Waterless Mountain


Laura Adams Armer - 1931
    This deeply moving and accurate account of one young Navaho's childhood and spiritual journey is filled with wonder and respect for the natural world—a living record of the Navaho way of life before the influence of the white man.

Sarah, Plain and Tall


Patricia MacLachlan - 1985
    Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay?This children's literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.

Saint George and the Dragon


Margaret Hodges - 1984
    George and the Dragon commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Caldecott Award-winning picture book. Hodges retells an exciting segment from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which the Red Cross Knight slays a dreadful dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside for years, bringing peace and joy back to the land. Featuring a fresh new cover design - with artwork that highlights the dragon adventure within - and distinctive embossed gold Caldecott Award sticker, this is the perfect way to introduce the classic tale to a whole new generation of readers.

Tales of Ancient Egypt


Roger Lancelyn Green - 1967
    But there are also tales told for pleasure about magic, treasure and adventure - even the first ever Cinderella story.

Show Way


Jacqueline Woodson - 2005
    She pieced together bright patches with names like North Star and Crossroads, patches with secret meanings made into quilts called Show Ways -- maps for slaves to follow to freedom. When she grew up and had a little girl, she passed on this knowledge. And generations later, Soonie -- who was born free -- taught her own daughter how to sew beautiful quilts to be sold at market and how to read.From slavery to freedom, through segregation, freedom marches and the fight for literacy, the tradition they called Show Way has been passed down by the women in Jacqueline Woodson's family as a way to remember the past and celebrate the possibilities of the future. Beautifully rendered in Hudson Talbott's luminous art, this moving, lyrical account pays tribute to women whose strength and knowledge illuminate their daughters' lives.

Julie of the Wolves


Jean Craighead George - 1972
    She runs away toward San Francisco, toward her pen pal, who calls her Julie. But soon Miyax is lost in the Alaskan wilderness, without food, without even a compass. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, and she comes to love them as though they were her brothers. With their help, and drawing on her father’s training, she struggles day by day to survive. In the process, she is forced to rethink her past, and to define for herself the traditional riches of Eskimo life: intelligence, fearlessness, and love.

Li Lun, Lad of Courage


Carolyn Treffinger - 1947
    Banished to a mountaintop to learn to grow rice, Li Lun proves his courage as he fights the elements and his own loneliness to make his rice seedlings flourish where no one else has for generations.

The Seven Chinese Brothers


Margaret Mahy - 1990
    "Exceptional." - School Library Journal, starred review

Johnny Tremain


Esther Forbes - 1943
    But even more gripping than living through the drama of Revolutionary Boston is the important discovery Johnny makes in his own life.

Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount Saint Helens


Patricia Lauber - 1986
    Helens, a volcano in southern Washington State. Minutes later, Mount St. Helens blew the top off its peak and exploded into the most devastating volcanic eruption in U.S. history.What caused the eruption? What was left when it ended? What did scientists learn in its aftermath?In this extraordinary photographic essay, Patricia Lauber details the Mount St. Helens eruption and the years following. Through this clear accurate account, readers of all ages will share the awe of the scientists who witnessed both the power of the volcano and the resiliency of life.

King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian


Marguerite Henry - 1948
    Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was as swift as the desert winds, Sham's proud pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. Their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara to the royal courts of France and, finally, to the green pastures and stately homes of England. For Sham was the renowned "Godolphin Arabian" whose blood flows through the veins of almost every superior Thoroughbred. Sham's speed-like his story-has become legendary.

A Long Way from Chicago


Richard Peck - 1998
    Join Joey and his sister Mary Alice as they spend nine unforgettable summers with the worst influence imaginable--their grandmother!

The Dark Frigate


Charles Boardman Hawes - 1923
    Bred to the sea, he signs on with the "Rose of Devon," a dark frigate bound for the quiet shores of Newfoundland.Philip's bold spirit and knowledge of the sea soon win him his captain's regard. But when the "Rose of Devon" is seized in midocean by a devious group of men plucked from a floating wreck, Philip is forced to accompany these "gentlemen of fortune" on their murderous expeditions. Like it or not, Philip Marsham is now a pirate--with only the hangman awaiting his return to England.With its bloody battles, brutal buccaneers, and bold, spirited hero, this rousing tale will enthrall young listeners in search of seafaring adventure.

Favorite Greek Myths


Mary Pope Osborne - 1988
    Full color.

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.