Today is Gregory's ninth and so far his very worst birthday. He isn't having a party or even a cake. His father has another job, so the family must move across town. When Gregory walks into a strange house that night, however, he finds a room of his own where he can hang his paintings. Maybe this is really his best birthday! But the very next day Uncle Max comes to stay. He sleeps in Gregory's room and even hangs posters over the paintings. To make matters worse, the boys at the new school won't play with Gregory. He wonders if he will ever make friends in the new neighborhood-until he discovers an abandoned chalk factory and something magical happens. Award-winning children's author Clyde Robert Bulla turns youngsters on to books with his powerful stories. In The Chalk Box Kid, he tells the poignant tale of a boy coping with his new surroundings. Narrator Johnny Heller perfectly voices Gregory's struggles to fit in and his final, joyous victory. For another entertaining story by Clyde Robert Bulla, try The Paint Brush Kid.