Have you ever had a pen pal?

Pen pals are kids (usually) who live far apart and write to each other. Sounds old-fashioned, but you'll see some of the advantages of written letters over email in Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. Abby's not doing well in 6th grade, but she'll get some extra credit by writing to Sadeed Bayat in Afghanistan. However, his village doesn't think it's appropriate for boys and girls to write to each other, so his younger sister dictates the letters while Sadeed makes sure the English is correct. But he can't resist writing to Abby in secret, too. What happens if he gets caught? Both characters are described very realistically, and reading about all the differences in the cultures was pretty cool. (For example, Abby thinks the flat cornfields of Illinois are really boring; Sadeed views them as food for an entire village.) Think about this book next time you hear about Afghanistan in the news.