Almost Ten and a Half — Candice Ransom

Who needs parents?

Almost ten-and-a-half years old, Kobie Roberts certainly doesn't need parents anymore. If only she were on her own, she could eat whatever she wanted. Stay up late. And never have to do her homework.

So when Kobie's mother is in the hospital for a few weeks and a kind, elderly housekeeper named Mrs. Blevins is hired, Kobie figures this is her chance. She wears crazy clothes to school, eats strange breakfasts, and stays up (almost) all night. She even lives under a card-table tent in the living room, and Mrs. Blevins doesn't say a word.

But Kobie begins to worry. Maybe with the efficient Mrs. Blevins taking her place, her mother can't come home. Well then, Kobie will just have to drive Mrs. Blevins away -- for good!