The Star of Kazan
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 5-8?Abandoned as a baby, Annika is found and adopted by Ellie and Sigrid, cook and housemaid for three professors. Growing up in early-20th-century Vienna, she learns to cook and clean and is perfectly happy until a beautiful aristocrat appears and claims to be her mother, sweeping her off […]
Willow Run
School Library Journal Review: Gr 4-7?Meggie Dillon, 11, candidly shares her perspective on the sacrifices and fears experienced on the homefront during World War II. The girl's family moves from Rockaway, NY, to Willow Run, MI, so that her father can work in a plant constructing B-24 bombers. Meggie is a likable, realistic, fleshed-out character, […]
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Illustrated
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Illustrated
Children of the Great Depression
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 4-8?Few authors are as well suited as Freedman to present a clear and understandable outline of this period. His prose is straightforward and easily comprehensible, making sense of even the complexities of the stock-market crash. The use of primary sources is outstanding. This is a book told by […]
5,000 Miles to Freedom
Ellen and William Craft's Flight From Slavery
Small Steps
School Library Journal Review: Gr 5-8?This sequel to Holes (Farrar, 1998) focuses on Armpit, an African-American former resident of Tent D at Camp Green Lake. It's two years after his release, and the 16-year-old is still digging holes, although now getting paid for it, working for a landscaper in his hometown of Austin, TX. He's […]
The Real Revolution : the Global Story of American Independence
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 7 Up?In this fascinating, insightful volume, Aronson investigates the origins of the American Revolution and discovers some startling global connections. The colonies' quest for independence is tied to such seemingly unrelated incidents as Robert Clive's triumph over the French in India in 1750 and John Wilkes's accusations against […]
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Publisher Weekly Review: Starred Review. Newbery Medalist DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux) once again displays her versatility with this jaunty debut to an early chapter-book series. The tale stars Mercy, a pig with personality a-plenty?and a penchant for "hot toast with a great deal of butter on it." When Mr. and Mrs. Watson tuck Mercy […]
Dickens : His Work and His World
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 5-8?Opening with Dickens's touring life and final London performance, Rosen then turns to the writer's humble beginnings and nomadic childhood, paying particular attention to the people he met, the sights he saw, and the situations he endured?all of which were to find their way into his writings. The […]