The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter

Bunny Baxter thinks nothing could be worse than starting seventh grade at a school where she knows no one. But after her first day, she realizes things can actually get much worse.

If Bunny Baxter were an insect, she'd have so many ways to slip through seventh grade unnoticed. But she's tall instead of tiny, has flaming red Medusa hair instead of camouflage, and she suffers from social anxiety, which makes it hard to be part of a swarm. Worst of all, she's been redistricted to a new middle school away from her best friend who she could always hide behind when her anxiety got the best of her.

The first day at E.D. Britt Middle School does not go well. Bunny trips on the steps, falls into the cutest boy in the school, and causes a kid domino pile-up. At lunch, she unintentionally causes an uproar in the cafeteria, which lands her and another girl in the principal's office. Bunny decides there is only one option: to get expelled so she can transfer to the school her best friend attends.

She soon discovers that it isn't that hard to get in trouble--don't turn in your homework, walk around the track instead of run in P.E., pretend you deliberately hit someone with a badminton birdie. What isn't so easy for Bunny is realizing she now has a reputation as a troublemaker. And even more confusing, when it looks like her plan to get expelled might work, she's no longer sure what to do.

The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter is a heartfelt coming of age story about an insect-loving girl who is learning to grow into herself--quirks and all.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Author: Barbara Carroll Roberts
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books
Published: 07/22/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.80w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780823458561
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.5
Point Value: 10
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 554631 / Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/28/2025
Booklist 06/01/2025 pg. 86
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2025
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2025 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Barbara Carroll Roberts's debut middle-grade novel, Nikki on the Line, was a finalist for two state children's book awards and made numerous best-of-the-year lists. Her nonfiction picture book, A Rose Named Peace, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, a Texas Topaz Award winner, and received a starred review from School Library Journal. She grew up in northern California and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. She has two grown children and now lives in Virginia with her husband, two cats, and one very goofy springer spaniel.