Book cover for The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class Collection: Books 1-6 by Kate Messner, Rajani LaRocca, Karina Yan Glaser, William Alexander, Eliot Schrefer and Kekla Magoon
2025 Released
768 Pages
4-5 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
Paperback Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersISBN 9781523531479

Ready? Okay! It's time for school at the brand new Curiosity Academy, and there's a certain third grade classroom that stands out from the rest. It's got a cool teacher named Mrs. Z, who wears high-tops and science earrings, and is full of unique classmates from all over Peppermint Falls, who all have a secret.

Emma just wants to makes friends at her new school, but an old friend-turned-enemy might ruin her chance at a fresh start. Rohan opens a pet care company to raise money for a school garden, but it's hard to care for pets when you've never done it before and might be a little afraid of them! Poppy tries out a new candy recipe for her class, but she's distracted by her grandma, who's suddenly forgetting things she used to know by heart. Memo is thrilled to be going to a sci-fi fantasy convention with his friend, but his Spanish-speaking abuela has to take them there and Memo doesn't speak Spanish. In a crowded space with no way to talk to each other, nothing could go wrong, right? Wyatt usually keeps to himself and chats with his best friend, Lizzie, who happens to be a stuffed lizard. But as he's growing older, is it still okay for him to bring Lizzie to school? What if someone sees? And lastly, when Mrs. Z's class is getting ready for a variety show, Ayana, who likes blending into the background, is having enough trouble deciding what she could perform center stage when she realizes her loud, bad-joke-telling, all-eyes-on-me dad is a variety show volunteer! Will she ever figure out her performance when she's feeling this embarrassed by her dad?

Join the kids in Mrs. Z's class in these six exciting tales of friendship and family, which can be read in any order you choose!

  • Emma McKenna, Full Out
  • Rohan Murthy Has a Plan
  • Poppy Song Bakes a Way
  • The Legend of Memo Castillo
  • Wyatt Hill's Best Friend Is a Lizard
  • Ayana Ndoum Takes the Stage

Rajani LaRocca

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in Massachusetts, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor–winning novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of novels and picture books, fiction and nonfiction, in prose and poetry. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, she lives outside Boston with her family. Visit her at rajanilarocca.com.

More by Rajani LaRocca

Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser is the author of the Newbery Honor-winning and New York Times bestselling The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli, the bestselling Vanderbeekers series, and the stand-alone novel A Duet for Home, which has been nominated for more than a dozen state awards. A former middle school teacher and contributing editor at Book Riot, Karina lives in Harlem, New York City, with her husband, two teens, and an assortment of pets and houseplants. One of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book.

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Eliot Schrefer

Eliot Schrefer is the New York Times bestselling author of many books for kids and teens, including The Darkness Outside Us and its sequel, The Brightness Between Us, as well as Charming Young Man, Endangered, Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality, and the picture book Lulu and the Others. His books have twice been named finalists for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and have garnered a Printz Honor, a Stonewall Honor, and the Green Earth Book Award. He is on the faculty of the creative writing MFA program at Hamline University and lives with his husband in New York City. Visit him online at eliotschrefer.com.

More by Eliot Schrefer

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