MEET JAKE DRAKE,

KNOW-IT-ALL

Jake Drake is excited about Despres Elementary School's first science fair. He wants to win the grand prize: a brand-new Hyper-Cross-Functional Bluntium Twelve computer system. And he really wants to beat the third-grade know-it-alls, Marsha McCall and Kevin Young.

The trouble is, to beat the know-it-alls, Jake has to become a know-it-all himself. And he may just lose more than he wins.

MEET GREG KENTON, BILLIONAIRE IN THE MAKING.

Greg Kenton has two obsessions -- making money and his long-standing competition with his annoying neighbor, Maura Shaw. So when Greg discovers that Maura is cutting into his booming Chunky Comics business with her own original illustrated minibooks, he's ready to declare war.

The problem is, Greg has to admit that Maura's books are good, and soon the longtime enemies become unlikely business partners. But their budding partnership is threatened when the principal bans the sale of their comics in school. Suddenly, the two former rivals find themselves united against an adversary tougher than they ever were to each other. Will their enterprise -- and their friendship -- prevail?

'You have the right to remain silent.' However...

The fifth-grade girls and the fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don't get along very well. But the real problem is that these kids are loud and disorderly. That's why the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A lot.

Then one day Dave Packer, a certified loudmouth, bumps into an idea -- a big one that makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey Burges, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark a contest: Which team can say the fewest words during two whole days? And it's the boys against the girls.

How do the teachers react to the silence? What happens when the principal feels she's losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey plunge the whole school into chaos?

This funny and surprising audiobook is about language and thought, about words unspoken, words spoken in anger, and especially about the power of words spoken in kindness...with or without a bullhorn. It's Andrew Clements at his best -- thought-provoking, true-to-life, and very entertaining.

Walking up to the backdoor of a friendly home, a stray pooch is given a bath, some food, and a lot of love by its three young inhabitants, but as the day draws to a close, the kids know that it is up to their father to make the decision and so, with Mooch by their side, they await to see if their little visitor will be allowed to become a new member of the family.

'You have the right to remain silent.' However...

The fifth-grade girls and the fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don't get along very well. But the real problem is that these kids are loud and disorderly. That's why the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A lot.

Then one day Dave Packer, a certified loudmouth, bumps into an idea -- a big one that makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey Burgess, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark a contest: Which team can say the fewest words during two whole days? And it's the boys against the girls.

How do the teachers react to the silence? What happens when the principal feels she's losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey plunge the whole school into chaos?

This funny and surprising book is about language and thought, about words unspoken, words spoken in anger, and especially about the power of words spoken in kindness...with or without a bullhorn. It's Andrew Clements at his best -- thought-provoking, true-to-life, and very entertaining.

For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything -- all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart's errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it's the last straw for the chorus director, who's just learned he's about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It's all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.

Hart soon discovers there's a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well -- it's really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last.

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family. Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you lose the school, you lose the town. But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about that face, the face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty, boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be. A shrinking school in a dying town. A face in the window of an empty house. At first these facts don't seem to be related. But Ted Hammond learns that in a very small town, there's no such thing as an isolated event. And the solution of one mystery is often the beginning of another.Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family.

Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains, in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you lose the school, you lose the town. But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about that face, the face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty and boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be.

A shrinking school in a dying town. A face in the window of an empty house. At first these facts don't seem to be related. But Ted Hammond learns that in a very small town, there's no such thing as an isolated event. And the solution of one mystery is often the beginning of another.

It's a long way to

a million, right?

Of course it is.

But do you really know

what a million looks like?

If you'd like to see -- actually see, right now, with your own eyes -- what a million looks like, just open this book.

Be prepared to learn some interesting things along the way.

Like how many shoe boxes it would take to make a stack to Mount Everest.

And be prepared to do some number wondering of your own.

But, most of all, be prepared to be amazed.

Because a million is a LOT of dots.

Andrew Clements is the undisputed master of the school story. His kid-friendly humor and keen and empathetic understanding of middle-grade life and classroom dynamics have propelled his books onto both bestseller and state award lists throughout the country. Now three of his most popular school stories are available in a handsome boxed set.

A WEEK IN THE WOODS

Winner of two state awards

THE SCHOOL STORY

California Young Readers Medal

THE REPORT CARD

People magazine Spring's Best Kids' Book

Parents' Choice Award

Society of School Librarians International Honor Book

When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible, he and his parents and his new blind friend Alicia try to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it.

SHHHHH

Nora Rose Rowley is a genius, but don't tell anyone. She's managed to make it to the fifth grade without anyone figuring out that she's not just an ordinary kid, and she wants to keep it that way.

But then Nora gets fed up with the importance everyone attaches to test scores and grades, and she purposely brings home a terrible report card just to prove a point. Suddenly the attention she's successfully avoided all her life is focused on her, and her secret is out. And that's when things start to get really complicated....

Poor Shrimpy! He may be the smartest fish in the sea, but he's also the smallest. Who would want to be friends with such a teeny, tiny fish? Big Al, that's who! Big Al remembers what it feels like to to be an outsider, and he and Shrimpy become best friends. And when Big Al finds himself in danger, it's Shrimpy's smart thinking that saves the day -- and wins Shrimpy the respect and affection of other fish.

Greg Kenton has always had a natural talent for making money -- despite the annoying rivalry of his neighbor Maura Shaw. Then, just before sixth grade, Greg makes a discovery: Almost every kid at school has an extra quarter or two to spend almost every day.

Multiply a few quarters by a few hundred kids, and for Greg, school suddenly looks like a giant piggy bank. All he needs is the right hammer to crack it open. Candy and gum? Little toys? Sure, kids would love to buy stuff like that at school. But would teachers and the principal permit it? Not likely.

But how about comic books? Comic books might work. Especially the chunky little ones that Greg writes and illustrates himself. Because everybody knows that school always encourages reading and writing and creativity and individual initiative, right?

In this funny and timely novel, Andrew Clements again holds up a mirror to real life, and invites young readers to think about money, school, friendship, and what it means to be a success.

Winterhope.

It didn't sound like much, but it was a big idea. A very big idea.

It all started when Hart Evans zinged a rubber band that hit Mr. Meinert, the chorus director. Actually, it started before that, when Mr. Meinert learned he was out of a job because the town budget couldn't afford music and art teachers. Mr. Meinert got so mad at Hart that he told the sixth graders he'd had it -- they could produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It was all up to them.

What happens when a teacher steps aside and lets the kids run the show? Not what Mr. Meinert would have predicted. And not what Hart Evans would have guessed, not at all.

Out of chaos, infighting, compromise, idealism, and finally, a fragile peace, the sixth grade choral concert was born. And they called it Winterhope.

But would it be the last holiday concert of them all?

Nicholas Allen is not a troublemaker -- he's just creative. When he decides to liven things up in Mrs. Granger's fifth grade language arts class, he comes up with the greatest plan yet. He invents a new word for a pen -- frindle. It doesn't take long for frindle to take root and soon the excitement spreads beyond the school and town and unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control.

True or False?

Fifth grader Nora Rose Rowley is really a genius.

True.

But don't tell anyone.

Nora always gets average grades so she can forgo the pressure-cooker gifted program or Brainiac Academy.

But when Nora gets one hundred percent fed up over testing and the fuss everyone makes about grades, she brings home a terrible report card just to prove a point.

Pretty soon her teachers, parents, and the principal are launching a massive effort to find out what's wrong. But can Nora convince them that tests alone are a stupid way to measure intelligence?

Collision course

The fifth-grade Week in the Woods is a beloved tradition of Hardy Elementary, where Mark Chelmsley (the Fourth) is pretty much killing time before his parents send him off to an exclusive prep school. But then Mark realizes the Week might be a chance to prove to Mr. Maxwell that he's not just another of the slacker rich kids the teacher can't stand.

But it may be too late for Mark to change Mr. Maxwell's opinion of him. On the first day of the Week, the tension between teacher and student explodes, and in a reckless moment, Mark puts not only himself, but also Mr. Maxwell, in grave danger. Can two such strong adversaries work together to save their lives?

Thief!

When Phil sees another kid wearing his brother's jacket, he assumes the jacket was stolen. It turns out he was wrong, and Phil has to ask himself the question: Would he have made the same assumption if the boy wearing the jacket hadn't been African American? And that question leads to others that reveal some unsettling truths about Phil's neighborhood, his family, and even himself.

Level 2: Reading Independently

? More complex stories

? Varied sentence structure

? Paragraphs and short chapters

True stories of animals that saved people's lives

Jim loves to go for long walks with his dogs, Tara and Tiree. One cold winter day, Jim falls through the ice on the frozen lake. Tiree tries to save him and falls through the ice too. What will happen if Tara tries to help them both?

Dolores and the Big Fire

Dolores is a very timid cat. Her owner, Kyle, keeps a light on all night so she won't be scared. One night Dolores pokes at Kyle's face while he is sleeping. The house is on fire! Can Dolores wake Kyle up in time?

Level 1: Starting to Read

? Simple stories

? Increased vocabulary

? Longer sentences

Norman is a dog who cannot see. One day, he is at the beach. He hears a girl in the water calling for help. Can a blind dog save someone's life?

Level 1: Starting to Read

? Simple stories

? Increased vocabulary

? Longer sentences

Carol and Ray are very sick. One day, their cat Ringo leads Carol outside. 'Meow! Meow!' he says. Ringo digs in some rocks. Why is Ringo digging? What will he find? Ringo is about to save Carol's life!

In the wide blue sea

there was a very clever

fish named Shrimpy.

You could not find

a smarter fish.

But Shrimpy

was also

very,

very

small.

Poor Shrimpy! He wants to be like Big Al, loved and adored by all the other fish. But who would want to be friends with such a teeny, tiny fish? Big Al, that's who! He's big and scary-looking, and he remembers what it was like to be friendless. Still, all the other fish think Shrimpy's just a nuisance. Then one day, when Big Al's life is in danger, Shrimpy is the only one brave enough and smart enough to save the day. Suddenly, everyone can see that friends come in all shapes and sizes and Shrimpy turns out to be the best friend any fish could want!

Natalie's best friend, Zoe, is sure that the novel Natalie's written is good enough to be published. But how can a twelve-year-old girl publish a book? Natalie's mother is an editor for a big children's publisher, but Natalie doesn't want to ask for any favors.

Then Zoe has a brilliant idea: Natalie can submit her manuscript under a pen name, with Zoe acting as her literary agent. But it's not easy for two sixth graders to put themselves over as grown-ups, even with some help from a couple of real grown-ups who are supportive but skeptical. The next best-selling school story may be in their hands -- but can Natalie and Zoe pull off their masquerade?

Mark didn't ask to move to New Hampshire. Or to go to a hick school like Hardy Elementary. And he certainly didn't request Mr. Maxwell as his teacher. Mr. Maxwell doesn't like rich kids, or slackers, or know-it-alls. And he's decided that Mark is all of those things. Now the whole school is headed out for a week of camping -- Hardy's famous Week in the Woods. At first it sounds dumb, but then Mark begins to open up to life in the country, and he decides it might be okay to learn something new. It might even be fun. But things go all wrong for Mark. The Week in the Woods is not what anyone planned. Especially not Mr. Maxwell. With his uncanny knack to reach right to the heart of kids, Andrew Clements asks -- and answers -- questions about first impressions, fairness, loyalty, and courage -- and exactly what it takes to spend a Week in the Woods.