Agnes Parker is going to middle school, and there's plenty of drama! Middle school is going to take some getting used to. Agnes's best friend, Prejean, has jumped in and decided to run for class president, but Agnes would rather try to be invisible. That'll be difficult now that Prejean has asked Agnes to be her campaign manager. And then there's Aram, a boy in Agnes's art class who seems to have a crush on her. He's smart and funny, and Agnes feels comfortable around him. But is he such an odd duck that she'll seem odd by association? "O’Dell’s writing perfectly captures the painful and sometimes funny middle-school years. Agnes will once again charm readers with her sweet and generous nature, even as she navigates the new and scary world of seventh grade. Thoughtful and captivating."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

She's left her good Catholic girl ways behind . . . mostly. It is 1967, the Summer of Love, and Mary Margaret Hallinan has that itchy, squirmy feeling that there must be something more out there for her. Her new best friend, the glamorous Jane, says that boys are the ticket to a spectacular future. Her ex-best friend Elizabeth is sure she's going to hell. "Say yes!" commands Jane, and Mary Margaret has tried to follow her c'mon-it'll-be-fabulous friend into the psychedelic swirl. But can she fit any of her old self to this new life she's trying on?This is it, this is gonna be the summer. Mary Margaret Hallinan, former good Catholic girl, is clutching her ticket.Friendship, faith, family, feminism, and1960s counterculture all contribute to the heartfelt, thoughtful pages of Bad Tickets.

The first day of school in a new middle school can be overwhelming and bewildering—the maze of hallways, the hundreds of identical lockers, the locker combinations and sticky locks, the far-flung classrooms, the many teachers, the lunchroom full of unfamiliar faces. Anxiety over the strangeness and newness of all this can be running high, and making the transition from scared new student to supremely confident and self-assured middle schooler can take some time. This book helps reduce the stress, while easing and shortening the difficult transition. Full of extremely useful tips regarding orientation, locker organization, time management, choosing a lunch table, and adapting to new situations like increased homework, changing for gym in the locker rooms, and getting from class-to-class between periods, this book will turn even the most trepidatious new student into a seasoned middle school pro in no time.

Wayside teaching is about intentionally practicing what educators do every day in perhaps unintentional ways: relate to students. This practical, research-based guide illustrates how wayside teaching—the informal curriculum, implicit instruction, and mentoring that happens in sometimes unintentional ways—can be intentionally practiced across grade levels to enhance learning and boost student outcomes. Through a framework focused on attitudes, approaches, and actions, and using vignettes that illuminate wayside teaching in action, Sara Davis Powell demonstrates how reaching out to students in formal and informal situations helps create a culture of belonging and safety that strengthens a student’s self-image, confidence, resiliency, and cognitive processes. Offering invaluable resources, including student surveys for learning more about your students and an annotated booklist for promoting acceptance and compassion, Wayside Teaching reflects the powerful influence that teachers’ actions can have on their students’ academic and personal lives.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [47]) and index.

Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the crumbling Glendoveer mansion, home to a magician's widow, a cage full of exotic birds, and a decades-old mystery. Clara loves old Mrs. Glendoveer, but the birds in the aviary frighten her—they always seem to screech and squall whenever she's near. And then one day, the mynah bird speaks, and a mystery starts to unravel. Clara discovers dark secrets about the family, and about her own past. Somehow the birds in the aviary seem to be at the center of it all, and Clara can't shake the feeling that they are trying to tell her something. . . .

Eleven-year-old Agnes Parker has always been your everyday girl. But this year, Agnes is determined to become a whole new person. Maybe not a whole new person exactly, but just a better version of the girl she’s always been. Someone who’s not such an easy target for bullygirls like Peggy Neidermeyer. Someone who is as cool and confident as her best friend, Prejean. Will the new Agnes Parker make it through a school year filled with new glasses, broken arms, and a cute new boy in school?