Synopsis: In the 1930's, great rolling walls of dust swept across the Great Plains. The storms buried crops, blinded animals, and suffocated children. It was a catastrophe that would change the course of American history as people struggled to survive in this hostile environment, or took the the roads as Dust Bowl refugees.Here, in riveting, accessible prose, and illustrated with moving historical quotations and photographs, acclaimed historian Albert…

Synopsis: "All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus Reviews for the World War II seriesDiscover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.Fergus Frew thought he knew what to expect when he signed up with the Navy's demolitions team. But as the Korean War rages on, Fergus and his fellow divers -- a.k.a. "frogmen" -- are tasked with more than just scouting mudflats. Soon they'…

Synopsis: "WHAT ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO MY FATHER?... THE JAPS KILLED HIM!" Adam Pelko witnessed something horrible: the sinking of the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor -- with his father aboard. Since then, Adam and his mother and sister have moved to California, where they are trying to rebuild their lives. But no matter where Adam goes, he can't get away from the effects of the war. His best friend, Davi, has asked for help. Davi is…

Synopsis: Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar internment camp--with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Along with searchlight towers and armed guards, Manzanar ludicrously featured cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, sock hops, baton twirling lessons and a dance band called the Jive Bombers who would play any popular song except the nation's #1 hit: "Don't Fence Me In." "Farewell to…

Synopsis: National Book Award winner Kathryn Erskine delivers a powerful story of family, friendship, and race relations in the South.Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid growing up around black car grease, white fence paint, and the backward attitudes of the folks who live in his hometown, Rocky Gap, Virginia. Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and Mama with some hard decisions and a whole lot of doubt. Should they sell…

Synopsis: If you lived at the time of Martin Luther King--When did the civil rights movement begin?--Were children involved in civil rights protests?--What was the March on Washington?This book tells you what it was like during the exciting era when Martin Luther King led the fight against segregation.

Synopsis: The Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller that is historical fiction with a hint of mystery about living at Alcatraz not as a prisoner, but as a kid meeting some of the most famous criminals in our history. Al Capone Does My Shirts has become an instant classic for all kids to read! Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here.…

Synopsis: This “brilliantly told” (New York Times) Newbery Honor Book gives readers a sense of what it was like to be on the American home front while our soldiers were away fighting in World War II.   As in past years, Lily will spend the summer in Rockaway, in her family’s summer house by the Atlantic Ocean. But this summer of 1944, World War II has changed everyone’s life. Lily’s best friend, Margaret, has moved to a wartime factory town, and, much…

Synopsis: Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when he’s finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own—Old Dan and Little Ann—he’s ecstatic. It doesn’t matter that times are tough; together they’ll roam…

Synopsis: Follow a brother and sister in this coming-of-age tale filled with heart, history, and just the right amount of trouble!When Joey and his sister Mary Alice leave Chicago to spend the summer with their Grandma Dowdel, they expect a quiet visit in a sleepy country town. Instead, they get nine summers of jaw-dropping surprises, laugh-out-loud mischief, and moments that will change them forever. Grandma may be older than dirt and tougher than a…

Synopsis: He is a motherless child, a coal miner, a circus star, a con artist, a seer, a hero, and a survivor. This is the tale of Billy Creekmore, a young boy with mystifying powers and the gift of storytelling. But his life in the Guardian Angels Orphanage is cruel and bleak, and when a stranger comes to claim Billy, he sets off on an extraordinary journey. From the coal mines of West Virginia to the world of a traveling circus, he searches for…