Understood Betsy


Dorothy Canfield Fisher - 1916
    When the year is up and Aunt Frances comes to get her niece, she finds a healthier, prouder girl with a new name--Betsy--and a new outlook on life.Understood Betsy has delighted generations of young readers since it was first published by Henry Holt and Company in 1917.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew


Margaret Sidney - 1881
    Pepper has to sew all day long just to earn enough to pay the rent and to feed the five growing Peppers. But she faces poverty and trouble with a stout heart, a smiling face, and the help of her jolly brood: blue-eyed Ben, the eldest and the man of the house at the age of 11; pretty Polly, so eager to cook for the family and make everyone happy and comfortable; and the three littlest Peppers, Joel, Davie, and baby Phronsie.A favorite of children, parents, and teachers for generations, this heartwarming classic first appeared in 1880. Since then, it has inspired countless young imaginations with its tender tales of the ways in which courage and good cheer can overcome adversity.

A Lion to Guard Us


Clyde Robert Bulla - 1981
    Her father left three years ago for the new colony of Jamestown in America, thousands of miles away. But now that her mother has died, Amanda is left to take care of her younger brother and sister all alone back in England.As the new head of the family, Amanda finally decides to take her brother and sister to America to find Father. The ocean crossing is long and hard, and the children don't know whom to trust. But with her father's little brass lion's head to guard them, Amanda knows that somehow everything will work out.

Gone-Away Lake


Elizabeth Enright - 1957
    But though the lake is long gone and the resort faded away, the houses still hold a secret life: two people who have never left Gone-Away...and who can tell the story of what happened there.

Dinosaurs Before Dark


Mary Pope Osborne - 1992
    Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark . . . or will they become a dinosaur's dinner?

The Moffats


Eleanor Estes - 1941
    During kindergarten recess, one accidentally hitches a ride out of town on a boxcar. One winds up trapped in the breadbox outside the deli. One offers to escort a Salvation Army man to his destination - and accidentally bumps him from his horse-drawn wagon.

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.

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.

The Secret School


Avi - 2001
    To do that, she must finish eighth grade, then go on to high school. But her dream falters when the one-room school in her remote Colorado town shuts down. Her only hope is to keep the school open without anyone finding out. Yet even a secret school needs a teacher. Ida can't be it. . . . Or can she?In the spirit of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Newbery Medal winner Avi creates an inspiring story of a headstrong girl determined to control her own destiny.

My Father's Dragon


Ruth Stiles Gannett - 1948
    With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island.

The Family Under the Bridge


Natalie Savage Carlson - 1958
    Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them.But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And it did not take Armand very long to realize that he had gotten himself ready-made family; one that he loved with all his heart, and one for whom he would have to find a better home than the bridge.Armand and the children's adventures around Paris -- complete with gypsies and a Santa Claus -- make a story which children will treasure.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle


Betty MacDonald - 1947
    Piggle-WiggleMrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside-down house and smells like cookies. She was even married to a pirate once. Most of all, she knows everything about children. She can cure them of any ailment. Patsy hates baths. Hubert never puts anything away. Allen eats v-e-r-y slowly. Mrs Piggle-Wiggle has a treatment for all of them.The incomparable Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves children good or bad and never scolds but has positive cures for Answer-Backers, Never-Want-to-Go-to-Bedders, and other boys and girls with strange habits. '[Now] in paperback . . . for a new generation of children to enjoy.' -- San Francisco Examiner Chronicle.

The Courage of Sarah Noble


Alice Dalgliesh - 1954
    In 1707, young Sarah Noble and her father traveled through the wilderness to build a new home for their family. “Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble,” her mother had said, but Sarah found that it was not always easy to feel brave inside. The dark woods were full of animals and Indians, too, and Sarah was only eight! The true story of Sarah’s journey is inspiring. And as she cares for her father and befriends her Indian neighbors, she learns that to be afraid and to be brave is the greatest courage of all. The New York Times Book Review described this book as one “to be long remembered for its beautifully written simplicity and dignity.”

The Winged Watchman


Hilda van Stockum - 1962
    Every element of occupied Holland is united in a story of courage and hope: a hidden Jewish child, an "underdiver," a downed RAF pilot, an imaginative, daring underground hero, and the small things of family life which surprisingly carry on in the midst of oppression. The Verhagen family, who live in the old windmill called the Winged Watchman, are a memorable set of individuals whose lives powerfully demonstrate the resilience of those who suffer but do not lose faith.

The Door in the Wall


Marguerite de Angeli - 1949
    The great house is empty, his father is fighting the Scots in the north, his mother is traveling with the Queen, and the servants have fled. He calls for help but only the stones hear his cries. Suddenly someone else is in the house, coming towards Robin. It is Brother Luke, a wandering friar, who takes Robin to St. Mark's Monastery, where he will be cared for until his father sends for him.At last, a message comes--Robin is to meet his father at Castle Lindsay. The journey is dangerous, and the castle is located near the hostile Welsh border. Perched high in the hills, the castle appears invincible. But it is not. Under the cover of a thick fog the Welsh attack the castle. And Robin is the only one who can save it...