John David Anderson, author of the acclaimed middle grade novels 'Sidekicked' and 'The Dungeoneers,' returns with a heart-shatteringly brilliant new novel: a realistic contemporary story of three boys and their relationships with a very special teacher. Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers. The good ones. The not-so-good ones. The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard. The ones who are kind of fun but also kind of annoying....

Four students, each with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.

The fifth grade's annual camping trip in the woods tests Mark's survival skills and his ability to relate to a teacher who seems out to get him.

Forced to participate in an extra credit project in the middle of nowhere, classmates Baxter, Abigail, Turner and Emerson must survive the wilderness with only a survival handbook and each other after their instructor goes missing.

Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.