Charise Mericle Harper

Misnamed by her teacher, seven-year-old Just Grace prides herself on being empathetic, but when she tries to help a neighbor feel better, her good intentions backfire.

When a struggling student teacher assigns a group project, seven-year-old Just Grace gets so involved in working with Grace W. and Grace F. that she fails to understand why she and her best friend, Mimi, are drifting apart.

Eight-year-old Grace is excited to learn that her best friend, Mimi, is going to become an older sister, but when both try to be "mother's helpers" for a family renting a house on their street, little Lily likes Grace best, causing Mimi to doubt herself and Grace to form a plan to fix things.

As Grace and her classmates study foods from other cultures, she has the opportunity to ponder such mysteries as whether Owen 1 is really bad or not, why she feels jealous when her father helps her best friend with her hot dog report, and how Augustine Dupre, her family's French boarder, can be so wise.

"There's a new crossing guard in town named Marie who needs a bit of help making friends, a fun substitute teacher for Miss Lois, and most exciting, Grace and Mimi are going to have their own table at the craft fair"--

Just Grace is excited to attend her classmate Grace F's sleepover birthday party until she learns it will be a camp-out, and then her fears begin to cause trouble.

"Yellow Bird has found a button and wants to share it with Red Bird and Blue Bird. This is just an ordinary button. It does not do anything when you press it. But when Red Bird and Blue Bird give it try, they are delighted to find that the button does not do nothing, and that is something!"--

"Meet Charise. She's energetic, helpful, a model pet owner and full of inventions. But she's also a bad sister. When she goes too far and breaks little brother Daniel's tooth, can she redeem herself? Is an accident really an accident if you could have stopped it? But most importantly... What does it mean to be a good sister?"--Back cover.

"Sometimes school can be scary and even embarrassing, but not today. Today is Birdie's birthday, and everything will be perfect! Birdie's panda-riffic cupcakes are beautiful, and there's one for everyone. She will be the star of the class. But then . . . disaster! A trip and fall on the way to school means no more cupcakes! Who can save the day? Who can make the class smile again? This is a job for Birdie's alter ego . . . the Amazing Crafty Cat!...

When no one picks him from a plate that includes his fancy siblings, Plain Vanilla Cupcake feels dull, but when he meets Candle, who shares his feelings, the two hatch a plan to become the best duo on a plate.