Oatmeal on a Stick

Timothy Bodacious Cartwright has finally made it to fifth grade.

Probably.

Maybe.

First he has to survive the most horriblest, baddest first day in the history of forever.

Timmy is ten years old, wildly confident, and absolutely certain he knows what is going on. Unfortunately, he is usually wrong. A mysterious school letter convinces him he failed fourth grade. Missing the bus might cost him his fifth-grade desk. A beginning-of-year assessment looks suspiciously like an elimination exam. His permanent record might be almost full. And every time Timmy becomes completely certain that disaster is coming, he does something to prevent it.

That is usually when the real disaster begins.

Making matters worse is Sweetie, a coal-black cat with glowing green eyes, razor-sharp claws, and a name that might be the biggest case of false advertising in Jinx Elementary history. Sweetie follows Timmy everywhere, causes chaos at exactly the wrong moment, and somehow disappears whenever an adult arrives. Meanwhile, school bully Bradley Buford keeps feeding Timmy terrifying new information about fifth grade, Timmy's best friend Pip keeps trying to explain why none of it makes sense, and Jessica Harper Anne keeps asking the one question Timmy really wishes she would not ask.

Before the final bell rings, Timmy must survive a runaway cat, a classroom disaster, a suspicious test, a trip to the principal's office, an embarrassing tofu lunch, a completely fake playground challenge, and the horrifying possibility that maybe Bradley is right about one thing.

Maybe Timmy does not belong in fifth grade after all.

Packed with kid-sized worries, outrageous misunderstandings, friendship, school chaos, bully trouble, and one unforgettable cat, Oatmeal on a Stick is a fast, funny chapter book for kids ages 8 to 10 who love ridiculous adventures, big laughs, and heroes who somehow make every problem worse before making it better.

Because fifth grade is hard.

Especially when your lunch comes on a stick.