SIX KIDS AND A STUFFED CAT by Gary Paulsen.  New York:  Simon & Schuster, 2016. 144p.  ISBN 9781481452278 hc.$16.99      Gr. 6-8     JUV

What happens when six eighth grade boys take shelter in a school bathroom during an afternoon storm?  These aren't ordinary boys.  They consist of a star athlete, an academic overachiever, a bully, the king of detention, a rocker who plays air guitar like a pro, and the new kid who spent his first day of school sleeping behind the stage in the auditorium.  As they joke around with each other, bring out each other's strengths and weaknesses, they bond together to become a group of friends.  The dialog is witty and fast-paced - which brings readers to the second half of the book which is a repeat of the story written as a play.  Great for reader's theater or an example of script writing.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI