Charise Mericle Harper

Count on third-grader Grace to cook up a creative compromise just in time to save the day at the cupcake-themed school fair.

Grace can do a lot of things...but can she save the planet? Or at the very least, can she help her best friend Mimi get her favorite stuffed animal back? Lots of exciting things are happening to Grace and her friends. Most exciting of all, Mimi's older cousin Gwen is coming to stay with Mimi, and Miss Lois's class is going green! For their "green" project, Grace and Mimi aim to inspire their friends and classmates to conserve plastic bottles. But...

As Grace and her classmates study foods from other cultures, she has the opportunity to ponder such mysteries as whether Owen 1 is really bad or not, why she feels jealous when her father helps her best friend with her hot dog report, and how Augustine Dupre, her family's French boarder, can be so wise.

"There's a new crossing guard in town named Marie who needs a bit of help making friends, a fun substitute teacher for Miss Lois, and most exciting, Grace and Mimi are going to have their own table at the craft fair"--

When her teacher announces that the class will be putting on a play, Grace hopes she will win the part of the forest fairy queen.