The double-digit club
(Book)

Marion Dane Bauer has written a wide range of books for young people, including picture books, easy readers, novelty books, and middle grade novels. The many awards she has won include the Newbery Honor Award for her novel On My Honor, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award for her novel Rain of Fire, and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for the body of her work. A native mid-westerner, she lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Nine-year-old Sarah is excited about summer vacation, but she faces unexpected crises when her best friend Paige becomes old enough to join a local girls' clique, and when she makes choices which affect her relationship with an elderly blind neighbor. This summer nine-year-old Sarah is dreading the first day of summer vacation. It will be her best friend's birthday, and stuck-up Valerie Miller will ask Paige to join her silly Double-Digit Club, a group that ignores girls who are not ten yet. If Paige says yes, Sarah will have no friends for the whole summer because her birthday isn't until the end of August. Even though Sarah and Paige have promised to be "last, best, and only friends, " Sarah is not sure Paige will be able to pass up the chance to be accepted by the most popular girls in school. In this heartfelt novel, a girl discovers the meaning of true and honest friendship and learns to face the future as a wiser and more open person.

Ages: 008-012.