Agnes Parker is going to middle school, and there's plenty of drama! Middle school is going to take some getting used to. Agnes's best friend, Prejean, has jumped in and decided to run for class president, but Agnes would rather try to be invisible. That'll be difficult now that Prejean has asked Agnes to be her campaign manager. And then there's Aram, a boy in Agnes's art class who seems to have a crush on her. He's smart and funny, and Agnes feels comfortable around him. But is he such an odd duck that she'll seem odd by association? "O’Dell’s writing perfectly captures the painful and sometimes funny middle-school years. Agnes will once again charm readers with her sweet and generous nature, even as she navigates the new and scary world of seventh grade. Thoughtful and captivating."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

As she starts in the sixth grade, Agnes faces challenges with her old best friend, a longtime bully, a wonderful new classmate and neighbor, and herself.

The first day of school in a new middle school can be overwhelming and bewildering—the maze of hallways, the hundreds of identical lockers, the locker combinations and sticky locks, the far-flung classrooms, the many teachers, the lunchroom full of unfamiliar faces. Anxiety over the strangeness and newness of all this can be running high, and making the transition from scared new student to supremely confident and self-assured middle schooler can take some time. This book helps reduce the stress, while easing and shortening the difficult transition. Full of extremely useful tips regarding orientation, locker organization, time management, choosing a lunch table, and adapting to new situations like increased homework, changing for gym in the locker rooms, and getting from class-to-class between periods, this book will turn even the most trepidatious new student into a seasoned middle school pro in no time.

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book Told in two distinct and irresistible voices, Junauda Petrus's bold and lyrical debut is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both. Port of Spain, Trinidad. Sixteen-year-old Audre is despondent, having just found out she's going to be sent to live in America with her father because her strictly religious mother caught her with her secret girlfriend, the pastor's daughter. Audre's grandmother Queenie (a former dancer who drives a white convertible Cadillac and who has a few secrets of her own) tries to reassure her granddaughter that she won't lose her roots, not even in some place called Minneapolis. "America have dey spirits too, believe me," she tells Audre. Minneapolis, USA. Sixteen-year-old Mabel is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out why she feels the way she feels--about her ex Terrell, about her girl Jada and that moment they had in the woods, and about the vague feeling of illness that's plagued her all summer. Mabel's reverie is cut short when her father announces that his best friend and his just-arrived-from-Trinidad daughter are coming for dinner. Mabel quickly falls hard for Audre and is determined to take care of her as she tries to navigate an American high school. But their romance takes a turn when test results reveal exactly why Mabel has been feeling low-key sick all summer and suddenly it's Audre who is caring for Mabel as she faces a deeply uncertain future. Junauda Petrus's debut brilliantly captures the distinctly lush and lyrical voices of Mabel and Audre as they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.

Wayside teaching is about intentionally practicing what educators do every day in perhaps unintentional ways: relate to students. This practical, research-based guide illustrates how wayside teaching—the informal curriculum, implicit instruction, and mentoring that happens in sometimes unintentional ways—can be intentionally practiced across grade levels to enhance learning and boost student outcomes. Through a framework focused on attitudes, approaches, and actions, and using vignettes that illuminate wayside teaching in action, Sara Davis Powell demonstrates how reaching out to students in formal and informal situations helps create a culture of belonging and safety that strengthens a student’s self-image, confidence, resiliency, and cognitive processes. Offering invaluable resources, including student surveys for learning more about your students and an annotated booklist for promoting acceptance and compassion, Wayside Teaching reflects the powerful influence that teachers’ actions can have on their students’ academic and personal lives.

She's left her good Catholic girl ways behind . . . mostly. It is 1967, the Summer of Love, and Mary Margaret Hallinan has that itchy, squirmy feeling that there must be something more out there for her. Her new best friend, the glamorous Jane, says that boys are the ticket to a spectacular future. Her ex-best friend Elizabeth is sure she's going to hell. "Say yes!" commands Jane, and Mary Margaret has tried to follow her c'mon-it'll-be-fabulous friend into the psychedelic swirl. But can she fit any of her old self to this new life she's trying on?This is it, this is gonna be the summer. Mary Margaret Hallinan, former good Catholic girl, is clutching her ticket.Friendship, faith, family, feminism, and1960s counterculture all contribute to the heartfelt, thoughtful pages of Bad Tickets.

Indexes popular fiction series for K-6 readers with groupings based on thematics, consistant setting, or consistant characters. Annotated entries are arranged alphabetically by series name and include author, publisher, date, grade level, genre, and a list of individual titles in the series. Volume is indexed by author, title, and subject/genre and includes appendixes suggesting books for boys, girls, and reluctant/ESL readers.