Joshua T. Bates Takes Charge
Page 7
Trout and Me
by Susan Shreve
Ben has always been a good kid; it’s just that things keep happening that get him sent to the principal’s office—ever since first grade, when he tried to flush Mary Sue Briggs’s favorite purple teddy bear down the toilet after she made fun of his lisp. Now that he’s in fifth grade, things are a little better, until the day Trout shows up in class and attaches himself to Ben like Velcro. At first Ben is afraid Trout’s badness will rub off on him, but soon he starts to enjoy Trout’s pranks, and then they’re in more trouble than ever. When the school and parents decide it’s time to do something about the boys, it’s up to Ben to come to his friend’s rescue and show everyone that Trout isn’t all bad: he’s just a kid. And Ben is just a kid too, trying his best to do what’s right.
“Funny and honest.”—Booklist
“In this moving novel … Shreve introduces characters of uncommon dimension and complexity—and leaves readers with subtle issues to ponder.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred
The Flunking of
Joshua T. Bates
by Susan Shreve
It’s the worst possible end to a great summer vacation: Joshua Bates finds out he has to repeat the third grade. His teachers say he needs another year “to mature.” What do they expect from a nine-year-old? A beard?
The first day of school is a complete nightmare. The fourth graders think he’s a freak, the kids in his new class are babies, and his teacher looks like a two-ton tank. Joshua is totally miserable. Will he ever catch up—or is he stuck in the third grade forever?
“Crisply humorous.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Touching, funny, and realistic.”
—School Library Journal