Newbery Award

Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otters play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, a girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache. Karana contends with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guards against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintains a precarious food supply. Her quiet courage, self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform loneliness and terror into strength and serenity..

Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion: to avenge his father's death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of Israel.

Madeleine L'Engle's ground-breaking science fiction and fantasy classic is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe. They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
The first book in The Time Quintet, which consists of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.

14-year-old Dave has the usual problems - luckily, he has an adopted stray named Cat to help him through the bumps and bruises. Recounted with humor, a remarkably realistic teenage voice, and Emil Weiss's pitch perfect illustrations, Dave's story unfolds amid the excitement and dangers of 1960s New York City.

Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness -- how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy? But Manolo has a secret he dares to share with no one -- he is a coward, without afición, the love of the sport that enables a bullfighter to rise above his fear and face a raging bull. As the day when he must enter the ring approaches, Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own destiny?

Juan is the slave of the great Spanish painter Diego Valazquez and helps his master in his studio by preparing paints and stretching canvases. But Juan is an artist, too: he has taught himself by watching his master's technique. Although such work is forbidden by slaves, Jaun cannot keep his secret any longer.What will happen when the truth is known?

Julie would remember her happy days at Aunt Cordelia's forever. Running through the spacious rooms, singing on rainy nights in front of the fireplace. There were the rides in the woods and the races with a friend. There were the precious moments alone in her room at night, gazing at the sea of stars. But there were sad times too--the painful jealousy Julie felt after her sister married, the tragic death of a schoolmate and the bitter disappointment of her first love. Julie was having a hard time believing life was fair. But Julie would have to be fair to herself before she could even think about new beginnings.
A beautiful coming of age story.

When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort -- she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because he was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie had some ideas too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she discovered more about its mysterious origins.

When the most powerful weapon in the land of Prydain falls into the hands of Arawn, Lord of the Land of Death, Taran and Prince Gwydion rally an army to stand up to the dark forces. The companions' last and greatest quest is also their most perilous. The biting cold of winter is upon them, adding to the danger they already face. Their journey, fraught with battle and bloodshed, ends at the very portal of Arawn's stronghold. There, Taran is faced with the most crucial decision of his life.

Tucker is a streetwise city mouse. He thought he'd seen it all. But he's never met a cricket before, which really isn't surprising, because, along with his friend Harry Cat, Tucker lives in the very heart of New York City--the Times Square subway station. Chester Cricket never intended to leave his Connecticut meadow. He'd be there still if he hadn't followed the entrancing aroma of liverwurst right into someone's picnic basket. Now, like any tourist in the city, he wants to look around. And he could not have found two better guides--and friends--than Tucker and Harry.

When Ranofer found the golden goblet, he knew it must have been stolen from one of the great tombs in the City of the Dead. Ranofer also knew that in order to win his freedom he would have to prove that Gebu, his greedy half brother, was the thief.

The classic story of how small twin mice, Bob and Ozzie, are chosen to bell the house cat is brought to life with colorful illustrations in a picture book format.

A collection of ten Scottish legends passed down through the ages. Sorche Nic Leodhas brings together ten folktales that were passed down through the generations as part of Scotland's vibrant oral tradition. In this volume, stories about the changeling and the stolen child, the bride who was cursed to silence by a water kelpie, and the beekeeper who found a rabbit under a spell are just a handful of the thousands of local myths that make up Scotland's colorful history.

In 1861, America is on the cusp of war, and young Jethro Creighton is just nine-years-old. His brother, Tom, and his cousin, Eb, are both of fighting age. As Jethro's family is pulled into the conflict between the North and the South, loyalties are divided, dreams are threatened, and their bonds are put to the test in this heart-wrenching, coming of age story.

In the land of Prydain, evil is never far away. Arawn, Lord of the Land of Death, has been building an army of dark warriors to take over Prydain, and the only way to stop him is to destroy the Black Cauldron he uses to create his dreaded soldiers. Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his loyal companions must journey deep into Arawn's domain to destroy the Black Cauldron. For each of them, the quest has a special meaning. For Taran, it is the glorious opportunity to use his first sword in battle. But war requires a sacrifice greater than he'd ever imagined. . . .
The second book in the Chronicles of Prydain

This is the story of how, one by one, a man found himself a family. And the life that the members of The Animal Family live together, there in the wilderness beside the sea, is as extraordinary and as enchanting as the family itself.

Franny's mother works long hours at the laundromat, and her father can't seem to hold down a regular job. And who is going to clean the house and look after 4-year-old Marshall? It all falls on Franny's shoulders. But Franny will suffer any indignity-even her shabby clothes and not having enough lunch money-if her best friend Simone is on her side. But lately, Simone keeps taking about dopey rich Lila, and all the free time she has to play. How can Franny and Simone be friends if they never see each other?

While awaiting trial for murder and withholding from the king the obligatory fifth of the gold found in Cibola, Esteban, a seventeen-year-old cartographer, recalls his adventures with a band of conquistadors.

Elizabeth is an only child, new in town, and the shortest kid in her class. She's also pretty lonely, until she meets Jennifer. Jennifer is...well, different. She's read Macbeth. She never wears jeans or shorts. She never says "please" or "thank you." And she says she is a witch. It's not always easy being friends with a witch, but it's never boring. At first an apprentice and then a journeyman witch, she and Jennifer collaborate on cooking up an ointment that will enable them to fly. That's when a marvelous toad, Hilary Ezra, enters their lives. And that's when trouble starts to brew.

From the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar has wrested a black pearl so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven. Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the swaggering Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this! But is there a price to pay for a prize so great? When a terrible tragedy strikes the village, old Luzon's warning about El Diablo returns to haunt Ramon. If El Diablo actually exists, it will take all Ramon's courage to face the winged creature waiting for him offshore.

The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she's not sure they have anything in common. But April has some surprises in store, like the fact that she enjoys reading and playing imagination games just as much as Melanie does. The two even discover that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt! In a storage yard behind the A-Z Antiques and Curio Shop, Melanie and April start to play the Egypt Game. Before long, there are six Egyptians instead of two. They meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code. Everyone enjoys the game until strange things begin to happen. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?

American readers of all ages and walks of life have been affected by the truth of To Be a Slave, which remains one of the few works to present what it felt like to be a slave in America in the words of black men and women who lived it, rather than filtered through the eyes of others. Paired with historical commentary and powerful and soulful paintings, To Be a Slave makes the clear and moving distinction between the generalizations made about slaves and what the emotional reality was for human beings whose condition was slavery.
In an intensely personal new introduction written for this thirtieth anniversary edition, Julius Lester states that at age ten, when his father told him his family's history went back to a bill of sale and no further, 'the words were one of the defining moments of my life.'