Mama's Bank Account


Kathryn Forbes - 1943
    This bestselling book inspired the play, motion picture, and television series I Remember Mama.

The Cay


Theodore Taylor - 1969
    War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.   When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his mother’s warning about black people: “They are different, and they live differently.”    But by the time the castaways arrive on a small island, Phillip’s head injury has made him blind and dependent on Timothy.

Paddle-to-the-Sea


Holling Clancy Holling - 1941
    Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region.

The Great Railroad Race: the Diary of Libby West


Kristiana Gregory - 1999
    As the daughter of a newspaper reporter, fourteen-year-old Libby keeps a diary account of the exciting events surrounding her during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the West in 1868.

Bravest Dog Ever: Story of Balto


Natalie Standiford - 1989
    Dozens of children in Nome become sick with diphtheria. Without antitoxin serum, they will perish - and the closest supply is 650 miles away! The only way to get the serum to Nome is by sled, but can the dogs deliver it in time? Heading bravely into a brutal blizzard, Balto leads the race for life.Illus. in full color.

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland's Good Fortune


P.J. Lynch - 2015
    Lynch brings a Mayflower voyager’s story to vivid life.At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England?John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story, P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

Just David


Eleanor H. Porter - 1916
    Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916. We felt a story this good shouldn’t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year. Now it’s in a longer-lasting hardcover.It is the story of David, a charming little boy of 10 who is suddenly transplanted from a world of music (he plays the violin) in the mountains with his father, to the provincialism of a workaday small town. But even more, it is the story of how David transplants his own character, courage and happiness into the lives of the people he meets, and wins their love and respect. Here’s what we say in the preface to the new edition:Just David is a quiet, unassuming children’s novel about an orphaned young boy with a mysterious past. David, not the typical boy found in most stories of his day, is a mixture of simplicity and complexity whose disarming innocence has a profound effect on the people he encounters. Unlike the “good bad boy” often encountered in children’s literature, David is a “good good” boy. He is not in any way “goody-goody” in the moralistic sense, but simply and purely good. David’s goodness is not a mysterious quality that defies logic and imagination, but rather a quality cultivated in him by the intentional efforts of a wise and loving father. During David’s formative years, his father secluded him from the influences of the outside world, creating a private world in the mountains filled with simple pleasures, purposeful study, and beautiful music. David’s touching story is well within the scope of the imagination, and David’s endearing innocence, engaging personality, and natural character are unforgettable.Just David struck a resonant chord in our family for several reasons. First, David’s life affirms the biblical principle expressed in the proverb, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm”. David walked with his father and became wise. Also, his story reminds us of the importance of creating the right “appetite” early in our children’s lives. David’s love of music, nature and beauty were intentionally cultivated in him by his father. Finally, there is a refreshing balance in David’s life and character that provides a literary model to emulate, especially for the more artistically-inclined boy often overlooked in literature. David is artistic, yet he knows when to be realistic. He is slight of stature, yet able to handily defend himself when necessary. He is trained and mannerly, yet he is also manly. He is sensitive, yet sensible. Whatever limitations he discovers, he meets them with strength of character.This is truly one of those books that everyone in your family will like, and will likely want to hear or read more than once. We’re on our fourth reading! It has even inspired us to have Just David days for our children when we focus on the beautiful and lovely things God has given us to enjoy. Just David is just great. Includes family discussion questions at the end of the book.--Whole Heart Ministries

By the Great Horn Spoon!


Sid Fleischman - 1963
    Joined by his trusty butler, Praiseworthy, Jack finds adventure and trouble at every turn. Will Jack strike gold in San Francisco or come home empty-handed? This new edition features illustrations by Brett Helquist.

George's Secret Key to the Universe


Lucy Hawking - 2007
    George's parents, who have always been wary of technology, warn him about their new neighbors: Eric is a scientist and his daughter, Annie, seems to be following in his footsteps. But when George befriends them and Cosmos, their super-computer, he finds himself on a wildly fun adventure, while learning about physics, time, and the universe. With Cosmos's help, he can travel to other planets and a black hole. But what would happen if the wrong people got their hands on Cosmos? George, Annie, and Eric aren't about to find out, and what ensues is a funny adventure that clearly explains the mysteries of science. Garry Parsons' energetic illustrations add humor and interest, and his scientific drawings add clarity; there are also eight 4-page full-color inserts of scientific photos.

The Great Brain


John D. Fitzgerald - 1967
    Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius with a knack for turning a profit. When the Jenkins boys get lost in Skeleton Cave, the Great Brain saves the day. Whether it's saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top—and line his pockets in the process.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit


Judith Kerr - 1971
    Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in Germany any longer. Suppose you found, to your complete surprise, that your own father was one of those people.That is what happened to Anna in 1933. She was nine years old when it began, too busy with her schoolwork and toboganning to take much notice of political posters, but out of them glared the face of Adolf Hitler, the man who would soon change the whole of Europe – starting with her own small life.Anna suddenly found things moving too fast for her to understand. One day, her father was unaccountably missing. Then she herself and her brother Max were being rushed by their mother, in alarming secrecy, away from everything they knew – home and schoolmates and well-loved toys – right out of Germany…

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer


Mark Twain - 1876
    Tom lives with his Aunt Polly, half-brother Sid, and cousin Mary in the quaint town of St. Petersburg, just off the shore of the Mississippi River. St. Petersburg is described as a typical small-town atmosphere where the Christian faith is predominant, the social network is close-knit, and familiarity resides. Unlike his brother Sid, Tom receives "lickings" from his Aunt Polly; ever the mischief-maker, would rather play hooky than attend school and often sneaks out his bedroom window at night to adventure with his friend, Huckleberry Finn ­ the town's social outcast. Tom, despite his dread of schooling, is extremely clever and would normally get away with his pranks if Sid were not such a "tattle-tale." As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged" by kissing him. But their romance collapses when she learns Tom has been "engaged" previously to Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Becky shuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night, where they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.Excerpt:"TOM!" No answer. "TOM!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy,  I wonder? You TOM!" No answer. The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service—she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear: "Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll—" She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat. "I never did see the beat of that boy!"

Moccasin Trail


Eloise Jarvis McGraw - 1952
    Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn't seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at their side. But slowly, as they survive the dangerous trek west, the perils of frontier life, and the kidnapping of their younger brother, Jim and his family realize that the only way to survive is to accept each other and truly reunite the family.

Cheaper by the Dozen


Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. - 1948
    Translated into more than fifty languages, Cheaper by the Dozen is the unforgettable story of the Gilbreth clan as told by two of its members. In this endearing, amusing memoir, siblings Frank Jr. and Ernestine capture the hilarity and heart of growing up in an oversized family.Mother and Dad are world-renowned efficiency experts, helping factories fine-tune their assembly lines for maximum output at minimum cost. At home, the Gilbreths themselves have cranked out twelve kids, and Dad is out to prove that efficiency principles can apply to family as well as the workplace. The heartwarming and comic stories of the jumbo-size Gilbreth clan have delighted generations of readers, and will keep you and yours laughing for years.

Fever 1793


Laurie Halse Anderson - 2000
    Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight—the fight to stay alive.