Most Popular Books by Claudia Mills

The final book in the Nora Notebooks series finds Nora trying to navigate the unscientific matter of making friends with someone you have nothing in common with. Nora Alpers, fourth-grade scientist, likes things to be just so. Her ant farm, her hobbies, her friends. So when Coach Joe, her teacher, informs the class that all the students have to try something new and write a report about it, Nora is not pleased. She is even less pleased when her classmate Emma seems to decide that befriending Nora will be her “new” thing. Does Emma really want to be friends or is this just an assignment for school? Nora, meanwhile, has to figure out her own new thing. Will she discover that she has interests outside of science or will all her efforts end up being nothing but trouble? Praise for the Nora Notebooks series: “Will resonate with children who have a passion for something out of the ordinary.” —Publishers Weekly, starred “Readers will be drawn into the story by the sincere and realistic characters Mills has created, as well as the pleasing and appealing illustrations found in every chapter.” —School Library Journal “Middle-grade readers will hope for more Nora Notebooks soon.” —Kirkus Reviews

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.

Ideal for courses in ethics, moral problems, and public policy, this contemporary anthology encourages students to scrutinize normally unquestioned popular notions. All selections are drawn from CQ: "The Report From The Center For Philosophy And Public Policy" and refer to issues such as air pollution, human rights, and education, issues with which our country is currently formulating public policy. Blends real-life policy debates with otherwise empty ethical abstractions, prompting students to contribute opinions and ask questions. Grants flexibility to instructors by offering a wide variety of selections (more than 80) to choose from depending upon the focus of their courses.

How Oliver Olson Changed the World is an irresistible chapter book from Claudia Mills, featuring lively illustrations by Heather Maione. Oliver Olson learns that before you can change the world, sometimes you need to change yourself. Oliver Olson''s teacher is always saying that one person with a big idea can change the world. But how is Oliver supposed to change the world when his parents won''t let him do anything on his own—not his class projects or even attending activities such as the space sleepover at school. Afraid he will become an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, Oliver decides to take control of his corner of the universe!

Cody Harmon doesn''t love reading, math, spelling, or really any of the subjects that Miss Molina teaches in her third-grade class. But he lives on a farm and he loves animals--he even has nine pets--so when the school holds a pet-show fund-raiser, it should be his time to shine. There''s a ten-dollar entrance fee per pet, though, and Cody can''t pay it for all nine pets. He''d love to take his pig, but what about the others? In the end, Cody figures out a way to lend out his pets so that every person in the class (and every pet) gets to participate in the show.

"Difficult" student Callie joins a philosophy club seeking the wisdom she needs to keep her beloved but equally difficult dog in this hilarious, heartfelt middle grade novel for underdogs and dog-lovers alike! Once Callie (Calliope Callisto Clark) starts saying something, it''s hard for her to stop. The opinion gets bigger and bigger, her voice gets louder and louder--and she gets in more and more trouble. She''s in trouble with her teacher, who likes order and not Callie. She''s in bigger trouble with her Grampy, who blames Callie and her dog (a.k.a. Best Ever Friend) Archie for his ever-rising blood pressure. Then there''s the biggest trouble of all... just one more strike, and Callie could lose her beloved Archie forever. When she turns to Greek philosophy for answers on how to solve her problems, she only gets more questions: What is justice? What isfairness? And as her problems get bigger, so do her questions: Is it Callie''s fault when Grampy has a stroke? Told in Callie''s endearing, energetic voice, Calliope Clark and the Search for Wisdom is sure to speak to any student who''s ever been called "disruptive." Acclaimed children''s book author and retired philosophy professor Claudia Mills delivers a heartfelt middle grade for misunderstood readers who feel like they''re living their own Greek tragedies.

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.

Here''s the third entry in Claudia Mills''s charming middle-grade series. Mason Dixon survived the school choir. He survived adopting his now-beloved dog named, uh, Dog. But now he faces his biggest challenge yet: joining the local basketball team. Not by choice, of course. Not only do his parents encourage it, but his dad even volunteers to be his coach. Now, with his best pal Brody and a team of misfits even worse at basketball than him (if that''s possible), Mason must try to rally to beat his arch-rival, the school bully Dunk. Just another day-in-the-life of a disaster-prone fourth grader.

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.

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.

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.

Heidi tries a succession of ways to make her fifth-grade teacher less mean.

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.

Grace MacInnis - daughter of J.S. Woodsworth, founding mother of the New Democratic Party, BC''s first woman Member of Parliament, universally respected social democrat who fought tirelessly for the rights of women, consumers and low-income Canadians. MacInnis worked some sixty years as a social reformer, as BC MLA and MP and as indispensable behind-the-scenes policy worker for the CCF and NDP. Many of the causes she campaigned for were unpopular at the time: family planning in the 1930s, when providing information on birth control was illegal; income and unemployment insurance for homemakers in the 1940s, when 85% of Canadians thought women''s place was in the home; voting rights for Native Canadians and Doukhobors in the 1950s; abortion rights in the 1960s, when abortion was punishable by life in prison. S.P. Lewis was a radio news reporter in 1987 when she first met Grace MacInnis. She was so impressed that she went back for another visit, and another. During the last few years of MacInnis''s life, the two women spent many a long afternoon together while Lewis worked on this book.

Gus doesn''t want to give up the training wheels on his bike, even for a new five-speed bicycle, until Grandpa helps him learn how to get along without them.

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.

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

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.