The Report Card - by Andrew Clements

Nora was very upset by the C on her report card... because she wanted it to be a D! What could drive an intelligent student to get bad grades on purpose? What in the world does this have to do with her best friend, Stephen, who thinks he's dumb because of some low test scores? What will happen when her parents find out? You guessed it, you need to read the book to find out.

Andrew Clements does it again with this story, creating a smart, courageous student character who gets into trouble, finds a friend and a teacher to help, and ends up making the world a better place in some small way. This may be a common theme in Clements' writing, but it works, and we love it. Apart from Room One and The School Story, this is my (Mister K's) favorite book by the author. With writers like Andrew Clements out there, we readers are a lucky bunch.

Read this if you like school, hate grades and tests, enjoy fun, easy-to-read descriptive writing, and if you're looking for inspiration to make a difference in the world yourself.