Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.

Examines the different ways children learn around the world, including through a webcam near the Sahara desert, along a river in a school that floats, and high in the Himalayas at a nongovernmental community school.

After surviving sixth grade, Rafe expects seventh grade to be a fun zone because he has been accepted to art school in the big city, but when he discovers it is more competitive than he expected, he sets out to turn his boring life into the inspiration for a work of art.

Describes some of the different and unusual school settings around the world, from an environmentally sustainable school in India to schools within caves in China and schools for the nomadic tribes of Siberia.

For Merci Sur̀ez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It's a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always...

"After seventh graders Benji and Felix "borrow" $20 from a lost wallet, the billionaire owner challenges them to spend over $5 million dollars in thirty days in order to learn life lessons about money"--

A trustee of the John Grier orphanage has offered to send Judy Abbott to college. The only requirements are that she must write to him every month, and that she can never know who he is. Judy's life at college is a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties, and a growing friendship with the handsome Jervis Pendleton. With so much happening in her life, Judy can scarcely stop writing to the mysterious "Daddy-Long-Legs"!

Steve is King of the Bench. No brag. It{u2019}s just a fact. But this year, Steve and his friends are excited to try out for the Spiro T. Agnew Middle School baseball team. The only problem is, after watching another player get beaned by a fastball, Steve has developed a serious case of bean-o-phobia{u2014}the fear of getting hit by a pitch. If Steve ever wants to get off the bench and get in the game, he{u2019}s going to have to muster up some courage,...

"Best-selling and award-winning authors take on the brave new world of middle school in this remarkable collection, brimming with humor and heart. Subjects range from peer pressure, homework, family issues, and cultural barriers to the unexpected saving graces of music, art, friendship, and reading. This engaging anthology, filled with texts, emails, formal letters, stories in verse, first-person narratives, and even a short graphic novel, shines...

Led by new student Caitlyn, seventh-graders at a tiny rural school in Vermont create a reality-show inspired competition to determine who will replace the school's legendary class clown, Paulie Fink.--