Scaredy Cat

Are you afraid of the dark? Stella Batts never thought she was. In fact she's not feeling afraid of anything right now. She's just excited. Her class read the most books out of every class in school. The prize is a sleepover in the library. What could be better than that? Everyone is in pajamas, even the teachers. The kids break off into groups to go on a scavenger hunt. That's when Stella finds a really old book by an author who is also named Stella B. Though the subject matter is nothing this Stella would ever write about. And then there's an unexpected visitor who shows up in the middle of the night. Stella doesn't know what to think, but she knows one thing for sure--she's scared of the dark now! As a prize for reading the most books, Stella's class wins a sleepover in the school library. But after some strange occurrences, including finding a book written by an author who has the same name, Stella realizes she's not as brave as she thought. Stella Batts is a third-grader who wants to be a writer and this charming series chronicles the ups and downs of life with a five-year-old sister, parents who own a wonderful candy store, and Joshua, a mean boy in school who teases Stella about her name (he calls her Smella). Throughout the series Stella deals with her best friend moving away, not being on the birthday invite list, taking care of a neighbor's dog, and a host of similar childhood situations. Written with warmth and good humor this series has a following among early readers.