Stick Dog and his pals are back, but this time the temperature is rising and they're all feeling the heat. They need cold, cold ice cream on this hot, hot day! It will take all of Stick Dog's smarts to guide his friends to a scrumptious ice-cream feast. They'll battle a water-attacking machine, discover rainbow puddles, and chase the strangest, loudest truck they've ever seen. But there's a looming threat to their mission--Stick Dog gets spotted by a human. And the police are on his tail. If he's captured, Stick Dog may never see his friends again. If he escapes, it's ice cream for everyone. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers will eat this one up! Perfect for fans of such series as Dog Man, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, and many more!

Stick Dog and his pals are back, but this time the temperature is rising and they're all feeling the heat. They need cold, cold ice cream on this hot, hot day! It will take all of Stick Dog's smarts to guide his friends to a scrumptious ice-cream feast. They'll battle a water-attacking machine, discover rainbow puddles, and chase the strangest, loudest truck they've ever seen. But there's a looming threat to their mission—Stick Dog gets spotted by a human. And the police are on his tail. If he's captured, Stick Dog may never see his friends again. If he escapes, it's ice cream for everyone. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers will eat this one up! Perfect for fans of such series as Dog Man, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, and many more!

Perfect for fans of the Dog Man, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Stick Dog and his friends are back, and they're hungrier than ever! As the dogs embark on their quest for hot dogs, they learn they're not the only ones on a mission—a band of raccoons is following close behind, and they're ravenous, too! In this second book in the series, Stick Dog and his four friends, Poo-Poo, Mutt, Stripes, and Karen, must execute a master plan for stealing hot dogs. The closer they get to the hot dog vendor, the more difficult their mission becomes. The five dogs are met with many funny challenges along the way, including having to distract the frankfurter guy and Karen getting locked in a human's house. No matter what, these dogs have their eyes—and stomachs—on the prize. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers will eat this one up! Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Dreams of Ice Cream, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, and many more!

Perfect for fans of Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the previous Stick Dog books, Tom Watson’s hilarious series continues, and Stick Dog and his friends are on a funny quest for pizza! In the follow-up to Stick Dog and Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog, Stick Dog returns with the same crazy crew. This time these canine friends have discovered a newfangled flavor—and it's even more delicious than hamburgers and hot dogs. It's pizza! They won't be satisfied until they get some slices of their own. But it won't be that easy. There's a kitten to rescue, a plan to make, and the messiest—and most dangerous—game of catch they've ever played. Pizza is on the menu, but only if their mission succeeds. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers will eat this one up! Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Dreams of Ice Cream, Stick Dog Crashes a Party, and many more!

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.

Perfect for fans of Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Timmy Failure, and the previous Stick Dog books, Tom Watson’s hilarious Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti will be gobbled up even by reluctant readers. It’s slippery. It’s slurpable. It’s spaghetti! Stick Dog and his gang of hungry hounds want to play tug-of-war. Their search for rope leads to something even better—spaghetti! Once they get a taste, they must get some more. It will be their most difficult mission ever—and will demand all of Stick Dog’s problem-solving skills. They’ll need to scale the tallest mountain in the suburbs and sneak into a restaurant filled with people. Dangerous humans—a strange-talking girl, a huge chef, and a penguin-man—lurk around every corner. But there’s more than danger in the air. Stick Dog has caught the scent of something even more scrumptious than spaghetti. And he’ll risk everything to find out what it is. Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, and many more!