Eleven-year-old Cassidy has just inherited a gift from her late great-grandmother. Unfortunately, that “gift” turns out to be a summer trapped in etiquette school. What good are manners, anyway, for a girl who dreams of living life on the road as a hobo—er, “knight of the road”? As if trying to remember to keep her elbows off the table isn’t bad enough, Cassidy’s best friend, Jack, suddenly seems more interested in doing chores for the new teenage girl who’s moved in next door than in fishing with Cassidy down by the river. Not even her classic epic pranks seem to be saving Cassidy from having her worst summer ever. It’s time to face facts: growing up stinks. Veteran middle-grade author Sue Stauffacher returns with a cranky, pranky, laugh-out-loud tomboy heroine who might just learn the hard way that manners do matter, and that people can change.

Should I offer to pay on the first date? How do I escape boring conversation? Am I supposed to let my boss get off the elevator first? This timely gide to modern manners offers answers to your everyday questions-and more! Practical, down-to-earth advise on everything from relationships, to parties, to dining, and more.

When Tillie Anderson came to America, all she had was a needle. So she got herself a job in a tailor shop and waited for a dream to find her. One day, a man sped by on a bicycle. She was told "bicycles aren't for ladies," but from then on, Tillie dreamed of riding—not graceful figure eights, but speedy, scorching, racy riding! And she knew that couldn't be done in a fancy lady's dress. . . . With arduous training and her (shocking!) new clothes, Tillie became the women's bicycle-riding champion of the world. Sue Stauffacher's lively text and Sarah McMenemy's charming illustrations capture the energy of America's bicycle craze and tell the story of one woman who wouldn't let society's expectations stop her from achieving her dream.

Harry Sue Clotkin is tough. Her mom's in the slammer and she wants to get there too, as fast as possible, so they can be together. But it's not so easy to become a juvenile delinquent when you've got a tender heart. Harry Sue's got her hands full caring for the crumb-snatchers who take up her afternoons at the day care center, and spending time with her best friend Homer, a quadriplegic who sees life from a skylight in the roof of his tree house. When Harry Sue finds an unlikely confidante in her new art teacher, her ambitions toward a life of crime are sidelined as she comes to a deeper understanding about her past--and future. Sue Stauffacher has once again crafted a fast-paced middle-grade novel filled with quirky but lovable characters, a narrator impossible to ignore, a completely original plot, and a whole lot of redemption.

When Thomas' mother disappears, he tells himself she must be safe. Somewhere. And sometimes, the stories we tell take on a life of their own . . . One morning, ten-year-old Thomas's mother tells him about a dream she had about taking a trip by herself. That seems strange, because lately, his mother has been too depressed to even leave the house. Maybe it's a good sign. But when Thomas gets home from school, she's gone. The police search everywhere, and although they find her car, they can't find her. Without any clear answers, Thomas will have to find his own. With the help of his friends-- and a shared story they create to explain what has happened, a fantasy involving a perilous quest only his mother can complete-- Thomas finds a way to work through his anxiety and grief, reach out to his father, and recognize that even if his mother never comes back, he can still hold a place for her in his heart and mind. This heartbreaking, beautiful novel about loss and grief explores the ways in which young people must face unimaginable tragedies-- and how imagination and compassion can bring some light to the days after.

Black blues singer Bessie Smith single-handedly scares off Ku Klux Klan members who are trying to disrupt her show one hot July night in Concord, North Carolina. Includes historical note.