Newbery Award

When Amos Fortune was only fifteen years old, he was captured by slave traders and brought to Massachusetts, where he was sold at auction. Although his freedom had been taken, Amos never lost his dignity and courage. For 45 years, Amos worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. And, at age 60, he finally began to see those dreams come true.

Meet Ginger Pye, the smartest dog you'll ever know.Jerry Pye and his sister, Rachel, feel pretty smart themselves for buying Ginger. It was the best dollar they ever spent. Ginger steals everybody's heart...until someone steals him!

An Incan boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his ancestors.
"Unknown to Cusi, he is of royal blood and is the 'chosen one.' A compelling story."--Booklist

When you act like and adult but get treated like a child, what else can you do but keep your wishes secret and pray that they'll come true.This is the story of a twelve-year-old Miguel Chavez, who yearns in his heart to go with the men of his family on a long and hard sheep drive to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains -- until his prayer is finally answered, but with unexpected consequences.

Why do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.

The story of "Nat," an eighteenth-century nautical wonder and mathematical wizard. Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor's world--Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn't promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by "log, lead, and lookout." Nat's long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the "Sailors' Bible"), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.

Marly and her family share many adventures when they move from the city to a farmhouse on Maple Hill.

A hero to the rebel, a devil to the Union man, Stand Watie led the Cherokee Indian Nation fearlessly and successfully on raids behind the Union lines. Jeff Bussey came to know the Watie men well. He was probably the only soldier in the West to see the Civil War from both sides and live to tell about it. He learned what it meant to fight in battle, how it felt never to have enough to eat, to forage for his food or starve. He saw the green fields of Kansas and Oklahoma laid waste by Watie's raiding parties, homes gutted, precious corn deliberately uprooted. He marched endlessly across parched, hot land, through mud and slashing rain, always hungry, always dirty and dog-tired. And, Jeff, plain-spoken and honest, made both friends and enemies. This is a rich and sweeping novel- a story of a lesser known part of the Civil War, the Western campaign. Inexorably it moves to a dramatic climax, evoking a brilliant picture of a war and the men of both sides who fought in it.

Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit's friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter. Charlotte's Web is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.

Are there bears on Hemlock Mountain? One boy is about to find out in this classic tale. People have always told Jonathan that there are no bears on Hemlock Mountain, no bears at all. So he isn't afraid to set out alone over the mountain. But as Jonathan discovers one cold winter night, people aren't always right...There are bears on Hemlock Mountain!

Young Sarah learns how to be brave even when the world is strange and new. In 1707, young Sarah Noble and her father traveled through the wilderness to build a new home for their family. "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble," her mother had said, but Sarah found that it was not always easy to feel brave inside. The dark woods were full of animals and Indians, too, and Sarah was only eight! The true story of Sarah's journey is inspiring. And as she cares for her father and befriends her Indian neighbors, she learns that to be afraid and to be brave is the greatest courage of all.

Josef Matt, the only man to ever try to conquer this last summit of the Alps, met his end in the pursuit. Now his son, Rudi, dares to complete the same task in memory of his father. Setting off with his father's red shirt, Rudi must courageously pass through the same chasm that took his father's life and finish the challenging climb in order to plant the shirt at the peak. The author's own mountaineering adventures bring to life the struggles of sixteen-year-old Rudi to overcome his family's objections and conquer the summit that killed his father. This exciting mountain climbing adventure features compelling themes of conquering fear, working toward a goal, and banding together in shared sacrifice.

Hard times have come to the forest, but Calpurnia wants to turn them back into soft times. With her dog Buggy Horse and a tip from old Mother Albirtha, the wisest person in the forest, Calpurnia finds a secret river and catches enough catfish to feed the whole swamp land and even have some left over for Daddy to sell. When she tries to come back, she has to learn the lesson that Sometimes a thing happens once, and does not ever happen anymore ' This story is about living in a time of want, yet it is overflowing with riches.'

A timeless American classic and one of the most beloved children's books ever written, Old Yeller explores the poignant and unforgettable bond between a boy and the stray dog who becomes his loyal friend. When his father sets out on a cattle drive toward Kansas for the summer, fourteen-year-old Travis Coates is left to take care of his family and their farm. Living in Texas Hill Country during the 1860s, Travis comes to face new, unanticipated, and often perilous responsibilities in the frontier wilderness. A particular nuisance is a stray yellow dog that shows up one day and steals food from the family. But the big canine who Travis calls "Old Yeller" proves his worth by defending the family from danger. And Travis ultimately finds help and comfort in the courage and unwavering love of the dog who comes to be his very best friend.

Summer has a magic all its own in these beloved stories about two children and their discovery of a ghostly lakeside resort.

When Aunt Honora reads this fortune in his tea leaves, Conn Kilroy knows he is destined for greater things than his small Irish village can offer. A letter from his uncle Michael in America offering Conn a partnership in his New York contracting company sets Conn on his western adventure. Just a few short months later Conn's Uncle Patrick lures him even farther west to Chicago, where they join the hardworking crew building what some called Ferris's Folly-the first Ferris wheel-then the largest wheel in the world, and the showpiece of Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

This is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them.But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And 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.

The heartbreaking, bitter view of the Civil War as experienced by Chris Brabson, whose brother is fighting for the "wrong" side.