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The Face on the Milk Carton
Caroline B. Cooney
No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar--a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey--she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl--it was she. How could it possibly be true?Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really Janie's parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened?
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The Family Under the Bridge
Garth Williams, Natalie Savage Carlson
The heartwarming and memorable Newbery Honor-winning book about finding family in the unlikeliest places, featuring artwork by beloved illustrator Garth Williams. Armand, an old Parisian living on the streets of Paris, relished his solitary life. He begged and did odd jobs for money to keep himself warm and fed, and he liked his carefree life. Then one day just before Christmas, a struggling mother and her three children walked into his life. Though he tried to ignore their troubles, Armand soon found himself caring for the family and sharing his unusual home under the bridge with them. 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. Children will treasure this warm and funny adventure of family, freedom, and Santa Claus. The book includes illustrations by Garth Williams, the acclaimed illustrator of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, among many other books.
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The Fifth of March
Ann Rinaldi
“Carefully researched and lovingly written, Rinaldi’s latest presents a girl indentured to John and Abigail Adams during the tense period surrounding the 1770 Massacre. . . . Fortuitously timed, a novel that illuminates a moment from our past that has strong parallels to recent events. Bibliography.”--Kirkus Reviews
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The Garden
Carol Matas
After leading a group of Jewish refugees to Israel after World War II, sixteen-year-old Ruth joins the Haganah, the Jewish Army, and helps her people fight to keep the land granted to them by the United Nations
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The Genie in the Book
R. W. Alley, R. W. Alley, Cindy Trumbore
Having your deepest wish granted isn't easy!First the bad news: Ten-year-old Will Parrish knows that he's in for a bummer of a summer -- his parents can't join him and his little sister Maddy on their annual visit to Grandma's at the beach, Grandma has a broken ankle, and Jerome, Will's incorrigible cousin, is spoiling for trouble -- for which Will is often blamed. The good news: Will is staying in his mother's old room, which is filled with her childhood books. Leafing through The Arabian Nights, Will inadvertently releases a kindly genie who insists upon granting Will's deepest wish. But -- what is Will's greatest wish?A delightfully freewheeling fantasy, Will's adventures are inspired by such well-known and well-loved classics as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island, and the books of Edward Eager. In Cindy Trumbore's appealing first novel, young readers, along with Will, Maddy, and Jerome, have a summer as exciting as any they have ever read about!
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The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
Thomas Hoobler, Dorothy Hoobler
Teenaged Seikei dreams of being one of Japan's legendary warriors, a samurai-but samurai are born, not made, and Seikei is a tea merchant's son. Then a ruby intended for the shogun is stolen. Seikei is the only witness, and the famous samurai magistrate, Judge Ooka, needs his help. Soon they are hot on the trail of the ruby-and an unforgettable adventure."An unusual and satisfying mystery that will be enjoyed by a wide audience."-School Library Journal, starred review"Employs suspense, action, superstition, and mystery to entrance readers with this tale of 18th-century Japan and a boy's search for honor...This is a remarkable novel."-Kirkus Reviews, pointer review
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The Giver
Lois Lowry
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
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The Glorious Cause
Jeff Shaara
In Rise to Rebellion, bestselling author Jeff Shaara captured the origins of the American Revolution as brilliantly as he depicted the Civil War in Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure. Now he continues the amazing saga of how thirteen colonies became a nation, taking the conflict from kingdom and courtroom to the bold and bloody battlefields of war.It was never a war in which the outcome was obvious. Despite their spirit and stamina, the colonists were outmanned and outfought by the brazen British army. General George Washington found his troops trounced in the battles of Brooklyn and Manhattan and retreated toward Pennsylvania. With the future of the colonies at its lowest ebb, Washington made his most fateful decision: to cross the Delaware River and attack the enemy. The stunning victory at Trenton began a saga of victory and defeat that concluded with the British surrender at Yorktown, a moment that changed the history of the world.The despair and triumph of America’s first great army is conveyed in scenes as powerful as any Shaara has written, a story told from the points of view of some of the most memorable characters in American history. There is George Washington, the charismatic leader who held his army together to achieve an unlikely victory; Charles Cornwallis, the no-nonsense British general, more than a match for his colonial counterpart; Nathaniel Greene, who rose from obscurity to become the finest battlefield commander in Washington’s army; The Marquis de Lafayette, the young Frenchman who brought a soldier’s passion to America; and Benjamin Franklin, a brilliant man of science and philosophy who became the finest statesman of his day. From Nathan Hale to Benedict Arnold, William Howe to “Light Horse” Harry Lee, from Trenton and Valley Forge, Brandywine and Yorktown, the American Revolution’s most immortal characters and poignant moments are brought to life in remarkable Shaara style. Yet, The Glorious Cause is more than just a story of the legendary six-year struggle. It is a tribute to an amazing people who turned ideas into action and fought to declare themselves free. Above all, it is a riveting novel that both expands and surpasses its beloved author’s best work.
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The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
***** Includes a preview of THE BOOK OF DUST, the long-awaited new novel from Philip Pullman set in the world of His Dark Materials, and hailed by the New York Times as "a stunning achievement."*****The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an “All-Time Greatest Novel” and Newsweek hailed as a “Top 100 Book of All Time.” Philip Pullman takes readers to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach.Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want.But what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other...A masterwork of storytelling and suspense, Philip Pullman's award-winning The Golden Compass is the first in the His Dark Materials series, which continues with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.A #1 New York Times BestsellerWinner of the Guardian Prize for Children's FictionPublished in 40 Countries"Arguably the best juvenile fantasy novel of the past twenty years." —The Washington Post "Very grand indeed."—The New York Times"Pullman is quite possibly a genius." —Newsweek
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The Great Little Madison
Jean Fritz
In the days before microphones and TV interviews, getting people to listen to you was not an easy task. But James Madison used his quiet eloquence, intelligence and passion for unified colonies to help shape the Constitution, steer America through the turmoil of two wars, and ensure that our government, and nation, remained intact. "An excellent, fascinating, indispensable resource." --Kirkus Reviews, pointer review "The book is rich in the sort of detail that illuminates the man, but is not limited to personal information; a great deal of government history is woven into the biography." --Horn Book, starred review "Fritz has given a vivid picture of the man and an equally vivid picture of the problems that faced the leaders of the new nation in the formative years." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children?s Books, starred review "Young readers will feel like they know the 'Great Little Madison' very well." --School Library Journal