Stella Batts is a third-grader who wants to be a writer and this charming series chronicles the ups and downs of life with a five-year-old sister, parents who own a wonderful candy store, and Joshua, a mean boy in school who teases Stella about her name (he calls her Smella). Throughout the series Stella deals with her best friend moving away, not being on the birthday invite list, taking care of a neighbor's dog, and a host of similar childhood situations. Written with warmth and good humor this series has a following among early readers. In Pardon Me, Stella needs to find a new best friend after her friend, Willa, moves away. But finding a new best friend is not easy. Things are looking up when she meets Evie, the new girl in town. She is going to be in Stella's class at school and she needs a new best friend too. Stella can't wait to introduce her to the other third graders. Except when they get to school, things don't exactly go the way Stella planned.