Perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Emmie & Friends, this first book in a diary-style illustrated middle grade series follows an anxious, science-minded sixth grader determined to become fun and win back her friend. Sixth grade has been pretty disaster-free for aspiring astronaut Maple McNutt—which is impressive, given the number of worries and possible catastrophes that run through her head every day. (So far, Earth hasn’t been devoured by a black hole and a cockroach hasn’t crawled out of her toothpaste mid-squeeze. Phew!) But then her best friend of seven-point-two years, Sunny Gwon, accuses her of being unfun and starts hanging around with a new group of friends. In order to win Sunny back, Maple decides to undergo a serious scientific transformation to become fun by 1. Doing extensive research, 2. Applying research to self, and and 3. Repeating until fun. It’s risky and groundbreaking research, but Maple has no choice if she wants to save her friendship. "The chatty tone, inviting layout, and humorous voice will draw readers in and keep them entertained... Likely to inspire fun and creativity." -- Kirkus Reviews "Via Maple’s journal—rendered in prose bursting with personality—debut creators McMillan and Prillaman tenderly balance Maple’s fears of losing a friend with outrageously silly scenes, inventions, and dialogue. Simple b&w cartoon-style illustrations permeate a heartfelt series opener that accentuates the joy of experimentation as experienced by winning, memorable characters." -- Publishers Weekly Kate McMillan grew up in Houston, Texas, illustrating and writing stories in the world’s tiniest font. She studied architecture at Yale and boatbuilding in Norway before making her way to Los Angeles to start a career as a concept artist in animation. She has worked for studios including DreamWorks and Disney TV, where she gets to make up worlds every day. In her free time, she enjoys building furniture, scouring the sidewalks of LA for scraps to build said furniture, and drawing wobbly buildings that look like they might fall down. Ruthie Prillaman is a writer and musician from Potomac, Maryland. After a childhood full of reading books and playing in extremely niche rock bands, Ruthie studied English at Yale and received her MFA in screenwriting from University of Southern California. Since completing her studies, her creative career has spanned theater, documentary, classical music, opera, and film. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she writes for television. Outside of work, she enjoys sewing new clothes, writing music with her brother, and cooking Hungarian goulash in her traditional goulash pot. 1. Saturday, 5:28 p.m. Saturday, 5:28 p.m. Space Center Houston: front lawn. There’s a 99% chance that today will be the BEST day of my life. In T-minus 62 minutes, my best friend, Sunny, and I will be shaking hands with a real NASA astronaut. And not just any astronaut but objectively the coolest, smartest, most competent astronaut who has ever existed on Earth (I can’t speak for undiscovered exoplanets): Inspiring and informative fact #1: Jackie Grand has piloted 11 space flights, completed 7 space walks, and collected over ONE THOUSAND intergalactic dust particles. She’s signing autographs at the NASA Fun Fair for a whole 45 MINUTES, even though she definitely has a jam-packed training schedule before her next mission. Inspiring and informative fact #2: Jackie Grand 3D-printed the first pizza in space. Flavor: cheese. I know that if I don’t have an airtight plan, I’m going to say something stupid in front of Jackie, or worse, freeze up and say nothing at all like I sometimes often do. Fortunately, Sunny and I came up with Operation Airtight Plan, which is just our way of saying we wrote a speech in advance. Well, I guess I wrote all of it, but the point is, we’re going to say it together. OPERATION AIRTIGHT PLAN (DO NOT THROW AWAY) Sunny: Greetings. Jackie Grand. (Shake hand.) My name is Sunny Gwon, and this is my bes+ friend and scientific collaborator: Maple: Maple McNutt. Sunny: It is an honor and a privilege to stand in your presence. Maple wants you to know that you are pretty much the entire reason that she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. find why she has attempted multiple times to make a pizza on her dad’s 3D printer. Maple: It’s true. Sunny: Maple also wants you to know that she watched your ScienceRocksRadio interview on YouTube, and it inspired her to request a journal EXACTLY like yours for Christmas, which she received. It even has graph paper like yours, which is essential for recording FACTS. Maple: find drawing ACCURATE diagrams. Sunny: I would be honored if you would give me a high five so that I may high-five a hand that has gone to space. Maple: Whereas I would be honored if you would please sign your autograph right here very neatly. Sunny and Maple: Thank you. (Hand over journal.) I feel way better about the speech