Alma Fullerton

"Fifth-grader Chlaire can do a perfect triple handspring. She can do a giant pirouette on the uneven bars. What she can't do is reading. With a lot of effort, she hides her secret until an alert vice principle suggests she get evaluated for a learning disability. Now Claire has to convince her mother--who's afraid her daughter will be labeled "stupid"--to let her get tested. And that turns out to be even harder than reading"--

It is time to plant the rice crop in Malini's Sri Lankan community, and the little girl is both excited and nervous to help for the first time. What if she does it wrong? Will she be responsible if the crop fails? When the oxcart rumbles in loaded with seedlings, she reluctantly agrees to watch the big, imposing animal while the driver takes a break. Suddenly, the skies go dark with monsoon rain. A flash flood pours down the road, separating Malini...

"When she sees a beached whale that has starved to death after ingesting plastic, a young girl named Isley is inspired to adopt a plastic-free lifestyle, encouraging her family to join her. When people start falling back into old habits, Isley builds a plastic sculpture of a whale that inspires lasting change."--

"Inspired by the many bicycle libraries that have opened all across Africa, In a cloud of dust is an uplifting example of how a simple opportunity can make a dramatic change in a child's life." -- 5-8 years.

Eight-year-old Izzy Parker's biggest problem is feeling anxious and afraid. Her mom's decision to move them across the country to Prince Edward Island didn't help. In her honest, awkward, and anxious journal, Izzy writes down the story of her life and how she is trying to be a little less afraid.