Travis lives with his alcoholic grandpa, who is barely making ends meet. When they move to a new town to start over, he feels like an outsider in his new school, until he is befriended by another outsider, a smart, funny girl who has completely embraced the nickname her schoolmates taunt her with: Velveeta. Travis knows what it’s like to have a nickname that sticks. His own from his previous school was Bluefish, the name of the lowest reading group he was in during first grade—and, in fact, he has never learned to read. Both Travis and Velveeta are mourning the loss of someone they loved (Travis: his dog; Velveeta: an elderly neighbor who was kind to her), and their stories are told in alternating points of view. A third friend who joins their circle comes from a middle-class family, but he is small for his age and frequently the target of bullies. Even though Travis’s and Velveeta’s families are living on the edge of economic survival, just barely scraping by, their resilience and friendship hold them together. Author Pat Schmatz portrays a middle-school student who can’t read—and his struggles to learn how under the tutelage of a gifted, caring teacher. Original storytelling, fresh characters, distinctive voices, and a well-realized rural Wisconsin setting make this an engaging and satisfying story. (Ages 10–14)

Thirteen-year-old Travis has a secret: he can't read. But a shrewd teacher and a sassy girl are about to change everything in this witty and deeply moving novel.

Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he's missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there's just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of passing when he's called on to read out loud. But that's before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn't take "pass" for an answer--a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it's before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own. With sympathy, humor, and disarming honesty, Pat Schmatz brings to life a cast of utterly believable characters--and captures the moments of trust and connection that make all the difference.