Sharon M Draper

Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.

Chosen to be a U.S. spokesperson at an international symposium for kids with different abilities, Melody arrives in London where she meets like-minded kids who want to make the world more equal, no matter the unusual challenges they face, and hopes her words can make an impact.

Teenage Gerald, who has spent years protecting his fragile half-sister from their abusive father, faces the prospect of one final confrontation before the problem can be solved.

Fashion-savy Sassy does not like being the smallest student in her fourth-grade class, until a family emergency calls for a pint-sized hero.

Ziggy and his friends form a clubhouse after someone vandalizes their basketball court, and they soon uncover a clue that may tell them who did it.

Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International Double Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, cope with Randy's missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the class bullies.

After their counselor told them a story about spirits in the woods near their campsite, Ziggy and his friends get lost in that very place.

As Kofi, Arielle, Dana, November, and Jericho face personal challenges during their last year of high school, a misunderstood student brings a gun to class and demands to be taken seriously.

Ziggy and the other members of the Black Dinosaurs go to space camp where they learn about the space program and speculate about the existence of extraterrestrial beings.