Mason Dixon Reeks

Mason Dixon, a soon-to-be fourth grader, initially resists having a pet, but his parents insist it will be beneficial for him. After a series of unfortunate pet encounters—his goldfish dies, a hamster escapes, and a cat must leave due to his best friend's allergies—Mason feels relieved each time. However, when a dog arrives, jealousy sparks a change in Mason, leading him to embrace the idea of having a pet of his own. Claudia Mills introduces this humorous character in a series aimed at newly independent readers, featuring consistent page counts and black-and-white illustrations.

Here's the third entry in Claudia Mills's charming middle-grade series. Mason Dixon survived the school choir. He survived adopting his now-beloved dog named, uh, Dog. But now he faces his biggest challenge yet: joining the local basketball team. Not by choice, of course. Not only do his parents encourage it, but his dad even volunteers to be his coach. Now, with his best pal Brody and a team of misfits even worse at basketball than him (if that's possible), Mason must try to rally to beat his arch-rival, the school bully Dunk. Just another day-in-the-life of a disaster-prone fourth grader.