Early Whitcomb's family needs a miracle. Their Iowa farm has been in the family for generations, but a long drought has withered their savings and left them in debt. Meanwhile, the great Chicago and Northwestern Railroad wants their land, and if the Whitcombs can't pay their loans, the local banker, Judge Fuslin, will foreclose and sell the farm as his own. Early's uncle (though he's more like a brother), Jesse, thinks he has the solution: to head West and dig for gold. Fueled by reports of prospectors striking it rich in the Rocky Mountains, Jesse can't think about anything but gold, and his determination to get to the western territories grows stronger by the day. Early is wild to go with him, as much for the adventure as for the gold. But the journey costs money--more than the boys can afford--and when Jesse flees during the night, after being accused of a robbery, Early doesn't know what to believe. Then Jesse sends an electrifying message--that he has found gold, but his life is in danger--and Early knows he must do whatever it takes to find him, even if it means running away and joining a wagon train with a strange family. The journey is dangerous and full of hardships, and the closer the travelers get to their destination, the more ruined lives they encounter--lives consumed by the hunt for gold. Then to his horror, Early learns that Jesse has been accused of another, much bigger crime and has fled to a secret place in the mountains. Somehow, Early must get to him without leading Jesse's pursuers right to his door. And even if he succeeds, Early will still have to make the hardest choice of his life.

Minnesota, 1852: Now that white settlers have taken over the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, twelve-year-old Omakayas and her family must search for a new home where they can live in peace. As they journey westward, they face many challenges: the fearsome Bwaanag tribe, a raid in which all their belongings are stolen, near-starvation, and the loss of a loved one. Author's note on the Ojibwe language. Glossary. Book notes. Black-and-white illustrations.

"Five facts about me: My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. I have leukemia. By the time\ you read this, I will probably be dead." Living through the last stages of cancer, Sam writes a book about himself, in which, along with facts and his story, he includes pictures, questions, and lists. Lists like "Things That I Want to Do," "What to Do When Someone Dies," and "Ways to Live Forever." Includes a list of cancer Web sites and literature about death and dying.

Cartagena, Colombia, the seventeenth century. Thirteen-year-old Calepino, an educated slave and translator, talks to Mara and her son, Tomi, both newly arrived aboard a slave ship. He wants to help them escape, but it's impossible. Soon after, Calepino is sent to help Dr. Mendo López de Campo at a local leper colony. Initially repulsed, Calepino soon finds that he enjoys learning from Dr. López. When Calepino learns that Tomi and Mara are being abused by their owner, he resolves to save them . . . but his plan may endanger Dr. López. Author's note. Black-and-white art.

Marigold and her husband, Christopher, live in an enchanted world, populated by characters such as Sleeping Beauty and Alison Wonderland. It's a world of fairy tales, magic, and happy endings-which is why no one expected Marigold's evil mother, Queen Olympia, to survive her fall into Beaurivage's river. But survive she did, and now she's back, ready to reclaim her throne and put Marigold's kindly father, King Swithbert, on the chopping block.

After Mitch's father leaves the family, Mitch and his mother retreat to her parents' house on Bird Lake. To stave off his misery, Mitch imagines taking over the abandoned house next door and living a new, better life there. So, when the house's rightful owners show up to claim it, Mitch decides to haunt the house and "drive the intruders away." Unfortunately, onlySpencer, the ten-year-old boy next door, notices the haunting.

Most people find their neighbors boring. Neighborhood spies Annie and Natalie-code names Elvis and Olive-know better. As Annie puts it: "Even the most dull-looking people do all kinds of weird, interesting things when they think no one's watching." Clarissa Jackson, for example, plants fake flowers in her garden; Virginia Brooks, a former television actress, eats face cream. Spying, both girls agree, is the most fun they've ever had-until, that is, they inadvertently discover big secrets about each other.

"In the early 1800s people who were 'just' deaf or 'just' blind were considered impossible to educate." So it was especially remarkable that Laura Bridgman, deaf and blind from age two, was recognized as having great promise to learn. She left home to attend the first American school for blind children; by the age of twelve she had become so famous that Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin wrote about her and people came from all over the world to see her. Introduction. Afterword. Source notes. Bibliography. Web sites. Index. Black-and-white photographs.

"When the judge decided my sisters should live with Dwight, I knew it was going to change my life." After the divorce, Addie's half sisters moved upstate with their natural father, Dwight, and Addie moved to a trailer home-parked off a busy city intersection-with her increasingly unstable mother. But Addie still remembers-and longs for-a "normal" family life. "Normal is being able to count on certain things. Good things. And it's having everyone together-just because they belong that way."

Griffin's father's invention, the Smartpick FruitsafeTM picking mechanism, has endangered the family's finances. So when Griffin finds a Babe Ruth baseball card, he takes it to a collectibles shop, hoping to cash in. The proprietor, S. Wendell Palamino, declares it a knockoff and pays him just one hundred twenty dollars-only to display the card on TV the next day as one that could "break the million-dollar barrier." Furious at the injustice, Griffin assembles a group of kids with unique talents to get the card back.

Leela feels helpless when she's widowed at thirteen-custom says she can't leave her house in rural India for an entire year. Despite her confinement, Leela finds her world expanding greatly when a kindly teacher begins tutoring her and making her read the newspaper every day. Soon Leela is engrossed in the political struggles led by Gandhi. But in order to join Gandhi's movement to speak out against oppression, Leela must first find her own voice.

China, 1972. Since Comrade Li moved into the house, life has been very different for Ling. She used to laugh and play with her father in the evenings. Now, her parents whisper and worry. Though Ling is taught that Chairman Mao works for her happiness, food is rationed; her father, a skilled surgeon, is ordered to give up doctoringto mop floors and scrub bathrooms at the hospital; and a dear friend has been declared an enemy of the state. This novel about the Cultural Revolution is based on the author's childhood. Author's note.

Maya has lived with her overprotective grandmother in California since her parents' fatal car crash years ago. Grandmother monitors her every action, barely allows Maya out of the house, and while she speaks reverently of Maya's father, has taken away almost every reminder of Maya's mother. When Grandmother suddenly dies, Maya is sent to a remote Wyoming ranch, where she, her great-aunt Vi, and a pesky cousin, Payton, eat around a fire, wash dishes in a tub, and sleep in tents. There Maya encounters a wild mare that her mother once rode.

In the waning days of the dinosaurs, a new world emerges. Dusk is different from the other chiropters in his colony. While they glide to get from tree to tree, Dusk has the urge-and, he soon discovers, the ability-to actually fly. As the leader's son, he is protected for a time, but his father asks him to suppress his unusual talent to avoid being shunned-or worse. Then a new threat emerges, when a group of felids, led by Carnassial, stops eating only fruit, roots, and grubs to become predators. Black-and-white illustrations. Author's note.

Night after night, the ogre Grendel, who lives "in the dragon marshes of Denmark," breaks into King Hrothgar's hall and eats his fill of men. A bold young man hears of the ogre and sails to Denmark to help the king. Hrothgar's guards stop him as he approaches: "Who are you to come helmet-and-spear to the great king's hall?" "Beowulf is my name," he responds. This retelling of the classic poem was written using only words of Anglo-Saxon origin. Full-color ink and watercolor illustrations. Author's note.

Setting: An English manor, 1255. Dramatis personae: a gentle shepherdess who sings all night to a dying sheep, a crippled pilgrim who seeks a cure at Saint Winifred's Well, a lord's nephew who dreads hunting boar with his uncle, a tanner's apprentice who defends the stink of leathermaking, and more. Here are nineteen monologues and two dialogues full of the intriguing (and sometimes gruesome) details of medieval life. Full-color ink and watercolor illustrations. Foreword. Bibliography.

Why should you be careful about cliché usage? This smart, funny guide to grammar and style has the answer to that question-"A little goes a long way"-and many more. What's the difference between which and that? What's the correct way to pluralize? And when can you use an exclamation point? "An exclamation point is like the horn on your car, something that shouts to get attention. . . . But if you shout too often, people will stop paying attention." Black-and-white cartoons.

David, nine, thinks that obeying the rules and never watching the sun rise will bring his mother back. Primrose, thirteen, wants to earn enough at the flea market to create the cozy home her kooky fortune-telling mother can't provide. Both are missing their fathers. After a chance meeting, David and Primrose are soon spending late nights picking through the trash and going to the all-night Dunkin' Donuts. It's an unlikely friendship, but they prefer each other to a meddling grandmother and a needy mother.

Olivia's abnormally short friend Frannie is trying to make herself grow. According to her research, a mysterious jungle plant just might do the trick, but the anthropologist who knows its secrets has secluded himself in an unknown location. Meanwhile, Olivia has unenthusiastically begun attending the Malcolm Flavius School for the Arts. While drawing the old man across the street for homework, she realizes that he is desperately searching . . . for what?

Agnes has a strategy to survive seventh grade: hang out in the art room, avoid the leering eighth-grade boys-in short, remain invisible. But staying under the radar turns out to be tricky. Agnes's outgoing best friend decides to stand up to the boys with a run for class president, and she appoints Agnes campaign manager. Then Agnes tentatively befriends a short, nerdy, and wonderfully quirky boy-who seems to pay her a little too much attention.

Johnny Maxwell is doing a school project on the Second World War about a German bomb strike in his hometown: "Nineteen people got killed! In one night! There wasn't any warning!" Then, due to a strange encounter with a mysterious time-filled shopping cart, Johnny finds himself in 1941, just before the bomb is about to fall. This leaves Johnny with a dilemma: Can he save people from the attack? And should he meddle with history?

All girls receive magic on their thirteenth birthday, and Magpie Gabbard is no exception. But magic might not be enough to help Magpie reunite her brother Milo with his missing foot, satisfy the demands of a moody floating head and his wild boar, best the pernicious Sizemore family, avoid Goblins, and find the buried moon all by herself-especially when she has only thirteen days.

Jeremy Fink doesn't leave anything to chance-he eats peanut butter at every meal, avoids the subway, and reminds his teachers to give him homework. Then, a month before he turns thirteen, he receives a surprise package. It's a wooden box to open on his birthday, and it's from his father, who died five years ago in a freak accident. One more thing:the box is locked, and the keys are missing.

Sisters Marcelle and Coco are walking in the woods near their home in France when they find an English soldier sleeping under a tree. When they wake him, he tells them that he's blind and is trying to find his way across the Channel to visit his sick brother. Marcelle and Coco, enchanted with the man and his storytelling, promise to keep his presence a secret, but soon find it difficult to determine exactly which of his stories are true.

Who would want to adopt eleven-year-old Maud Flynn? She is plain and feisty, and anyway, the ladies visiting the Asylum-the aging Hawthorne sisters-are looking for a younger girl. As it happens, Hyacinth Hawthorne thinks Maud is perfect: "Look how tiny she is, Judith. And she has a lovely singing voice." Maud's good fortune turns out to be more complicated than it seems: She is just the prop the Hawthornes need for their strange and secret family business.

John and Tom need to keep their dog Mouse, but Tom has become dangerously ill, and the doctor says no dog. Gran and Mum can't be convinced that Mouse staying will help save Tom: "I tried the eyes thing, but it didn't work on them," Mouse explains to Tom. "Obviously you'll have a plan?" An uncle in the south might like Mouse, but Gran and Mum would never agree to bring her to him. There's only one thing John and Mouse can do: Make the trip themselves

Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis doesn't really have anyone she can talk to. She is deaf, most people's lips are too hard to read, and her mother won't let her learn sign language. So she is happy to meet some remarkable neighbors: Charlie, a scientist whose parents were deaf, and Sukari, a young chimpanzee whom he's teaching to sign. Then Charlie dies-and leaves Sukari's fate in Joey's hands. Afterword. Chart of the ASL alphabet.

1803: Sam Robbins, an English boy pressed into the Royal Navy, serves as a powder monkey aboard the HMS Victory, where he comes to know and admire Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson. 2006: Molly Jennings, an English girl lonely in her new American home, discovers a scrap of the flag that once flew over the HMS Victory, tucked inside a biography of Nelson. Sam and Molly's stories, strangely linked across the centuries, converge against the backdrop of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar.

Sixth-grader Ted Hammond is a master of mysteries. He reads two or three a week and solves most of them midway through the book. So Ted jumps at the chance to explore a real-life mystery in his tiny town. In the abandoned Anderson farmhouse, he sees what looks like a girl's face in the attic window: ". . .she'd pulled back into the shadow just as he rode past and glanced her way. She hadn't wanted to be seen." Is it a ghost or a real person?

Brind was raised among the fine mastiffs of Sir Edmund's run-down estate. The dogs obey his commands and respond to his smallest gestures. But when Sir Edmund drags Brind and the dogs off to war in France, a disastrous battle scatters the pack. Alone and lost in a strange country, Brind has one thought only: to find Glaive, the pack's lead dog, and return to their master.

Samuel Collier isn't sure whether he is lucky or doomed when he is pulled from the orphanage to become page to Captain John Smith on a journey to the New World. He is eager to see the gold that "washes up on the shore with each tide," but his master's open hostility toward his superiors in the Virginia Company is bound to cause trouble. "They're sending nothing but gentlemen!" Smith says. "By God, who will build the houses? Who will grow the crops?" Author's note. Sources.

While eleven-year-old Cara is at a sleepover, a fire engulfs her house--with tragic consequences. No one will tell Cara exactly what happened that terrible morning; all she can do is grieve her mother and sister. But her father becomes withdrawn, and her best friend, Marlee, tires of waiting for her to feel better. Cara is not even sure she has God anymore. She is alone with her memories until she receives a phone call for her mother's old business, which gives her an idea-and, finally, something to look forward to.

There aren't many places to hang out in Blackbury, so twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell likes to take walks in the local cemetery. After all, it's green, it's got birds and foxes-it's full of life. Then Johnny discovers that he, and no one else, can see and speak with the cemetery's "post-living residents." They are not too happy about United Amalgamated Consolidated Holdings's plans to pave over the cemetery and build offices. The situation looks grave, and Johnny's the only one who can speak up on the dead's behalf.

When fifth grade genius Brenton invents a machine to do his homework for him, his deskmates-Snik, the class clown; Judy, the teacher's pet; and Kelsey, slacker extraordinaire-want in on the action. The unlikely foursome eventually become friends, but what happens when the secret is too big for one of them to keep?

In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was the sailing master aboard the Cinque Ports. Then an altercation with the ship's captain got Selkirk stranded on the uninhabited island Juan Fernandez, where he survived alone for almost four and a half years. He built his own shelter and tools, hunted and gathered a varied diet, and eventually learned to enjoy his own solitude. Black-and-white illustrations. Maps. Author's note. Glossary. Bibliography.

Vicki Marnet's once-carefree life is falling apart. Her father lost his job and has suddenly moved out. To pay the bills, her mother has taken in a boarder and stuck Vicki in a tiny storage room. What's worse, Mr. Franklin keeps reminding her to bring in money for the school field trip, and Vicki is too ashamed to tell him-or anyone else-that she can't.

"Bubbles used to be mostly my cat, but now, because V likes to feed her, she hangs out with both of us. . . . I have to share my room with Parker. I have to share Parker with Eric. And I have to share my Mom with everybody." Lily and Parker and their new stepsiblings Eric and V are struggling to find their places in a blended family. Alternating chapters allow each sibling to be heard.

When Sallie March and her older sister, Maude, are orphaned for the second time, they decide to escape their self-serving guardians in search of a long-lost uncle. The girls steal two horses and take off across the wild frontier, where they can't seem to avoid an outlaw who calls himself Joe Harden. Before long, Maude is notorious in tabloids across the land. Here is the story of what really happened-not the lies that were printed in the papers.

The alien spaceship is within range. Johnny adjusts his keyboard and takes aim. He's about to blow the enemy into smithereens when a message appears: We surrender. Huh? Computer-game aliens aren't supposed to surrender; they're supposed to die. What if the game isn't a game after all? Author's foreword.

Life is happy at the odinochka, the trading post where Erinia Pavaloff lives with her family in Russian Alaska. They fish, they sell goods, and when visitors come they play music and dance. But the Pavaloffs are creole-of mixed Russian and native heritage-and when the U.S. takes over Russian Alaska, big changes are in store for them.

When a thieving fox steals chickens from Gisella's family, she heads into the woods to bring the fox to justice. But against all warnings, she stares too long into the eyes of the fox, giving the creature the chance to exchange her body for its own. Soon, Gisella is living as a fox and journeying through a country torn apart by war in search of her stolen body and her missing family.

"What was it like at the slave-selling yesterday?" Emma asks her father. "It was like watching people die," he replies. "I knew practically every one of them what got sold . . ." On March 3 and 4, 1859 in Savannah, Georgia, the largest slave auction in American history took place. In alternating first-person narration, this novel brings to life the people most affected by the sale, from the plantation owner and the auctioneer to the people who were sold away. Author's note.

Kariuki understands the rules of his Kenyan village. He knows that being late to school means beatings from the headmaster, that dallying on chores means facing his mother's wrath, and that he must never do anything to cross Bwana Ruin, the white man who owns the farm where the villagers work. Then one summer Bwana's grandson Nigel comes to visit and befriends him. Suddenly avoiding trouble becomes more complicated than Kariuki ever imagined.

As children in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Jacqueline van Maarsen and her best friend, Anne Frank, experienced anti-Semitism firsthand. Despite living in extraordinary times, they were ordinary girls-until Anne died in the Holocaust andher diary was discovered. Jacqueline had mixed feelings about the now-famous diary: Was it right to publish Anne's private thoughts? Author's note. Time line. Black-and-white photos.

Thirteen-year-old twins Grace and Marty are sent to live with their uncle Wolfe, an eccentric anthropologist, after their parents disappear in an accident. When they travel with Wolfe to the Congo to stop his nemesis from poaching dinosaur eggs, he loses the twins in the jungle. Suddenly, Grace and Marty find themselves on a wild adventure with a chimp, a parrot, and some futuristic computers called "Gizmos."

Every day thirteen-year-old Bonnie S Holter meets her brother, Matt, outside his kindergarten classroom for the bus ride home. One day Matt isn't in the usual meeting place. Bonnie checks the bus, his classroom, and the playground, but Matt is nowhere to be found. After her mother and the police arrive at school and the grounds have been thoroughly searched, Bonnie faces the terrifying truth: Matt has been kidnapped!

Bambert is a small, shy man who lives alone in an attic apartment and loves to write. One day he decides to let chance determine the settings of his stories. He ties each tale to a hot-air balloon with a note asking for a reply and releases them on windy nights. As letters arrive from all over the world, Bambert uses their postmarks as locations to complete his book.

Muslim tradition dictates that women in Ghadames, Libya, lead separate lives from men, staying confined to houses and rooftops. Yet eleven-year-old Malika can't help longing to join her father on his trade expeditions through the desert and to learn to read like her brother. One night while Malika's fatheris away, an injured preacher is brought into the house. As Malika helps him recover, he teaches her to read and encourages her curiosity about the outside world.

Twelve-year-old Annika thinks her dreams have come true when an elegant German woman, Frau Edeltraut, arrives in Vienna to claim Annika as her long-lost daughter. Annika is sad to leave Sigrid and Ellie, the two women who found and raised her, but thrilled to be off with her mother. Then a trunk addressed to Annika disappears. Unbeknownst to Annika there is a connection between the missing trunk and Frau Edeltraut's sudden interest in her.

Diana and her little brother, Georgie, have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying mansion, for what seems like forever. They aren't allowed to leave the property or even show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker and his young daughter arrive, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules in the hope of makinga new friend.

In the Barony of Cant, a tiny country that is barely visible on the map, Lucy Wickwright serves as companion to the baron's daughter, Pauline, who enjoys playing practical jokes. One afternoon while fleeing the scene of a prank, Lucy discovers that a rebellion is brewing. Within hours she and Pauline are caught up in a web of intrigue that involves the royal astronomer, chewing gum, and a long-held secret. Author's note. Appendix.

When a book about mysterious occurrences brings sixth-grade classmates Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: Seemingly unrelated events intersect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Petra and Calder suddenly find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, and no one is spared from suspicion.

Koji is unhappy when his parents send him in place of his twin brother to apprentice to a dye maker. A few months later he fails to please his master and heads home in disgrace. Hoping to delay facing his parents' disappointment, Koji runs away into the nearby tengu forest. There a fifteen-year-old ninja named Spider discovers him. Although he has orders to kill intruders, Spider takes Koji to the ninja camp. Set in Japan during the Sengoku era.

"I've lived in this town my whole life / and I can tell you . . . / nothing ever happens." In the small town of Flemington, New Jersey, Katie Leigh Flynn looks for excitement in the headlines of the New York Times and dreams of becoming a reporter. Then Bruno Hauptmann, a man accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby, is put on trial in Flemington, and Katie gets a chance to witness the proceedings. Told in free verse. Author's note.

Jason has no family besides Chiron, a centaur who has raised him to become a warrior and a hero. Chiron's other students-princes from across the land-look down on Jason. Yet when a band of malicious centaurs steals Chiron's jars of Gorgon's blood-one contains medicine that can heal any wound; the other, the world's deadliest poison-Jason leads the other boys on a mission to find the thieves before it is too late. Authors' note.

Alice Ann Moxley moves with her family from Chicago to Jackson, Mississippi, in August 1964. Her father, an FBI agent, has been assigned to protect blacks who are registering to vote. Following the passage of a mandatory integration law, two black students enroll at Alice's new school. When she fails to make friends, Alice wonders if she should join in the harassment of her black classmate to gain favor with the other girls.

Margaret Peterson Haddix and Donna Jo Napoli are among the contributors to this collection that examines the perspectives of girls throughout American history. Lizzie encounters a "savage" when her family travels west in a wagon train. Joretta, crippled from polio, is determined to have a summer job. Emily will not let anything keep her from winning the summer reading contest. Includes an introduction and biographies of the authors.

The year is 1735. Eleven-year-old Forrest Harper works at the Tower of London, helping his father care for the king's ravens and tend to the prisoners. He hears news that their new charge--a Scottish rebel--is due to arrive. The "tough traitor" turns out to be a young girl named Maddy. Forrest is impressed by Maddy's bravery and the two develop a friendship that tests Forrest's own courage. Author's note. Historical background. Glossary. Bibliography.

May 17, 2004 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that declared segregation illegal. In essays, stories, and poems, ten children's book authors reflect on the landmark decision and its impact. The contributors, all of whom were young people at the time of the event, include Jerry Spinelli, Eloise Greenfield, and Ishmael Reed. Illustrated in full color.

Seventh graders Elias, Shohei, and Honoria rely on each other as they navigate the corridors of the prestigious Peshtigo School--until romance and a science fair interfere. Shohei becomes too busy with family problems to help Elias when a science teacher challenges the integrity of his experiment. Meanwhile, Honoria discovers that telling a best friend you like him is harder than teaching a piranha to eat bananas. Author's note.

Christmas has arrived at Ralph Mountfield's home, complete with a tree, trimmings, presents, and a host of demanding relatives. While crusty Great Granny, loopy Great-aunt Ida, and the bratty cousins test Mum and Dad's patience, Ralph tries to dodge trouble. But trouble finds Ralph when he suggests a topic for a family quiz game that incites a war of ugly words.

"Daddy opened / the envelope / slowly, / unfolded the letter, / and said only one word: / Vietnam." In poems, a young girl describes the year her father, a doctor, is drafted to serve in the Army. He receives the news at Christmas in 1967 and leaves for his tour of duty in February. To the girl, the wait for his return seems endless, and she worries when her memories of him start to fade.

Best friends Heckie and Dora have a falling out after graduating from the Witches Against Wickedness School and go their separate ways. In the town of Wellbridge, Heckie is determined to use her magic to "Do Good" and enlists the help of a boy named Daniel. Unaware that Heckie lives in Wellbridge, Dora later moves nearby. When an evil man charms both witches and plots to use their powers for his own gain, Daniel comes to their rescue. Black-and-white illustrations.

On May 29, 1940, thirteen-year-old Suzanne's hometown of Cherbourg, France, is bombed. The German Army occupies the city, and her family is displaced from their home. Suzanne finds comfort from the disorder in her opera singing lessons, but she wishes there was something she could do to help the fight against the Germans. She gets her chance when she is asked to become a spy for the Resistance. Based on a true story.

When Sophia moves in with Charli Belland's favorite relatives, the Crandalls, Charli hopes to become friends with her. Sophia, an orphan, has a secret she wants to keep to herself, so she doesn't want to get too close to anyone. Then Uncle Will buys a mansion that is rumored to be haunted. He plans to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, and both Sophia and Charli are expected to help.

At the start of the school year, Sahara Jones is in the fifth grade for the second time. She plans to ignore her schoolwork--she figures that completing it won't change the "special education" notation in her file. But she can't ignore her new teacher, Miss Pointy, who has the class study subjects such as "Time Travel" and "Puzzling." With Miss Pointy's gentle encouragement and support, Sahara develops confidence in herself.

Thirteen-year-old Shannon and her younger brother, Cody, head to Seattle to spend the summer with their uncle Neal while their parents work abroad. The two are surprised to learn that they will be living at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. Soon they are eagerly helping to care for eaglet foundlings and other hurt animals. When Uncle Neal is injured during a rescue, Shannon discovers he is seriously ill.

After Atalanta's adoptive father is killed by a mysterious beast, Atalanta decides to live alone in the woods with only Urso, a bear, as her companion. Then she learns that the beast continues to terrorize locals. Driven by vengeance, Atalanta joins the king's hunt to kill the creature. Her skill and cleverness help, but she discovers that destiny and the gods also have a hand in how events unfold. Author's note.

After a house in the neighborhood is burglarized, Alex's parents warn Alex and his younger brother, Benjie, to be wary of strangers. Then the burglars target Alex's house and kidnap Benjie. Pete, Alex's cat, does his best to draw the family's attention to clues that could lead them to the criminals. Pete's strange behavior is misinterpreted but ultimately turns out to be helpful.

Seven fictional stories set in South Africa from 1948 to 2000 give voice to various children's experiences with apartheid and its aftereffects. A boy of mixed heritage recalls when the reality of racial politics hit home--on his tenth birthday. After apartheid, Rosa is the first black child to integrate a school in her community. Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Introduction. Time line.

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004

Alma is upset when her favorite pop singer, Jovita, is killed in a drive-by shooting. She escapes from the chaos of her crowded household to the backyard, and a cat unwittingly shows her how to break into the house next door unnoticed. Alma intends only to satisfy her curiosity about her neighbor Mrs. B., a music professor, but she can't resist returning again and again.

Verna Morgan tells her kids, Angel and Bernie, that the family is moving, and then abandons them at their paternal great-grandmother's home. Grandma can't care for the children, and their father is in jail so Angel--age eleven--finds herself virtually on her own and in charge of her younger brother. Overwhelmed with adult concerns, the only time she finds solace is on clear nights when a mysterious neighbor teaches her about the planets and constellations.

Edric, a troll, lives in a cave in the woods between two kingdoms. When he meets Christian, a six-year-old boy who has run away from home and won't go back, Edric takes him in. As Christian grows up, his only contact with the outside world is what he sees of King Swithbert's castle through a telescope and a secret correspondence he has with a lonely princess there. At eighteen, Christian goes to the castle in search of work.

Applewhite is often frustrated by her artistic family. While everyone else writes, dances, or directs plays, E.D. keeps their home school, the "Creative Academy," organized. When her family offers a place to Jake Semple--who has been expelled from the entire state of Rhode Island--E.D. grudgingly shares her self-designed curriculum with him. Jake tries to use his spiked hair and foul language to make his stay as short as possible.

Newbery Medal, Honor Book, 2003

Twelve-year-old Thomas Wisdom suspects that his comfortable middle-class life is too good to be true and hacks into his father's computer in search of answers to support this theory. He is startled to discover that he is adopted and that his parents are not human--they are "angels," who have been sent to earth to save humanity from itself. Now Thomas has to decide whether or not to help them.

In 1377, in Stratford, England, a boy known only as "Asta's son" loses his mother. Following her burial, a priest reveals to the boy that his baptismal name is Crispin. Soon afterward, the priest is murdered and Crispin is accused of the crime. His cottage is burned down and he is forced to flee. On the road, he encounters Bear, a juggler who enslaves him. For a master, Bear acts strangely--he encourages Crispin to think for himself.

Newbery Medal, Winner, 2003

In the late 1950s, the summer before Jo enters sixth grade, her father, a preacher, moves the family to his conservative hometown of Jericho, South Carolina. While on her own in the woods one afternoon, Jo meets Lucas, the son of the black woman who cooks and cleans for her parents. The two are soon spending time together almost every day. Jo senses she should keep their friendship a secret, but she isn't exactly sure why.

Thirteen-year-old twins Dallas and Florida live in an orphanage run by Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, who do not like children. Over the years, the brother and sister have been adopted and returned several times and no longer believe they will ever find a loving family. When Tiller and Sairy Morey, a retired couple in their sixties, come to the orphanage in search of travel companions, Dallas and Florida agree to join them but make plans to run away as soon as possible.

While Tyler's mother goes on a two-week vacation with her new boyfriend, Tyler stays with his uncle Pete, a writer for a popular television series. Tyler's mom agrees to let him spend his days at the studio with Pete as long as his father permits it. Tyler hopes to get a part on the show and knows his dad won't approve so he decides to delay telling him. Meanwhile, he works on polishing his resume and acting skills.

Hippolyta is thirteen and already has one brother when her mother, queen of the all-female Amazon tribe, gives birth to Podarces. Amazon law decrees that all second sons must be sacrificed to the goddess Artemis, but Otrere can't bring herself to give up her child. She entrusts Hippolyta with the task of delivering the baby to his father, King Laomedon of Troy. Author's note.

Pirates are often portrayed as adventurous figures who searched for buried treasure. In reality, they spent more time being involved with thievery, murder, and enslavement. This history of piracy traces the practice's origins from ancient times to the present day, and reveals the true stories of notorious pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. Foreword. Selected bibliography. Full-color illustrations.

Benno and Papa work together as petty thieves: Papa plays the concertina while their bear dances and Benno picks the pockets of spectators. Benno adores Bear, and makes Papa proud by doing "the work." But one day, he forgets Papa's words, "Quick in, quicker out," and gets caught. Papa is thrown in jail, and Bear is sent to the zoo. Benno is placed in a good home, but without Bear, school and a warm bed mean nothing.

Eleven-year-old Ruth DiMarco, star shortstop of the East Shore Little League team, overhears her father comment that her talent is "wasted on a girl." Suddenly Ruth has doubts about her dream to become a professional ball player. When a reporter from Sports Illustrated magazine comes to town to interview Ruth, his questions prompt her to wonder--who would she be without baseball?

Molly, a sixth-grader, wakes up one morning to find that her parents never came home. Social services hands her over to a great-uncle, a strange man she has never heard of before. She is locked in her room at night and discovers hidden cameras in the house, but he removes the lock when the social worker visits. Could a recurring dream help her reveal his true nature and plan an escape?

In September 1897, thirteen-year-old Tim Olsen and his older brother, Roy, head toward the Klondike. Roy hopes to strike it rich. Tim, who dreams of becoming a reporter, records his experiences in a journal and hopes to write "the story of the century." Each chapter includes numerous anecdotes and facts about the Klondike gold rush as well as suggestions for hands-on activities. Two-color illustrations. Glossary. Index.

When ten-year-old orphan Oliver Smith becomes heir of gloomy Helton Hall, his cousins and new guardians, the Snodde-Brittles, plan to scare him permanently away and gain control of the mansion. Using "Dial-A-Ghost," an agency that provides homes for displaced ghosts, they arrange for the Shriekers, a terrifying pair, to keep Oliver company. The Wilkinsons, a loving ghost family, are are also in line to receive aid.

The Gamages and the Martinkas have hated each other for generations. But thirteen-year-old Bo Gamages is newly orphaned and needs a place to stay. He heads for the home of his only living relatives, the Martinkas, who live in the Mojave Desert. When he meets his cousin Madeleine, she asks, "You one of them ornery Gamages?" The two are enemies at first sight but eventually become partners in a hunt for a gold mine.

Twelve-year-old Ellie is surprised to learn she has inherited the family property from her maternal grandmother, Aurelia. Ellie's mother, who passed away seven years ago, did not get along well with Aurelia. In the will, Aurelia requests that Ellie read a set of old diaries. The reason behind this strange request becomes clear when Ellie uncovers a secret that helps to explain her family's troubled past.

David catches pneumonia the year he is eleven. He recovers enough to get out of bed but cannot return to school for many months. David, who is accustomed to being ignored by the older members of his large extended family, enjoys being on his own. Then he gets into trouble with two neighbor boys, and his parents decide he needs a tutor. David is worried when sharp-eyed Aunt Annie volunteers for the job.

In September 1963, Marc is nervous when he enters 6-321, the classroom of the most demanding teacher in the sixth grade. But Marc soon has other worries. He develops a crush on classmate Lily Wu and has to compete with another boy for her attention. At home, Marc hears his parents fighting a lot. Meanwhile, a gang of tough kids starts a feud with the boys in 6-321.

It was 1918, the last year of World War I. In the spring, a strange flu struck the soldiers at a camp in the Midwest. Healthy young men went to the hospital complaining of sore throats and fevers. Within hours they were dead. In a matter of months, more than half a million people across the country had died. No one knows what caused a common flu to become so deadly, but scientists continue to search for answers. Bibliography. Black-and-white illustrations and photographs.

Javi and his little brother, Nico, leave Puerto Rico after their parents die in a car crash and are sent to live with their aunt, Tití Amparo, in northern California. Javi starts to worry when Nico claims a new friend named Hamish is teaching him English. Tití Amparo thinks Nico has invented an imaginary friend, but Javi catches a glimpse of the blond-haired young boy in a mirror.

The year is 640 B.C. in ancient Assyria. Thirteen-year-old Soulai fears that his father's words--"Better that you had never been born"--are true. Soulai's talent for sculpting horses out of clay is of little use to his father, a skilled harnessmaker, who sells Soulai into slavery to pay a debt. Soulai's destiny becomes intertwined with that of his owner, Prince Habasle, and the prince's stallion, Ti.

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2002 Nomination

Is caretakers of a secret island, the aunts--Etta, Coral, and Myrtle--tend to an amazing assortment of creatures-- not just seals and gulls, but mermaids, selkies, and an enormous talking worm. The aunts are getting old and worry about who will carry on their important work after they are gone. After much deliberation, they come to a terrible conclusion: They will kidnap three children and bring them to the island.

School Library Journal, Best Books, 2000
N.Y. Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2000

Bess Cunningham hopes to create a new, popular image for herself as she enters sixth grade. Helping her mother volunteer at a homeless shelter does not fit in with her plans. Then she meets Gracie Jarvis Battles, an elderly woman who could be Bess's grandmother--except she lives on the street and eats out of Dumpsters. Bess can't ignore Gracie's plight and becomes determined to help.

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2002 Nomination

It's 1931, and Esperanza Ortega, naive and privileged, lives in Mexico. Her world is shattered when her father is killed by bandits over a land dispute. Esperanza's uncle tries to force her mother into marriage, and Esperanza and her mother flee to America with trusted members of their household staff. Now they must endure life in a migrant camp, where inhumane conditions and disease are commonplace. Based on a true story.

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2001
Pura Belpre Award, Winner, 2002
N.Y. Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2000