Like Jake and Me


Mavis Jukes - 1984
    In this Newbery Honor—winning story from 1984, a new family builds a relationship as a stepfather and stepson celebrate their differences and take heart in their similarities.

The Silver Pencil


Alice Dalgliesh - 1944
    Janet uses the special pencil she received from her father to turn her life into stories.

Tree of Freedom


Rebecca Caudill - 1949
    When the Venable family moves from Carolina to Kentucky in 1780, they meet with rival claims to their new land as well as harsh demands for their sons to be Revolutionary War recruits.

Chúcaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa


Francis Kalnay - 1958
    He just has to have that pony for himself. Unfortunately, the estancerio's spoiled son is equally determined to own the pony. But the wisest gauchos know that ponies as special as Chúcaro can never truly be owned. Chúcaro alone will decide for himself which gaucho will have the privilege of riding him.

Afternoon of the Elves


Janet Taylor Lisle - 1989
    Sure, she wears weird clothes and she lives in a dumpy house, but if Sara-Kate's as bad as everyone says, how could she take such good care of the elf village in her backyard? She and Hillary spend hours fixing the tiny stick houses and the miniature Ferris wheel so the elves won't move away. But as Hillary is drawn further into Sara-Kate's world, she learns there are other mysteries besides the elves. Why doesn't anyone ever see Sara-Kate's mother? And why isn't anyone allowed in her house? This updated edition will bring new life to Janet Taylor Lisle's best-selling novel.

The Corn Grows Ripe


Dorothy Rhoads - 1956
    Who will plant and harvest the corn that they need to survive--and to please the Mayan gods? The neighbors have fields of their own to tend, and Tigre's mother and grandmother cannot do it on their own. Twelve-year-old Tigre has never done a man's work before. Can he shoulder the burden on his own, and take his father's place?"A book of special artistic distinction, with its well-told story rich in Mayan folkway and custom and its boldly appropriate drawings."--The Horn Book

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree


Bill Brittain - 1983
    (A) literary folk story at its best".--School Library Journal. Newbery Honor Book; ALA Notable Children's Book.

The Planet of Junior Brown


Virginia Hamilton - 1971
     Most of the time they have been in the school building -- in a secret cellar room behind a false wall, where Mr. Pool, the janitor, has made a model of the solar system. They have been pressing their luck for months...and then they are caught. As society -- in the form of a zealous assistant principal -- closes in on them, Junior's fantasies become more desperate, and Buddy draws on all his resources to ensure his friend's well-being.

The Golden Name Day


Jennie D. Lindquist - 1955
    While nine-year-old Nancy is staying with her adopted Swedish grandparents for a year, everyone tries to figure out how she can celebrate a name day since her name isn't Swedish.

Calico Bush


Rachel Field - 1931
    She promises her services to the Sargent family for six long years in return for food and shelter. But life as a "bound-out girl" is full of more hardship than Maggie ever could have imagined. Living with the family in an isolated part of northern Maine, Maggie struggles through the harsh, hungry winter of 1743, the constant threat of Indian attacks, and worst of all, the loneliness she suffers knowing that her own family is lost forever. Will the Sargent's house ever feel like home?

What Jamie Saw


Carolyn Coman - 1991
    It is a story of survival -- how nine-year-old Jamie, his mother, and his baby sister Nin leave an abusive situation, move to a small trailer in the woods, and slowly learn how to trust the people around them -- and each other.

Bright Island


Mabel Louise Robinson - 1937
    Nothing suits her better than sailing and helping her father with the farm. But when her dreaded sisters-in-law suggest that Thankful get some proper schooling on the mainland, the wind is knocked from her sails.Thankful finds the uncharted waters of school difficult to navigate: there's a rocky reception from her rich roommate, Selina; the breezy behavior of the charming Robert; and stormy Mr. Fletcher, the handsome Latin teacher whose caustic tongue masks a tender heart. And while Thankful works hard to make the best of her new life, Bright Island continues to flash in her thoughts, like the sparkle of the sun on the water.Mabel Robinson's delightful coming-of-age story won a Newbery Honor in 1938 and garnered extraordinary praise from critics and readers alike. The New York Times raved, "One would be hard put to it to find a better contemporary novel than this," and now this evocative tale can be welcomed by a new generation of readers.

Rabbit Hill


Robert Lawson - 1944
    All the animals of the Hill are very excited about the new Folks moving in, and they wonder how things are going to change. It's only a matter of time before the animals of the Hill find out just who is moving in, and they may be a little bit surprised when they do.

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane


Russell Freedman - 1991
    A Newbery honor Book.

The Black Pearl


Scott O'Dell - 1967
    Ramon is holding a pearl. Not just any pearl, but the most fabulous gem he or anyone else has ever seen. But neither sixteen-year-old Ramon nor his father foresees the trouble that such a pearl can bring. It will be young Ramon who must stop the monster he has unleashed.