Betty Hicks

Henry and his basketball teammates, the Bats, take on the Tigers, and Henry learns a lesson about working as a team.

When Rocky, a talented catcher who was injured during the previous baseball season by an out-of-control runner, develops a reflex that keeps him from tagging the runner out, Rocky's friends--and his dog Chops--help him overcome his fear.

Henry wants to win the doubles tennis trophy more than anything. He knows he'd good enough, but he's not sure his partner Rocky is. The advantage goes to new readers as they follow Henry as he helps Rocky train and, at the same time, works on his history project. Can Henry serve up an ace on and off the court?

Dez is unusually neat. Her mom and dad are unusually messy. They like Cheez Whiz and swamps. Dez likes elegant food and grand pianos. How can she even be related to them? And how can Dez help her best friend, Jil, who's adopted and who will stop at nothing in order to meet her birth mom? What is it, exactly, that makes a parent "real," anyway? Get Real is about wanting a parent who is very different from the one you have. It's about discovering, "Who...

Swimming with Sharks Rita's times aren't fast enough to swim for the Sharks with her friends. To improve she must learn flip turns, but every time she tries, she gets water up her nose! Jazz has an idea that might be the key to Rita's success, but what if Rita comes in first on a slower team? Would she rather win or be with her friends? Or, is there another way for Rita to swim with the Sharks? Track Attack Jazz loves being on a track team where...

Ellison Ellis Coffey, a lonely fifth-grader, discovers he might have the special gift of talking to bugs and decides to use his ability to win his town's annual Woolly Worm Race.

Nick tries to maintain his sense of integrity as he works to succeed on the school basketball team, adjust to his new stepmother and little "dorky" stepbrother, and deal with peer pressure from his friends.