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 ...

It’s time for little Maximillian to go to school! His wealthy parents have chosen the most perfect school for him where he will learn to be kind and no one will bully him, or call him names, or hurt him – ever! Why? All of the students except Max are really good robots! He never guesses they aren’t real and makes a best friend in Josie. She opens his eyes to all sorts of innocent fun things ...

Unlikely friendships blossom, tenderheartedness starkly contrasts with selfish unkindness, and creative problem solving prevails. What a great recipe for a delightful, inspiring story. Its heroes -- a gorilla, an elephant, and a young girl --may be a fairy tale group, but the theme, compassion often requires courage, is very real and transcendent.

This book should win an award for its marriage of creative design, storytelling, and journalism. The first of a planned trilogy, this "docu-novel" capitalizes on Wiles' ability to evoke empathy for her characters while expertly weaving together a time-period collage of images and headlines that set a marked tone and mood for the storyline. Political events impact family and community, and striking ...

What do a methodical, analytical boy and an ebullient, artistic girl have in common? They are both in fifth-grade with a big bully named Parker. Bell is entrenched in his logic, and Daelyn is the new girl in town. At first, they don’t hit it off. But making friends despite their differences and working together they overcome the bully!

An imaginative and fun, often hilarious, fantasy adventure! Explores concepts of identity, family, and character while engaging the reader with witty narrator commentary and great storytelling.

An absolutely unique reading experience where the number of pictures equals the number of text pages—each revealing significant details of this riveting mystery.

Told in free verse, this is a tale of survival and the human spirit. The African land of Darfur is the home of Amira, a young girl with hopes and dreams of going to school. But her village is very poor, and her mother believes she must forgo learning and focus on her family. When neighboring Sudanese tribes attack and her father is killed, Amira, her mother, and sister must leave and make the peri ...