Cody and the Heart of a Champion

Winter is finally melting into spring — but with everything in flux, from Cody’s friendships down to her shoe size, will she be able to stay true to herself?

In Cody’s life, some people keep her on her toes — just like Mother Nature, who is warm one day and snowy the next. Or like Cody’s brother, Wyatt, who has started wearing collared shirts because his girlfriend likes them. Meanwhile, Pearl has begun playing soccer and it’s all she can talk about. Spencer is busy creating a mysterious museum underneath GG’s house and he's never around to play. And Spencer’s mom doesn’t look any different. . . . Could she really have a baby growing inside her? Maybe the baby is like Cody’s beloved ants, waiting patiently inside the earth for spring to arrive. It seems like everything around Cody is changing — from seasons to friendships — but if she can just navigate it all with her trademark enthusiasm and charm, maybe the most important things will stay the same.

“Full of soccer games and social dynamics, the latest in this warm and satisfying chapter book series gently explores some of the truths of growing up through a strong leading female character who has incredibly supportive family and friends around her. --School Library Journal Accepting the inevitable and powering through are the enjoyable lessons tucked into the fourth installment of this sturdy series set among a diverse collection of friends and neighbors...If change must happen, Cody's good company. --Kirkus Reviews”

Full of soccer games and social dynamics, the latest in this warm and satisfying chapter book series gently explores some of the truths of growing up through a strong leading female character who has incredibly supportive family and friends around her.
—School Library Journal

Contemporary themes of sportsmanship, intergenerational family life, and childhood friendship issues make this heartwarming transitional text a delight for those very early readers who are excited to read a chapter book. Delicate pen and ink drawings further lighten the tone and add pictorial detail to this whimsical story.
—School Library Connection

Accepting the inevitable and powering through are the enjoyable lessons tucked into the fourth installment of this sturdy series set among a diverse collection of friends and neighbors...If change must happen, Cody's good company.
—Kirkus Reviews

This thoughtful and sometimes very funny chapter book takes the everyday crises of childhood seriously but without over-the-top drama, and the third-person limited narration allows room for readers’ own musings on the transformations that spring, and life, can bring.
—The Horn Book

Tricia Springstubb is the author of the novels What Happened on Fox Street and Mo Wren, Lost and Found, as well as the picture book Phoebe and Digger, illustrated by Jeff Newman, and the previous books in the Cody series. Tricia Springstubb lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Eliza Wheeler is the author-illustrator of Miss Maple’s Seeds and the illustrator of Doll Bones, written by Holly Black, which earned a Newbery Honor. Eliza Wheeler lives in Los Angeles, California.

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