All she knew was that she was hungry all the time, that her parents fought constantly, that the bailiff would soon return to evict her family from their home. Worst of all, she knew that Christmas would be a time of empty stockings instead of presents under the tree, a time of mashed potatoes and turnips instead of turkey and dreassing. But Booky's spunky nature refused to be crushed, even by the Great Depression.

    Recently, however, this friendship has been threatened by violence against the Indians. Then, Catharine and her brother are taken captive by the Lenape in retaliation. At first, Catharine is afraid of her captors. But when a handsome brave begins to teach her about the ways of the Lenape, she comes to see that all people share the same joys, hopes, and fears. Osborne crafts a thrilling story of romance and danger and remarkable courage.

    As her masters are torn between their own nationality and their somewhat reluctant new allegiance to the British colonial government, Zettie, too, must reconsider her own loyalties.

    Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked with the fate of Titanic. And the farther they get from shore, the more the danger looms. . . .

    The work is backbreaking and dangerous - and when she sees her friends' lives wrecked by poverty, sickness and unrest, Eliza realizes she must fight to escape the fate of a mill girl.

    He is "adopted" by the Henshaw family, who allow him to travel in their wagon in exchange for his help with the daily maintenance work along the way. Jedediah's adventures, along with the friends he makes and the lessons he learns, make for an unforgettable story of a brave young boy who sets off to discover a wild, new world.

    Fierce, dust-filled winds ravage the plains and threaten the town's agricultural livelihood, creating poverty and despair among Grace's neighbors. Will her family's farm survive?

    That same day, her friends Eva and Elinor entrust her with their old diaries. Reading these, she comes to understand the lives of two earlier queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, as she enters the service of not just one of Henry's queens, but three.

    The journal of Biddy Owens, a batboy for the Birmingham Black Barons, one of the best teams in the Negro Leagues, describes some of the greatest ball players of the game as Biddy's story covers the games, road trips, racial segregation, and day-to-day life in Birmingham.

    Thrust into the Shakers' unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.

    There she meets Rosie, a rebellious, quick-tempered orphan who is always getting into trouble. Edith soon finds herself drawn into Rosie's wild schemes and both their lives are never the same again.

    Narrator Lady Grace, 13, youngest lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, chooses between three suitors at a glittering ball. But murder descends on the Tudor court. Grace must use her intelligence, stealth, curious nature, and best friends - laundrymaid Ellie, acrobat Masou - to solve the threat to their Queen.

    And best of all was the remarkable grandmother who made magic of all she touched, bringing the past alive as only a born storyteller could.Here are those marvelous tales—faithfully recalled for the delight of young and old alike, a touchstone to another day when life was simpler, perhaps richer; when the treasures of family life and love were passed from generation to generation by a child's questions...and the legends that followed enlarged our faith.Gifted storyteller Arleta Richardson grew up an only child in Chicago, living in a hotel on the shores of Lake Michigan. Under the care of her maternal grandmother, she listened for hours as her grandmother told stories from her own childhood. With unusual recall, Arleta began to write these stories for an audience that now numbers over 2 million. "My grandmother would be amazed to know her stories have gone around the world," Arleta says.

    Queen Anacaona was the wife of one of her island's rulers, and a composer of songs and poems, making her popular among her people. Haiti was relatively quiet until the Spanish conquistadors discovered the island and began to settle there in 1492. The Spaniards treated the natives very cruelly, and when the natives revolted, the Spanish governor of Haiti ordered the arrests of several native nobles, including Anacaona, who was eventually captured and executed, to the horror of her people.

    It's AD 84 when Bran, a prince of the Carvetii tribe, is captured by the Romans. A legion of soldiers is marching east, to build a military road. It's hostile country, and Bran is to go with them as a hostage to ensure the legion's safety ... but no one is safe in newly conquered Britain.