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The narrator recalls the time when Tony, a large white draft horse, would pull Tom’s wagon to deliver milk, butter, and eggs. Soft, handsome illustrations evoke an earlier time in this sweet, nostalgic story.

Since little is known about the real Amelia Simmons, the author invites readers to imagine what became of her after her father’s death. Amelia would become a “bound girl,” to work for others. She may have made an Independence Cake perhaps tasted by General George Washington! The colonial period is clearly imagined here in illustration and lively text, complete with a cake recipe.

Drasko is Milo’s son who carries on his father’s flower business even after things in Sarajevo change seemingly overnight. Milo is called to the battlefield. A blast kills people in line at the bakery. Only the power of beauty through music brings hope. Based on actual events, this moving story is one of faith in spite of hatred and violence.  A CD read by the author provides additional information about the event and includes the music played by cellist Vedrun Smailovic.

Callie is interested in science and wants to be a veterinarian so she practices when the local vet is away. But it was tougher in the early 20^th century when girls couldn’t do everything that they do today. Callie, however, helps a prize sheep give birth and more in the latest, lively and engaging installment about Callie and her family. From the Calournia Tate, Girl Vet series.

Fifth-grade Maria and her younger brother live with their parents on a farm in Yuba City, California near the end of World War II. Their father is from India, their mother from Mexico. Maria loves to play baseball and is encouraged by her teacher but confronts other problems. Will their field be destroyed? Will the family lose their home? Both humorous and poignant, readers will gain a sense of the period and many of the issues that feel very contemporary. 

Four young people come together at the Metropolitan in New York City on the very day that Pearl Harbor is bombed. Their quest involves Arthurian legend, creepy villains, and a bit of magic in this well-paced, riveting narration will be enjoyed by sophisticated listeners.

Laika was the abandoned puppy destined to become Earth’s first space traveler. This is her journey. The author masterfully blends a graphic novel format with fiction and fact in the intertwined stories of three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, once a political prisoner, now a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program, and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika’s health and life. An extensive bibliography of sources is appended.

In early 20^th century Fentress, Texas, girls aren’t veterinarians and skunks are not pets. That doesn’t stop Calpurnia from aspiring to be a vet nor her younger brother Travis from rescuing two kits — baby skunks —  and calling on Callie for help.  Humor and pathos emerge as Callie narrates this episode. Gentle line drawings add flavor to the setting and characters in the first of a new easier to read historical fiction series. 

Original documents from an early 19^th century Southern estate that appraised enslaved Africans provided the inspiration for original poems and powerful, full-page paintings of eleven individuals who were bought and sold. The result is very moving — portraits in poetry and image of enslaved people whose lives, aspirations, and hopes have been mostly anonymous — until now.

Zomorod Yousefzadeh prefers to be called “Cindy” (as in one of the Brady Bunch). She lives with her Iranian-born family in California where her father works. Their life, however, changes when a group of Iranian students take over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The issues of the 1970s come into sharp focus (and are surprisingly timely) through Cindy’s often funny, sometimes insightful, always plausible narration. 

Charlie writes to his older brother, Joe, who is a soldier during World War II. Though Cleveland, Ohio, feels like a long way from the war, there are things in common. Action and activities on both sides of the Atlantic are revealed through the brothers’ letters and provide an accessible introduction.

While visiting relatives in Beirut, the 2006 war begins between Hezbollah and Israel. Luli and his family are displaced by the constant month-long bombings, unable to return to their home. When they do, their house is in ruins and Luli’s cats are missing. Lucy the Fat and Lucy the Skinny find their way back, but there is comfort only in the memory of Lucy Lucy. Though a story of war, this personal and hopeful story will resonate with young readers.

Imagine flying between countries in a hot air balloon. What would you take? What would you leave behind when it becomes too dangerous to hold onto everything? Might you discard even your clothing? Join the English Dr. John Jeffries and his French pilot, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, for just such a trip. Humor and hijinks make their unforgettable trip positively joyful. 

Times are tough for Beans and his family in Key West during the Great Depression. Can Beans and his friends trust the New Dealers who say that they have come to Florida to make their small, poor town a tourist destination? Bean’s saga is both humorous and poignant in his satisfying story.

Meet Ranger! He’s a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble … and always saves the day! This is the first book in the historical fiction chapter book series titled Ranger in Time.

Sophisticated listeners will appreciate this touching World War II story of a disabled girl learning to respect herself in spite of her uncaring mother.

A harmonica and a bit of magic link different children from different times. 

Inge Maria leaves her beloved Copenhagen to live with Dizzy, her seemingly stern grandmother. But Inge Maria brings mischief, laughter, and warmth to Bornholm, her new island home. The tale unfolds through Inge Maria’s naïve and good-natured voice.

An old horse chestnut tree observes a girl in a window – writing and petting a cat – that is, until the soldiers came. The summer the girl would have turned 82, the tree was struck by lightning, though both girl and tree live on. The lyrical story of Anne Frank is expanded by sepia toned illustrations that use delicate lines. An afterword about Anne concludes this handsome volume.

Young Mac introduces readers to Miss Emily — better known as Emily Dickenson, poet extraordinaire — as an adventurous, lively woman who wants to share wonders of a circus with a group of children. Animated black/white illustrations accompany the action told in free verse for an open, inviting, and highly readable novel about a famous poet.

Young readers are introduced to Lizzy (nee Elizabeth) Bennet, heroine of Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice, through her “diary.” Attractively formatted with spot illustrations, letters that can be unfolded, and charming entries, readers not ready for the 19^th century novel are sure to enjoy this glimpse at it through the unique perspective of Lizzy’s journal.

Underground Railroad “conductor” Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, a staunch proponent of women’s suffrage, lived during the same period in US history and actually met several times. Grimes richly imagines what they might have talked about at these meetings, contextualizing the period’s history and major events. Illustrations use strong lines and bold color to provide more than visual interest but also suggesting the strength of two remarkable women.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (2011 Newbery Medal Winner)

Maidens, monks, and millers’ sons — in these pages, readers will meet them all. With a deep appreciation for the period and a grand affection for both characters and audience, Laura Amy Schlitz creates 22 riveting portraits and linguistic gems equally suited to silent reading or performance. (2008 Newbery Medal Winner)