Author Madeline L. chose the first line “They say that rats are highly intelligent animals” and created a delightful and very funny five-chapter story. Each chapter is written from the point of view of either Mel Birchpine, a clever and sassy 5th-grader, or Hami (real name: Duke Vladimir XVI), the equally clever and sassy pet hamster of Mel’s younger sister. Mel and Hami start the story with nothing but scorn for each other but end up realizing they have a lot in common, including their favorite meal—a chicken parmesan sandwich and lemonade from the restaurant below their apartment. And a rat-ical new friendship begins!

Tia M.’s exciting science-fiction story starts with the line “Time traveling might sound like a strange job for a kid, but hey, it’s the family business.” Tia’s tale is set in the future and is told from the perspective of Felix, a kid who works with his family to “fix all paradoxes and glitches in time.” When Felix learns that AI (artificial intelligence) will be taking over most of the family’s time traveling tasks, he takes an unauthorized visit to the past to try and stop AI from being developed in the first place. Instead, Felix learns a valuable lesson about learning to accept—and even appreciate—change.