Operation Yes

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It's just a rectangle of tape on a plain linoleum floor at the front of a sixth-grade classroom on an Air Force base in North Carolina. But when Ms. Loupe steps into the space, it becomes a putting green. A prison cell. A stage. And she teaches her students how to make that magic -- theatre -- happen as well.

Bo loves the improvisation exercises: They focus his restless energies and distract him from his father's impending deployment overseas. But Gari has more important things to worry about -- like getting her mom home safe from Iraq. When Ms. Loupe's brother goes missing in Afghanistan and Ms. Loupe herself breaks down, Gari, Bo, and the rest of the class have to improvise their way through their own "great battles" . . . and find a way to help their teacher fight hers.

The first middle-grade novel about the home front during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, OPERATION YES is a poignant, funny, and generous book about an amazing teacher and the students she inspires.