Book

Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing.

Whether he's throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or scribbling all over Peter's homework, Fudge is never far from trouble. He's a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything - and Peter's had enough.

When "Fudge" walks off with Dribble, Peter's pet turtle, it's the last straw. Peter's put up with Fudge too long. How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?

I, Catherine Cabot Hall, aged 13 years, 6 months, 29 days... do begin this book.

So begins the journal of a girl coming of age in nineteenth-century New Hampshire.

Catherine records both the hardships of pioneer life and its many joys. Even as she struggles with her mother's death and father's eventual remarriage, Catherine's indomitable spirit makes this saga an often-times uplifting and joyous one.

Quiet yet powerful, this award-winning book is sure to touch all who read it.

Winner of the Newbery Medal

The saga of Frightful, the falcon made legendary in the classic "My Side of the Mountain," continues in this breathtaking picture book. Frightful has hatched three babies, one of them a female named Oksi. Oksi does things her own way, which means she is forever getting into trouble. As she grows from fuzzy hatchling to young adult, she faces the challenges of survival in the wild. But when Frightful is not there to help her, Sam Gribley is.

Michael's great-great-aunt Dew was a hundred years old, and she kept an old box filled with pennies, one for each birthday. Michael loved to sit at her feet and count out the pennies while Aunt Dew told the story behind each one. Michael's mother wanted to throw out the old box and buy a new one. But Aunt Dew said, "Anybody takes my hundred penny box, takes me." And for his love for Aunt Dew, Michael knew he had to try to save the hundred penny box that contained all the stories of her life.

A Newbery Honor Book

"Dear Levi,
I surely hated leaving you behind in Pennsylvania, but you know I couldn't pass up the chance to go out to Oregon to see about Pa's claim.... Once you're old enough, Levi, you can come too. Till then, mind Miss Amelia, and don't go chasing after her chickens too much...."

Amanda Freebold doesn't know what to do. Her father left three years ago for the new colony of Jamestown, in America, thousands of miles away. All Amanda has to remember him by is a little brass lion's head he gave his family to guard them while he is gone. Now her mother has just died, leaving Amanda to take care of her younger brother and sister.

Do you ever wonder where inventors get their ideas? Benjamin Franklin was one of the most famous inventors in American history, and according to this book he got most of his ideas—the good ones at any rate—from a mouse!

Funny and Wise, Ben and Me is a classic American story that celebrates its sixtieth anniversary in 1999. It has amused generations of young people, and once you've read it and met Amos, the mouse who tells the story, you will never think of Benjamin Franklin, or American history, quite the same way again.

The two adventurers were going along. Avon was singing.
"Stop!" cried Edward. "We've reached the end of the branch." With great care the two creatures edged to the very tip.
"The end of the branch," said Avon.
"The beginning of the sky," said Edward.
"Which is it?" asked Avon. "The beginning or the end?"
"It depends on what there's more of, the tree or the sky. Think of all the things that get in your way along the branch—leaves, bark, other creatures, a million things to slow you down. Now look at the sky."

April 3, 1778
Jonathan, 13, knows he's ready to fight the British. He can handle a gun. And he yearns to don a uniform and battle for glory, just like his brother and cousin.
So on this day when the tavern bell tolls, calling men to arms, Jonathan doesn't ask his father's permission. He simply goes. And to his joy, he's accepted.
In the next twenty-four hours, Jonathan learns what it means to fight, and to be a soldier. He also learns what it's like to meet death face to face.
It's a lesson he will never forget....

After Chester, a cricket, arrives in the Times Square subway station via a picnic basket from his native Connecticut, he takes up residence in the Bellinis' newsstand. There, the tiny creature is lucky enough to find three good friends: a little boy named Mario whose parents run the unsuccessful newsstand, a fast-talking Broadway mouse named Tucker and his pal, Harry the Cat. Throughout their escapades and their ups and downs in New York City, together they somehow manage to bring success to the almost bankrupt newsstand.

William's new dog, Riley, is in trouble. He chased a neighbor's horse, and local law punishes any animal that chases livestock. William will do anything to save his dog's life. Riley has become the friend he's needed after his grandfather's sudden death and his parents' separation.

Will William and his friend Grace be able to save Riley—even if several citizens and the bully Ellis Porter think Riley deserves the most severe punishment possible?

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided the sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge.

A year they'll never forget...

Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn't have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard.

A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can't talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better - playing the piano - is impossible with her wounded hands.

To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While other flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma - and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.

Some dogs have a bark bigger than their bite. But Sweetie, the Great Dane, can't afford to bark—or bite. After three little nips and three masters, the next stop is the pound. So when the burglar comes calling, he waves his tail. When coyotes come prowling, he tries to make peace—as they howl in scorn. They promise they'll return—to eat his food, his friends, Red the Irish Setter, Poky the Beagle, and Sweetie for dessert! If Sweetie can't protect them they'll all perish! How can he outfox twelve hungry coyotes?