A Week in the Woods

Mark didn't ask to move to New Hampshire. Or to go to a hick school like Hardy Elementary. And he certainly didn't request Mr. Maxwell as his teacher. Mr. Maxwell doesn't like rich kids, or slackers, or know-it-alls. And he's decided that Mark is all of those things. Now the whole school is headed out for a week of camping -- Hardy's famous Week in the Woods. At first it sounds dumb, but then Mark begins to open up to life in the country, and he decides it might be okay to learn something new. It might even be fun. But things go all wrong for Mark. The Week in the Woods is not what anyone planned. Especially not Mr. Maxwell. With his uncanny knack to reach right to the heart of kids, Andrew Clements asks -- and answers -- questions about first impressions, fairness, loyalty, and courage -- and exactly what it takes to spend a Week in the Woods.

Andrew Clements is the award-winning author of picture books, chapter books, and five best-selling books for middle-graders, Frindle, The Landry News, The Janitor's Boy, The School Story, and The Jacket. Frindle has won sixteen state book awards, as well as the Christopher Medal. Mr. Clements taught in the public schools near Chicago for seven years before moving east to begin a career in publishing. Now a full-time writer, he lives in central Massachusetts with his wife and their four children.