A fast, fun, friendship read from the Newbery-award winning author of Maniac Magee.Fourth graders are tough.They aren't afraid of spiders.They say no to their moms.They push first graders off the swings.And they never, ever cry.Suds knows that now that he's in fourth grade, he's supposed to be a rat.But whenever he tries to act like one, something goes wrong.Can Suds's friend Joey teach him to toughen up...or will Suds remain a fourth grade wimp?

Jerry Spinelli won the Newbery Medal in 1991 for Maniac Magee, one of his more than 25 acclaimed books for young readers. He now lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Eileen Spinelli, who is also an author of children's books.