Central Kansas Library System

Jamie Grimm is a middle schooler on a mission: he wants to become the world's greatest standup comedian--even if he doesn't have a lot to laugh about these days. He's new in town and stuck living with his aunt, uncle, and their evil son Stevie, a bully who doesn't let Jamie's wheelchair stop him from messing with Jamie as much as possible. But Jamie doesn't let his situation get him down. When his Uncle Frankie mentions a contest called The Planet's...

"In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate...

Rafe Khatchadorian's new year at middle school is starting to look depressingly like the old one, except that art class is going well--and when he joins the flag-football team and demonstrates some talent as a running-back, he discovers a way of dealing with his bullying nemesis and teammate, Miller the Killer.

Grumpy Old Man Fookwire's new neighbor has a cat that threatens his beloved birds, but some pesky squirrels figure out a way to solve the problem.

"Hazel doesn't like to make waves. Middle school is hard enough without causing more trouble, right? She's happy just eating lunch in the library with her BFF, writing secret haikus, and taking care of an adorable rescue tortoise. But then Hazel discovers a list that rates the girls at her middle school based on their looks -- started by her best friend's older brother. She knows she has to do something, and she can't do it alone. The wave she'll...

"Teddy Spaghetti is bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank's debut picture book, cowritten by her daughter, Victoria Hanna Frank, about a young boy who is teased for loving spaghetti. Teddy loves spaghetti. If he had his way, he would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (oh, and snack, too)! On the first day at his new school, Teddy is nervous, and the one thing he can look forward to is the spaghetti that his mother packed him for lunch. When...

To get what they want, the larger jungle animals bully the smaller ones until Mama Monkey shows them all the benefits of sharing.

Can I, Jamie Grimm, teach other kids how to be super funny? Think it's hard being a stand-up comedian in a wheelchair? Try teaching a comedy class to bored middle schoolers! I have no idea where to start. Do I assign homework? Should I give tests? Or do I just fall flat on my face and hope that gets a laugh?

Ten-year-old Shelby Bloom loves jokes but she is horrified when her mother posts an embarrassing video of her, a video that mean girl Brooke makes sure everyone at school sees--Shelby does not like being the laughingstock, and she does not like being paired with Brooke's best friend, Tessa, on a school health project, but it turns out there are compensations, and soon Shelby has the class laughing with her instead of at her.