Introducing Shirley Braverman — Hilma Wolitzer

As World War II rages, a sixth-grader from Brooklyn battles adolescence

Even while the air-raid sirens blare, Shirley Braverman isn't worried. Her father is the air-raid warden for their apartment house, and she knows he will keep them safe. There is a war on the other side of the ocean, but here in Brooklyn, life goes on. People ride trolleys, they go to double features at the movies, and they cheer on the Dodgers, win or lose.

Shirley is also the best speller in her school's sixth grade, and she has her eyes on an even bigger title: spelling champion of New York City. When she's not practicing, Shirley takes care of her younger brother, Theodore -- a clumsy kid who's scared of everything that moves, and some things that don't. But to win the spelling bee, she will have to listen to what she's always telling Theodore: Believe in yourself, and don't be afraid.