Finn has a plan for his summer vacation. He is going to stay home with his dog, read, and talk to as few people as possible. In fact, he has made it a goal to talk to fewer than a dozen people the whole summer. People stress Finn out and after a whole school year, he’s had it.

But Finn makes an exception for his new neighbor Johanna. She’s a college girl, she’s friendly, she’s beautiful. She’s also completely bald. They day they meet she explains, “I lost my hair during chemo.” And the conversation that follows is nothing like Finn would have expected. It’s honest, but it isn’t awkward. Johanna declares that she wants Finn’s signature in her notebook. He wants to know why.

Because everyday in my journal I write down the best thing that’s happened to me. Today it’s you. When Johanna said that, I felt light, warm in that spot just above my stomach where it usually fells clenched and tight.

This is a really terrific story about a friendship that a person didn’t expect. Johanna, who seems to need so much help and support, ends up providing those things to Finn…making both of their lives better and more fun as a result. Johanna shows Finn that limiting yourself to just 12 people in a whole summer is clearly not nearly enough. Author: Gary Paulsen

• Look Inside Notes from the Dog
• Read Chapter One Notes from the Dog
• Google Books Notes from the Dog

Lemonade Day is a free, Indianapolis -wide program that teaches kids how to start, own and operate their own business – a lemonade stand. Each kid who registers will receive a bright yellow backpack - inside is everything you need to prepare for Lemonade Day. It’s easy to sign up, here’s how:

1. Pair Up: You must have a “caring adult” - that could be a parent, grandparent, older sibling or other responsible adult.

2. Register: Sign up online. You have to have an adult for this.

3. Pick Up Your Backpack: Backpack Pick-Up Locations (Indianapolis-Marion County Library Branches are on the list!)

4. Prepare for Lemonade Day: When you get your backpack, you’ll find two workbooks: one for you and one for the adult working with you. Spend the next few weeks - at your own pace - working through these lessons about starting, owning and operating a business.

These library branches are having programs to help you get started:

• Business Plans 101 for Kids Lawrence Library Saturday, April 3, 2010 @ 3:30pm This program presented by Oogles ‘n Googles will introduce kids to entrepreneurship.

• Lemonade Day Activities Central Library Monday, April 5, 2010 anytime from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm A variety of activities to help kids learn about this fun entrepreneurial opportunity.

• Lemonade Day: Design a Lemonade Sign East 38th Street Branch Saturday, April 10, 2010 @ 2:00pm Get ready for Lemonade Day on May 2nd by learning how to design a sign for your lemonade stand.

6. Set Up Your Stand on May 2nd: Check the Lemonade Day Indianapolis Official Website. That site will be posting information about other places (in addition to your neighborhood) where you can set up your stand, so be sure to re-visit their web site in the coming days…..On May 2nd, you’ll be one of thousands of kids across the Greater Indianapolis Area selling lemonade - think about how to stand out from your competitors and have a blast…and make some summer spending money!

Exclusive Video: Safety Patrol Clip
Exclusive Video: Sweet Takedown Clip

Today’s live chat will feature:

Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

 Zachary Gordon, the kid who plays Greg in the movie

• WHEN: TODAY Tuesday, March 16, 2010 5:30-6:15 PM E.T. (Indianapolis is E.T.) (2:30-3:15 PM P.T.)
  WHERE: Go to Live Diary of a Wimpy Kid Chat
  TOPIC: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie!
• While you’re waiting Wimp Yourself Out
• Official Website Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie
• Play the Cheese Touch Game

And don’t forget to put The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary on hold. It hasn’t quite arrived yet it is so brand new, but as of this second 23 kids are in line ahead of you! Put your request in today! The Wimpy Kid author, Jeff Kinney, tells all about how his books about Greg were made into a movie.

Manhattan born Penny finds herself transplanted for the summer to tiny Hog’s Hollow, New York right before her Freshman year. This is the Hog’s Hollow where they actually crown a Hog Queen. Penny figures she’ll just lay low and wait it out. At the end of the summer she’ll return to her friends and her real life in Manhattan.

But Penny’s mom has a different plan. She decides to stay in Hog’s Hollow and open up a bakery, which puts Penny’s Freshman year at Hog’s Hollow High School. It also makes Penny wonder about her family. Her Dad is still in New York. How is this going to work?

…I kept thinking about what my dad had said. Everything was going to be fine. And I realized maybe that’s all we can hope for from life: fine. Not happy, not good, but just fine. And in my case “fine” is an acronym for Freakin’ Irrational Nightmare Existence.

When Penny helps her mom deliver cupcakes to the birthday party of the most popular girl in Hog’s Hollow, she is witness to a mishap involving the refreshment table and the birthday girl, who happens to be standing next to it.

She ends up wearing a dozen or more cupcakes like a hat while half a dozen more slide slowly down the front of her dress.

Miss Popular decides to blame Penny and is determined to make Penny’s life at school living misery. One prank after another leaves Penny felling humiliated, angry and lonely. Enter Tally, an independent free-spirit who cooks up a plan to exact some justice for all the humiliation Penny has endured. “Trust me,” she says. Penny does, and this begins a friendship that just might save Penny from her Freakin’ Irrational Nightmare Existence. And the cute guy on the beach with the dog named Sam, he might help too.

This is a great story about a kid negotiating changes in life that are beyond her control and coming to grips with how she is going to react to those changes. Sometimes grownups make choices, and the kids just have to deal with it. Penny’s friend Tally brings self-confidence and comedy to an otherwise difficult situation. Tally brings the idea of possibilities to Penny. Penny is so focused on the things she has lost, she almost misses some wonderful things that are right in front of her face… like new friends and the cute guy on the beach with the dog named Sam. Author: Heather Hepler

This one gets two thumbs up from blog commenter Foo: If you like stories about romance and friendship and school drama you should totally check out “The Cupcake Queen” or “Forget me not.” They are both very good.

• Look Inside The Cupcake Queen
• Heather Hepler Official Website
• Create Your Own Cupcake E-Card

If you like The Cupcake Queen here are some more books about kids like Penny who face the changes that happen in their lives with a little anger, a little anxiety, a little humor and with some good friends…just like in real life.