Escape from Warsaw


Ian Serraillier - 1956
    Now they are alone. With the war raging around them, food and shelter are hard to come by. They live in constant fear.Finally, they get word that their father is alive. He has made it to Switzerland. Edek and Ruth are determined to find him, though they know how dangerous the long trip from Warsaw will be. But they also know that if they don't make it, they may never see their parents again.Their gripping story is taken from actual accounts.

I Want a Pony


Jeanne Betancourt - 1994
    If only she had a pony, then staying with her grandmother while her father is away would not be so bad. If she had a pony, she could ride with Pam and Anna. And then they could be friends - Pony Pals! When Lulu finds a pony in danger, she wants to help the wounded animal. Will she be able to save the beautiful pony?

The Swiss Family Robinson


Johann David Wyss - 1812
    But things do not turn out as they had expected. The sole survivors of a terrible shipwreck, they wash ashore to learn that the danger has only begun. Their new world will test their courage, cleverness, endurance, and faith as they struggle to survive and create a civilization of their own in the wilderness. Note: This Townsend Library classic has been carefully edited to be more accessible to today's students. It includes a brief author's biography and an afterword that provides important context about the work.

Heidi Grows Up


Charles Tritten - 1938
    The sequel to Johanna Spyri's "Heidi", this is a Classic story for children and teens beautifully illustrated in Color & B/W by June Goldsborough.

With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954


Andrea Davis Pinkney - 2011
    After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead.However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision. Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity. But the backlash against Dawnie's attendance of an all-white school is more than she's prepared for. When her father loses his job as a result, and her little brother is constantly bullied, Dawnie has to wonder if it's worth it. In time, Dawnie learns that the true meaning of justice comes from remaining faithful to the integrity within oneself.

Meet Addy: An American Girl


Connie Rose Porter - 1993
    But before they can make the escape, the worst happens--Master Stevens decides to sell some of his slaves, including Poppa and Addy's brother, Sam. Addy and Momma take the terrible risk of escaping by themselves, hoping that the family eventually will be together again in Philadelphia. Set during America's own struggle over slavery, the Civil War, Addy's story is one of great courage and love--love of family and love of freedom.

In Grandma's Attic


Arleta Richardson - 1974
    And best of all was the remarkable grandmother who made magic of all she touched, bringing the past alive as only a born storyteller could.Here are those marvelous tales—faithfully recalled for the delight of young and old alike, a touchstone to another day when life was simpler, perhaps richer; when the treasures of family life and love were passed from generation to generation by a child's questions...and the legends that followed enlarged our faith.Gifted storyteller Arleta Richardson grew up an only child in Chicago, living in a hotel on the shores of Lake Michigan. Under the care of her maternal grandmother, she listened for hours as her grandmother told stories from her own childhood. With unusual recall, Arleta began to write these stories for an audience that now numbers over 2 million. "My grandmother would be amazed to know her stories have gone around the world," Arleta says.

The Wheel on the School


Meindert DeJong - 1954
    And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.

Little House in the Highlands


Melissa Wiley - 1999
    It's 1788, and six year old Martha lives in a little stone house in Glencraid, Scotland. Martha's father is Laird Glencaraid, and the life of the Laird's daughter is not always easy for a lively girl like Martha. She would rather be running barefoot through the fields of heather and listening to magical tales of fairies and other Wee Folk than learning to sew like a proper young lady. But between her dreaded sewing lessons, Martha still finds time to play on the rolling Scottish hills.

Danger at the Zoo: A Kit Mystery


Kathleen Ernst - 2005
    Her reporter's instincts tell her that she's onto something. Includes a tear-off recipe card on the back cover flap. Illustrations. Consumable. Full description

Little House on Rocky Ridge


Roger Lea MacBride - 1993
    In a covered wagon containing all their possessions, they make their way across the drought-stricken Midwest to the lush green valleys of southern Missouri. The journey is long and not always easy, but at the end is the promise of a new home and a new life for the Wilders.Little House on Rocky Ridge is the first book in The Rose Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.

A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906


Judy Blundell - 2013
    The Sumps have grand plans, grander than the city of Philadelphia can offer, and decide to move to San Francisco--the greatest city in the west. But when a powerful earthquake strikes, Minnie finds herself the sole survivor among them. After the dust settles, Minnie discovers a bag belonging to the Sumps filled with cash and papers that could drastically change her fortune. With no one else to claim it, Minnie has turned into an heiress overnight.Wealth comes at a price, however, and she is soon wrapped up in a deception that leads her down a dangerous path. As the aftermath of the earthquake ravages the city, Minnie continues to maintain her new identity. That is, until a mysterious but familiar stranger appears.

What Katy Did


Susan Coolidge - 1872
    When Katy meets her Cousin Helen, an invalid, Katy is awed by her kindness, prettiness, and generosity. Katy is determined to become more like Helen, a resolution that lasts only a few hours. Soon, however, Katy gets a chance to become more like cousin Helen than she ever wished as she finds herself confined to her bedroom for four years as a result of an accident. Much of the story is focused on the change Katy undergoes during her illness. Helen visits again to advise Katy to learn from her experience and to try to become the center of the house by making her room and herself more attractive to others. One way Katy decides to take Helen's advice is through assuming the responsibility of running the house, a job that consists of giving the servants instructions and ringing her bell to summon her sisters when she has a task for them. As soon as Katy has learned the lesson about how to care for others, she recovers and regains the ability to walk. Grade 5-8

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple


Karen Cushman - 1996
    I call myself Lucy now. I cannot hate California and be California. I know you will understand.California doesn't suit Lucy Whipple -- not the name, not the place. But moving out West to Lucky Diggins, California, was her mama's dream-come-true. And now her brother, Butte, and sisters, Prairie and Sierra, seem to be Westerners at heart, too. For Lucy, Lucky Diggins is hardly a town at all -- just a bunch of ramshackle tents and tobacco-spitting miners. Even the gold her mama claimed was just lying around in the fields isn't panning out. Worst of all, there's no lending library! Dag diggety!So Lucy vows to be plain miserable until she can hightail it back East where she belongs. But Lucy California Morning Whipple may be in for a surprise -- because home is a lot closer than she thinks... When California Morning Whipple's widowed mother uproots her family from their comfortable Massachusetts environs and moves them to a rough mining camp called Lucky Diggins in the Sierras, California Morning resents the upheaval. Desperately wanting to control something in her own life, she decides to be called Lucy, and as Lucy she grows and changes in her strange and challenging new environment. Here Karen Cushman helps the American Gold Rush spring to colorful life, just as she did for medieval England in her previous two books, Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice, which won Newbery Honor status and a Newbery Medal respectively.

The Railway Children


E. Nesbit - 1906
    With the family's fortunes considerably reduced in his absence, the children and their mother are forced to live in a simple country cottage near a railway station. There the young trio—Roberta, Peter, and young Phyllis—befriend the porter and station master.The youngsters' days are filled with adventure and excitement, including their successful attempt to avert a horrible train disaster; but the mysterious disappearance of their father continues to haunt them.The solution to that painful puzzle and many other details and events of the children's lives come to vivid life in this perennial favorite, a story that has captivated generations of readers and, more recently, delighted television and movie audiences. In this inexpensive, unabridged edition, it will charm a whole new audience of young readers with its warmth and appeal.