Stephanie Barden has created a great role model for tweens. Cinderella Smith is confident, smart, and very real. Fans of Junie B. Jones and Clementine will love watching Cinderella conquer the problems of third-grade life, and parents will appreciate the vocabulary-enhancing words Stephanie Barden sprinkles through the story. In The Super-Secret Mystery, third in the Cinderella Smith chapter-book series, Cinderella is excited to write a report on an endangered species. She can't wait to investigate this important environmental issue. But every book she needs to do her research has disappeared from the library! That won't stop Cinderella. She won't be stopped by the mean-girl bullies and will follow every clue until she solves the mystery of the missing books. Illustrations by Caldecott Honor winner Diane Goode add to the appeal of Cinderella's story.

In Stephanie Barden's The More the Merrier, middle-grade readers will root for Cinderella Smith the same way they do for Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, and Clementine. Cinderella takes on mean girls in the second book in the Cinderella Smith series. A clique has formed in her third-grade class, and they don't want Cinderella in the group. Cinderella and her best friend, Erin, try to figure out what to do about the popular girls while making time to study for the big spelling bee. Parents will appreciate the way the chapter book takes on the serious subject of bullying with a light touch, while emphasizing the importance of having true friends. The book also shows that studying pays off. Engaging illustrations by Caldecott Honor Award winner Diane Goode bring Cinderella to life.

Cinderella Smith has a problem with a capital P.She loses shoes almost as quickly as she puts them on her feet. But now she's lost the most important shoe of all: her shiny, ruby red tap shoe. Without it she won't have a chance of being chosen Pumpkin Blossom Fairy for the fall dance recital—and that means no special tutu, no crown, and no solo!The school year is starting out with big problems too. Her new teacher laughs at her name, she's sitting at the smart-boys table, and her old best friend is ignoring her. Now the new girl, Erin, has asked for her advice on wicked stepsisters. And Cinderella doesn't have stepsisters—wicked or otherwise!The recital is just around the corner and the stepsisters are on their way.Can Cinderella and Erin solve the capital P problems in time?