Claudia Mills – författare

Riley O''Rourke is writing his report on President Teddy Roosevelt in preparation for the fourth-grade biography tea, but he has a far more important goal: to get a saxophone so he can take instrumental music. His mother can''t afford to rent him a sax, and he''s sure he''ll never save up enough money to buy one. But as Riley learns more about Roosevelt''s "bully" spirit, he realizes that there just might be a way to solve his problem after all.Claudia Mills'' sparkling story about the influence of important historical figures is enhanced by tender, insightful illustrations.Being Teddy Roosevelt is a 2008 Bank Street—Best Children''s Book of the Year.

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.

Pretty is as pretty doesPretty, popular Marcia Faitak is not her usual self. Over the summer she gained five pounds, and when school begins, Marcia, desperate for an invitation from Alex Ryan to the October dance, goes on a diet. In art class, she''s supposed to bring a red apple to life on paper, but all she wants to do is eat it. Mr. Morrison doesn''t like her work anyway: disdainfully, he calls her drawing of a beautiful girl "Barbie." Worse than art is social studies. This is the year that kids have to choose their community service project. When Ms. Williams signs up Marcia to work at the local nursing home, she''s aghast. What can she possibly do for a bunch of old people in wheelchairs? Since experimenting with makeup is Marcia''s favorite activity, her half sister suggests "Makeovers by Marcia."In the fifth and final story in Claudia Mills''s funny, philosophical series about the West Creek Middle School kids, Marcia discovers the nature of true beauty - and even learns to draw it.

A wise guy gets wiseThe school year is almost over, and Alex Ryan still has plenty of pranks to pull and jokes to tell. Then his dad attends the meeting about the seventh-grade outdoor education trip. Alex knows nothing good can come of this -- Mr. Ryan is a jester, too, and the butt of his funny stories is often Alex. Still, Alex is not prepared for the comment that mortifies him in front of pretty, popular Marcia Faitak, his friend Dave Barnett, and the rest of his classmates. When Marcia tries to comfort him, Alex pounces on her. Marcia crumples, and Alex sets out to make up for his remark, even as he struggles to understand what impelled it. When all his attempts at reconciliation fail, Alex conceives a plan, to be executed during the outdoor ed trip. A surefire attention-getter, this should bring Marcia around, entertain Dave, and impress Alex''s father. But is this really what Alex wants to do? In the fourth book about the kids at West Creek Middle School, readers will root for Alex Ryan as he discovers his true self, and the wisest way to handle the most oppressive person in his life -- his own father.A Junior Library Guild Selection