Best Selling Books by Claudia Mills

Dynamite Dinah finds her feelings about sixth-grade classmate Nick Tribble changing when they share involvement in a school play, a debate, and a sock hop.

Quiet, introspective Hannah Keddie is surprised when she is befriended by the other new girl at school, popular Caitie Crystal.

When her look-alike younger sister Lucy gets promoted into her fifth grade class, Cynthia feels that she must fight to retain her own individuality.

Having baked six dozen Christmas cookies for themselves and been given many more by the neighbors, Gus and Grandpa find a rewarding solution to disposing of their extra holiday treats.

When fifth-grader Jessica discovers that her parents adopted her because they mistakenly believed they could not have children, she wonders if they love her less than the brother and sister who were born later.

Talented Lucy Lopez finds her passion when she joins an after-school coding camp, but can her older sister come to terms with their shared hobby? Third-grader Lucy Lopez and her older sister Elena created the Let''s Have Fun Club, where they designed their own badges to put in a handbook and make up lists of things they have to do to earn each one. But now Elena is spending most of her time coding on the computer and Lucy feels left out. She decides to join the after-school coding camp in the hopes that Elena will want to add it to their Let''s Have Fun Club activities and it can be something they can do together. But when Lucy proves to be a natural, Elena is none too happy--why does Lucy have to do everything she does? Parents and kids on the hunt for a fun and informative book about coding need look no further. The series includes Lucy Lopez: Coding Star, Nixie Ness: Cooking Star, and Vera Vance: Comic Book Star in the After-School Superstars series. Perfect for fans of Judy Moody, Ivy and Bean, and Clementine, this new chapter book series features recurring characters, and each book highlights one activity they do at their after-school program. The books are illustrated in black and white and include a bonus activity that corresponds to the book''s plot. Lucy Lopez is being simultaneously released in Hardcover.

Mischievous Dinah struggles to remain the center of attention when her baby brother comes home from the hospital and her best friend gets a lead role in the class play.

Amanda MacLeish might be the only student in Mr. Abrams''s fifth-grade class who doesn''t mind doing her homework. Now that her father has left home and moved into a motel, the only thing that brings Amanda any joy is writing her fictional diary entries about a young girl named Polly who lives amid the chaos of the Civil War. Polly would understand Amanda. With one brother fighting for the North and one fighting for the South, Polly knows just how it feels to have a family split in half. But if the North and the South could find a way to reunite despite their differences, can''t Amanda''s family do the same? In this touching novel by Claudia Mills, the heroine learns that enduring a split doesn''t have to mean losing a family. The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children''s Book of the Year.

Driven by overachieving parents and swept away by the moneymaking schemes of an eager new friend, eleven-year-old Cally finds herself meeting everyone''s expectations but her own.

When her older sister goes to New York to be a ballet dancer, ten-year-old Lindy chafes at the dullness of life with her grandparents in a small Iowa town.

A visit to her cousin Amy-Claire helps five-year-old Rachel discover the joys of being a big sister.

Fourth-grader Mason struggles to enjoy playing basketball after his best friend persuades him to join a team, and learns that the dog-hating lady next door is not so bad after all.

Dinah Seabrooke, now in her first year of middle school, struggles to become a big fish in what seems like an ocean--and in the process discovers the value of recycling and of friendship with the elderly.

Melanie gets carried away with her good ideas, whether it''s an idea for a worm fight or for tying shoelaces together.

The fifth book in the beloved Gus and Grandpa series Gus is unimpressed when Ryan coolly stops his sleek five-speed bike with the hand brake. But he''s totally nonplussed when Daddy buys him a bicycle like Ryan''s. Gus will never give up his training wheels. Enter Grandpa, who wisely removes Gus from the neighborhood and curious eyes for practice, digs out Daddy''s old bike for the occasion, and patiently holds that bike as Gus rides it around and around. Gus''s ultimate triumph belongs to Grandpa as well, and will be shared enthusiastically by reluctant riders and their supportive families. In Gus and Grandpa and the Two-Wheeled Bike, Claudia Mills and Catherine Stock contribute a gem to the bike-riding genre.

This fine monograph is the first all-color photo guide to the jellies, comb jellies, pelagic snails, salps and pyrosomes. This field guide covers animals that are found from Alaska to Baja California, many of which occur in most of the world''s seas. A total of 160 species are illustrated with a color photo-95 cnidarians, 28 ctenophers, 23 molluscs and 14 tunicates. The narrative for each species includes a detailed description, geographic range, and natural history. Also included are a glossary, selected references and an index.

Cuban, Catholic, and poor, 14-year-old Luisa Ruiz wants the American Dream and finds it the form of a young WASP with money and sophistication. To win his love, she lies about her background, and then discovers he''s not what she wants after all.

Als Betsy ihrer besten Freundin Lizard erzählt, dass ihre Mutter als Professorin an der Uni über vom Aussterben bedrohte Sprachen schreibt, ist Lizard sofort Feuer und Flamme. Was, wenn man nicht nur darüber schreiben, sondern tatsächlich eine bedrohte Sprache retten würde? Während Lizard sich immer begeisterter in das Projekt vertieft, beginnt Betsy sich langsam aus der Freundschaft zu lösen, die sie zunehmend als einengend empfindet. Und als etwas passiert, das Betsys Welt völlig durcheinanderbringt, ist es ausgerechnet Lizard, die sie im Stich lässt. Kann Betsy eine bedrohte Sprache und eine bedrohte Freundschaft retten?

Wilson Williams does not want anyone to know his parents have hired a tutor to help him with his math, but the secret could spell disaster for his friendship with Josh.

Third-grader Wilson struggles with his times-tables in order to beat the class deadline.