After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard. But Miss Agnes is different -- she doesn't get frustrated with her students, and she throws away old textbooks and reads Robin Hood instead! For the first time, Fred and her classmates begin to enjoy their lessons and learn to read and write -- but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?

    In fact, everything about Heidi and her mentally disabled mother's past is a mystery. When a strange word in her mother's vocabulary begins to haunt her, Heidi sets out on a cross-country journey in search of the secrets of her past.Far away from home, pieces of her puzzling history come together. But it isn't until she learns to accept not knowing that Heidi truly arrives.

    It's now available in a paperback digest format certain to bring this tale's magic to an even wider circle of fans.The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket—and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship—and forgiveness—can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

    Américas Award Winner“An achingly beautiful story.”—Kirkus (starred review) “Eloquent.”—Booklist (starred review) “Lovely and lyrical.”—School Library JournalThis powerful and resonant Américas Award-winning novel tells the story of a young girl’s struggle to find her place in the world and to become a writer in a country where words are feared.Seamlessly interweaving both poetry and prose, Lynn Joseph’s acclaimed debut is a lush and lyrical journey into a landscape and culture of the Dominican Republic.The Color of My Words explores the pain and poetry of discovering what it means to be part of a family, what it takes to find your voice and the means for it to be heard, and how it feels to write it all down.

    He couldn't have a dog when his family lived in a Chicago apartment, but now that they've moved to rural Oklahoma anything seems possible. Even rescuing an orphaned coyote pup...and keeping it a secret from his parents. With his friend Nolan's help, Brad is determined to tame Scooter, train him, play with him, and hide him in an old dog pen behind the barn. It almost works...until Mom and Dad discover his secret -- and Scooter steals their hearts and gives them all a coyote's-eye view of what it's like to live in the dangerous world of men.

    Nothing much has changed in the dollhouse during that time, except for the fact that 45 years ago, Annabelle's Auntie Sarah disappeared from the dollhouse without a trace. After all this time, restless Annabelle is becoming more and more curious about her aunt's fate. And when she discovers Auntie Sarah's old diary, she becomes positively driven. Her cautious family tries to discourage her, but Annabelle won't be stopped, even though she risks Permanent Doll State, in which she could turn into a regular, nonliving doll. And when the "Real Pink Plastic" Funcraft family moves in next door, the Doll family's world is turned upside down--in more ways than one! Fans of The Borrowers and Stuart Little will love this exciting story of adventure and mystery. The relationship between the two doll families, one antique, one modern, is hilariously, wonderfully drawn. The Funcrafts are reckless and raucous, with fearlessness born of their unbreakable plastic parts. The Doll family is reserved and somewhat prim, even though they occasionally break into '60s tunes like "Respect" in their sing-alongs. Annabelle is a heroine with integrity and gumption. Ann Martin (The Babysitters Club series) and Laura Godwin create a witty, intriguing tale, illustrated with humor and a clever eye for detail by Brian Selznick. (Ages 7 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

    That's why being careful is so important, even if it does mean giving up some of her favorite things, like bike races with her best friend, Rebecca, and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Everyone keeps telling Annie not to worry so much, that she's just fine. But they thought her brother, Jared, was just fine too, and Jared died.

    When Wilma is denied the opportunity to become a Wicked Queen even though she has earned her Grade Three Magic certificate, she decides to get her revenge by devising a cunning plan that involves a girl named Snow Drop.

    

    Can she and Jemmie overcome family prejudice and cultural differences in a small, working-class town?Cass is dreading a long, lonely summer until Jemmie and her family move in next door. The only problem is both of their parents don't want them socializing with each other, and have deeply help prejudices, exemplified by the fence Cassie's father builds between their two houses.Despite their parents' warnings, Cassie and Jemmie start communicating through a hole in the fence and find they share more similarities than differences. Mutual interests in reading and running draw them together, and their wariness of each other disappears. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A family crisis and celebration provide opportunities for the families to reach an understanding.With unforgettable characters, author Adrian Fogelin addresses the complex issues of bigotry and tolerance with sensitivity and intelligence, poignantly reminding readers of fences that too often separate us from one another.

    In figuring out how to cope when life is less than perfect, they begin to understand what growing up is all about.Jinna Zhang is a bright, thoughtful, and imaginative 12-year-old Chinese girl. But when she is overcome by shyness at her new American school, she loses her ability to speak and retreats into an inner fairy-tale world.

    But the sun feels so good on her skin, she barely minds when her mother scolds her for getting as dark as her dog. And Allie knows better than to slip out of Sunday worship to visit Leaf Sweetwater. But she hasn't seen her best friend for days, with all the trouble brewing between the Cherokees and the white settlers. Her parents will never notice she's missed the boring sermon if she hurries back. When Leaf lets Allie try on her new buckskin dress, Allie couldn't be happier. But blind hatred shatters her happiness when army men come to round up Leaf's family, forcing them from their home--and taking Allie with them to walk the cruel Trail of Tears.As conditions on the trail grow more desperate, the girls' hope of rescue fades away, and all that's left is a grueling nightmare of prejudice and terror. Throughout the harrowing journey, Allie and Leaf share each other's strength and courage, forging a bond of sisterhood greater than any blood tie.

    Unwilling to give up her beloved Newfoundland, Sirius, Maggie defies the law and hides Sirius away.But when a steamer crashes into the rocks during a violent storm and starts to sink with a hundred passengers on board, Maggie faces a difficult choice. She knows Sirius can help rescue the people trapped on the ship, but bringing him out of hiding would put his own life in jeopardy. Is Maggie's brave dog a big enough hero to save the desperate passengers -- and himself?

    These suspenseful stories will leave readers on the edge of their seats Each spine-tingling tale features a brave, clever girl solving an intriguing mystery at an important time in America's past.Includes Hoofbeats of Danger, The Smuggler's Treasure, and The Night Flyers.

    This book covers the world's most important skyscrapers, beginning with the earliest attempts to build to the sky, through the major design periods, and right up to post-September 11.The acetate overlays feature: The Chrysler Building cutaway view of the crown The New York Skyline 1876 and today The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank cutaway view of its structure The Petronas Tower, Kuala Lumpur in 1996, the world's tallest building.The "Uncovering" series: Exposing science and technology in stunning color and detail.Jam-packed with exacting full-color illustrations, these titles focus on topics of particular interest to young readers. Informative text and descriptive captions and sidebars complement dozens of annotated drawings. Each book contains four acetate overlays, used in some cases to show changes over time, in others to show a cutaway interior.

    This time it wasn't a rattling. It was a small, spongy noise, like a balloon bobbing. Cautiously he opened the door.The plastic lizard was standing there, its feet in the trash can, its head grazing the top shelf. It looked at Solly with yellow eyes and spoke: Freeble, freeble, freeble.Solomon Yanish has it rough. His mother has disappeared from his life, his father is constantly away on business trips, and now Solly is stuck with two crabby stepbrothers and an evil stepmother he calls Old Staircase. What's worse, Solly can't seem to get a straight answer about his family's past. But who's keeping it from him, and why?Enter The Circus Lunicus, and Freeble -- a fairy godmother in shrink-wrapped disguise. Suddenly things start to make sense. Until some strange transformations begin . . . Can Solly uncover the mystery behind his heritage before the circus leaves town?This fast-paced novel is full of bizarre characters and surprising revelations. So forget what you know about the circus and grab a bucket of worms. Things are going to get weird...

    The place is deadly quiet, the refrigerator is empty, and the heat is almost unbearable. Impulsively, she spends her entire summer budget on a beautiful but dangerous horse that's otherwise destined to be destroyed. Her grandad is angry at her for buying an outlaw filly and refuses to help tame Lucky Lady. Then a frightening turn of events shows Jamie that there is more to her grandfather--and Lucky Lady--than she ever imagined. This heroic horse story pulses with realistic detail and page-turning power.Jamie Cooper is less than thrilled to be shipped off to Texas while her mother takes a writing assignment in southeast Asia.At least she will enjoy riding horses on her grandfather's ranch. She arrives in Wilcox only to discover that her grandad has sold off his cattle and leased his land to another rancher. The only horse left on the property is tired old Samson. To top it all off, Jamie's grandfather has little to say---to Jamie or anyone else.It seems like it is going to be a very quiet summer, until Jamie and her new friend, Arnoldo, attend Wilcox's weekly cattle and horse auction. In an instant, Jamie has paid out her entire summer's spending money to save a beautiful---and very wild---pony that no one else wants. Jamie's grandad is furious at her for bringing home a bucking bronco. Jamie vows to train her new Lucky Lady before summer's end. But can she do it without her grandfather's help? And will her grandfather give his help if Jamie dares to ask for it?Dynamic writer and life-long horse-woman, Susan Saunders delivers a powerful story about love, loss, determination,and the wild streak in us all.Jamie Cooper is less than thrilled to be shipped off to Texas while her mother takes a writing assignment in southeast Asia. At least she will enjoy riding horses on her grandfather's ranch. She arrives in Wilcox only to discover that her grandad has sold off his cattle and leased his land to another rancher. The only horse left on the property is tired old Samson. To top it all off, Jamie's grandfather has little to say---to Jamie or anyone else.It seems like it is going to be a very quiet summer, until Jamie and her new friend, Arnoldo, attend Wilcox's weekly cattle and horse auction. In an instant, Jamie has paid out her entire summer's spending money to save a beautiful---and very wild---pony that no one else wants. Jamie's grandad is furious at her for bringing home a bucking bronco. Jamie vows to train her new Lucky Lady before summer's end. But can she do it without her grandfather's help? And will her grandfather give his help if Jamie dares to ask for it?Dynamic writer and life-long horse-woman, Susan Saunders delivers a powerful story about love, loss, determination, and the wild streak in us all.

    Together with her brother, Jack, and their rock star mom, Molly, they crisscross the United States while mom jams with her band. Along the way Fi tries to solve all kinds of supernatural mysteries -- everything from ghosts to UFOs -- even the legend of Bigfoot.So Weird is Disney Channel's new #1 series airing weekly on Friday through Sunday nights starring Mackenzie Phillips from TV's One Day at a Time.When Fi has an "After Death Communication" -- she sees the ghost of a young boy at their gig in Chicago -- she's determined to find out why he's haunting the club. She does research on the Internet and figures out that he must have died in a boat disaster in 1915. Even though Jack and Clu think she's crazy, Fi convinces them to help her find out what the ghost wants. When she learns his name, Fi discovers that his body was never identified, and he wants to be laid to rest.