Aven Green

Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a really long time-a whole month! She has solved many important cases like The Mystery of the Cranky Mom, The Mystery of the Missing Ice Cream, and The Mystery of the Smelly Feet. Her record is nearly 100 percent, with only The Mystery of the Cereal in My Underpants remaining unsolved to this day. Aven asks all the right questions, wields her detective kit carefully, and follows up on every clue. Then her teacher's lunch bag, with her lunch still in it, is taken, and Aven's great-grandma's beloved dog goes missing. Can this perceptive detective crack two cases at the same time? Luckily, Aven has a superpowered brain full of lots of extra brain cells to take on both cases. See, she was born without arms, so all of the cells that were supposed to make her arms went into making her brain instead. At least that's her working theory for “The Mystery of Why I Have So Many Extra Brain Cells.”

The audio edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship-all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is that she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It's hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven's about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

Now that third-grader Aven Green has retired from sleuthing, it's time to conquer a whole new world: baking! Aven knows she is an expert baker of cakes and cookies since she has been baking with her mom for a really long time. Plus, no one bakes quite like she does. She cracks eggs with her feet and measures sugar and flour with her feet-plus measuring cups, since she was born without arms. And now Aven has her eye on the prize: a beautiful blue ribbon for baking at the county fair. So, she teams up with her friends Kayla, Emily, and Sujata. But it turns out they all have very different tastes and a lot of opinions about baking. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

The sequel to the critically acclaimed Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus follows Aven Green as she confronts yet another challenge: high school. "High School. Two words that struck fear into the heart of every armless middle schooler I knew. Which was me. And like two people online." Just as Aven starts to feel comfortable in Stagecoach Pass, with her friends and schoolmates accustomed to her lack of "armage," everything changes once again. She's about to begin high school . . . with 2,300 new kids to stare at her. And no matter how much Aven tries to play it cool, nothing prepares her for the reality. In a year filled with confusion, humiliation, fears, loss, and just maybe love, can Aven manage to stay true to herself?

Aven Green, the remarkable heroine of Dusti Bowling's “Life of a Cactus” series, marches to her own beat in this hilarious, upbeat, and unforgettable chapter book. Third-grader Aven Green is a real professional musician! She just needs to choose what instrument to play. When she decides to try the piano, Aven is disappointed when she can't master Mozart in one whole day. To pick up Aven's beat, her parents take her for a four-hour drive to see someone just like her play the guitar. With new inspiration and a special gift from her great-grandma, Aven is ready to take on the school talent show. Will she be ready in time? Or will she blow her big chance?

Aven Green, the remarkable heroine of Dusti Bowling's “Life of a Cactus” series, marches to her own beat in this hilarious, upbeat, and unforgettable chapter book. Third-grader Aven Green is an expert soccer player. She even has her own top secret moves! But when her friend Sujata joins the team, Aven has a hard time learning to help the new player shine. When the time comes to choose a new team captain, will Aven learn to share the spotlight and understand what it means to be a team player?