Betsy Duffey

Marty Laone, new boy in third grade, is good at math but so bad at gym that he's always picked last. He spends most of (his time) plotting to escape the dreaded class--until a teacher and fellow classmate let him know that he's not alone. This is distinguished by Duffey's skill in making Marty's inner feelings ring true

Nine-year-old Cody Michaels is bound for stardom in the third grade talent show just as soon as he figures out his talent.

On one night every year, cats in the MEOW Society, which stands for "Memories Expressed In Our Writing," gather to read from their diaries, hearing stories of a gypsy cat, a Caribbean pirate cat, a library cat, and many others.