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Rifles for Watie
by Harold KeithJeff Bussey walked briskly up the rutted wagon road toward Fort Leavenworth on his way to join the Union volunteers. It was 1861 in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was elated at the prospect of fighting for the North at last.
In the Indian country south of Kansas there was dread in the air; and the name, Stand Watie, was on every tongue. A hero to the rebel, a devil to the Union man, Stand Watie led the Cherokee Indian Nation fearlessly and successfully on savage raids behind the Union lines. Jeff came to know the Watie men only too well.
He was probably the only soldier in the West to see the Civil War from both sides and live to tell about it. Amid the roar of cannon and the swish of flying grape, Jeff learned what it meant to fight in battle. He learned how it felt never to have enough to eat, to forage for his food or starve. He saw the green fields of Kansas and Okla-homa laid waste by Watie's raiding parties, homes gutted, precious corn deliberately uprooted. He marched endlessly across parched, hot land, through mud and slash-ing rain, always hungry, always dirty and dog-tired.
And, Jeff, plain-spoken and honest, made friends and enemies. The friends were strong men like Noah Babbitt, the itinerant printer who once walked from Topeka to Galveston to see the magnolias in bloom; boys like Jimmy Lear, too young to carry a gun but old enough to give up his life at Cane Hill; ugly, big-eared Heifer, who made the best sourdough biscuits in the Choctaw country; and beautiful Lucy Washbourne, rebel to the marrow and proud of it. The enemies were men of an-other breed - hard-bitten Captain Clardy for one, a cruel officer with hatred for Jeff in his eyes and a dark secret on his soul.
This is a rich and sweeping novel-rich in its panorama of history; in its details so clear that the reader never doubts for a moment that he is there; in its dozens of different people, each one fully realized and wholly recognizable. It is a story of a lesser -- known part of the Civil War, the Western campaign, a part different in its issues and its problems, and fought with a different savagery. Inexorably it moves to a dramat-ic climax, evoking a brilliant picture of a war and the men of both sides who fought in it.
Newbery Medal Winner
Along Came a Dog
by Meindert DejongAfter the big ice storm, the little red hen began to act differently. The same day, a big black dog came to the farm in search of a home. A strange friendship grew between them.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage CarlsonThis is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them.
But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And it did not take Armand very long to realize that he had gotten himself a ready-made family; one that he loved with all his heart, and one for whom he would have to find a better home than the bridge.
Armand and the children's adventures around Paris--complete with gypsies and a Santa Claus--make a story which children will treasure.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Perilous Road
by William O. SteeleChris Brabson hates Yankees, plain and simple. Not only are the Union troops down in Tennessee where they don't belong, but they helped themselves to all the supplies his family had saved for winter. And to add to it all, his brother joined up with the Union Army. How could he betray the south, Chris wonders.
Chris wants to prove his loyalty to the Confederate cause, any way he can. When he sees a Union wagon train cutting through the valley, he has his chance. He tells a spy where and how the Confederates can attack. But then he finds out that Jethro could be driving one of those Yankee wagons! Has he just caused the death of his own brother?
A Newbery Honor book and Jane Addams Children's Book Award Medal Winner
Chucaro, Wild Pony of the Pampa
by Francis KalnayThe world of the Argentine pampa comes to life in this humorous tale of a South American boy determined to tame and ride a wild pony.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George SpeareSixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.
Newbery Medal Winner
My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead GeorgeTerribly unhappy in his family's crowded New York City apartment, Sam Gribley runs away to the solitude--and danger--of the mountains, where he finds a side of himself he never knew.
Newbery Medal Honors book.
The Gammage Cup
by Carol KendallA handful of Minnipins, a sober and sedate people, rise up against the Periods, the leading family of an isolated mountain valley, and are exiled to a mountain where they discover that the ancient enemies of their people are preparing to attack.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Onion John
by Joseph KrumgoldEven though his father has big plans for him, Andy is happy to work summers at the hardware store and play baseball.
Newbery Medal Winner
Old Ramon
by Jack SchaeferThe story centers on the friendship of a wise old shepherd and a young boy. This relationship helps the young boy to learn various things -about animals, friendship, bravery and wisdom- in life.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Cricket in Times Square
by George SeldenAfter Chester, a cricket, arrives in the Times Square subway station, he takes up residence in a newsstand. Between escapades in New York City, Chester and four new friends manage to bring success to the almost bankrupt newsstand.
Newbery Medal honors book
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'DellThe gripping story of young Karana, who survives by herself for eighteen years on a deserted island off the California coast.
Newbery Medal winner
Belling the Tiger
by Mary StoltzA tale about two little mice assigned to a mission of putting a bell collar on the mean house cat.
Newbery Medal Honor Book
The Golden Goblet
by Eloise Jarvis McgrawWinner of a Newbery Honor, an exciting ancient Egyptian mystery!
Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he when he is all but imprisoned by his evil half brother, Gebu? Ranofer knows the only way he can escape Gebu's abuse is by changing his destiny. But can a poor boy with no skills survive on the cutthroat streets of ancient Thebes? Then Ranofer finds a priceless golden goblet in Gebu's room and he knows his luck−and his destiny−are about to change.
Frontier Living
by Edwin TunisFrontier Living brings to light every significant aspect of daily life on the American frontier, with vivid text and more than 200 wonderful drawings. Immerse yourself in the character and culture of the men and women who stood at the harsh cutting-edge of our civilization: their dwellings, clothing, food, furniture, household articles; their hunting, farming, schooling, transportation, government; their amusements, superstitions, and religion.In Frontier Living the reader finds the forest frontiersman in his log cabin, the ranchero in his casa, the sodbuster in his prairie sod house. Here is the keel-boatman, the cotton farmer, the fur trader, the mountain man, the forty-niner, the cowhand - each helping to shape a new and distinctive way from untamed country. The flintlock gun, the Kentucky rifle, the freight and Conestoga wagons, the stagecoach, the Ohio flatboat, the first steamboat and steam railroad, are all reconstructed here in exact detail.This informative, authentic re-creation of the American frontier, seen in relation to its historic perspective, offers a major contribution toward an understanding of the American character.
Newberry Medal Honor Book
The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George SpeareThis gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin--a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father's death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel's palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth.
A fast-paced, suspenseful, vividly wrought tale of friendship, loyalty, the idea of home, community... and ultimately, as Jesus says to Daniel: "Can't you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love. "
Newbery Medal winner
Thistle and Thyme
by Sorche Nic LeodhasA collection of ten Scottish legends passed down through the agesScottish culture is rich with mythology. There are tales of monks and saints, fairies and witches, kings, nobles, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Some stories were never written down, shared instead through retellings that turned storytelling into an art form.In Thistle and Thyme, Sorche Nic Leodhas brings together ten folktales that were passed down through the generations as part of Scotland&’s vibrant oral tradition. In this volume, stories about the changeling and the stolen child, the bride who was cursed to silence by a water kelpie, and the beekeeper who found a rabbit under a spell are just a handful of the thousands of local myths that make up Scotland&’s colorful history.
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'EngleMeg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 6-8 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Newbery Medal Winner
The Loner
by Ester WierThe boy with no name doesn't remember his past; all he knows is that he has to survive. Staying with anyone who'll take him, he gives all his wages for food and a place to sleep. Then he finds a loving home and realizes he is not a loner.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Rascal
by Sterling NorthSkunks, woodchucks, a crow named Poe, an absent-minded father, aneighteen foot, half-finished canoe in the living room--welcome to the North home!
Nothing's surprising at the North residence. Not even eleven-year-old Sterling's new pet raccoon. Rascal is only a baby when young Sterling brings him home to join his unusual family. The mischievous raccoon and Sterling are partners and best friends for a perfect year of adventure--swimming, fishing, exploring the countryside together--until the spring day when everything suddenly changes and Sterling realizes he must let Rascal go.
This heartwarming and delightful memoir of a boy's friendship with a wild animal, and his growing awareness of the world around him, has become a treasured classic. Rascal has taken his place among literature's most captivating and endearing animals.
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
It's Like This, Cat
by Emily Cheney NevilleMy father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat.
Dave Mitchell and his father yell at each other a lot, and whenever the fighting starts, Dave's mother gets an asthma attack. That's when Dave storms out of the house. Then Dave meets Tom, a strange boy who helps him rescue Cat. It isn't long before Cat introduces Dave to Mary, a wonderful girl from Coney Island. Slowly Dave comes to see the complexities in people's lives and to understand himself and his family a little better.
Newbery Medal Winner
Across Five Aprils
by Irene HuntThe unforgettable story of young Jethro Creighton who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.
Newbery Award Honors book
Shadow of a Bull
by Alvin Smith and Maia WojciechowskaManolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness--how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy?
But Manolo has a secret he dares to share with no one--he is a coward, without the love of the sport that enables a bullfighter to rise above his fear and face a raging bull. As the day when he must enter the ring approaches, Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own destiny?
Newbery Medal winner
The Animal Family
by Randall JarrellThis is the story of how, one by one, a man found himself a family. Almost nowhere in fiction is there a stranger, dearer, or funnier family--and the life that the members of The Animal Family live together, there in the wilderness beside the sea, is as extraordinary and as enchanting as the family itself.
Newbery Medal Honor Book
The Black Cauldron
by Lloyd AlexanderIn the land of Prydain, evil is never far away. Arawn, Lord of the Land of Death, has been building an army of dark warriors to take over Prydain, and the only way to stop him is to destroy the Black Cauldron he uses to create his dreaded soldiers.
Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and his loyal companions must journey deep into Arawn's domain to destroy the Black Cauldron. For each of them, the quest has special meaning. For Taran, it is a glorious opportunity to use his first sword in battle. But war requires a sacrifice greater than he'd ever imagined....
Back are our favorite characters from The Book Of Three; loyal Gurgi, still concerned with his munchings and crunchings, Doli who says being invisible has drawbacks like getting his toes stepped on, Fflewddur, telling the truth more and breaking harp strings less, and Princess Eilonwy, outspoken, practical and a friend indeed. There are new characters; Adaon, an aspiring harpist who is brave, patient and wise and wishes only to return to his betrothed love, and Prince Ellidyr who is contemptuous of Taran the assistant pig keeper, and who risks everyone's safety, including his own to claim glory for himself.
Lloyd Alexander packs this fantasy with adventure and humor and laces it with pettiness and nobility. Included in this edition is a Prydain pronunciation key and a sample chapter from the next book in this series, The Castle of Llyr.
Newbery Medal Honor book