As they cross the Great Plains of the midwestern prairie, fording rivers and climbing mountains, the Ryders encounter endless hardship as they undertake this great adventure.

    Expecting to make their fortunes on Uncle Alf's ranch, the Weatheralls are shocked to find themselves living in a sod hut on a rented farm. Ivy is determined to taste life to the fullest, whatever hardships she may encounter. Writing in her diary, she recounts learning the new skills expected of a young farm girl. She struggles to help the family survive, but ultimately learns that responsibility brings its rewards.

    But when four young girls from the village accuse some of the local women of being witches, Deliverance finds herself caught up in the ensuing drama of the trials. And life in Salem is never the same.

    All they have is what they can carry with them — and their determination and courage — when they head north toward Canada. Along with other Loyalists they hope to start a new life in Québec, where there is land for those who have been loyal to the King. But the journey is treacherous, the winter bitterly cold, and the MacDonalds find it hard to survive. Even with the supplies from Britain, clearing the land to build their home is a struggle. . . But will they even survive to forge a new life in a new land?

    When Finn Reardon's father dies, he decides to support his mother and eight siblings by peddling newspapers on the streets corners of New York City. But when the two biggest newspaper publishers, Hearst and Pulitzer, raise the wholesale price that Finn and his friends pay for the papers they sell, the boys band together and go on strike. Susan Campbell Bartoletti brings humor and wit to this classic David and Goliath struggle between the Newsies and the newspaper publishers.

    Mei-ling works after school, and her father holds down several jobs, in a frantic effort to come up with the head tax that will allow her mother and brother to come to Canada. They must have that money before the Exclusion Act bars any more Chinese from immigrating. Mei-ling cannot stop thinking about what will happen if they are unable to come up with the money to reunite their family?

    Triffie knows nothing about what it means to be poor — until the disastrous fire of 1892 burns down most of St. John's, Newfoundland, leaving Triffie's family and 15,000 others homeless.The fire claimed everything but their underwear, Mother's best china . . . and Triffie's journal. With no other options, Triffie's family moves into a filthy warehouse while they attempt to rebuild their lives from the ground up.The aftermath of the fire teaches Triffie a lot about what it means to survive. More importantly, she comes face to face with her own prejudices, and begins to develop a much greater appreciation for how the less fortunate live.

    Promising religious freedom and fertile land, Polly's father, Reverend Rodgers, moves their Baptist community from England to the Minnesota prairie. After a treacherous journey across the sea and across this country, Polly finds that it is no paradise at all. Written with incredible heart and compassion, insight and sensitivity, Marion Dane Bauer has created one of the most sophisticated and courageous characters Dear America has seen.

    Abby keeps busy helping out at the hotel, being chief caregiver to her little brother with Down Syndrome, and learning Morse code at the telegraph office.When the devastating Frank Slide buries much of the town, Abby must do all she can to help. But a long-buried family secret emerged just before the disaster — and now she will have to wait for the dust to settle before getting the answers she so desperately wants.Inspired by two of her own relatives, one who helped run a telegraph office in the late 1800s and another who shares Abby's story (and her family secret), Jean Little crafts a compelling story rich with emotion and historical detail.

    Really, one kisses the air over his hand, and that's a good thing, for he's so glistening with lotions and powders to cover the liver spots on his skin, which he hates...Aunt Soap says he was a beautiful lad when he was young. "Prinny was the handsomest Prince ever. His curls were the colour of honey on toast, like that red-gold Russian sable the Princess de Lieven wears." Now, unfortunately, his beauty has quite fled. Perhaps he does wear a corset, as I once heard Lady C. remark--though I can't see that it does much good. (I'm sure she would be shocked to know I overheard. But I do wonder why so many people seem to think a young person's ears do not work unless they are instructed to by some adult.)

    Onge and her older sister Catherine are orphans. When King Louis XVI orders all men in New France to marry, Catherine becomes a fille du roi, one of the many young women sent to the new world as brides. Hélène will accompany her on the long sea voyage and live with her sister’s new family. But Catherine dies during the gruelling journey, and Hélène finds herself alone in strange new country. New France is a far harsher place than she imagined, with bitter winters and the threat of attack from the Iroquois. Will the new friendships she has made on her long voyage enable her to survive?

    This is the story of his family's attempt to escape.Corey Birdsong is a lively young boy in search of freedom in the same country that made an economy of slavery. He and his family are owned by the Hart family of Kentucky. But, when Corey's father, Roland, flees to the North and Corey and his mother follow.Corey records his daily life on the Hart farm with incredible insight and honesty, and later he describes the difficult journey along the "Underground Railroad" to the North to be reunited with his father. With the help of many kind strangers, Corey, his parents, and his new baby sister arrive afely in Canada.

    Will she ever see her home again?

    In this wonderful new short story anthology, eleven of Canada's top children's authors contribute stories of immigration, displacement and change, exploring the frustration and uncertainty those changes can bring. Told in first-person narratives, this collection features a diverse cast of boys and girls, each one living at a different point in Canada's vast landscape and history. With unforgettable protagonists -- such as Miriam, a Warsaw-ghetto survivor, now reunited with her family in Montreal; Wong Joe-on, a young Chinese immigrant who faces racism in a small Saskatchewan town; and Insy, an Ojibwe girl who makes her first trip to a "white" town in Northern Ontario -- young readers will be moved by the opportunities and difficulties that these characters face, as each one ponders what it means to be Canadian, and struggles to fit in.

    After discovering that a German U-boat has landed near her home--a little-known, true incident on Long Island--she and her classmates form "Kids Fight for Freedom" and participate in the home front war effort.