Kelsey Green is the best reader in the third grade--well, maybe tied for best with know-it-all Simon Ellis. When the principal Mr. Boone announces a school-wide reading contest, complete with a pizza party for the winning class and a special certificate for the top readers in each grade, she knows she's just the person to lead Mrs. Molina's third graders to victory. But how can they win when her classmate Cody Harmon doesn't want to read anything, and even Kelsey's best friends Annika and Izzy don't live up to her expectations? And could Simon possibly be reading all of those books that he claims he is, or is he lying to steal Kelsey's rightful spot at the top? Kelsey Green, Reading Queen is the first book in Claudia Mills's Franklin School Friends series. “This new series shows a lot of promise.” ― Kirkus Reviews “First in a new series, the chapter book explores Mills's favorite subject--everyday life with a side of ethical examination.” ― The Horn Book “Sure to be enjoyed by fans of Clementine, Ivy and Bean, and Judy Moody.” ― School Library Journal Claudia Mills is the acclaimed author of many books for children including the Franklin School Friends children's book series, including Cody Harmon, King of Pets and Simon Ellis, Spelling Bee Champ . She lives in Boulder, Colorado. Rob Shepperson is a popular editorial artist for many newspapers and magazines. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Kelsey Green, Reading Queen By Mills Claudia, Shepperson Rob, Claudia Mills, Rob Shepperson Square Fish Copyright © 2014 Mills Claudia All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-250-03405-2 Excerpt 1   Kelsey Green no longer heard any of the voices in her third-grade classroom. All her attention was focused on the book spread open beneath her desk. Would the old key that had been buried in the earth for the last ten years open the locked door to the hidden garden? Drawing in her breath, Kelsey waited as the key fitted into the keyhole. The key turned. Then with a squeak, the door opened slowly … slowly. “Kelsey!” The sound of her name startled her. The voice was cross, as if it had been calling her name without success for some time. She looked up from The Secret Garden . Mrs. Molina was glaring at her from the front of the classroom. “Kelsey, the rest of us are focusing on page 163 in our math books. The rest of us are not staring down at our laps lost in a daydream. The rest of us are doing fractions.” Kelsey felt sorry for the rest of them. But now she also felt sorry for herself. She knew Mrs. Molina was waiting for her to turn her full attention to her math book—the one book in the whole world that Kelsey did not love, or even like, but actually hated. “Question fourteen,” Mrs. Molina said. “What is one-eighth plus one-eighth?” Kelsey had no idea. She wasn’t completely sure what an eighth was. Luckily, one of her two best friends, Annika Riz, sat right behind her. Annika whispered the answer, loud enough that Kelsey could hear, but not loud enough that Mrs. Molina could hear. “Two-eighths,” Kelsey said. “And two-eighths reduces to?” Annika whispered the answer again. “One-fourth,” Kelsey said. Next to her, Kelsey’s other best friend, Izzy Barr, started to giggle, but stopped herself in time. Both Kelsey and Izzy were glad to be best friends with the third-grade math queen. Izzy would rather be out running than doing math. Kelsey would rather be reading than doing math. Annika loved math the way that Izzy loved running and Kelsey loved reading. Mrs. Molina shot Kelsey a suspicious look, but called on someone else for question fifteen. With Mrs. Molina’s attention directed elsewhere, Kelsey allowed herself to glance down at the book on her lap and finish the next few lines. Mary Lennox was finally standing inside the secret garden at Misselthwaite Manor! Kelsey didn’t dare turn the page to start the next chapter. Instead, she listened as Simon Ellis got question sixteen right; Simon was good at everything. And as Cody Harmon got question seventeen wrong; Cody was bad at everything, or at least bad at math, spelling, reading, writing, science, and social studies. Just as someone else was trying to answer question eighteen, the classroom door opened. In came the principal, Mr. Boone. Mrs. Molina’s voice turned friendlier as she welcomed him into the room. She saved her stern, math-fact-quizzing voice for her third graders. But even though her voice sounded friendlier, her face didn’t look any friendlier. Mr. Boone settled himself on Mrs. Molina’s desk. Kelsey could tell from the way Mrs. Molina snatched a stack of papers out of his way that she didn’t approve of principals sitting on teachers’ desks. Mr. Boone was large, and he took up a lot of room. Mrs. Molina moved her coffee cup far away. The best thing about Mr. Boone was his big, booming laugh. Kelsey had never been sent to the principal’s office; she wondered if Mr. Boone laughed even when naughty kids were sent to him for tal