Just how humdrum is 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick's life right now? So humdrum that he sets out to measure which January day will be the most boring. So humdrum that Jack and Bee succeed in getting him to try some weird hobbies. So humdrum that his recurring Hawaiian dream has become way more enticing than real life. So humdrum that even unathletic Aldo agrees to downhill ski with his superjock brother, Timothy -- and finds that hotdogging it on the slopes can be hazardous to your health. The humorous plot and lively drawings in this book will captivate enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike. This eighth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging "H words," such as harbinger, hyperbole, and hogwash.

As summer draws to a close, 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick travels to the Anderson farm in Minnesota for a family vacation. Aldo's mom is eager for him to experience her favorite childhood pastimes such as shucking sweet corn, milking cows, gathering eggs--and best of all--enjoying fresh air and living off the land. But Aldo suspects that farm life isn't all it's cracked up to be, and his worst fears are confirmed. The rooster wakes him at dawn, the chores exhaust him, and the cousins--identical twin pranksters--are in cahoots against him. Even the creepy old portrait of his great-grandfather seems to be watching these shenanigans from the frame on the wall. Aldo must endure all this without the consolation of TV or computers, because the farm is (gasp ) technology free. The humorous plot turns and lively drawings in this book will captivate both enthusiastic and reluctant young readers. This third installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series features a vocabulary-building glossary of cool words starting with the letter C, including conniption, charisma, and cattywampus.

In their final month of elementary school, 11-year-old Aldo Zelnick and friends are faced with a series of Lasts: Last Cafeteria Meatloaf; Last Band Concert; Last Monkey Bars Fail. Blindsided by an uncharacteristic sense of loss, Aldo decides to bag some new Firsts—including putting himself out there for the 5th grade talent show—only to be beset by a series of logjams. This twelfth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging "L" words, such as lackadaisical, loony, and limbo..

Cue the trumpets! As the legendary 5th grade medieval banquet at Dana Elementary nears, 11-year-old Aldo Zelnick and his friends Jack and Bee develop knight fever, don homemade armor, and undertake quests as simple as cleaning up trash in the neighborhood park, as chivalrous as helping a family in a financial pinch, and as heroic as confronting a new kid with knavish intentions. Meanwhile, Easter is also coming, and Aldo keeps catching glimpses of a fluffy white tail...This eleventh installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging "K words," such as klutz, kowtow, and keister.

If there's a more inopportune date for an elementary school boy to have a birthday than February 14th, Aldo Zelnick wants to know what it is. With his 11th birthday--and Valentine's Day--fast approaching, Aldo plans a guys-only party with absolutely no pink, lace, or hearts, thank you very much. But what will happen if the girls, who all seem to have a crush on Aldo's friend, Danny, crash the party? In this story, told in part by Aldo's friend-who-happens-to-be-a-girl, Bee, Aldo learns early that love means always having to say you're sorry. The humorous plot and lively drawings in this laugh-out-loud book will captivate enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike. This ninth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging "I words," such as inkling, irk, and impervious.