Additional information
by Rajani Larocca (Author), Kat Fajardo (Illustrator)
Meet the kids in Mrs. Z's wacky and wonderful third-grade class! Rohan Murphy has an ambitious dream to launch his own pet care business, but when he starts small by babysitting the class guinea pig, he makes big mistakes.
Rohan Murthy dreams of running a successful business--just like his mom, who's an artist. When Mrs. Z announces that Curiosity Academy needs to raise money for a school garden, Rohan knows it's the perfect moment to launch his dreams! He'll start a pet care company to help the people of Peppermint Falls look after their dogs, hamsters, fish, snakes, lizards . . . anything but cats. With hard work, some glittery posters, and the help of his friends from Mrs. Z's class, Rohan knows he can do a lot for the school garden. His parents point out just one small problem: Rohan has never taken care of an animal before. Gulp! To get some experience with pets, Rohan volunteers to spend a weekend watching over Honey, the class guinea pig. But Honey appears surprisingly fearful, which makes Rohan nervous too! When his big dreams meet his secret fears, what will Rohan decide? Both sweetly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, with black-and-white illustrations by Pura Belpré Honor artist Kat Fajardo, Rohan's story invites readers into Mrs. Z's class where friendship and fun rule the school, from Newbery Honor-winning author Rajani LaRocca. Perfect for!★ My Weirdtastic School fans
★ Reluctant readers
★ Classroom read-alouds
★ Andrew Clements fans
★ Pet lovers
★ Aspiring business owners Read them all! The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class have plenty of stories to share!
Emma McKenna, Full out (#1)
Poppy Song Bakes a Way (#3)
The Legend of Memo Castillo (#4)
Wyatt Hill Brings a Lizard to School (#5)
Ayana Ndoum Takes the Stage (#6)
Olive Little Gets Crafty (#7) -- available for preorder now!
Synclaire Fields Knows the Score (#8) -- available for preorder now!
Theo Chang is Not a Cat (#9) -- available for preorder now!
Thunder Nelson Does the Impossumble (#10) -- available for preorder now! *The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class is an innovative series where every book is written by a different all-star author and features a different kid in the same third-grade class. They can be read in any order!
Author Biography
Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor-winning middle-grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She's always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She also co-hosts the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast. She invites you to learn more at rajanilarocca.com or on her socials @RajaniLaRocca.
Kat Fajardo (they/she) received a Pura Belpré Honor for Illustration for their first graphic novel, Miss Quinces (published in Spanish as Srta. Quinces). Born and raised in New York City, Kat now lives in Austin, Texas, with their pups, Mac and Roni. They invite you to visit them at katfajardo.com.
