Anna is living a lonely life on a small island with only her ageing mathematician father and his helper Max as company. When Rob washes ashore after an accident, Anna's world is turned upside-down. Is Max really devoted to her father? Is Rob the love she's been waiting for? Could she really leave the island? Drawing inspiration from The Tempest, Jane Eagland has woven a rich and moving story of mystery, love and deception
Award-winning author Emily McCully's most adventurous book to date draws a dramatic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America.
For as long as he can remember, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau has been told that a promising future lies ahead of him. After all, his mother is the great Sacagawea, who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition of discovery. And thanks to his mother, Baptiste's life changes forever when Captain Clark offers him an education in the bustling new city of St. Louis.
There, his mother charges him to "learn everything" -- reading, writing, languages, mathematics. His life becomes a whirl of new experiences: lessons, duels, dances, elections. He makes friends and undertakes unexpected journeys to far-off places.
But he also witnesses the injustices Clark, as a US agent for Indian Affairs, forces upon the Osage, the Arikara, the Mandan, and so many others. He sees the effect of what some call "progress" on the land and on the people who have lived there for generations. And he must choose what path he will take and what place he will have in a rapidly changing society.
The thrilling sequel to the acclaimed Beautiful Blue World follows a brave girl who must flee her country during wartime and work undercover to defeat the enemy. For fans of The War That Saved My Life and Wolf Hollow.
"A thoughtful, pellucid story . . . [that] gently probes questions of loyalty, patriotism and sacrifice." -The Wall Street Journal on Beautiful Blue World
A war took Mathilde away from her family when she was chosen to serve her country, Sofarende, with other children working on a secret military project.
But now the other children-including her best friend, Megs-have fled to safety, and Mathilde is all alone, determined to complete her mission.
In this powerful and deeply moving sequel to the acclaimed Beautiful Blue World, Mathilde must make her way through a new stage of the war. Haunted by the bold choice she made on the night she chose her country's future over her own well-being, she clings to the promise Megs made long ago: "Whatever happens, I'll be with you."
Praise for Beautiful Blue World:
"Readers will be drawn in by the underlying belief that kids' work is important and powerful, and eager for the promised sequel." -Publishers Weekly, Starred
"Deeply emotional, compelling, and brilliant." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"LaFleur crafts a protagonist who is compassionate and resourceful, in a war-ravaged world in which children are, by turns, exploited and empowered. The tension is high and danger ever present." -School Library Journal, Starred
In the vein of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Number the Stars, this fusion of fairy tales, folklore, and World War II history eloquently illustrates the power of love and the inherent will to survive even in the darkest of times.
In the land of dolls, there is magic.
In the land of humans, there is war.
Everywhere there is pain.
But together there is hope.
Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Kraków, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past.
The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina's courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter-that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him.
But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.
Young Abe Lincoln is all dressed up in his best suit and on his way to deliver an important speech. As he walks along, he finds a pig stuck in a mudhole. Abe hates to see any animal suffer. If he helps the pig, his clothes will get muddy. What would people think of a mud-covered speaker? Abe doesn't want to leave the pig stranded, but he has no other nice clothes to wear. So, he continues down the road toward town, feeling guilty. He knows a pig isn't a person, yet it still seems wrong not to help. Stephen Krensky, the popular author of the Lionel books, bases this story on an old folk tale about the former president. It provides a gentle lesson about making sacrifices to help others. Ed Sala's homespun narration carries listeners back to another time.
Can one mistake destroy the chance of a lifetime? A girl discovers there are many ways of being true in this magnificent ode to handwritten letters and the shining power of friendship from the author of "Dovey Coe," set in the Appalachian mountains of 1920s North Carolina. One true friend. Someone shining. That's all twelve-year-old Arie Mae wants. But shining true friends are hard to come by deep in the mountains of western North Carolina, so she sets her sights on a cousin unseen, someone who lives all the way away in the big city of Baltimore, Maryland. Three unanswered letters later, Arie Mae learns that a group of kids from Baltimore are coming to spend a summer on the mountain. Arie Mae loves her smudge of a town--she knows there's nothing finer than Pa's fiddling and Mama's apple cake, but she also knows Big City folk might feel differently.
How else to explain the song catcher ladies who have descended upon the village in search of "traditional tunes" and their intention to help "save" the townspeople? But when the group from Baltimore arrives, it seems there just might be a gem among them, one shining boy who doesn't seem to notice Arie Mae wears the same dress every day and prefers to go barefoot. So what if he has a bit of a limp and a rumored heart problem--he also is keen about "everything "Arie Mae is keen about, and has all the makings of a true friend. And so what if the boy's mother warns him not to exert himself? He and Arie Mae have adventures to go on! In between writing letters to her cousin, Arie Mae leads her one shining friend on ghost hunts and bear chases. But it turns out those warnings were for a reason...
Elsie Mae has long treasured summers with her grandparents in the Okefenokee Swamp, so she is devastated to hear that a shipping company plans to build a canal right through it. What will that mean for the people and animals that call the swamp home? So she writes a letter directly to President Franklin Roosevelt himself and sets off to enjoy what may be her last happy summer there with her new dog, Huck. But when she arrives, she discovers a team of hog bandits who have been stealing from the swamper families. When her cousin Henry James, who dreams of one day becoming a traveling preacher like his daddy, shows up, Elsie doesn't think things could get worse. But then she devises a plan to use Henry and his Hallelujahs to help stop the thieves-and maybe make just enough noise to gain Roosevelt's attention...
Charlotte is not very excited about the doll her aunt Edme sends her. It has a prim painted mouth and is dressed in lace and silk. Besides, Charlotte has never really wanted a doll. "We like climbing trees," Charlotte tells the doll. Much to Charlotte's surprise, the new doll doesn't seem to mind her rough way of playing. By the time they are finished, Charlotte's new doll is muddy and torn, but her prim mouth has softened into a warm smile. But what will Aunt Edme think when she comes to visit?
Christopher Rowe is back and there are more puzzles, riddles, and secrets to uncover in this third novel of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series.
Wherever Christopher Rowe goes, adventure-and murder-follows. Even a chance to meet King Charles ends in a brush with an assassin.
All that's recovered from the killer is a coded message with an ominous sign-off: more attempts are coming. So when Christopher's code-breaking discovers the attack's true target, he and his friends are ordered to Paris to investigate a centuries-old curse on the French throne. And when they learn an ancient treasure is promised to any assassin who succeeds, they realize the entire royal family is at stake-as well as their own lives.
In the third heart-pounding installment of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series, Christopher, Tom, and Sally face new codes, puzzles, and traps as they race to find the hidden treasure before someone else is murdered.
"I think," said Nicey, "that Christmas is the most magic time of all the year, not just for the pretty things you get, but for the feeling inside you of what a good place the world is to live in. I should know, for I have seen one hundred and ten Christmases!" Nicey Melinda and Sethany Ann are two very old, but very well loved dolls. This time of year, the dolls are busy planning their yearly Christmas dinner party-with a little help from the two little girls they live with. The girls bundle Nicey and Sethany up to go to the woods for their Christmas tree. After they all decorate the tree with silver nutmegs and golden pears, there is much baking to be done for the party. Oh what a lovely Christmas they will have! Tasha Tudor's delightfully nostalgic story conveys the charm of holiday traditions. With Davina Porter's warm narration, you will experience all the magic of an old fashioned Christmas.
Laura Amy Schlitz delivers this Horn Book Fanfare and Cybils Award-winning best-seller that whisks 11-year-old Maud Flynn from a cold New England orphanage and into the stately mansion of three wealthy spinsters. After the Hawthorne sisters adopt her in 1909, they tell her she's their secret child. She must remain indoors at all times and must never stand in front of windows. Since these old ladies treat her so well, Maud doesn't mind their restrictions. But she does wonder what could possibly require such secrecy.
Lil' Boy is just an ordinary child growing up on his father's farm in a little place called Creek Town. But in the 1960s, even the most average black boy had something to worry about. All Lil' Boy wants is to wear his bright red hat, have some fun and adventure and get out of doing his chores. Then, one day, everything changes. After he is attacked with rocks being thrown at him by several angry men driving their truck along the road, Lil' Boy makes a promise to himself: when he gets older, he will own that road, and no one will ever throw rocks at him again. It's a long journey, but before long, Lil' Boy is deep in the heart of politics and on his way to greatness. A Not So Easy Road tells the story of Commissioner Mose Jones Jr. and will inspire any child looking to make a difference in their home, community, school, or country.
