The work was first published on June 23, 2009 through Simon & Schuster and follows a young schoolgirl who is given the option of receiving extra credit by writing to an overseas pen pal in a small Afghanistan village.

[3] The protagonist of Extra Credit is a 6th grade girl named Abby who is falling behind in her classes.

In order to improve her grades so that she will be able to go to Junior High, Abby has to write to a pen pal in another country for extra credit.

[4][5][6][7] Two critics for the Horn Book Guide reviewed Extra Credit,[8] with one writing that "Although the ending is a little too neat, it’s the kind of ending kids like, and Clements’s timely story should receive high marks from middle-grade and early-middle-school readers.

"[9] Publishers Weekly praised the work, as they liked that Clements discussed different cultures in a way that could be understood and appreciated by younger readers.