A National Book Award Nominee for 2013, A Tangle of Knots is a beautiful story about Cady, an orphan who has a special talent for seeing people and knowing the perfect cake for them. Told from many different perspectives and with many different characters, it takes a little while for the "knot" to be tied but, with a touch of magic, a little mystery, a lot of warmth and humor, and even some great ...

During a crisis, how many things have to go right before you wonder if a larger plan is playing out? Survivors and rescuers confront this question in a dramatic, real-life story of survival. The writing is unrelentingly gripping, giving readers multiple perspectives as the storm rages, the waves rise, and the rescue plays out. (Includes mild language in very few quotes from individuals as they sha ...

The Newbery Medal-winning tale of an orphan boy whose dream of becoming a master potter leads to unforeseen adventure in ancient Korea.​Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean village renowned for its ceramics. When he accidentally breaks a delicate piece of pottery, he volunteers to work to pay for the damage. Putting aside his own dreams, Tree-ear resolves to serve the master po ...

Based on Tempe Wick's life and the tale of hiding her horse in her house during the coldest winter of the American Revolution, Rinaldi's story poignantly addresses the question of compromising one's loyalty for "victory."

Recounting her ancestors' struggle to make a way in a new land, the author offers a rich telling of Texas history.

The fast-paced story captures the desperation some families experienced when the Berlin Wall was erected. As the protagonist and her brother face critical decisions, readers will explore their own thinking and possible choices given the story's extraordinary circumstances. The result is a reading-based thrill ride.

An award-winning author presents the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse, who sings his way into the heart of Mrs. Honeybee, his human housemate.

The Great Depression hits close to home for 11-year-old Margo Bandini when the sheriff starts eviction procedures against her family. Her father has two weeks to pay the bank or they must leave their home forever. Margo is determined to find a way to help Papa save their home, in this debut novel based on the author's own experiences.

SEWING! NO ONE could hate it more than Dina Kirk. Endless tiny stitches, button holes, darts. Since she was tiny, she's worked in her family's dressmaking business, where the sewing machine is a cranky member of the family. When 13-year-old Dina leaves her small town in Germany to join her uncle's family in Brooklyn, she turns her back on sewing. Never again! But looking for a job leads her right ...

This novel, written in diary form, tells of "a pivotal year for 19th-century New Englander Catherine Cabot Hill--one of change, loss, and leave taking . . . a low-key, intense and reflective book".--"School Library Journal", starred review. 1980 Newbery Award book.

Adolf Hitler's ominous statements seem only a distant threat to eleven-year-old Rudi Kaplan. But when the Nazi forces invade Poland and bomb his home city of Warsaw, Rudi finds out that he is Hitler's enemy not only because he is a Pole, but also because he's a Jew--and a Christian. The next few years change Rudi's life forever. With only his imprisoned father's promise that they will be reunited ...

June’s whole concept of home is shaken when her widowed mother and younger sister must move into a homeless shelter. The embarrassment and the struggles are real. The girls must rise early to get to their school. Mother is noncommunicative and June’s greatest joy, playing the viola, is out of the question. So everything is left to June to navigate the waters of the homeless shelter. She alone ...

June’s whole concept of home is shaken when her widowed mother and younger sister must move into a homeless shelter. The embarrassment and the struggles are real. The girls must rise early to get to their school. Mother is noncommunicative and June’s greatest joy, playing the viola, is out of the question. So everything is left to June to navigate the waters of the homeless shelter. She alo ...

Sadness and silence spark miraculous and memorable events in young Cally Fisher's life. Add a lovable dog into the mix, and this becomes a story that will move and enthrall young readers. NOTE: the story features unexplainable events (though an implied explanation is part of the story), and one scene features a father drinking from a beer bottle.

Urban's bite-sized "chapters" paint just enough detail to reveal a perspective or quirk of each character, making this reading experience a smorgasbord of delightful tastes and textures. This is an uplifting celebration of how lemons become lemonade, for parents just as much as their kids: disappointment confronted with determination can garner reward; crippling insecurities grow weaker with skill ...

A sensitive, heartwarming story!

Twin brothers, sons of a plantation owner, share everything--except their different beliefs about slavery. As the political tensions rise in the South, they are caught between their passions for their causes and their love for one another. When the Civil War begins, the twins both go to war--to fight each other. Mary Stolz captures the spirit of the times in this emotionally-charged story of two b ...