CA 2012 USDA Approved NE Materials Joan Bauer, critically acclaimed author of Newbery Honor Book and Christopher Award-winner Hope Was Here, has written numerous books for young people, including Sticks, Rules of the Road (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), Backwater (a Smithsonian Magazine Best Book), Stand Tall (an ALA Notable Book), Squashed (winner of the Delacorte Press Prize for First Young Adult Novel), and Thwonk (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults). She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at her Web site at www.joanbauer.com. Can she do it? Ellie Morgan's life would be just perfect if Max would just put on about two hundred pounds, and if she herself could lose twenty. After all, Max, Ellie's giant pumpkin, could very well be the next champion of the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-In. And minus a few pounds, Ellie might finally have the courage to approach Wes, the new boy in town. But with pumpkin thieves threatening Max and Sweet Corn Coquette contestants eyeing Wes, Ellie's not sure if she can make it. As sixteen-year-old Ellie pursues her two goals--growing the biggest pumpkin in Iowa and losing twenty pounds herself--she strengthens her relationship with her father and meets a young man with interests similar to her own. |