Troublemaker
By Andrew Clements
Atheneum, $16.99

There’s a folder in Principal Kelling’s office that’s filled with the incident reports of every time Clayton Hensley broke the rules. In art class, Clay decides to be extra “creative” and draw a spot-on portrait of Principal Kelling…as a donkey. It’s a pretty funny joke, but really, Clay is coming to realize that the biggest joke of all may be on him. When his big brother, Mitchell, gets in some serious trouble, Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways…but he can’t seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker. (Ages 9 and up)

Skippyjon Jones, Class Action
By Judy Schachner
Dutton Juvenile, $17.99

Siamese cat Skippyjon Jones really wants to go to dog school, but his mama won’t let him. Inside his closet, he finds himself on the playground of his imagination surrounded by dogs of all kinds. And when a bully sends shivers down the spines of the little yippers, Skippy saves the day and earns the biggest gold star. (Ages 3 and up)

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life
By James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts
Little, Brown and Company, $15.99

Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he’s got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school’s oppressive Code of Conduct. But when Rafe’s game starts to catch up with him, he’ll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he’s finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he’s been avoiding. Blockbuster author James Patterson delivers a genuinely hilarious and surprisingly poignant story of a wildly imaginative, one-of-kind kid that you won’t soon forget. (Ages 10 and up)

It’s the First Day of School…Forever!
By R.L. Stine
Feiwel & Friends, $15.99

Everything goes wrong for 11-year-old Artie on his first day at Ardmore Middle School, from the moment his alarm goes off until the next morning, when everything is repeated exactly the same way. (Ages 10 and up)

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
By Eric Litwin
Harper Collins, $16.99

Pete the Cat goes walking down the street wearing his brand-new white shoes. Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other big messes! But no matter what color his shoes are, Pete keeps movin’ and groovin’ and singing his song…because it’s all good. (Ages 3 and up)

Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-To-School Smarty-Pants
By Elise Primavera
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, $16.99

Louise the Big Cheese is determined to make the grade in school this year and that means straight As. But she’s stuck with the toughest teacher ever. She doesn’t want to be outdone by her sister and thinks if she could get straight As, everybody would want to be her friend, and she would probably be promoted to college! When a substitute teacher, Mrs. Sprinkles, takes Mrs. Pearl’s place, Louise is delighted—until she discovers that getting an A from Mrs. Sprinkles doesn’t mean as much as getting a B+ from Mrs. Pearl. (Ages 3 and up)

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