As the daughter of a newspaper reporter, fourteen-year-old Libby keeps a diary account of the exciting events surrounding her during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the West in 1868.

    Ronnie loves living in the lighthouse, and looks forward to telling his family about it at Christmas. But will lighthouse keeper Byron Flagg return in time for Ronnie and Aunt Martha to make it home for Christmas? A Newbery Honor Book.

    He was not dreaming; it was his stepfather!The man watched Kinza as a snake might watch a baby rabbit at play, waiting for the moment to strike. And for one breathless moment Hamid was sure that he would reach out and snatch her away. Hamid does not want his little blind sister, Kinza, to be sold to a beggar by their stepfather, so he decides to rescue her. Together they escape from their mountain village to a town where there may be a new home for Kinza. But this is only the start of their adventures.Will Kinza be safe' What will happen to Hamid, who dares not go back home' Set in North Africa, readers will be delighted by yet another of Patricia St. John's exciting, freshly edited novels.

    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...

    But their summer proves more adventurous than he had hoped when headstrong Kate arrives, as together they share horseback races across the plains, country fairs and festivals, and a dangerous run-in with the gypsies.In vividly detailed scenes and beautiful illustrations, this Newbery Award-winning author presents an unforgettable world and characters who will be remembered forever.

    Their stories are incredible, as are those of the tap-dancer Evan Ruggiero, the Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, and the other inspirational boys who fill the pages of this extraordinary book.It's books like these that can make a huge difference to parents and their children's lives. In this day and age, any publication that shows how we can triumph in the face of adversity and prejudice deserves to be read over and over again.

    This colourful book explores the exciting worlds of mountains, jungles and deserts, their dramatic landscapes, the animals and plants that inhabit them and the people who live in the most beautiful and remote areas of the earth.

    The lighter-skinned children have been promised a chance to escape into white society, but what does this mean for the children who look more like their mother? As each child grows up, their questions about slavery and freedom become tougher, calling into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."Told in three parts from the points of view of three of Jefferson's slaves - Beverly, Madison, and a third boy close to the Hemings family - these engaging and poignant voices shed light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.

    But is it magical enough to help her pig, Timmy, win a blue ribbon on Fair Day?

    The South had been winning up to this point. So how did Union troops stop General Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North? With black-and-white illustrations throughout and sixteen pages of photos, this turning point in history is brought vividly to life.

    He was an ardent member of the Hitler Youth. This is the story of their pareallel journey through World War II. Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck were born just a few miles from each other in the German Rhineland. But their lives took radically different courses: Helen's to the Auschwitz extermination camp; Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth. While Helen was hiding in Amsterdam, Alfons was a fanatic believer in Hitler's "master race." While she was crammed in a cattle car bound for the death camp Aushchwitz, he was a teenage commander of frontline youth troops, ready to fight and die for the glory of Hitler and the Fatherland. This book tells both of their stories, side-by-side, in an overwhelming account of the nightmare that was WWII. The riveting stories of these two remarkable people must stand as a powerful lesson to us all.

    Step back 15,000 years as a modern boy enters a Stone Age village and learns a few prehistoric tricks of the trade.One day a boy falls down a hole, and an amazing thing happens — when he wakes, he’s in a camp full of people wearing animal skins! Mixing flight of fancy with prehistoric facts, Satoshi Kitamura ushers us back to a time of surprising innovation and artistic expression, shown in cave paintings visible to this day.

    They will meet the world's first astronomers, mathematicians, and physicists and explore the lives and ideas of such famous people as Pythagoras, Archimedes, Brahmagupta, al-Khwarizmi, Fibonacci, Ptolemy, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Hakim will introduce them to Aristotle—one of the greatest philosophers of all time—whose scientific ideas dominated much of the world for eighteen centuries.In the three-book The Story of Science series, master storyteller Joy Hakim narrates the evolution of scientific thought from ancient times to the present. With lively, character-driven narrative, Hakim spotlights the achievements of some of the world's greatest scientists and encourages a similiar spirit of inquiry in readers. The books include hundreds of color photographs, charts, maps, and diagrams; informative sidebars; suggestions for further reading; and excerpts from the writings of great scientists.

    Designed to resemble popular networking Web sites, the pages of this book feature "homepages" for each of the chemical elements -- complete with witty and informative profiles written by the elements themselves, plus a personally chosen picture.

    Illustrated in exquisite and colorful detail with over 100 original drawings and photographs, this package is a fun and exciting musical journey for children. The engaging text is broken into three sections: an introduction to each instrument of the orchestra from the cello to the timpani, the stories of famous composers from Bach to Stravinsky and an explanation of different musical styles from Baroque to Modern. Each step of the way, children can listen to actual musical examples of what they are learning about. Young readers will hear the sound of an actual violin as they study the instrument and enjoy the playful tune of a Mozart minuet as they read about the composer's precocious exploits as a child.Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 10/2/2000 Pages: 96 Reading Level: Age 9 and Up