Night of the Spadefoot Toads

When his father takes a new job in Massachusetts, Ben Moroney must leave behind his best friend Tony, a western banded gecko named Lenny, and, worst of all, the Arizona desert home he has loved and explored. Ben unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in his new fifth-grade science teacher, Mrs. Tibbets. Together they explore the varied habitats on her rural property, where she introduces him to the rare and elusive Eastern spadefoot toads that make their home there.

When Ben discovers that Mrs. Tibbets's land may be sold to developers, he knows he has to do something. But as Ben's obsession with saving the spadefoot toads' habitat grows, his schoolwork and his relationships with his family and new friends suffer. Just when it seems things can't get any worse, Ben finds a way to meet his responsibilities to the people around him and demonstrates the importance of even the smallest efforts to save the earth's rapidly disappearing habitats.