Alice (Naylor)

Here are all the embarrassing things that might happen to you in the fourth grade -- and do happen to you, if your name is Alice McKinley: 1. Your next-door neighbor (who happens to be a BOY!) sees you in your underpants. 2. You sneeze beans all over your best friend. 3. Your brother lies to you for fun and you believe him. 4. You get trapped inside a snow cave -- your own snow cave, that is. 5. You're the only person in the whole grade who can't sing. Alice can't seem to do anything right anymore, especially where her big brother Lester is concerned. When he gets really angry with her, Alice doesn't know how to fix things between them. How is she going to get Lester to talk to her again? And will life ever get any easier? Fourth grade can't end soon enough! The second of three prequels to the beloved Alice series, Alice in Blunderland lets younger readers get to know the girl everyone wants to be friends with, and proves once again that Phyllis Reynolds Naylor knows the fears, foibles, and fun of being a girl.

Alice McKinley comes home on the first day of junior high with a list of seven things about seventh grade that stink. Just about the only good thing she can think of is that she's friends with everyone. Maybe that's how to survive seventh grade-make it through the entire year with everyone liking her. That turns out to be easier said than done, when Alice gets on the wrong side of the school bully, Denise 'Mack Truck' Whitlock. But Alice's problems with Denise pale in comparison with the romantic entanglements of both her father and her older brother, Lester. And when Alice decides to help them out...life gets even more complicated.

A month before eighth grade begins, Alice realizes she is going to have to face something she's been afraid of forever. Everybody, she knows, is afraid of something: elevators, dogs, planes, spiders ... but her fear is worse. It's going to bring absolute disaster to the rest of her summer, maybe to the rest of her life. The truth is she's afraid of deep water! It's a hot August, and everyone in Alice's gang goes to Mark Stedmeister's swimming pool almost every day. Alice sits at the shallow end. She plays badminton. She makes excuses, and keeps her problem secret. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Pamela, Alice's two best friends, tackle problems of their own, and are more or less successful. Life is changing for everyone but Alice. Bravery begins in little ways, with small steps. That's what Alice finally discovers. And after she faces this particular fear, she knows she can summon the courage to face other fears as well. As in her previous adventures, Alice tackles some of the big problems of growing up with humor and enterprise and learns once again that a brother, a father, and friends can offer amazing amounts of help.

Now that she is settling into eighth grade, the class she used to envy, Alice Mckinley is discovering that it isn't all that exciting. But, maybe it's up to her to make this year as thrilling as she thought it would be? Out with the old, plain-Jane Alice in with the new, stylish, creative Alice. She's sick of being boring. It's time to be outrageous! But, what if outrageous isn't all it's cracked up to be either? What if instead Alice finds herself in situations that are more embarrassing than they are wild and fun? Is Alice destined to be the same boring girl forever?

Alice must choose between Patrick and Sam in this beloved series. How can someone be in love with two people at the same time? It doesn't make sense to Alice-until Sam, her friend from Camera Club, starts to pay attention to her. Sam is quiet, gentle, and a terrific dancer, and Alice likes being with him. But Alice has been Patrick's girlfriend for almost two years-so why is she interested in another guy? As Alice stumbles her way through the minefield of early adolescence, there are plenty of bumps, giggles, and surprises along the way. Every girl should grow up with Alice, and with this irresistible new look, a whole new generation will want to.

Growing up-and slimming down-is the tricky proposition in this repackaged installment of the beloved Alice series. The summer before ninth grade is all about getting it right-from head to toe. Alice and her friends want to start high school feeling like they always imagined a true high schooler feels: confident, capable, and pretty. But a little too much time standing in front of a mirror in their bathing suits makes Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth feel the exact opposite of ready for high school. They have two-and-half months to transform themselves-but when Elizabeth starts taking the weight-loss plan too seriously, Alice worries that growing up (and slimming down) isn't all it's cracked up to be. As Alice stumbles her way through the minefield of early adolescence, there are plenty of bumps, giggles, and surprises along the way. Every girl should grow up with Alice, and with this irresistible new look, a whole new generation will want to.

Alice is starting high school, and everything is new. But it's the new girl, Penny, who's making ninth grade a real challenge for Alice. Penny is tiny and perky and a real flirt, and she seems to be focusing her attention on Patrick. Even worse, Patrick seems to be enjoying it. Alice and Patrick have been a couple so long, Alice can't imagine life without him. Suddenly she feels lost and unattractive and scared-not quite whole. How can Alice get back her confidence in herself, when she's not even sure who she is?