Trouble at Table 5 #5: Trouble to the Max

By Tom Watson and Marta Kissi

From the author of Stick Dog comes the fifth book in a highly illustrated early chapter book series about three best friends whose plans, missions, and schemes are sure to shake up their school.

Time out! Simon got Max Brutus’s prized World Cup soccer ball stuck in the tallest tree in Picasso Park! Now he’s in more trouble than a tater tot in ketchup. Can his friends at Table 5 help him get the ball before the big game? Or has Simon’s luck maxed out?

HarperChapters build confident readers one chapter at a time! With short, fast-paced books, art on every page, and milestone markers at the end of every chapter, they're the perfect next step for fans of I Can Read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063004511

Tom Watson

Tom Watson lives in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and son. He also has a dog, as you could probably guess. The dog is a Labrador-Newfoundland mix. Tom says he looks like a Labrador with a bad perm. He wanted to name the dog "Put Your Shirt On" (please don't ask why), but he was outvoted by his family. The dog's name is Shadow. Early in his career Tom worked in politics, including a stint as the chief speechwriter for the governor of Ohio. This experience helped him develop the unique, storytelling narrative style of the Stick Dog books. More important, Tom's time in politics made him realize a very important thing: Kids are way smarter than adults. And it's a lot more fun and rewarding to write stories for them than to write speeches for grown-ups.

Book preview

WE HAD ONLY been in our seats for a couple of minutes on Monday morning when Mr. Willow called from the front of the classroom, Table 5!

What did we do? Simon whispered to Rosie and me. We just got here.

We didn’t do anything, Rosie said quietly back. She giggled a little. I love how you’re already assuming that we’re in trouble.

Simon shrugged and said, It’s in my nature.

Since those two were whispering back and forth, I figured I better answer our teacher.

Yes, Mr. Willow? I called back.

Molly, will you three come up here? he said and opened a manila folder. He took out a stack of papers. You can help me pass out these math quizzes.

While our classmates quietly complained, Rosie, Simon, and I headed toward Mr. Willow.

That’s enough moaning and groaning, Mr. Willow said to everyone as he divided the stack of paper into thirds. You know, when I was your age, I had to take my math quizzes out in the snow in my bare feet.

For real? Simon asked.

"Yes, Simon. For reeeaaal, Mr. Willow said and handed him a short stack of papers. And we didn’t have paper. We had to use tree bark to write on. And we didn’t have pens or pencils either."

What did you do? asked Simon, taking his share of the quizzes. I wasn’t quite sure if Simon believed Mr. Willow or just wanted him to continue with the joke.

We bit off the tips of our index fingers, Mr. Willow answered, opening his eyes wide and pulling his left index finger close to his mouth. We’d write the answers with our own blood!

Everybody thought this was funny. Whenever we complained about something, Mr. Willow liked to exaggerate and make stuff up about how tough it was back in the old days. We were used to it.

There were nine tables in our class with three kids at each table. Rosie