The Sloppy Copy Slipup
by DyAnne DiSalvo

As Brian Higman, alias the Big Hig, tells it, he's due a detention, because he can't turn in his English homework to "The General," his fourth-grade teacher Miss Fromme.
He tries to outmaneuver her using all legitimate ploys to sidetrack her, but in the effort of explaining why his homework isn't done, he discovers his stories have riveted friends, school staff and the principal; even Miss Fromme is begging to hear more.

Stumptown Kid
by Carol Gorman

Eleven-year-old Charlie desperately wants to play baseball on his town's team. Flustered by a bully, he fails his try-outs but visiting Negro League player Luther Peale offers to coach him. However, 1950s small town Iowa isn't ready for Luther, and racial tensions soon erupt, fueled by a mystery surrounding Luther's past.

The Thing About Georgie: A Novel
by Lisa Graff

Georgie is a dwarf, and Andy, his best friend, doesn't seem to care. The two are practically inseparable and even have a dog-walking business together. They have their own interests too; Georgie, for example, loves classical music even though his short fingers prevent him from playing the instruments his musician parents do.
Overall, life is good. Then Georgie finds out his parents are going to have a baby who may quickly outgrow him--and be able to share music with their parents in a way that he can't. He and Andy have a fight when Andy invites another friend to join their dog-walking business.
Finally, Georgie is paired with Jeanie the Meanie, his nemesis, for a school project. How much can one fourth-grader take?

Roxie and the Hooligans
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Nine-year-old Roxie Warbler knows a lot about dangers and pitfalls and how to overcome them; she is the niece of Uncle Dangerfoot, the sidekick of Lord Thistlebottom, the world-famous adventurer and author.
Though she has memorized the survival tips, she is a fearful little girl, afraid of thunder and lightning, floods and tornadoes and the gang of mean kids at school. Helvetia's Hooligans are merciless in their assessment of Roxanne's oversized ears.
When Roxie ends up in a dumpster on her way out to sea with the Hooligans, she has to dig deep into her bag of survival tricks. With the help of her kind and attentive friend Norman, Roxie saves the day, makes friends with the Hooligans and captures the bank robbers!

The stupendous Dodgeball Fiasco
by Janice Repka

Phillip Stanislaw wants to escape the circus where his parents are performers. His aunt and uncle agree to take him in, and Phillip is enrolled as a sixth-grader at Hardingtown Middle School. Hardingtown bills itself as the Unofficial Dodgeball Capital of the World (thanks to the dodgeball factory that is located in the town). Much to his displeasure, Phillip learns that every gym class features a sadistic form of the game.
After his glasses are broken from a ball thrown by the mean-spirited coach's daughter, Phillip decides to sue for damages and ends up serving as his own lawyer.

No Talking
by Andrew Clements

Dave Packer's fifth-grade classmates are so noisy and difficult to quiet down that the teachers have dubbed them "The Un-shushables." Dave has just read about Mahatma Gandhi and learned that the man practiced silence one day a week to bring order to his mind.
Though Dave likes to talk nonstop, he's determined to give the idea a try. An encounter with Lynsey, another chatterbox, sparks the boys and girls into challenging each other to a no-talking contest for 48 hours.
The teachers are bewildered at the extreme change in the kids until several of them figure out what's going on. Principal Hiatt demands that the quiet students return to their normal behavior. When the children continue with their silent ways, Dave finds himself at the center of the controversy.