The Popsicle Kid

At a Christmas secret-friend party, new student Austin O'Conner receives a small downhill race car built from Popsicle sticks. Colby Cabrera has made it especially for the upcoming derby, but Rodney Rathbone immediately identifies the maker and mocks the gift. He calls Colby “Popsicle,” a nickname Colby hates, and describes him as the strangest boy in town.

Austin thanks Colby at first, but the fear of becoming Rodney's next target changes his behavior. He joins in the ridicule and says that entering a car made of Popsicle sticks would be as embarrassing as racing one made of dental floss. Rodney approves and draws Austin away to meet his friends, leaving Colby hurt by the rejection.

Meanwhile, Colby helps Wooton build a Christmas yard display for Odyssey's decorating contest. The centerpiece is a homemade stable assembled from lumber, traffic cones, hubcaps, cans, a roasting pan, and other discarded objects. Wooton wants it to show that God sent his Son into a world filled with sin and mess because he loves people. The structure repeatedly collapses, but Wooton and Colby keep rebuilding it.

Bart Rathbone wants the whole neighborhood to win because the holiday traffic would pass his Electric Palace signs. He considers Wooton's yard an embarrassment and offers traditional decorations on loan, along with a large advertising sign. Wooton uses the garland to hold up the unstable structure and the heavy sign as its anchor instead of placing the advertisement in front of his house.

At Whit's End, Tom Riley waits endlessly on the telephone to complain about a shipment of dry, nearly inedible cookies. Austin samples one and compares it to a chocolate-covered piece of wood. When Colby enters, Austin tries to apologize for embarrassing him and claims that he did like the race car. Rodney interrupts, pushes Colby away, and makes fun of Austin for even speaking to him. Once again, Austin abandons the boy he has hurt rather than risk Rodney's opinion.

Bart returns to Wooton's yard and demands that his decorations be displayed properly. When Wooton refuses to replace the handmade stable, Bart stands in the road asking drivers to honk if they think the yard is ugly. Colby wonders why such public teasing does not make Wooton angry. Wooton explains that classmates mocked his weight, clothes, hair, and unusual interests when he was young, so he has learned not to surrender his identity to their insults.

Colby quietly admits that children ridicule him for making things from Popsicle sticks. Wooton is delighted rather than amused. He also builds with them and wants to see Colby's miniature ark, tank, and house. When Colby describes Austin's rejection, Wooton asks whether he would rather become Rodney or remain Colby. He reminds the boy that Noah continued building the ark even when others probably thought he was foolish. Being mocked does not make a good or worthwhile task wrong.

Bart finally orders Rodney to cut down the Electric Palace sign with a chain saw. Since the garland supporting Wooton's stable is tied to the sign, the structure collapses again. Wooton and Colby respond with a new plan: rebuild the entire stable from Popsicle sticks. Tom contacts the Arctic Freeze company in hopes of obtaining an enormous donated supply in exchange for a sign crediting the company.

Austin solves Tom's cookie problem in a different way. Rather than wait for the manufacturer, he bakes a fresh batch himself. He asks Tom not to tell anyone because he fears that other boys will mock his love of cooking. Wooton openly praises the cookies and asks for the recipe. At Austin's home, Wooton sees Colby's Popsicle-stick ark and calls him a great friend whom the other children are foolish to overlook. Austin begins to recognize that the qualities Rodney ridicules are the very qualities that make both boys creative and generous.

Rodney photographs Austin in an apron and displays copies at Whit's End, giving him the nickname Cookie. Colby refuses to join the teasing, even though Austin mocked him first. He sincerely enjoys the cookies and understands that Austin acted from fear rather than cruelty. His kindness gives Austin the courage to stop hiding.

At the downhill derby, Austin places Colby's Popsicle-stick car on the starting line. When Rodney laughs, Austin tells him to mind his own business and assures Colby that anyone unable to appreciate the car has the problem. Ashley Jenkins wins the race after Rodney is disqualified for installing a fuel injector that sends his car off the track and leaves it burning. Austin's car receives the trophy for Most Original Design.

Wooton's rebuilt stable also wins Most Original Yard Design in the city Christmas contest. During a television interview, he gives Colby full credit as the Popsicle artist behind it and thanks Arctic Freeze for the donated materials. Bart can only watch as the unusual display he tried to destroy receives the recognition he wanted for himself.

Austin and Colby bring the derby trophy to Wooton's decorated yard. With both the car and the stable honored for originality, Wooton tells Colby that his identity has been confirmed twice: he is an original. The three friends celebrate the strange creations that make them different, right down to a pink lawn flamingo Wooton insists has become a cow for the nativity scene.