The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Thunder Nelson Does the Impossumble

De: Martha Brockenbrough, Kat Fajardo - illustrator, Kate Messner - introduction

Meet the kids in Mrs. Z’s wacky and wonderful third grade class! When Mrs. Z's class is looking for an animal to "adopt," Thunder Nelson knows just the critter—the baby possum she just saved. But Thunder isn't ready for what happens when a wild animal goes to school!

Mrs. Z’s class is voting on an animal for them to virtually "adopt" and study the rest of the year. Elephants! Blue whales! Sparklemuffin Peacock Spiders! But Thunder hates voting—it's like sports but less fun.

Then she finds an abandoned baby possum and she has a brilliant idea. She'll bring the baby possum to school in her backpack, present a passel of possum facts, demonstrate the adorable “choo-choo” sound the babies make—and then unveil Moxie, the joey she’s hoping can join the class! How could they resist picking a real-live animal mascot? But when Thunder's plan goes off the rails, Moxie—and the class—may end up in danger if Thunder can't find a way to fix her mistakes.

Both sweetly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, with black-and-white illustrations by Pura Belpré Honor artist Kat Fajardo, Thunder's story invites listeners into Mrs. Z’s class where friendship and fun rule the school, from award-winning author Martha Brockenbrough.

Perfect for!
★ My Weirdtastic School fans
★ Reluctant learners
★ Classroom enjoyment
★ Andrew Clements fans
★ Animal lovers!

Read them all! The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class have plenty of stories to share!
Emma McKenna, Full out (#1)
Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (#2)
Poppy Song Bakes a Way (#3)
The Legend of Memo Castillo (#4)


*The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class is an innovative series where every book is written by a different all-star author and features a different kid in the same third-grade class. They can be enjoyed in any order!

©2025 Martha Brockenbrough (P)2025 Little, Brown & Company