Humorous story about a boy's adjustment to new surroundings and kids in a new school. Packed with fascinating facts about spiders, the story is told through journal entries and scenes of events. Contains a spider bibliography.

When the substitute for Mr. "Fab" Fabiano never shows up and his sixth-grade students are on their own, they set out to prove that they can run the class by themselves. With a little ingenuity and some careful planning, they might just succeed. But when a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier, everything begins to fall apart. Can Rachel deal with the anxieties that plunged her into silence the day Tommy died? Inventive and uniquely constructed, "Flying Solo" follows Mr. Fab's students hour by hour as they tackle the challenges of an unusual school day.

A heartfelt middle grade companion to Marshfield Dreams that captures the boyhood years of twelve-year-old Ralph Fletcher in relatable episodes of everyday disappointments and triumphs.As the oldest of nine kids, Ralph was often cast as another parent to his siblings rather than as an older brother; teetering between these two conflicting roles, Ralph longed to be home alone on a sick day, but hated the emptiness of feeling left behind. He loved to play sports with his neighborhood friends but resented the skillful victories of his younger brother. Thrust into the expectations of impending adolescence, Ralph was curious about girls, but embarrassed to take part in the school square dance. This satisfying memoir offers a snapshot of those pivotal moments between grade school and high school, all while tracing the roots of Ralph Fletcher's acclaimed storytelling.A Christy Ottaviano Book

Will the real Rowan Pohi please stand? To dispel boredom while waiting for tenth grade to begin, Bobby and his friends create an imaginary kid named Rowan Pohi (that's IHOP backwards) and apply to the prestigious Whitestone Prep in Rowan's name. When, surprisingly, Rowan's application is accepted, Bobby impulsively reinvents himself as Rowan and embarks on an edgy life of deception in the rarefied world of Whitestone. Told with Ralph Fletcher's trademark blend of humor and depth, the story of Rowan's rise and fall is a funny, poignant, and suspenseful riff on the adolescent search for identity.