Publisher Description

It's the first real dance at school, but none of the boys want to go to a fancy formal. Claudia realizes that they have to make the dance fun for everybody. She comes up with a great idea. It won't just be a dance, it'll be an adventure, complete with prizes.

Author Biography

Brann Garvey lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife, Keegan, their dog, Lola, and their very fat cat, Iggy. Brann graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He later attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he studied illustration. In his free time, Brann enjoys being with his family and friends. He brings his sketchbook everywhere he goes. Diane G. Gallagher lives in Florida with her husband, Marty Burke, five dogs, three cats, and a cranky parrot. A professional folk musician in the 1970s, Gallagher also wrote songs and dabbled in whimsical fantasy art in the 1980s. She is best known for her hand-colored print series, "Woof: The House Dragon", and she won a Hugo for Best Fan Artist 1988. "The Alien Dark" (TSR1990) was her first published novel. Gallagher has written over 70 titles, including books in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Charmed", Smallville", and "Star Trek" series.

Table of Contents

Anna's bad idea -- The breaker -- The boy's won't go -- One way or the other -- Fling flop -- Search for a solution -- Swing vote -- A few little glitches -- Too many left feet -- More decisions -- Final details -- Dance challenge -- Brad jitters -- Save the last dance -- P.S.

Review

Claudia Cristina Cortez is a single-minded seventh grader. In Camp Can't, she is determined to become a junior counselor. She is great at managing bratty kids, peers, icky bugs, and her friend's fear of horses, but she really struggles on the long swim. Through ingenuity and perseverance, she achieves her goal. "Claudia's Camp Survival Tips" are interspersed throughout the narrative. In Dance Trap, she is on the committee to plan the first seventh-grade dance and immediately runs into trouble as popular Anna wants a fancy formal that boys wouldn't attend. She creates a theme around her brother's hot new video game, works really hard, and helps produce a fantastic event that everyone loves. Fans of TV shows like Hanna Montana or That's So Raven will relate to these short novels. The texts have many formatting and font variations, as well as some graphic doodles. There are decorated chapter headings and black-and-white head shots of the various characters to break up the writing. Readers can refer to the four pages of "Cast of Characters" at the beginning of each book to see who is friend or foe. Discussion questions and writing prompts appear at the end. With their open format and short chapters, these titles are perfect hi/lo books for middle school girls. -Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI-- "School Library Journal"

Review Quote

Claudia Cristina Cortez is a single-minded seventh grader. In Camp Can't, she is determined to become a junior counselor. She is great at managing bratty kids, peers, icky bugs, and her friend's fear of horses, but she really struggles on the long swim. Through ingenuity and perseverance, she achieves her goal. "Claudia's Camp Survival Tips" are interspersed throughout the narrative. In Dance Trap, she is on the committee to plan the first seventh-grade dance and immediately runs into trouble as popular Anna wants a fancy formal that boys wouldn't attend. She creates a theme around her brother's hot new video game, works really hard, and helps produce a fantastic event that everyone loves. Fans of TV shows like Hanna Montana or That's So Raven will relate to these short novels. The texts have many formatting and font variations, as well as some graphic doodles. There are decorated chapter headings and black-and-white head shots of the various characters to break up the writing. Readers can refer to the four pages of "Cast of Characters" at the beginning of each book to see who is friend or foe. Discussion questions and writing prompts appear at the end. With their open format and short chapters, these titles are perfect hi/lo books for middle school girls. -Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI

Description for Library

As a member of the seventh-grade dance committee, Claudia tries to find a way to convince the boys to attend the dance, which she knows they will not do if Anna, another committee member, gets her way and makes the event semi-formal.

Details