I Quit Grade One

A heartwarming story about the incredible bond that children have with their teachers. Stella loves everything about being in Ms. Carter's class, and she worries that no new teacher could know that she needs help tying her shoelaces, or that she only likes to read books from the blue bin because they have more pictures. So Stella writes the principal a letter, with tips for training a new teacher to be just like Ms. Carter When Stella meets the new teacher for the first time, he's not like Ms. Carter at all -- but Stella can't believe how much he knows! Maybe the rest of the year won't be so bad after all? With expressive illustrations and a touch of humour, this clever picture book is a perfect antidote to children's anxiety about change.

A young girl with epilepsy is nervous about being the new girl in school -- and worried about keeping her condition a secret. Lexie is new to grade three and she has a secret. She has epilepsy. Worried that she'll be though of as different, she shyly avoids class discussion and recess (where she fears she will be teased for wearing a helmet). But hiding her condition proves to be dangerous when she is pressured into eating food that her treatment diet doesn't allow, and must stay home for several days. As time passes, Lexie gains confidence and makes friends among her classmates, even giving a presentation about epilepsy to the entire class. One dreaded day she actually has a seizure in the schoolyard -- and learns that good friends can be trusted to understand and accept who you are, and even help out in times of trouble. Following her previous novels, which includ How to Handle a Bully and How to Tame a Bully, author Nancy Wilcox Richards has written another wonderful story that promotes empathy, respect, acceptace and kindness among everyday elementary school children.

Owen has big plans for grade three, but it quickly looks like the year is shaping up to be anything but awesome . . . On the first day of grade three, Owen's teacher assigns a year-long writing activity called Project Awesome. Every week, the students need to write about something awesome in their everyday life. It doesn't sound awesome to Owen. He hates writing and would rather be skateboarding or playing soccer with his best friend Max, or spending time with Copper, the elderly neighbour's dog. But things don't always go according to plan. When Max stops hanging around and Copper goes away for vacation, Owen turns to his journal entries, as an outlet for some of his thoughts about the world around him. Is it possible that Project Awesome isn't as lame as he thought?

How do you gather courage in the face of new situations? When Daniel blew out the candles on his eighth birthday he had made a wish: to be brave like Fiona. Fiona and Daniel are twins but they aren't anything alike. Fiona is fearless. She loves to watch spooky movies, she never sleeps with a nightlight and she cannonballs right into the deep end of the pool. Daniel needs a little more time to feel comfortable in new situations. As the twins get ready to start all over at a new school in April, Daniel needs all the courage he can get! Will Daniel see last year's wish come true - especially when he has to give a presentation to the whole class? As always, Nancy Wilcox Richards draws on her many years teaching elementary school and effortlessly ties in curriculum links, along with the character traits explored here.

Free Mia Hamm photo inside! Mia loves playing soccer. That is, until she has trouble scoring a goal when her team is about to lose. Before she can lose, she quits. Fed up with her attitude, Mia's brothers and sisters will not let her play with them anymore. Will Mia learn that beinga team player is more important than winning or losing the game? This wonderful and motivating story from America's soccer champion shows kids that: Winners Never Quit!

Rilla is not about to let some playground bullies stop her fun! Ms MacArthur's class is pumped about the fitness challenge at the park -- it's where kids from local schools compete in a series of events such as chin-ups, a tire run, a bicycle obstacle course and monkey-bar swinging. The winner will get a brand-new bike! But when Rilla and her classmates, Lauren and Nicholas, go to the park to practise, a threatening bully and his sidekicks stop them. Will they ever get to use the playground -- or hope to win any of the fitness challenge events? Though bullying is a serious topic many kids face, Nancy Wilcox Richards's tone is funny, light and positive, and in the end, the Bayfield kids succeed in pulling together to curb the bully's behaviour.

This clever, funny picture book demonstrates that there are two sides to every story. Sonny and Arthur have been thrown together since nursery school, but the two boys couldn't be more different. Sonny is careful and studious while Arthur is a whirlwind of mess and noise. But when Arthur is not on the school bus one day, Sonny realizes it's pretty boring without his usual seatmate. Could it be true that the two boys are good for each other, even though they are so different? With all the humour and silliness that appeals to readers of this age, the story is cleverly told in alternating perspectives -- first from Sonny's point of view, and then from Arthur's -- that will get kids thinking about putting themselves in someone else's shoes.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Fish in a Tree! Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She's not really a Murphy, but the gifts they've given her have opened up a new future. "Hunt's writing is fearless and One For The Murphys is a story that is at once compassionate, thought-provoking and beautifully told. From the first page, I was drawn into Carley's story. She is a character not to be missed or forgotten." —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming Winner of the Tassy Walden Award for New Voice in Children's Literature