Most Popular Books by Dan Gutman

With over 10 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! The ability to put thoughts into writing is an essential skill vital to success in school—from elementary school through college. Bestselling author Dan Gutman helps kids master this important skill with his fun, informative writing guide, My Weird Writing Tips. Dan offers tricks for spelling hard words, understanding the difference between similar words like “its” and “it’s,” and conquering grammar stumbling blocks like commas and apostrophes. He also teaches readers how to write an engaging story, in line with the grades 2–5 Common Core goals for writing a narrative. With illustrated appearances from A.J. and Andrea, stars of his bestselling My Weird School series, and with his trademark wacky sense of humor, Dan makes learning the writing and storytelling basics so fun kids will forget they’re learning.

"The Way Baseball Works will change the way you view America's national pastime. By breaking baseball down into its integral parts, the book explains the importance of each to the whole through minute analysis and highly detailed visuals. Veteran baseball writer Dan Gutman answers the big questions and then opens your eyes to elements you hadn't even imagined. Not just a simple how-to book, The Way Baseball Works covers all the bases, including equipment: how the tools of the game - the bat, ball, glove, mask, and so many more - were born, how they developed, and how they influenced the game; strategy: how the manger makes decisions, what each player is thinking as the pitcher goes into his windup, the psychological warfare that goes on in the confrontation between hitter and pitcher; and playing the game: how the fastball, curver, splitter, slider and knuckler are thrown, and what a batter can do to hit them. The beauty of the double play. The art of the stolen base." "Through photos, charts, and computer-generated graphics, this fascinating and instructive book will deepen every fan's understanding and appreciation of the game. Created in conjunction with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The Way Baseball Works carries the mark of one of America's most venerable institutions and the world's best source for baseball knowledge."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Children's author and lifelong baseball fan Dan Gutman recounts how he himself was actually the hero in the New York Mets' miraculous defeat of the Boston Red Sox in Game Six of the 1986 World Series—the infamous Bill Buckner game. This short story from the collection Guys Read: The Sports Pages is a winner.

Think fast with A.J. and Andrea from My Weird School! Did you know that ancient Egyptians treated infections by putting moldy bread on them? Did you know that ancient Roman workers would stomp around barefoot in big tubs filled with urine to clean their clothes? Learn more weird-but-true ancient history facts with A.J. and Andrea from Dan Gutman’s bestselling My Weird School series. This highly illustrated series of nonfiction books features hundreds of hysterical facts, plus lots of photos and illustrations. Whether you’re a kid who wants to learn more about ancient history or simply someone who wants to know what came out of the very first vending machine, this is the book for you! With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In the seventeenth book in the My Weird School series, Miss Suki is a famous children's book author—and she's coming to A.J.'s school! She lives in the rainforest and writes about endangered animals. But when her pet raptor gets loose in the classroom, it's the kids who are going to be endangered! Yikes! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

Never before has school been this mixed up—or this much fun! Principal Klutz was hanging upside down from the school flagpole! He kissed a pig on the lips and painted his bald head orange! And now he wants to bungee jump off the roof of the school dressed as Santa Claus!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this fifteenth book in the My Weird School series, it's Presidents' Day! And Mr. Macky, the reading specialist, actually expects A.J. and his friends to read stuff about the presidents! Not only that, but he lives in a log cabin and thinks he's Abraham Lincoln! Is he for real? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In the second book in My Weird School Daze—the hilarious second arc of the My Weird School series—A.J. is taking a much-needed summer vacation with his family. But all bets are off when Andrea and her family rent the beach house next door. Not even the funny beach lifeguard Mr. Sunny can save them from this weird summer! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's insanely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With his ability to travel through time using vintage baseball cards, Joe takes Flip with him to find out whether Satchel Paige really was the fastest pitcher ever.

The most exciting road trip in history continues! In this fourth book in the thrilling, New York Times bestselling adventure series, twelve-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald discover that everything really is bigger in Texas—including the danger! After their explosive escape at Graceland, twins Coke and Pepsi are ready to resume their trip across America—only now in a convertible instead of the RV. They travel through Arkansas and Oklahoma, visiting weird-but-true tourist stops along the way, and finally end up in Texas, home of the Weird Capital of the Country, Austin. The twins' many enemies—the bowler dudes, Mrs. Higgins, and Dr. Warsaw—all swear that they're done chasing Coke and Pepsi for good. But when the twins start receiving more codes and ciphers from a mysterious robotic voice, they know someone's after them. They just have to figure out who before the mystery villain finds them first. With Dan Gutman’s laugh-out-loud humor and featuring photos and weird-but-true American tourist destinations like the Museum of Weird, The Genius Files is a one-of-a-kind mix of geography and fun. Don't miss the next action-packed book, The Genius Files #5: License to Thrill!

With more than 30 million books sold, My Weird School really gets kids reading! In the very first book in the laugh-out-loud My Weirdest School series, A.J.'s third-grade teacher at Ella Mentry School, Mr. Granite, is retiring after a million hundred years. It turns out the new teacher, Mr. Cooper, is even weirder than Mr. Granite! One day he's Rat Man and he teaches about rodents. The next day he's Lava Man and he teaches about volcanoes. But what happens when the school is threatened by a supervillain and a real superhero is needed? Will Mr. Cooper protect the school from evil, or just embarrass it to death? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don’t miss any of the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang—from Weird, to Weirder, to Weirder-est!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this tenth book in the bestselling My Weird School series, A.J. and his friends at Ella Mentry School are getting a new science teacher! His name is Mr. Docker, and he’s clearly a mad scientist. He does nutty experiments and has a demented, cackling laugh. Plus, he invented a car that runs on potatoes! Something weird is going on. Is Mr. Docker trying to take over the world? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 34 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! The Ella Mentry School students are in for a wacky summer camp experience in this exciting My Weird School Special from New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman and veteran illustrator Jim Paillot. School’s out for summer! A.J. can’t wait to spend his days playing video games, watching TV, and forgetting everything he learned during the school year. But when his parents announce they’ve signed him up for sleepaway camp, his great plans slip away right before his eyes. Now he’s stuck at Camp Ahdoanwanna with his friends. Between the mosquitoes and bees, animals that break into the cabins, and a moose head that guards the mail, this is definitely one weird camp. Will A.J. and the gang end up having a good time, or will this just be a bummer in the summer? With Dan Gutman’s signature kid-friendly sense of humor and Jim Paillot’s fun illustrations, this is one silly sleepaway camp special you won’t want to miss—featuring bonus trivia, games, puzzles, and more!

An award-winning author tells the story of how young Jackie Robinson struggles with being in his older brother's shadow--until he picks up a baseball bat. Full color.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In the third book of the original My Weird School series, the new librarian Mrs. Roopy might be A.J.'s craziest teacher yet! Before class begins, they find her dressed first as President George Washington and then Little Miss Muffet. And Mrs. Roopy won't even admit that it's her! Can A.J. and his class help their very troubled librarian before she does something really wacky? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s insanely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don’t miss any of the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang—from Weird, to Weirder, to Weirder-est! This chapter book is an excellent choice to share with children ages 6 to 10 who are ready to read independently.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this seventh book in the My Weird School series, A.J. has his first crush! And it’s on the school nurse, Mrs. Cooney. She is the most beautiful and nicest lady in the history of the world. But are her charms just a cover for her secret identity as an international spy? Will A.J.'s love for Mrs. Cooney win out over his love for America? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 12 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! Hip, hop, hooray! Its Easter, and this year Mayor Hubble is hosting an Easter egg roll and a special egg hunt at the mayor’s mansion. And A.J. and the gang are invited! But when Mayor Hubble reveals that the prize golden egg has a thousand dollars inside it, the egg hunt becomes a wacky free-for-all with a photo finish. Bestselling author Dan Gutman brings his kid-friendly sense of humor to this special series of after-school holiday-themed chapter books featuring hilarious stories and thirty-two pages of games, puzzles, and more. This is one weird Easter special you won’t want to miss!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! It’s Mischief Night in this thirteenth book in the My Weird School series! Ella Mentry School’s secretary, Mrs. Patty, gives out the best Halloween candy in the history of the world! So A.J. decides to go to her home for more! The only problem is that her house is haunted! People say she's a witch and her husband is a ghost. Is it worth A.J.'s risking his life for the best candy ever? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this eighth book in the My Weird School series, Ms. LaGrange talks funny, and she's from some other country called France! She thinks the vomitorium is a fancy restaurant! Plus she's writing secret messages in the mashed potatoes. Ms. LaGrange is the weirdest lunch lady in the history of the world! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this ninth book in the My Weirder School series, it's time for the annual Ella Mentry School fund-raiser, and guess who's in charge? Alexia's mom, Ms. Sue! She has the teachers selling everything from summer sausages and cheesy popcorn to dead goldfish in plastic bags to raise money for new playground equipment. But what happens when Ms. Sue crosses the line? Somebody's going to end up in the big house (and by "big house," we don't mean a big house!). Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 34 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this fifth book of the My Weirdtastic School arc, A.J. and his friends finally get a chance to join after-school clubs—but these are extra-weird extracurriculars! A.J. and the gang are all old enough now to participate in after-school clubs, but they’ve never heard of clubs like these. Forget Chess Club, Book Club, or Computer Club—Ella Mentry School only has wacky clubs like Lawn Mower Racing Club, Cloud Watching Club, and Underwater Hockey Club. And Miss Marge is in charge of every group! Will the kids be able to find the perfect club under these very weird circumstances? Excellent for reluctant readers and all kids hungry for funny school stories, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and his friends!

In this explosive third installment of New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman’s action-packed series, four thrill-seeking friends travel back in time to document one of the most devastating natural disasters the world has ever seen. Eccentric billionaire Miss Z is sending Luke, Julia, David, and Isabel on another mission back in time to capture one of history’s most important events. This time, the Flashback Four are headed to AD 79 to photograph the eruption of Mount Vesuvius! Can the Flashback Four get their photo and get back home before they become ancient history? With real photographs from Pompeii to help put young readers right in the action, plus back matter that separates fact from fiction, The Pompeii Disaster tells the story of one of the world’s most devastating natural disasters like you’ve never seen it before.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this fourth book in the laugh-out-loud My Weirdest School series, the students of Ella Mentry School are learning about fire safety. Mrs. Meyer of the local fire department has been brought in to teach the students, but she is the weirdest safety expert in the world. She likes fire just a little too much. Will Mrs. Meyer catch on fire? Will she retire? What will transpire? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this eighth book in the My Weird School Daze series, A.J. has to go see Miss Laney, the speech teacher, which makes no sense at all because he already knows how to talk. Miss Laney has him say weird tongue twisters and forces him to be the lead in the third-grade play, Romeo & Juliet. And you'll never guess in a million hundred years who's going to play Juliet. Will there be kissing? Ew, disgusting! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 35 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! The students of Ella Mentry School must figure out how to celebrate some weird-but-real holidays in this My Weird School Special from New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman and veteran illustrator Jim Paillot. Winter break is over, and it’s another five months until summer vacation. A.J. and his friends aren’t looking forward to school starting back up, but they’re even less excited when Dr. Carbles, president of the Board of Education, cancels ALL school holidays. No Presidents' Day, no Memorial Day, and forget about any snow days! Morale is down, but Mrs. Roopy, the librarian, has a trick up her sleeve. Instead of celebrating traditional holidays, the school will celebrate real holidays that no one has ever heard of! Will the kids be able to save the year with their fun festivities, or will Dr. Carbles’s antiholiday agenda win out? Dan Gutman’s signature kid-friendly sense of humor and Jim Paillot’s fun illustrations are perfectly blended in this weird holiday special you won’t want to miss—featuring bonus wacky holidays, games, puzzles, and more!

With more than 29 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this Weird School Special, It’s Halloween, I’m Turning Green!, A.J. and the gang from the My Weird School series are ready for one of their favorite holidays! It’s Halloween, and you know what that means! Candy! Costumes! More candy! What would happen if a kid ate a million hundred pounds of chocolate in one night? One thing’s for sure—when A.J. and his friends from Ella Mentry School go trick-or-treating, it will be a Halloween to remember. Bestselling author Dan Gutman brings his wacky, kid-friendly sense of humor to this all-new series of holiday adventures. With hilarious illustrations by Jim Paillot, plus My Weird School trivia and Halloween-themed games, facts, and puzzles, this is one weird Halloween special you don’t want to miss!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this fourth book in the My Weirder-est School series, A.J. and his friends learn how to survive in the wilderness. At-ten-tion! The Beaver Scouts are looking for new recruits. And A.J. and his friends are the first to sign up. They can’t wait to build campfires and earn cool badges. But scout leader Miss Blake would rather prepare them for falling boulders and surprise bear attacks. When they go on an overnight camping trip, will they be prepared for a real emergency? Perfect for reluctant readers and all kids hungry for funny school stories, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! Help! With the Recess Enrichment Program, A.J. and the gang have to take classes even during recess in this ninth book in the My Weird School Daze series! The new teacher, Mrs. Lizzy, teaches how to make balloon animals, how to compost worms, and lots of other weird useless skills that nobody would ever want to know in a million hundred years! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this sixth book in the laugh-out-loud My Weirdest School series, the teachers of Ella Mentry School are on strike! A.J. and the gang are getting a new principal, Mr. Nick, and he doesn’t believe in rules. Mr. Nick says the students don’t even have to learn if they don’t want to! What could possibly go wrong? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! It’s time to jam in this sixth book in the My Weird School series. Thanks to their teacher, Mr. Hynde, music class is awesome! He can rap, break-dance, and even play bongo drums on the principal's shiny, bald head. But then he goes too far when he tries to make A.J. kiss Andrea in the school play. Yuck! Will A.J. survive? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! Put on your party hats! It’s time for a birthday celebration you’ll never forget in this fifth book in the My Weirder-est School series. A.J. is turning nine! So he’s inviting all his family, friends, and favorite teachers over for a backyard birthday bash. His parents even hire a popular party planner, Mr. Marty. But what happens when Mr. Marty accidentally orders rival clowns, a bubble blower, and even a singing cowboy to entertain guests? This will be one weird party! Perfect for reluctant readers and all kids hungry for funny school stories, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic flight, Gutman delivers the fictional diary of a boy who helps the Wrights' build their flying machine, giving a new perspective to the historical events. Illustrations.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In the 21st book in the My Weird School series, A.J. thinks that nothing can possibly be as boring as a sleepover in the natural history museum. But anything can happen when Ms. Krup is in charge. The tour guide says that dinosaur skeletons come to life in the middle of the night. Is she right? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! Something weird is going on! In the tenth book of the My Weird School Daze series, Mr. Granite has been assigned a student teacher, and A.J. and the gang think she might be a vampire. Miss Mary lives in a cave and sleeps hanging upside down from the ceiling. Her boyfriend, Zack, looks like a zombie and plays in a heavy metal band. And worst of all, they're British! Quick, get the garlic! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, bestselling author Dan Gutman’s insanely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don’t forget to join A.J. and the gang on the rest of their hilariously weird adventures in the third grade.

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this ninth book in the My Weird School series, Miss Lazar likes to dance around the school with a mop! She has a secret room down in the basement where she keeps the bad kids. She says cleaning throw-up is fun! Miss Lazar is the weirdest custodian in the history of the world! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 35 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this sixth book of the My Weirdtastic School arc, A.J. and his friends meet a math teacher who’s trying to make arithmetic fun—and extra-weird! Math scores at Ella Mentry School are way down! But Mrs. Stoker is bringing in an expert named Ms. Greene to help A.J. and his friends study. Ms. Greene is nice, but she sees numbers everywhere—skateboarding, football, even in height! Between solving weird word problems, being mathletes, and sitting on their denominators, how much more math can the class take? Excellent for reluctant readers and all kids hungry for funny school stories, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and his friends!

In this jaw-dropping final installment of New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman’s action-packed series, four risk-taking friends travel back in time to record the most infamous duel in American history. Billionaire Miss Z might be out of the picture, but a top-secret agency wants to send Luke, Julia, David, and Isabel on one final mission. This time, the Flashback Four are headed to Weehawken, New Jersey—in 1804—to videotape the fateful duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. But once they arrive, the team faces a question of historic proportions: Should they capture the tragic details of the duel or try to change them? With real photographs to help put young readers right in the action, plus back matter that separates fact from fiction, The Hamilton-Burr Duel tells the story of one of history’s fiercest rivalries from a fun and fresh new angle.

Twins Dawn and Dusk Rosenberg live for hockey and worship the Montreal Canadiens. But their dad hates the game, and their crotchety, foul-mouthed grandmother thinks the twins should be doing homework and chores instead of wasting their time shooting pucks. When Dawn and Dusk's dad gets the family tickets to the next Canadiens game, they can't believe their luck. They're even more psyched when they hear about the million dollar goal contest. A randomly chosen fan will get the chance to shoot a goal to win one million dollars. One shot for a million bucks! Could this be the beginning of a dream come true for Dawn and Dusk-or the biggest humiliation of their lives? Dan Gutman scores again with this funny book about family, hockey, and million-dollar hopes.

Twelve chapter books in one great box! With more than 12 million books sold, bestselling author Dan Gutman's My Weird School series really gets kids reading. Things have gotten weirder! From a zany graduation ceremony to the off-the-wall antics of their new third-grade teacher, A.J. and the gang from Ella Mentry School have had some weird and wacky adventures. Now all twelve books in the bestselling My Weird School Daze series are together in one box. This collection is perfect for classrooms and includes: #1 Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control! #2 Mr. Sunny Is Funny! #3 Mr. Granite Is from Another Planet! #4 Coach Hyatt Is a Riot! #5 Officer Spence Makes No Sense! #6 Mrs. Jaffee Is Daffy! #7 Dr. Brad Has Gone Mad! #8 Miss Laney Is Zany! #9 Mrs. Lizzy Is Dizzy! #10 Miss Mary Is Scary! #11 Mr. Tony Is Full of Baloney! #12 Ms. Leakey Is Freaky! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.