Julia Gillian (and the Dream of the Dog)

The quirky and lovable Julia Gillian faces her toughest challenge yet in this touching conclusion to the trilogy.Now that Julia Gillian is a middle school "Sixlet" (sixth-grader), life is fundamentally altered. She must contend with schoolwork that involves "controlling for variables," a steely reading buddy who hates to read, and mortal fear of the burly "Sevvies" and "Crazy Eights" in the upper grades. Worse than all of this, Julia Gillian's beloved dog, Bigfoot, is slowing down, which makes her cozy, predictable world feel out of control.Fortunately, Julia Gillian's friends and family help her see that only by facing tough times can we discover what it truly means to be human.

Alison McGhee is the author of numerous award-winning books for young readers and adults, including the New York Times bestseller, Someday, illustrated by Peter Reynolds. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her family. You can visit her at www.alisonmcghee.com. Drazen Kojzan is the illustrator of several books for children, including Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esmé Raji Codell, and How to Tame a Bully by Nancy Wilcox Richards. He lives in Ontario, Canada with his family. You can visit him at www.drazenkozjan.com.