With honesty, humor, and empathy, these stories forthrightly capture the unique joys and concerns of growing up.

Contents:

• Who's Afraid? by Philippa Pearce
• The TV Star by Judy Blume (from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing)
• Bilgewater (an extract) by Jane Gardam
• The Day It Rained Cockroaches by Paul Zindel (from The Pigman and Me)
• The Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield
• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 (an extract) by Sue Townsend
• Little By Little (an extract) by Jean Little
• Sam's Storm by Betsy Byars
• Anne's History by L.M. Montgomery (from Anne of Green Gables)
• May I Have Your Autograph? by Marjorie Sharmat
• Dear Bruce Springsteen by Kevin Major
• Reverdy by Jessamyn West
• The Cement Truck by Laurence Lasky
• The Evacuees by Nina Bawden (from Carrie's War)
• Catalog Cats by Ann Cameron
• Stray by Cynthia Rylant
• The Stolen Bicycle by William Saroyan
• The General Sees Active Service by Ethel Turner (from Seven Little Australians)
• I Spy by Graham Greene
• A Terrible Announcement by Lynne Reid Banks (from One More River)
• The Red Pony (an extract) by John Steinbeck
• Our Field by Mrs. Ewing
• Lion By Moonlight by Richard Parker (from Lion at Large)
• Daddy-Long-Legs (an extract) by Jean Webster
• President Cleveland, Where Are You? by Robert Cormier
• The Golden Darters by Elizabeth Winthrop
• Goat's Tobacco by Roald Dahl (from Boy: Tales of Childhood)
• The Ladder by V.S. Pritchett
• Acknowledgments