Book picks similar to
The Year of Janie's Diary by Donna Balcombe


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young-adult
children-s-books
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Tracy Beaker & The Dare Game (Radio Collection)


Jacqueline Wilson - 2003
    In the first story she's living in a children's home but wants a real family. In the second story she is living with foster mum Cam, but all is not as well as it should be.

In the Sargasso Sea A Novel


Thomas A. Janvier - 2012
    Recently, Kessinger Publishing's rare reprints has re-issued the book. The protagonist, Roger Stetworth, unwillingly joins a slave ship called the -Golden Hind- captained by Luke Chilton. (When Chilton demanded that Roger -sign aboard- he refused and was clubbed on the head and thrown overboard.) He is rescued by the -Hurst Castle- and doctored by a painfully stereotyped Irishman. The -Hurst Castle- is abandoned but does not founder in a gale and the crew, unable to get to him, are forced to leave Stetworth marooned aboard. The ship drifts into the center of the Sargasso Sea where Stetworth finds himself in a ships' graveyard in which survivors of previous shipwrecks still inhabit the forgotten ships. Stetworth must rely on his own ingenuity to get free from the choking sargasso weeds........ Thomas Allibone Janvier (July 16, 1849 - June 18, 1913) was an American story-writer and historian, born in Philadelphia of Provencal descent. Early life and marriage: Janvier received a public school education, then worked in Philadelphia for newspapers from 1870-81. In 1878 he married Catherine Ann Drinker (May 1, 1841- July 19, 1922), an artist who was the first woman teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and first teacher to Cecilia Beaux. Later in life, she accompanied her husband on his travels while writing books and translating books from the Provencale language. Many of Janvier's published works would be dedicated -To C. A. J.- New York: Janvier went to New York in 1881. From 1884-94, he lived in the Washington Square district of New York. A few years after arriving, he published the Ivory Black Stories, tales of artist life, which were reprinted in book form in 1885 as Color Studies. In them he pictured the life and color of what was then considered the Latin quarter of the city, with the old-fashioned French restaurants, the artist colony to the north, and the studios in Tenth Street where Abbey, Millet, F. Hopkinson Smith, Laffan and others made the Tile Club famous. He published many stories and articles in Harper's Magazine.[2] Travels and death: Janvier spent several years in Colorado, New Mexico and Mexico, thereby gaining inspiration and material for much of his literary work. His travels in Mexico produced the Aztec Treasure House and his stories of Old New Spain. He and his wife also lived for three years in Avignon, Provence, France, where they became friends with Mistral and Felix Gras. Catherine A. Janvier's translations of the latter's work introduced him to English-speaking readers.His books from this period include An Embassy to Provence, Christmas Kalends of Provence and The South of France. He was made an honorary member of the Felibrige society in France, and of the Fol Lore Society of London, where he and his wife lived from 1897 to 1900, and the Century Club in New York. Janvier died in New York on June 18, 1913. He is interred in Moorestown, New Jersey. Literary family: Janvier's sister, Margaret Thomson Janvier (1844-1913), was born in New Orleans. Under the pen name Margaret Vandergrift she wrote many juveniles, among which are: The Absent-Minded Fairy, and Other Verses (1884); The Dead Doll, and Other Verses (1900); Under the Dog-Star (1900); and Umbrellas to Mend (1905). Janvier's niece, Emma P. Spicer, going by the stage name of Emma Janvier, was a well-known comedian on Broadway and elsewhere from the turn of the century until her death in the early 1920s. Janvier was also related to Philadelphia businessman and poet Francis De Haes Janvier.

Noddy Makes a New Friend


Enid Blyton - 1993
    The Bunkey just loves to help out his pals in any way he can. But as Noddy soon finds out, there is such a thing as being too helpful! Fans of the television show Noddy are in for a laugh and a surprise as they discover a few important things about being a good friend.

The Complete Opposite of Everything


Nour Abou Fayad
    He just doesn’t. He doesn’t overthink, he doesn’t second-guess himself, and he most certainly does not cry.YetThat’s all he’s been doing lately.He’s a mess and he just can’t seem to get it together.His friend, Rami, is no help.Nobody is.UntilYasmin comes along to reconnect with her homeland. She’s been away for too long. She needs to know her roots.And she’s the one person who understands what Adam’s going through, even when he doesn’t.But can two people, both with minds that can’t fully be trusted, help each other navigate the other’s journey towards self-discovery?

Horses Of The Rain (The Outback Riders Book 4)


Leanne Owens - 2019
    The peace is fractured by the brewing storms, and hot days end with lightning in the distance as the monsoonal band heads their way, bringing record floods. There are personal storms, as well, with Dane struggling with depression as his family and friends seek to help, and Amy desperate to discover if her father is still alive. When the record rains arrive, their part of the outback becomes an inland sea, and a neighbor's horses and cattle are doomed to drown unless the outback riders saddle up and risk their lives to save them. Horses of the Rain is the fourth in The Outback Riders series, and the teens are a bit older and facing problems that many teens need to overcome. They are falling in love, making plans for the future, and finding their way through life. Polo, the rock star, returns to ride with them, and the Min Min lights continue to watch over them. Leanne Owens lived in the outback for many years and saw the Min Min lights, she teaches high school students, and has won dozens of national titles with her horses - so The Outback Riders is the perfect 'write what you know' series as she knows the outback, teenagers, and horses. This version has U.S. spelling.

The Temptation of Demetrio Vigil


Alisa Valdes - 2013
    Coronado Prep student Maria Ochoa, 16, is near death after crashing her car on an isolated stretch of New Mexico Highway 14 during a blizzard. When the only person to show up to help her is a teen gangbanger named Demetrio Vigil, Maria fears she’s doomed, until the young man manages, miraculously, to heal her nearly fatal wounds with nothing but the warm energy radiating from his hands. Maria is grateful for the help, and seeks to thank Demetrio by returning to the tiny ghost town of Golden, where he said he lives, to find him and give him a gift. What she discovers out about Demetrio along the way, however, not only defies logic and belief, but puts Maria’s very life in terrible danger.

100 Pounds of Popcorn


Hazel Krantz - 1961
    And before they know it, they are in the popcorn business.But popcorn is not the only thing that starts popping. So do problems.How DO you get rid of a hundred pounds of popcorn?

Sensible Kate


Doris Gates - 1943
    How she longs to be pretty and cute! But who would ever think of her—a freckle-faced, red-headed orphan—as cute? So Kate settles for being sensible.Then she goes to live with the Tuttles as a "family helper." And in this small seaside town in California, Sensible Kate Summers meets some wonderful people and makes some surprising discoveries—about herself.

FURY RISING (Children of the Mountain Book 4)


R.A. Hakok - 2019
     Exiled from Mount Weather, Gabe, Mags and Johnny make their way north, seeking shelter from the coming storms. With the furies awakening across the country they stumble into the middle of a feud between two unlikely adversaries.

Christmas Spurs


Bill Wallace - 1990
    And I'm scared. My little brother, Jimmy, is sick. All I want for Christmas is for him to get well. Santa seems to be listening when we get Buck, the best horse ever! I get spurs, and Jimmy gets a new cowboy hat, a real Stetson. He's so happy it almost makes us forget... until Jimmy's in the hospital again. I try to act big and strong. But I feel angry and sad, until the miracle happens... on an unforgettable Christmas day.

Suedehead


Richard Allen - 1971
    Phased out. Home had never appealed. All his life he had dreamed about a plush flat somewhere in the West End of London. So now he would make the leap from poverty street into the affluent society. In one gigantic jump. Fresh out of stir after kicking a police sergeant’s head in, former skinhead Joe Hawkins is heading for the big time – a job in a firm of stockbrokers, a swanky flat and (hopefully) plenty of money. A whole new style is called for – so Joe becomes a Suedehead. The hair is a few millimetres longer, the uniform a velvet-collared crombie coat, bowler hat and neatly-furled umbrella – with razor sharp tip. For while Joe might be playing the establishment pet, he remains the unrepentently vicious, cunning hooligan from Skinhead, intent on pulling women, stealing and putting the boot in. It’s not long before he finds some other Suedes willing to commit mayhem under cover of respectability... but can Joe and respectability ever really get along? Suedehead is the second of Richard Allen’s era-defining cult novels featuring anti-hero Joe Hawkins. First published in 1971, this new edition features an introduction by Andrew Stevens.

Esio Trot & The Minpins


Roald Dahl - 2003
    Little Billy vanquishes the worst monster of all and becomes a hero to the Minpins.

My Hard Bargain


Walter Kirn - 1990
    The exalted, memorable characters in Kirn's acclaimed debut short story col lection confront the real hard bargains in life that spring up from the business of simply living, and Kirn transforms these hard-luck stories into strapping moral lessons which evoke the bonds that unite us all.

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret / Then Again, Maybe I Won't / Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great / Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing / Blubber


Judy Blume - 1977
    

Animorphs Boxset: The Extreme / The Attack / The Exposed / The Experiment


K.A. Applegate - 1999