Believe it or not, Charlie Bumpers has had the best fourth grade year! In fact, he doesn't want it to end because that will bring unwanted changes: his good friend, Hector, will move back to Chile; and Charlie has heard frightful things about fifth grade. As in his previous six fourth-grade adventures, Charlie acts without much planning and happily falls to scheming. Here, he tries to get teachers to select Hector as School Ambassador for next year, but things go awry when Charlie sees Hector being bullied. Because Hector doesn't want to get in trouble at home, Charlie doesn't report the incident and is later drawn into the fray. Finally, Charlie absorbs his younger sister's classroom-bullying lesson and accepts that things can't always remain the same. One could say that by now Charlie should have learned his lesson, but then he wouldn't be Charlie. Fans will eagerly anticipate what's in store for him in fifth grade. Harley's delightful friendship story, with Gustavson's spot-on illustrations, is humorous, yet poignant, and portrays the heartfelt good nature of true friends.

As fourth grade winds down, Charlie learns that his best friend Hector, who's being bullied, is moving back to Chile. Grappling with the sadness of both, Charlie begins a well-intentioned if misguided campaign to prevent Hector from leaving. This seventh series installment is a complex portrayal of bullying and the importance of friendship. Black-and-white India-ink and watercolor spot illustrations highlight the action throughout.

As the end of the school year fast approaches, Charlie learns that his friend Hector will be moving back to Chile. Can Charlie cook up a scheme to keep Hector at school?In this seventh and final book of the Charlie Bumpers series, Grammy-winner Harley reveals the conflict that bullying creates in the mind of a fourth-grader. Narrated in a balance of warmhearted insight and wacky naiveté, Charlie's life will resonate with readers trying to navigate the simple but realistic perils of elementary school. Making friends, getting along with siblings, avoiding trouble at school—these situations matter to young readers, and Harley captures these emotions with a light and humorous touch. The Jerzollies of Darkness (three boys who are all jerks, bozos, and bullies) have been seriously bullying Hector. When adult support disappoints, Charlie and friends take matters into their own hands with mixed results. This young, white male protagonist, in his suburban, middle-class setting, nonetheless taps into universal feelings, and Charlie's genuine friendships with Hector and Tommy, who's black, keep diversity on the table. Gustavson's illustrations, rendered in India ink and watercolor, deftly cover friend and foe alike, giving shape to Charlie's world.The series ends with the feeling of a completed arc for this fourth-grade year. Fans will feel satisfied but will find themselves hoping another year's in the offing. (Fiction. 7-10)