But lately Marylin has started to think that Kate can be a bit babyish. And Kate thinks Marylin is acting like a big snob. Somehow nothing is the same, but secretly Kate and Marylin both wish it could be...

When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent toVietnam, Jamie is plum thrilled. She can't wait to get letters from thefront lines describing the excitement of real-life combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell of gunpowder, the exhilaration of being right in thethick of it. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footstepsof their father, the Colonel.

But TJ's first letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undevelopedfilm, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops TJ's photographsreveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off ofArmy life - and the Colonel. How can someone she's worshipped her entirelife be just as helpless to save her brother as she is?

From the author of the Edgar Award-winning Dovey Coe comes a novel,both timely and timeless, about the sacrifices we make for what we believeand the people we love.

Southern courtroom drama, a sassy female protagonist, a misunderstood yet gentle neighborhood character, vicious and narrow-minded villains--sound familiar? Yes, there's a lot of Harper Lee's Scout in Dovey, and Boo Radley in Amos (To Kill a Mockingbird). But Frances O'Roark Dowell's absorbing, readable story of families, prejudice, love, and hate has a life all its own. Dovey is an impeccably drawn heroine, complete with Southern dialect, sturdy self-esteem, and down-home wisdom. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

1. He's allergic to purple, telephone calls, and girls, and can proveit.

2. He's probably the world's expert on mold, including which has thehighest stink potential.

3. He does not have a best friend. He does, however, have an un-best friend, who he does not -- repeat, not -- want to upgrade to best friend status.

But disaster strikes when his teacher pairs Mac and his un-best friend together for the upcoming science fair. Worse, this un-best friend wants the project to be on dinosaurs, which is so third grade. Worse still, it seems as though everyone else in his class finds the un-best friend as unlikeable as Mac does. But, being a boy-scientist, once Mac notices this, he just might have to do some investigating....

Phineas L. MacGuire (a.k.a. Mac) is less than up-to-date on planetary happenings. (Marsquakes? Who knew?) If he's going to be the best scientist in the fourth grade, Mac has to set his sights pretty high. To outer space, actually. But Space Camp is expensive. Where is he going to find enough money for a week on Mars (or a pretty close simulation thereof)?

Houston, we have another problem: a gigantic, slobbery dog named Lemon Drop. Mac can earn the money he needs by walking Mrs. McClosky's yellow Lab, but first he needs to survive the walks and the slobber! Good thing Mac is a scientific genius with friends like Ben and Aretha. Together the three of them discover that Lemon Drop is no ordinary dog -- that Lab is a real-life Lab-oratory.

1. To be the best fourth-grade scientist ever.

2. To be the best fourth-grade scientist ever.

3. To be the best fourth-grade scientist ever.

It's a tall order, but he's confident that he can achieve it, especiallysince his friend and rival scientist, Aretha, has asked him to help herearn a scout badge by creating the mold that produces penicillin. After all, who knows more about mold than Mac? And how many fourth graders can say that they've reproduced penicillin? None, as far as Mac knows. But then he has to manage Ben's campaign for class president and deal with his new babysitter, Sarah Fortemeyer, the Teenage Girl Space Alien from the Planet Pink who accidentally got rid of his dried worm collection and now he has to find it. How is he supposed to find time to focus on mold?

The second book about Phineas L. MacGuire and his scientific experiments, Phineas L. MacGuire...Gets Slimed!, is as much fun as the first, and includes slimy new experiments that you can do at home!