According to Wikipedia: "Jack London (12 January, 1876 – 22 November, 1916) was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild and other books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a lucrative career exclusively from writing."

    One June day in 1870, Ben wanders away from his home on Hawk's Hill and disappears into the waving prairie grass. This is the story of how a shy, lonely boy survives for months in the wilds and forges a bond with a female badger. ALA Notable Book. Newbery Honor Book.

    Meticulously researched and illustrated with many detailed drawings, this novel offers an exceptionally vivid and personal portrait of Native American life and customs.

    Told and retold for hundreds of years, this young-reader's version of these folktales retains the original humor and wisdom, com- plemented by spirited, full-color illustrations by Don Daily.

    This exciting new series assembles key documents and criticism concerning these works that have so recently become central components of the American literature curriculum. Each casebook will reprint documents relating to the work's historical context and reception, present the best in critical essays, and when possible, feature an interview of the author. The series will provide, for the first time, an accessible forum in which readers can come to a fuller understanding of these contemporary masterpieces and the unique aspects of American ethnic, racial, or cultural experience that they so ably portray.Perhaps more than any other single text, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helped to establish the mainstream status of the renaissance in black women's writing. This casebook presents a variety of critical approaches to this classic autobiography, along with an exclusive interview with Angelou conducted specially for this volume and a unique drawing of her childhood surroundings in Stamps, Arkansas, drawn by Angelou herself.

    R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, in four BBC Radio full-cast dramatizations available for the first time in the U.S. Tolkien's tales of myth, mystery, and rumbustious exploits have been specially adapted for radio by Brian Sibley, one of the dramatists of the highly acclaimed BBC radio production of The Lord of the Rings. In Farmer Giles of Ham, having accidentally shot a giant, Farmer Giles finds his brave reputation being tested by Chrysophylax the dragon. In Smith of Wootton Major, when young Smith eats a piece of cake containing a silver star, he is granted access to the magical land of Faerie. In Leaf by Niggle, a thought-provoking allegory on the theme of creativity, the painter Niggle embarks on a fateful search for perfection. In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, join Tom and the Hobbits in scenes from The Lord of the Rings which were not included in the BBC Radio 4 dramatization.Dramatized by Brian SibleyMusic by Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic WorkshopProduced by John Taylor

    As the long days pass, the searchers grow desperate, but Sarah's father's trust in God holds firm.

    The New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning In the Heart of the Sea, soon to be a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard, adapted by the author for young readers. On November 20, 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry whale.  Within minutes, the twenty-one-man crew, including the fourteen-year-old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, found themselves stranded in three leaky boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with barely any supplies and little hope.  Three months later, two of the boats were rescued 4,500 miles away, off the coast of South America.  Of the twenty-one castaways, only eight survived, including young Thomas.  Based on his New York Times best-seller In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick recreates the amazing events of the ill-fated Essex through the sailors own first-hand accounts, photos, maps, and artwork, and tells the tale of one of the great true-life adventure stories."Horrifyingly engrossing." —Kirkus Reviews"A compelling saga of desperation and survival." —School Library Journal

    Introducing Clifford Beginning Books featuring classic Clifford stories in a paper-over-board format priced at only $3.99!How did Clifford become such a big red dog? Read and find out how a simple wish from Emily Elizabeth led to Clifford's amazing growth, in this reissue of a classic Clifford book.This is one of eight Clifford classics being reformatted for Summer 2005!

    But one day, Thomas is given a very special job: he is taking a jet engine to the airport. When the engine is switched on by accident, suddenly Thomas is the very fast and very important train!Beginning readers will enjoy the simple text full of action words (zip!) and action sounds (zoom!).

    in full color. "Two dogs who are opposite in every way are also the best of friends. The bold, colorful drawings are appealing and emphasize the concepts of size, color, and opposites."--Booklist.

    Hilda's Papa settled his family in Minnesota on a small farm. Hilda loved her life on the Minnesota farm, but she had to learn to accept necessary change and to trust God in all things.

    Then the Bear family finds other ways to have fun and keep busy, so they watch less when TV is allowed again--and they don't even miss it.

    Everything looks so different from the life Kirsten knew back in Sweden--the ways people talk and dress seem strange! Getting lost in a big city and parting with her best friend only add to Kirsten’s worry. Will she ever feel at home here? It is only when the Larsons arrive at a tiny farm on the edge of the frontier that Kirsten believes Papa’s promise--America will be a land filled with opportunity for them all.6 book boxed set featuring 1854 Kirsten, An American Girl.

    She lives alone, quietly weaving baskets with creative flair under the floor boards of the Oakley Plantation. However, Celeste’s world turns upside down with the arrival of the great naturalist John James Audubon and his assistant Joseph, who have come to study and paint the birds of the Louisiana bayou. Their arrival coincides with Celeste’s sudden displacement from her home below to a guest room upstairs. There she watches young Joseph struggle to create the backgrounds for Audubon’s bird paintings. As the two homesick souls strike up a friendship, the mouse secretly puts her artistic skills to good use; she simultaneously helps Joseph improve his compositions while aiding the wounded birds that Audubon captures for his studies. Nearly every page of author-illustrator Henry Cole's fine novel combines text and remarkable drawn images to tell the story of a mouse in need of a home of her own from the tiny creature's unique vantage point.