Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens, short-listed for the 2008 Snow Willow Award and Ann Connor Brimer Award
"No one pays much attention to you if you don’t have much to say, so there was no way I could have predicted what would happen when I stopped talking altogether."
When his teacher announces that it’s time for the yearly class speeches, Griffin Maxwell starts to sweat. His past experience with the dreaded speech was humiliating, to say the least, and he just knows there’s no way he can go through that again. So Griffin’s best friend, Bryan, comes up with a solution – one that’s so simple it just has to work. But neither boy can begin to predict the bizarre chain of events that will be set in place when Griffin goes along with the idea.
From squaring off with the school bully to reading a teacher’s private letters, Griffin Maxwell will have to face things he never imagined, and all without saying a word!

Valerie Sherrard first decided to become an author when she was in grade six! Her homeroom teacher that year, Mr. Alf Lower, praised and encouraged her efforts and instilled in her a lifelong belief in her ability to write. After producing about a dozen books for teens, Sherrard turned her hand to picture books. There’s a COW Under My Bed! introduces Oscar Ollie Brown, who will be embarking on his second adventure in There’s a Goldfish in my Shoe! in the fall of 2009. Since becoming a published author, Sherrard has enjoyed visiting many classrooms and libraries to speak to young people about writing, literacy, and most of all, finding and following your dreams. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Valerie has spent time in a number of provinces, including her current home of New Brunswick. She lives in Miramichi with her husband Brent and their four cats: Lilly, Thragg, Patootie and Cody.

Valerie Sherrard's profile page

• Short-listed, Ann Connor Brimer Award
• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens
• Short-listed, Snow Willow Award

Readers will find a plot full of twists and turns, one that packs an emotional punch. Telling the story in the first person, Sherrard deftly mixes realistic family dynamics (Griffin is the third child of four and the only boy); the painful details of the child soldier horror; and just the right amount of humour to tell a gripping and important story.

Gillian OReilly

Much like author Eric Walters, Valerie Sherrard manages to introduce young readers to an important social-justice issue through her fiction, and in a way that is neither heavy-handed nor didactic … this book could easily appeal to reluctant readers, while still offering more accomplished readers much to think about

Readers will easily identify with the likeable, realistic characters of Griffin and Bryan in this enjoyable, light-hearted story.

Sally Hengeveld