Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Sixth-grader Marty and his family try to help their rough neighbor, Judd Travers, change his mean ways, even though their West Virginia community continues to expect the worst of him.

Alice experiences the joys and embarrassments of seventh grade while advising her father and older brother on their love lives.

Disgusted that a family with three girls moves into the house across the river, nine-year-old Wally and his three brothers declare a practical joke war on the girls.

Kevin learns to deal with a bossy contemporary at the neighborhood playground.

When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

A wife and her grumpy husband go to market.

Fifth grade is tumultuous for Alice as she tries to help others through the many changes occurring at home and in school, including learning about sex when Rosalind gets her period and shares a book that explains what is happening.

The summer before eighth grade, Alice tries to confront her fears, not the least of which is a fear of deep water.

Alice is in the eighth grade, and while she wants her life to be exciting and outrageous, she also wants to feel protected and safe.

Thirteen-year-old Alice sets long- and short-term priorities for her life as she experiences the complexities of young love.