Award-winning author Beth Vrabel writes with humor and empathy about a girl who wants to shed her embarrassing moments before she leaves middle school behind her.The first eight years of Penelope McGee's education have been a curriculum in humiliation. Now she is on a quest for redemption, and a little bit of revenge.From her kindergarten self-portrait as a bacon with boobs, to fourth grade when she peed her pants in the library thanks to a stuck zipper to ...

Noah is not having a good year.His mom is in prison, he's living with his mom's boyfriend—who he's sure is just waiting until his mother's six month sentence is up to kick him out—and he's officially hated by everyone at his middle school, including his former best friend. It's Noah's fault that the entire football program got shut down after last year.One day, Noah notices a young bear at the edge of the woods with her head stuck in a bucket. A bucket that was almost certain...

Lucy is ready to be a superhero!Lucy loves her best friends—her pack of dorks. But this year, everyone in the pack has become a hero . . . except for her! Sam rescues twin toddlers about to get hit by a car. April helps bring about the downfall of a ring of bicycle thieves. Sheldon and Amanda launch a campaign to protect turtle eggs laid on the school playground. Even Lucy's new teacher asks the class about their bravest moments. But Lucy's not brave—she doesn't eve...

Richie Ryder” Raymond has a gift. He can find the punchline in any situation, even in his limited vision and prosthetic eye. During the past year at Addison School for the Blind, Ryder’s quick wit earned the respect and friendship of his classmates. Heading to mainstream, or normal,” school for eighth grade is going to be awesome.After all, what’s not to like? At Addison, Ryder was everyone’s favorite person. He could make anyone laugh, especially his best friend Alice. So long a...

Tag along with a rambunctious group of kid reporters as they fight for their right to run a newspaper in this exciting book from an award-winning author.The Cub Report is up and running and getting great response in the sleepy town of Bear Creek, Maine. But when Gordon snaps a photo of an escaped prisoner who is caught in a pigpen, things quickly take a turn for Nellie and her staff. While Nellie fights off jealousy at all the national media attention Gord...

From award-winning author Beth Vrabel comes a new middle-grade Breakfast Club drama set in a old folks' home.On the last day of middle school, five kids who couldn't be more different commit separate pranks, each sure they won't be caught and they can't get in trouble. They're wrong. As punishment, they each have to volunteer one beautiful summer day-the last one before school-at Northbrook Retirement and Assisted Living Home, where they'll push creamed ca...

Learn what it means to be a journalist in this fun, fast-paced new middle grade series about a club of kid reporters by an award-winning author.Nellie Murrow -- the daughter of two (former) newspaper reporters -- was named after one of the fiercest journalists who ever lived. When she moves to sleepy Bear Creek, Maine, rumors of vandalism and attacks at the only park in town are keeping her saddled to the house.Some townspeople say the attacks are gang recr...

In this “heartfelt, emotionally insightful” (Kirkus Reviews), and funny companion to the acclaimed To Tell You the Truth, Raymond has a life-changing summer when he’s sent to Maine to stay with the grandparents he’s never met.Raymond has always preferred to keep life simple and leave adventuring to other people. But then he’s sent across the country, against his will, to spend the summer before fifth grade with grandparents who think he’s “trouble...

The pack of dorks heads to camp—and this time the bully they face might just be one of their own.Sheldon convinces Lucy, Sam, April, and Amanda to join him at Camp Paleo. Like cavemen, the campers are going to have to make do without air conditioning, and they'll dig for fossils during the day. And Grandma's coming too—as the lunch lady for the camp next door.But Sam backs out at the last minute to attend a gymnastics camp instead. Lucy wonders why she misses...

Before Stinkville, Alice didn’t think albinism—or the blindness that goes with it—was a big deal. Sure, she uses a magnifier to read books. And a cane keeps her from bruising her hips on tables. Putting on sunscreen and always wearing a hat are just part of life. But life has always been like this for Alice. Until Stinkville.For the first time in her life, Alice feels different—like she’s at a disadvantage. Back in her old neighborhood in Seattle, everyone knew Alice, and Alice kne...

From award-winning author Beth Vrabel comes a powerfully moving story about a magical friendship, coping with disability, and the pains of growing up and growing apart.Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective mom and a per...

In this “poignant” (Publishers Weekly), riveting middle grade novel that’s “a ‘Hatchet and Gretel story’” (Booklist), two unlikely friends fly off on an adventure they hope will set them free—only to learn the value of what they left behind.Gerty has a secret: She’s building an airplane. She wants to join the Civil Air Patrol, where pilots as young as twelve help with disaster relief—but she knows her parents would be out...