Time is almost out for the Keepers of the School in this fifth Keepers adventure from Andrew Clements, the master of the school story.The Keepers of the School—known to their friends as Ben, Jill, and Robert—have one last chance to save their school before it's torn down to make room for a seaside amusement park. But their nemeses, Janitors Lyman and Wally, are just as determined to keep the kids out of the way and the demolition on schedule.One way or the other, this battle is about to come to a head. When all is said and done, will the school still be standing? Or will everything the Keepers have fought for be destroyed?

This map-tastic middle grade story from Andrew Clements gives the phrase “uncharted territory” a whole new meaning!Alton Barnes loves maps. He’s loved them ever since he was little, and not just for the geography. Because maps contain more information than just locations, and that’s why he likes to draw maps as well as read them. Regular “point A to point B” ones, sure, but also maps that explain a whole lot more—like what he really thinks about his friends. And teachers. Even the principal. So when Alton’s maps are stolen from his locker, there’s serious trouble on the horizon…and he’ll need some mad cartographic skills to escape it. From “a genius of gentle, high-concept tales set in suburban middle schools” (The New York Times), this stand-alone story is off the charts.

In No Talking, Andrew Clements portrays a battle of wills between some spunky kids and a creative teacher with the perfect pitch for elementary school life that made Frindle an instant classic.It's boys vs. girls when the noisiest, most talkative, and most competitive fifth graders in history challenge one another to see who can go longer without talking. Teachers and school administrators are in an uproar, until an innovative teacher sees how the kids' experiment can provide a terrific and unique lesson in communication.

A moving holiday story from New York Times bestselling author Andrew Clements.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.

It isnt that Abby Carson cant do her schoolwork. She just doesnt like doing it. And in February a warning letter arrives at her home. Abby will have to repeat sixth gradeunless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project to find a pen pal in a distant country. Seems simple enough. But when Abbys first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, the village elders agree that any letters going back to America must be written well. In English. And the only qualified student is a boy, Sadeed Bayat. Except in this village, it is not proper for a boy to correspond with a girl. So Sadeeds younger sister will write the letters. Except she knows hardly any English. So Sadeed must write the letters. For his sister to sign. But what about the villagers who believe that girls should not be anywhere near a school? And what about those who believe that any contact with Americans is . . . unhealthy? Not so simple. But as letters flow back and forthbetween...

Knock, knock. Who's there? Jake. Jake who? Jake Drake, Class Clown.Miss Bruce is the new student teacher in second grade, and she never smiles. Never. But when Jake cracks up the class during a spelling bee, he sees the tiniest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. Suddenly, Jake has a new mission in life: to be so funny that even Miss Bruce will laugh! But then things get out of hand, and Jake finds himself in big trouble. Has Jake discovered -- too late -- that not everybody loves a clown?

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 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...

Ordinarily, no one would have imagined that Jack Rankin would vandalize a desk. But this was not an ordinary school year for Jack....When Jack Rankin learns that he is going to spend the fifth grade in the old high school -- the building where his father works as a janitor -- he dreads the start of school. Jack manages to get through the first month without the kids catching on. Then comes the disastrous day when one of his classmates loses his lunch all over the floor. John the janitor is called in to clean up, and he does the unthinkable -- he turns to Jack with a big smile and says, "Hi, son." Jack performs an act of revenge and gets himself into a sticky situation. His punishment is to assist the janitor after school for three weeks. The work is tedious, not to mention humiliating. But there is one perk, janitors have access to keys, keys to secret places....

Grumps is a circus dog who loves to make people laugh—all he has to do is lie down on the ground with his feet in the air and the crowds cheer and roar. But one day a new dog named Sparks joins the circus. Sparks can jump through hoops, balance a ball on his nose, and even ride on the back of a running zebra. How can an old dog with one simple trick compete with the likes of Sparks? Sue Truesdell's exuberant illustrations capture all the excitement of circus life in this heartwarming story about friendship, family, and the universal need for acceptance.

NEW STUDENT GETS OLD TEACHERThe bad news is that Cara Landry is the new kid at Denton Elementary School. The worse news is that her teacher, Mr. Larson, would rather read the paper and drink coffee than teach his students anything. So Cara decides to give Mr. Larson something else to read--her own newspaper, The Landry News.Before she knows it, the whole fifth-grade class is in on the project. But then the principal finds a copy of The Landry News, with unexpected results. Tomorrow's headline: Will Cara's newspaper cost Mr. Larson his job?

Nora Rose Rowley is a genius, but don't tell anyone. Nora'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....

The beloved New York Times bestselling author of the modern classic Frindle celebrates books and the joy of reading with a new school story to love! Sixth grader Alec can't put a good book down. So when Principal Vance lays down the law—pay attention in class, or else—Alec takes action. He can't lose all his reading time, so he starts a club. A club he intends to be the only member of. After all, reading isn't a team sport, and no one would want to join something called the Losers Club, right? But as more and more kids find their way to Alec's club—including his ex-friend turned bully and the girl Alec is maybe starting to like—Alec notices something. Real life might be messier than his favorite books, but it's just as interesting. With The Losers Club, Andrew Clements brings us a new school story that's a love letter to books and to reading and that reminds us that sometimes...

Can average be amazing? The bestselling author of Frindle shows that with a little kindness, it can.Jordan Johnston is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She’s ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems. Then Marlea Harkins, one of the most popular girls in school—and most definitely the meanest—does something unthinkable, and suddenly nice, average Jordan isn’t thinking average thoughts anymore. She wants to get Marlea back! But what’s the best way to beat a bully? Could it be with kindness? Called “a genius of gentle, high concept tales set in suburban middle school” by The New York Times, bestselling author Andrew Clements presents a compelling story of the greatest achievement possible—self-acceptance.

Jake recounts his second grade introduction to Link Baxter, SuperBully, who becomes his class project partner, with surprising results.When Jake was three years old at Miss Lulu's Dainty Diaper Day Care Center, what did he know about bullies? Nothing. But he learned fast! Why? Because Jake was kind of smart and not a tattletale, and he had no big brother to protect him. He was a perfect bully magnet. But everything changed the year Jake was in second grade. That's when SuperBully Link Baxter moved to town. Jake had his hands full just trying to survive, until class project time. Who did the teacher assign to be Link's partner? You guessed it. Jake has to use all his smarts -- and his heart as well -- to turn himself from Jake Drake, Bully Magnet, to Jake Drake, Bully Buster.

The threat to the Keepers doubles in the fourth Keepers of the School adventure from Andrew Clements, the master of the school story.Benjamin Pratt and his friends Jill and Robert are determined to save their school from destruction. But just when it seems they've finally gotten the upper hand over that awful Janitor Lyman, they're caught completely off guard by his next move: Lyman has called in reinforcements, and suddenly Benjamin, Jill, and Robert find themselves dodging not one evil janitor, but two. That's right: Lyman's got himself a partner. And it quickly becomes clear that Wally, the new guy, is even more corrupt and menacing than Lyman.Luckily, Ben's team has been growing too. Plus, thank to the latest safeguard, they also have a secret fund of millions of dollars. But all the money in Massachusetts isn't enough to stop Lyman and Wally, not when they've come this far, and not when they are about to put the most harmful part of their...