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The Children of Green Knowe
by L. M. BostonTolly has been at boarding-school while his parents are in Burma, and he longs for a place to call home.
When his great-grandmother invites him to stay with her during Christmas vacation he goes to Green Noah, the estate which has belonged to his family for more than 400 years.
In a portrait above the fireplace he sees three children, and soon he hears their laughter and sees their footprints in the snow.
His great-grandmother tells him stories of their adventures, and past and present flow together. This is a story filled with warmth and magic.
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
by Jack GantosJoey Pigza can't sit still, he can't follow the rules, and he can't concentrate when his meds aren't working. He's had these problems since he was born, problems just like his dad and grandma have. And whether he's wreaking havoc on a class trip or swallowing his house key, Joey's problems are getting worse. In fact, his behavior is so off the wall that his teachers are threatening to send him to the special-ed center downtown. Joey knows he's really a good kid, but no matter how hard he tries to do the right thing, something always seems to go wrong. Will he ever get anything right? For older children.
Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers
by Dav PilkeyTra-la-laaa!! The NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling Captain Underpants series is now available in ebook edition, featuring Flip-E-Rama, bonus content, and more!
When we last saw our heroes, George and Harold, they had been turned into evil zombie nerds doomed to roam a devastated, postapocalyptic planet for all eternity. But why, might you ask, didn't the amazing Captain Underpants save the boys from this frightening fate? Because Tippy Tinkletrousers and his time-traveling hijinks prevented George and Harold from creating Captain Underpants in the first place! Now, having changed the course of human history forever, they'll have to figure out a way to CHANGE IT BACK!
The River at Green Knowe
by L. M. BostonWhile Mrs. Oldknow is away, two maiden ladies are living at Green Knowe. They invite three children - two war refugees and one English girl - to spend the summer holidays.
The children have a series of adventures as they explore the river near Green Knowe, meeting a hermit, seeing winged horses, and witnessing an ancient ritual. The grown-ups are oblivious to the new realities the children reveal.
Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye
by Wendelin Van DraanenSammy doesn't go looking for trouble, but she seems to find it everywhere. She's forever sniffing out clues and chasing down bad guys--and driving her friends a little nuts. She's gone up against thieves and counterfeiters and gangsters and blackmailers and murderers, and always stayed one step ahead.
Until now.
Last night, one of the bad guys caught up. Last night, someone followed Sammy up the fire escape and pushed her from the third story. Now she's in the hospital, out cold. And her friends are left with the questions Sammy's always been so good at answering: Why? How? But most of all . . . WHO?
In this emotional conclusion to her beloved long-running series, Wendelin Van Draanen shows just how many lives one nosy girl can touch and pays tribute to a life well sleuthed.
Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy
by Wendelin Van DraanenShe is supposed to be in church to get out of trouble...Sammy is working off some junior high detention time by helping out at St. Mary's, but when Father Mayhew discovers that his ivory cross has been stolen, Sammy becomes the prime suspect.
While she's looking for the real culprit, Sammy is amazed to find how much gossip and petty jealousy there is bubbling under the church's serene surface. This is just like junior high! And school is abubble with intrigue as well. Sammy's in the middle of softball playoffs when her catcher's mitt is stolen. She's sure the hated Heather must have it, but knowing whodunit and getting the mitt back are two different things. With a cast that includes a trio of singing nuns, a homeless girl in high tops, a former safecracker, and a red-hot shortstop, it's not so easy to tell the saints from the sinners...
Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man
by Wendelin Van DraanenWhat does Frankenstein have that a skeleton wants? Sounds like a bad Halloween joke. But Sammy Keyes isn't laughing. She's the one who collided with the skeleton while he was making his getaway. And she's the one who discovered Frankenstein tied to a chair with his head twisted around. Someone's taken "trick or treat" way too far.
When Sammy starts to investigate what really happened Halloween night, she's amazed at how many people have something to hide. Of course, Sammy's got a few secrets herself. And more than a few tricks up her sleeve... there has eleven more books in the exciting Sammy Keyes mystery series.
The Borrowers Afield
by Mary NortonFrom the book: Driven out of their cozy house by the rat catcher, the Borrowers find themselves homeless. Worse, they are lost and alone in a frightening new world: the outdoors. Nearly everything outside--cows, moths, field mice, cold weather--is a life-threatening danger for the tiny Borrowers. But as they bravely journey across country in search of a new home and learn how to survive in the wild, Pod, Homily, and their daughter, Arrietty, discover that the world beyond their old home has more joy, drama, and people than they'd ever imagined. "Readers who found Mary Norton's The Borrowers just about perfect may approach this one with the nervous premonition that it couldn't possibly be as good. It is, though--and in some ways even better." --The New York Times Book Review Other books in this series are available from Bookshare.
The Borrowers Afloat
by Mary NortonWhen famine drives them from their home, the Borrowers escape down the drain of the washhouse. This is the story of their search for a new home.
The Borrowers Afield
by Mary Norton“The Borrowers Afield is beautifully written and engrossing, even suspenseful . . . like the best of children’s books, this is really a book for all ages.” —Tor.com Driven out of their cozy house by the rat catcher, the Borrowers find themselves homeless. Worse, they are lost and alone in a frightening new world: the outdoors. Nearly everything outside—cows, moths, field mice, cold weather—is a life-threatening danger for the tiny Borrowers. But as they bravely journey across country in search of a new home and learn how to survive in the wild, Pod, Homily, and their daughter, Arrietty, discover that the world beyond their old home has more joy, drama, and people than they’d ever imagined. An ALA Notable Book“Readers who found Mary Norton’s The Borrowers just about perfect may approach this one with the nervous premonition that it couldn’t possibly be as good. It is, though—and in some ways even better.” —The New York Times Book Review“This book, like its predecessor, is a lovely thing . . . The Borrowers are fascinating not just because they are tiny creatures in a large world, but because they are people.” —The Horn Book“Mary Norton is a genius.” —Mademoiselle
Like the Willow Tree
by Lois LowryTwo-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series! Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shakers' unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know. Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.
A Coal Miner's Bride
by Susan Campbell BartolettiA diary account of 13-year-old Anetka's life in Poland in 1896, immigration to America, marriage to a coal miner, widowhood, and happiness in finally finding her true love. Her fascinating diary entries give readers a personal glimpse into what life was like in a coal-mining town during a tumultuous time in the country's past.
Behind The Masks
by Susan PatronNewbery Award-winning author Susan Patron brings her talents to the beloved Dear America series in this exciting story of a girl growing up in the Wild West, in a California gold mining town. Growing up in the wild gold-mining town of Bodie, California, in the 1880s, Angeline Reddy has seen it all -- saloons, brawls, and a whole lot of desperation. When her father, Bodie's greatest lawyer, is declared murdered, Angie knows deep in her heart that he isn't dead and decides it is up to her to solve the mystery of what happened to him. But when her mother takes ill and a mysterious ghost appears, putting together the puzzle pieces seems impossible. Not to mention, a gang of vigilantes, the 601, is raging out of control, running folks out of town, and nobody seems safe. Will Angie, with the help of her friends Ellie and Ling Loi, and the mysterious and tragically handsome Antoine, be able to uncover the secret of her father's disappearance?
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly
by Joyce HansenIn this latest addition to the Dear America series, Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Joyce Hansen presents the inspiring story of Patsy, a freed girl who becomes a great teacher.
A Light in the Storm
by Karen HesseNewbery Medal winner Karen Hesse's Civil War diary, A LIGHT IN THE STORM, is now back in print with a beautiful new cover!
In 1861, Amelia Martin's father is stripped of his post as a ship's captain when he is caught harboring the leader of a slave rebellion. Now he is an assistant lighthouse keeper on Fenwick Island, off the coast of Delaware -- a state wedged between the North and the South, just as Amelia is wedged between her warring parents.
Amelia's mother blames her abolitionist husband for their living conditions, which she claims are taking a toll on her health. Amelia observes her mother's hate and her father's admiration for Abraham Lincoln.
But slavery is the deeper issue separating the two sides. As the Civil War rages on, Amelia slowly learns that she cannot stop the fighting, but by keeping watch in the lighthouse each day, lighting the lamps, cleaning the glass, and rescuing victims of Atlantic storms, she can still make a difference.
All the Stars in the Sky
by Megan McdonaldA girl's diary records the year 1848 during which she, her brother, mother, and stepfather traveled the Santa Fe trail from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Winter of Red Snow
by Kristiana GregoryEleven-year-old Abigail presents a diary account of life in Valley Forge from December 1777 to July 1778 as General Washington prepares his troops to fight the British.
Love Thy Neighbor
by Ann TurnerThe drama of the American Revolution is brought to life through the eyes of young Prudence Emerson, who tells the story from the rarely heard perspective of a Tory.
My Face to the Wind
by Jim MurphySarah Jane Price keeps a diary as a promise to her late father, the former school teacher in Broken Bow Nebraska. She accounts her struggle to gain acceptance as the new teacher even though she is so young. She tells of the harshness of the weather, her trials at balancing relationships between herself and her pupils as well as herself and the rest of the townspeople.
Wolf Hollow
by Lauren WolkA young girl's kindness, compassion, and honesty overcome bullying.
Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and while her bullying seems isolated at first, things quickly escalate, and reclusive World War I veteran Toby becomes a target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby’s strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness. She will soon need to find the courage to stand as a lone voice of justice as tensions mount.
Brilliantly crafted, Wolf Hollow is a haunting tale of America at a crossroads and a time when one girl’s resilience, strength, and compassion help to illuminate the darkest corners of our history.
Winner of Newbery Honor
A New York Times Bestseller
Doll Bones
by Holly BlackDiscover the Newbery Honor winner Doll Bones, from Holly Black, the cocreator of the Spiderwick Chronicles. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book. A School Library Journal Best Book. A Booklist Editor’s Choice Books for Youth. A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book. A NYPL “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.” A 2013 Goodreads Choice award nominee. A People Magazine “Best New Kids Book.” Six starred reviews!Winner of a 2014 Newbery Honor Medal.Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her.But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen—and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest. But nothing goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that it has them in its clutches?Doll Bones is a winner of the Newbery Honor, is the recipient of six starred reviews, was on four Best Book lists, and was called "perfect" by The New York Times.
Inside Out and Back Again
by Thanhha LaiNo one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare VanderpoolWinner of the 2011 Newbery Award.
The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.
Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.
Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpool’s debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline KellyCalpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.
With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger.
As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.
Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit.
2010 Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the 2010 Bank Street - Josette Frank Award
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace LinIn the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.
Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full-color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.
Newbery Honor book