The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo is a children's book published in 1969, written by Judy Blume with illustrations by Amy Aitken. It was Blume's first published work. It is about second-grader Freddy Dissel, a middle child who feels emotionally squashed between his older brother, Mike, and his younger sister, Ellen. He does not seem to get much attention, until he lands a role in a school play as a green kangaroo.