Back to School, Mallory »

Laurie Friedman is the author of the Mallory series, as well as the picture books I'm Not Afraid of This Haunted House and Love, Ruby Valentine. She lives in Coral Gables, Florida, with her husband and two children.

Tamara Schmitz is the illustrator of several books for kids, including four of the Mallory books.

Summer is over and that can only mean one thing for eight-year-old Mallory McDonald (like the restaurant, but no relation)—she has to go back to school. But not just any school, a new school with all new kids in it. To make matters worse, her mom is going, too! She's the new music teacher, and Mallory can't think of anything that could possibly be worse—until her first day. She has to sit with Pamela, who always says the right thing and steals her ideas. Joey is so busy with his old friends that he has no time for her, and to top it off, she's picked to be an eggplant in the Fall Festival her mom is putting on. It's not fair! What can Mallory do? Should she give Pamela, and her new school, another chance?