ELA

Rosie and her best friend just can't seem to get along, but Granny Torrelli knows just what to do to make things better. With warm words and secret recipes, she helps Rosie see that nothing can break the bond between two life long pals.

Billie Jo has a great deal to forgive: her father for causing the accident that killed her mother; her mother for leaving when Billie Jo needed her most; and herself for being the cause of her own sorrow. Daddy's too wrung out to help her, and there's no one else to care.

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin.

Late at night, while her sisters and Tanta Rose sleep, Hannah Gold sees angels. She sees them soaring over the Boston streets in their shimmering robes, with eyes shining and wings outstretched. The angels inspire Hanna, for it is 1918, and her mother and father are fighting the Great War in Europe. But Boston is fighting a war of its own.

The winner of a National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and countless other accolades has written her richest, most spirited book yet.

Jane is 12 years old, and she is ready for adventures, to move beyond the world of her siblings and single mother and their house by the sea, and step into the "know-not what".

Harmony Parker thought animals much nicer than people, and saw everyone she knew as some non-human species. Her father, for example, was most definitely a bald-headed Sea Lion, her mother a tubby, fussy Pouter Pigeon, and her tiresome older sister a Siamese cat.

His mother was amazed when she saw the size of her newborn infant and realized that feeding him was going to cause problems. She turned to a box of patent Porker Pills, used for fattening pigs. But the bigger Magnus grew, the more problems he caused.

Abigail would love to have a pet parrot, but they're too expensive. So she decides to teach one of her father's chickens to talk instead. To the amazement of Abigail's family, she succeeds. Soon, they have to stop Polly being quite so chatty.

A father's wounded heart. A mother's patient love. An eager boy, an impetuous girl, and, above all, the healing power of nature. These are the classic ingredients that fill Virginia Sorensen's Newbery Award-winning novel with a tender power and lift it to classic status.

This young adult novel, which successfully captures the pain of the Revolutionary War, is a fine example of historical fiction. The American Revolution was a war that divided families (English loyalists versus eager Patriots) and one of the families being torn apart is the Meeker family.

Jo Larouche has lived her 13 years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, ever since she was dropped on Lily's doorstep with this note: "This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby."