble of ugly streaks and scribbles. Convinced that this is Jack’s finished work, they imagine him being humiliated in front of the whole town.

Meanwhile, Katrina begins tutoring Melissa, a middle-school student. Melissa’s stylish clothes, makeup, and confident manner make her seem much older and more mature than she is. Instead of working, she flatters Katrina and asks questions about her ring, her family, and Eugene. Katrina mistakes Melissa’s poise for responsibility and intelligence and lets the lesson drift.

A surprise quiz reveals the truth. Melissa struggles with elementary questions in English, history, and mathematics, though she takes pride in her neat handwriting. When Katrina points out how much work she needs, Melissa throws a tantrum. She blames Katrina for her poor results and threatens to tell her parents that Katrina is a terrible teacher. The polished young woman Katrina thought she knew suddenly behaves like the child she really is.

Katrina is stunned, but she refuses to be intimidated. She tells Melissa that the disrespect and threats must stop and that neglecting her education will have serious consequences. Melissa must return, apologize, and begin studying properly. Beneath the bravado, Melissa starts to cry. Once Katrina sees her fear and embarrassment, she offers patient help instead of condemnation. Melissa accepts both the correction and the help, and her work begins to improve.

Connie and Eugene face their own uncomfortable duty. Believing that a friend should be protected from public embarrassment, they awkwardly tell Jack that his painting is dreadful. Jack is bewildered until he discovers which canvas they uncovered. The mess is not his exhibition painting at all. It is a spare surface on which he has been cleaning his brushes and experimenting with ideas for another work. His real painting has been standing safely behind his desk. Jack laughs while Connie and Eugene realize that their secret inspection has exposed only their own impatience.

Katrina and Jack later compare what has happened. Melissa looked mature but still needed guidance, while Jack’s chaotic canvas looked complete only because Connie and Eugene assumed it was. A person cannot be understood from a polished surface, an unfinished moment, or one bad reaction. Katrina knows that she, Melissa, Eugene, and the others are all still changing, and she is learning to give that growth the patience it deserves.