Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House (2008)

Haven Kimmel brings the same oddball sensibility to third-grader Kaline as she does to characters in her adult novels. In Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House, Kaline's dad has moved out, and his mom forgets to wake him for school and gives him chicken legs for breakfast. What's a little boy with a ditzy mom, an MIA dad, and a slew of bullies at school to do? Why, take refuge in an imaginary tree house, of course. Kaline's spunky, funny appeal isn't limited to boys — girls'll love him too. A