The first two titles in our new series THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS are now available for pre-order – and we have a special offer for educators, librarians, and home school families. Just pre-order the first two books, EMMA MCKENNA, FULL OUT and ROHAN MURTHY HAS A PLAN from The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, NY and you’ll get a two-part virtual author visit with authors Kate Messner and Rajani LaRocca!
Here’s how it works…
Part 1… When your order your books, we’ll use the email you provide to the bookstore to send you a note in early May, with a link to a 20-minute recorded virtual author visit with Kate and Rajani. They’ll share the inspiration behind this multi-author series, along with photos of their writer’s notebooks and brainstorming pages. They’ll also offer a short writing workshop, walking kids through the process of creating a character, using the same worksheet that series authors used to develop all of the kids in Mrs. Z’s Class. Your early-May email will also include a link to download the series teaching and discussion guide, which includes a reproducible version of the character building worksheet to use with students!
Part 2… Once you’re back to school in the fall, you’ll get another email from us with an invitation to participate in a live author visit webinar with Kate and Rajani in October. This will be a 30-minute Q&A session so readers can discuss the first two books with Kate and Rajani after they’ve had a chance to read them. It’s going to be so much fun! A recording of the Q&A session will be made available for classes that are unable to attend live.
Here’s how to sign up… Choose a link below to pre-order the first two books in the series in either hardcover or paperback. The bookstore will save your email, and we’ll use it to send your virtual author visit invitations in May and October.
Or…
PRE-ORDER THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES FROM THE BOOKSTORE PLUS IN PAPERBACK
($13.98 – Great for affordable book club and classroom sets!)If your school is interested in pre-ordering books for an all-school or grade-level read with THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS, you may be selected for an in-person author visit with Kate and Rajani this spring! For more information and to request a visit, please see this post.
And of course, Kate and Rajani will sign all pre-orders!
Here’s a little more about the series…
Meet THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS – an exciting new multi-author series launching in April ’24!
One third grade classroom.
18 amazing kids.
18 secrets.
18 stories, each written by a different beloved author.
Our first two books, EMMA MCKENNA, FULL OUT and ROHAN MURTHY HAS A PLAN come out April 30, 2024.
Emma McKenna can’t wait for third grade at the brand-new Curiosity Academy. She’ll have a cool teacher who wears high-tops and science earrings. She’ll meet interesting classmates from all over Peppermint Falls. Best of all, she’ll get a fresh start after last year’s talent-show disaster left her with that awful nickname. It’s going to be the best year ever!
Then Lucy walks into Mrs. Z’s room.
Lucy, Emma’s best-friend-turned-enemy.
Lucy, who gave Emma that nickname and spread it all over school!
Emma’s fresh start is doomed . . . unless she can make friends before Lucy ruins everything.
So Emma sets out to be pals with everyone, just like her favorite animal, the capybara. As her classmates argue over the choice of a new school mascot, Emma stays quiet and doesn’t pick sides. (The last thing she needs is another enemy.) But maybe speaking up could be the thing that helps her really connect with her class—and saves her from third-grade doom.
Both sweetly poignant in its attention to kids’ worries and friendships and laugh-out-loud funny in its storytelling, with black-and-white illustrations throughout by Pura Belpré Honor artist Kat Fajardo, Emma McKenna, Full Out is the perfect launch for the exciting new Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class chapter-book series.
Rohan Murthy dreams of running a successful business like his creative and kind mom. When Mrs. Z. announces that Curiosity Academy needs to raise money for a school garden, Rohan sees the chance to launch his dreams right away! He’ll start a pet care company to help the people of Peppermint Falls look after their dogs, hamsters, fish, snakes, lizards . . . anything but cats. With hard work, some glittery posters, and the help of his friends from Mrs. Z’s class, Rohan knows he can do a lot for the school garden.
His parents point out just one small problem: Rohan has never taken care of an animal before. They think he doesn’t even like touching animals. (There is a reason cats aren’t on his list.) To prove his parents wrong, Rohan volunteers to spend a weekend watching over Honey, the class guinea pig. But Honey appears surprisingly anxious, which makes Rohan nervous as well. When his big dreams meet his secret fears, what will Rohan do?
We’re so excited for you to meet THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS!
