friendships

You don't need to be big or loud to be a hero. You just need to be brave.

In sixth grade, bad things can happen to good kids. Bullies will find your weakness and jump on it. Teachers will say you did something wrong when really you didn't mean to do anything wrong. The kids who joke the loudest can drown out the quieter, nicer kids.

A red folder with your name on it in BIG LETTERS is not a good sign.

On the first day of sixth grade, Jimmy Murphy is already in trouble. The worst student in the class, he was hoping to make a fresh start, but his new teacher, Sister Angelica Rose, is out to get him. She picks on him, humiliates him in front of his classmates, and makes new entries in the red MURPHY folder. Worst of all, she volunteers Jimmy to preform onstage with a bunch of second graders, wearing a green banana costume.

It's summertime and everyone is heading off to camp. For kids with special Talents, the place to be is Camp Atropos, to sing songs by the campfire, practice for the Talent show, and take some nice long dips in the lake. But what the kids don't realize is that they've been gathered for a reason--one that the camp's director wants to keep hidden at all costs.

Twelve-year-old Ella Mae Higbee is a sensible girl. She eats her vegetables and wants to be just like Sergeant Friday, her favorite character on Dragnet. So when her auntie Mildred starts spouting nonsense about a scientist who can bring her cousin Robby back to life, Ella Mae doesn't believe her - until a boy steps out of the scientist's pod and drips slime on the floor right before her eyes.