Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

I finished the ninth (of ten) Nutmeg Books last weekend, Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. This one is a little different for Clements as he tackles a serious subject. Nonetheless, he handles it beautifully. Abby lives in Illinois and has just found out she is in danger of repeating sixth grade if she doesn't get her act in gear. In addition to doing all of her homework, all the time and maintaining a B average on all her tests she has to take on an extra credit project. The one she chooses is to establish a pen pal connection in another country. Illinois is flat and Abby loves the idea of mountain climbing so she chooses a school in Afghanistan where mountains are plentiful. Enter Sadeed and his sister Amira. Sadeed is the best writer in his school but he's a boy and well, it wouldn't be proper for him to write letters to a girl in America. Clements does a nice job comparing and contrasting two worlds that couldn't be more different. If you're interested in that or perhaps just want to know if Abby has to repeat sixth grade, I suggest you read Extra Credit.