Claudia Mills

Gus must visit the hospital when his beloved Grandpa has a heart attack.

Afraid he will always be an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, nine-year-old Oliver finally shows his extremely overprotective parents that he is capable of doing great things without their help while his class is studying the solar system.

Gus waves at the train near his grandfather's house, sets up a toy train, and eventually gets to ride on the train with his grandfather.

Second-grader Gus wants a store-bought Halloween costume to wear to school, but because he knows his parents do not believe in buying costumes, he turns to his grandfather for help.

Gus enjoys basketball practice, but the noise and pace of real games bother him, until his grandpa gives him some good advice.

Third-grader Wilson struggles with his times-tables in order to beat the class deadline.

Ziggy does not do well on track and field day, but he feels better after his classmates recognize his drawing talent.

"The third book in the Franklin School Friends series is a fast and funny story about sports, friendship, and sibling rivalries."--

Simon Ellis and the rest of the third grade Franklin School Friends participate in a spelling bee where Simon's competitive spirit takes over until he realizes that sometimes the best way to win is to take a chance and let other people shine.

Boogie Bass feels his best friend, Nolan, is better than he at everything, even caring for Boogie's little brothers, but an after-school camp reveals Boogie's talent at communicating using American Sign Language. Includes facts about ASL.