Middle Grade Novels

Most of my novels are written for kids who are somewhere between third and eighth grades. 

If you're a little - or a lot - older (or younger) than that, you have my permission to read them, too.

All Three Stooges - New Release!

Spoiler alert: This book is not about the Three Stooges. It's about Noah and Dash, two seventh graders who are best friends and comedy junkies. That is, they were best friends, until Dash's father died suddenly and Dash shut Noah out. Which Noah deserved, according to Noa, the girl who, annoyingly, shares both his name and his bar mitzvah day. 

Now Noah's confusion, frustration, and determination to get through to Dash are threatening to destroy more than just their friendship. But what choice does he have? As Noah sees it, sometimes you need to risk losing everything, even your sense of humor, to prove that gone doesn't have to mean "gone for good."

Equal parts funny, honest, and deeply affecting, All Three Stooges is a book that will stay with readers long after the laughter subsides.

The Capybara Conspiracy

"Humorous and cleverly constructed, this deserves a 'hoof five.’” (Kirkus)

Seventh-grade playwright Olive Henry is frustrated by her sports-obsessed middle school. While the principal drones on and on during morning announcements about the sports teams’ victories, all non-athletic club meetings are relegated to the school basement, never to be mentioned on the loudspeaker. So Olive and her best friend, Reynaldo, hatch a plan to kidnap the school’s capybara mascot, planning to return it, heroically, just in time for the school’s pep rally and claim a reward: permission for their drama club to practice in the auditorium. And, hopefully, some overdue respect for the school’s non-athletes. But when an animal-rights student activist and an undercover athlete with murky motivations join in the conspiracy, their plans—along with Cappy the capybara—veer wildly out of Olive’s control. Written in the form of a play, this book practically begs to be read aloud or staged (and provides extensive back matter to support those who decide to go for it!).

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Aces Wild

• NPR Best Books of the Year list
• P.J. Our Way selection

Zelly Fried has finally convinced her parents to let her get a dog, with the help of her grandfather Ace. Unfortunately, said dog (also named Ace) is a shoe-chewing, mud-tracking, floor-peeing kind of dog. Despite Zelly's best efforts to drag Ace (literally!) to puppy kindergarten, his flunking report card says it all: "This Ace is wild."

Also wild is the other Ace in Zelly's life. Grandpa Ace has decided to begin dating again and is dining and dancing every night, against his doctor's orders. Determined to get both Aces under control, Zelly enlists the help of her two best friends, Allison and Jeremy (despite the fact that they don't quite see eye to eye). They need to come up with a plan, fast. But how?  It's not like either Ace ever does what he's told. This is a companion book to When Life Gives You O.J. While it is possible to read one without reading the other, I highly recommend that you read them BOTH!

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When Life Gives You O.J.

• Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book
• Amazon Best Book of the Month
• State Book Award lists: MN, FL, VA, MA, RI, VT
• P.J. Our Way selection
• *Starred Review, School Library Journal

For years, almost-eleven-year-old Zelly Fried has tried to convince her parents to let her have a dog. After all, practically everyone in Vermont owns a dog, and it sure could go a long way helping Zelly fit in since moving there from Brooklyn.  But when her eccentric grandfather, Ace, hatches a ridiculous plan involving a "practice dog" named O.J., Zelly's not so sure how far she's willing to go to win a dog of her own.  Is Ace’s plan so-crazy-it-just-might-work… or just plain crazy?

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