• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

A new school year has started for Julia Gillian, and so far, it's not going very well. Her best friend, Bonwit Keller, doesn't seem to want to be best friends anymore. Learning to play the trumpet, once Julia Gillian's heart's desire, is much more difficult than it looks. And the school has hired an interim lunch monitor, the all-too-strict Mr. Wintz. As Julia Gillian's music teacher would say, Where is the joy? Thankfully, Julia Gillian soon learns that sharing problems is often the only way to solve them, and that life is only as complicated?or as joyful?as we want it to be.

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.

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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.

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