Tommy Greenwald Books

From the author of Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading comes the second book in the humorous & illustrated new series about a boy whose new dog may or may not be a crimefighting vampire. Jimmy is sure that his dog Abby is special. After all, it was Abby who (with the help of Jimmy & friends) helped nab the criminal Barnaby Bratford and shut down Barnaby's babysitting service, a front for robbing the nice folks of Quietville. Jimmy's parents, on the other hand, are starting to feel like Abby is one destructive little dog (she chewed up Mom's entire shoe collection!) and they insist on enrolling Abby in obedience training. The only problem is that the longer Abby's in class, the more normal (read: boring) she becomes. Jimmy's superhero crime-fighting vampire dog is slowly becoming just like every other dog. She doesn't even sneak out at night anymore! At the same time Jimmy's friends (the Crimebiters) are realizing that there's just not very much crime to fight in their tiny town. But when Jimmy joins the lacrosse team & mysterious things start happening on and off the field, the Crimebiters realize that Abby better get back to her crime-fighting ways... and fast!

When a copy of the final math test is stolen and the local animal shelter is in danger of closing, the Crimebiters family jump into action with a new member, Daisy's kitten Purrkins.

"There's a crisis at Eastport Middle School! It appears that everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend except... Charlie Joe Jackson??!? Yup -- he's the only single guy out of all his friends. How is this possible? Even Pete Milano has a date! Well, Charlie Joe refuses to be left out. He quickly goes looking for help in the last place anyone would think to find him -- the library. And what he finds is the gem of all gems, the guidebook of all guidebooks, the key to finally getting a girl! Now, everyone is suddenly coming to him for love advice. (Oh, how the tables have turned.) But Charlie Joe's world is swiftly turned upside down when he realizes the girl he actually likes... might not actually be the girl he likes." -- From publisher's description

Charlie Joe Jackson, the most reluctant reader ever born, made it his mission in the first book to get through middle school without reading a single book from cover to cover. Now he's back--and trying desperately to get straight As in order to avoid going to academic camp for the summer. To do this, he will have to betray his friend, lose the girl of his dreams, and end up acting in a school play about the inventor of paper towels. Charlie Joe's not exactly the "school play kind of guy," but desperate times call for desperate measures, in Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit by Tommy Greenwald.

From the author of the Charlie Joe Jackson series comes the fourth and final book in the humorous illustrated series about a boy whose new dog may or may not be a crime-fighting vampire.

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald is the hilarious story of an avid non-reader and the extreme lengths to which he'll go to get out of reading a book. Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he's managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he's in middle school, avoiding reading isn't as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he's tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact.

The story revolves around Jack Strong, a young boy overwhelmed by his parents' relentless push for him to excel in multiple extracurricular activities. From sports to music and language lessons, his schedule is packed, leaving little room for a normal childhood. As Jack grapples with the pressure to be "well-rounded" for future college applications, he begins to question whether this hectic lifestyle is truly what he wants.

A star football player watches his father deteriorate from injuries he suffered playing the very same sport Caleb Springer is the up-and-coming star freshman quarterback on the high school football team, which isn't a surprise considering his dad, Sammy Springer, was an NFL superstar and is now the town celebrity. College scouts are already snooping around Caleb, and his future seems set. But just as Caleb’s glory days begin, his dad starts to change. He’s forgetting things and getting angry at random times. Caleb is forced to confront a bleak possibility: The sport that gives him so much status and self-worth might be the cause of his dad’s strange behavior. Will Caleb keep playing the sport of his dreams, even if he knows how dangerous it can be?

An innovative, multimedia-format, middle-grade novel that tackles the dangers of football and hazing

A funny, heavily illustrated new chapter book series about sports and sportsmanship by the acclaimed author of Game Changer Ben Cutler loves everything about soccer! He's got a great team, and they have the best pre-game chants and half-time jokes. He and his best friend, Jay-Jay, even invent dances for when they score a goal! And Ben is good at soccer. Like REALLY good. Too good for a casual rec team. Soon, he's recruited for a travel team. His new team plays amazingly well, but they take soccer super seriously. No pre-game chants, no juice-box breaks, and the most important rule of all: NO DANCING. Even though his new team is winning all the time, Ben is left to wonder: Is winning all that matters in the end?