As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death. It's 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing's that easy in Penny's family. For starters, she can't go swimming because her mother's afraid she'll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in...

Amber Brown is feeling blue: Nine-year-old Amber Brown faces further complications because of her parents' divorce when her father plans to move back from Paris and she must decide which parent she will be with on Thanksgiving. I, Amber Brown: Because her divorced parents share joint custody of her, nine-year-old Amber suffers from lack of self-esteem and feels that she is a piece of jointly-owned property. Amber Brown is green with envy: Fourth-grader...

"Five high school freshmen-- the Phoenix Five-- reveal their friendships, crushes, school and family dramas, and big secrets, as told in their unique voices through journal entries"--

Eleven-year-olds Luis and Maura investigate the cause of a long-term, city-wide power outage in Hampton, New Jersey. Includes facts about electric power and instructions for assembling an emergency kit.