Books with author Sara Pennypacker

Waylon can't wait to participate in the Boston Science Expo June 14. He's confident that his project will impress the crowd, and his idol, a famous astrophysicist, is sure to be in attendance. Maybe Waylon will finally get a chance to meet her! The Expo is on the same day of his sister's performance at the Beantown Repertory Theater. Neon has been preparing for weeks, ever since she won third prize in a New Voices in Boston Theater contest, and their dad has agreed to be the centerpiece of the show. June 14 is also the deadline Waylon's dad set for himself to sell his screenplay to Hollywood. Finally, Waylon's mom has a mysterious appointment that day that she won't talk about. It looks as though Waylon will be going to the Science Expo by himself. But at least there's that astrophysicist!When Waylon's dad is summoned to Hollywood at the last minute, Neon is in dire need of a replacement. She trains her eyes on Waylon, and he has no choice but to be the stand-in, even though it means missing the Expo. It promises to be the most embarrassing night of his life . . . yet it could turn out to be the most awesome of all. But what is Mom up to, anyway?

This New York Times bestselling chapter book series has been keeping readers engaged and laughing for more than a decade with over one million copies sold! Clementine has been picked for Friend of the Week, which means she gets to be line leader, collect the milk money, and feed the fish. Even better, she'll get a Friend of the Week booklet, in which all the other third-grade kids will write why they like her. Clementine's best friend Margaret has all sorts of crazy ideas for how Clementine can prove to the class she is a good friend. Clementine has to get a great booklet, so she does everything Margaret says she should do. But what begins as one of the best weeks ever starts turning into the worst, and being a good friend might turn out harder than Clementine thinks.

This New York Times bestselling chapter book series has been keeping readers engaged and laughing for more than a decade with over one million copies sold! Clementine's having a nervous breakdown. The FAMILY MEETING! sign is up in her house, and she just knows she's in trouble for something. Has she been too mean to her little brother? Too sloppy? Eating too much junk food? Try as she might to find out what's on the agenda, her parents won't reveal anything before the meeting. As far as Clementine is concerned, the agenda should be something like: "We're getting a gorilla." But no, it's something entirely different. "We're talking about a new baby," says her father. "A sibling for you two. What do you think about that?" NO THANKS! is what Clementine thinks. After all, four is the perfect number for a family. There are four sides to a table, not five. Will Clementine learn to make room for one more?

A quick, inventive chapter book featuring an unusual hero--an eight-year-old worrier.We meet Stuart pressed against a rainy window, worried and bored. Worried, because hundreds of things could go wrong in a new house, a new town, a new school. Bored, because he has no one to play with and because his collection of Valuable Things disappeared during the move. He really needs an adventure.In one fateful moment, it all becomes clear: Stuart realizes that in order to have adventure, he needs a cape! After all, don't all those superheroes have capes? Each day the cape brings a different and unexpected adventure. He entertains a gorilla, a horse, and a dinosaur in his bedroom.

This New York Times bestselling chapter book series has been keeping readers engaged and laughing for more than a decade with over one million copies sold! For Clementine, Spring is a really big deal. Spring is for seeing her apple tree start to grow, for watching her friend Margaret go crazy with cleaning, and for going on the school trips, like this year's trip to Plimoth Plantation. Clementine is ready for Ye Olden Times, but she isn't so sure about surviving lunch there-the fourth graders have strict rules about no eating sounds. If that wasn't enough, Clementine also faces the challenges of learning Olive-language and surviving The Cloud on Bus 7. Hearing the pilgrim lady talk about why she made the long journey from England makes Clementine think about rules. Who makes them, and what do they mean to the people who have to live with them? Today Clementine has to decide which rules are made to be broken.

A charming story about finding the courage to tell someone special how you feel about them.Poor Pierre wishes he could tell Catherine how he feels about her, but Catherine is a graceful ballet teacher, and Pierre is merely a poor fisherman.By making a few silly mistakes and a few more brave decisions, Pierre soon learns that being a fisherman may not make him so hard to love after all.Pennypacker weaves a sweet story about finding the courage to let someone special into your heart, while Mathers' luscious illustrations draw readers into a colorful world full of hope and bravery.

Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country's leader had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers--they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great "Sparrow War" to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death! Ming-Li knew she had to do something -- even if she couldn't stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...