Through twenty-six letters to her friend Nina, twelve-year-old Kasey chronicles the often humorous observations and impressions of her unexpected, month-long stay in a geriatric ward for the treatment of a rare but treatable bone disease ("osteo-something-something-itis"). Kasey tries to make her life less dull by wearing her own nightgowns, surrounding herself with her favorite stuffies and developing an unusual exercise routine. Hospital food, insomnia and the germy communal bath are enduring sources of dread, but some new (and unexpected) friends make her life bearable.
Seventeen-year-old Mark "Shark" Hewitt is good at playing pool. Really good. When he, his mom and sister move to a new town, Mark immediately seeks out the local pool hall. He loves to play, but even more than that, he just loves hanging out with the regulars. It reminds him of good times with his dad, who is no longer in the picture. When one of the patrons notices Mark's natural gift for the game, he forces Mark to use his talent for profit. Now Mark has to find a way to get out from under this sleazeball's thumb and protect his family.
Going wild. We don't see it as a good thing. And why would we? For most of our time on earth, humanity has been running from lions and other wilderness dangers. We've worked hard to make our local landscapes as safe and convenient as possible. Sometimes that's meant paving over areas that might burst into weeds. Other times, we've dammed rivers for electricity or irrigation. But now pollution, climate change and disruptions to the water cycle are affecting the world in ways we never anticipated. What if the new key to making our lives safer (and even healthier) is to allow the wilderness back into our cities?
Bullying provides an honest and unbiased view of a prevalent issue. This book examines different forms of bullying and covers practical topics such as how to recognize bullying behavior, the role of the bystander, and empowering ways to deal with bullies. Candid first-hand accounts from different perspectives and a list of valuable resources give readers the tools to help break the cycle of this destructive epidemic.
Big cats! Learn how radio collars aide in conservation and answers to questions, such as, "why can't humans run as fast as cheetahs?" Follow researchers as they track Siberian tigers. Find out about efforts to conserve snow leopards in the wild. Stories by Andy Boyles, Pamela S. Turner, Linda Zajac, and Highlights for Children.
Bonita's grandmother predicts that blood will soon be shed on the soil of Texas. But little does Bonita imagine how much blood there will be--or that the war that takes her brothers might also take away her best friend. Readers are brought back to the Mexican War through Bonita's story and learn about the causes and aftermath of the war, its racial politics, and its effects on one Mexican girl living in Texas.
Provides factual information about the natural history of the California condor through the fictional story of a young boy's discovery of a young bird in trouble.
This book contains a fictional story and factual information about labor problems, child welfare issues, women's suffrage, and rural and urban life in 1893. Reading Essentials in Social Studies.
Having finished his education at Blackstone School, Red Fox writes letters to his friend, Ellen, who is traveling in Europe, as he prepares to return to his family on the Nebraska plains.
Rifle barrels pointed at the family as they stepped into the open. Tilly cowered behind her father. "We're headed for St. Augustine," Kwaku explained. The men lowered their guns. "Where are you from?" one of them asked. "Are you runaways?" "Please let us go on our way," Catbird begged. "Get in the wagon," the man said. "These men are armed," Kwaku said quietly. "We must do as we are told." When everyone was aboard, the wagon rumbled on down the road. They were headed away from St. Augustine and their chance for freedom.
This book tells a story of best friends that get split up during World War II as they struggle to stay out of the Nazi concentration camps.
Fourteen-year-old Jonathan receives a message from a fish while diving in Hawaii and becomes concerned about ocean pollution.
Searching for a way to get revenge against school bullies, overweight Jared Springer develops a truth test that ultimately teaches him the truth about friendship
The Baldwin family decides that they could make a better life for themselves in Oregon. This is the story of their journey to Rainbow Valley. Thirteen-year-old Cotton becomes responsible for seeing his family safely across country to Oregon where they will join his father.
African American twin brothers, one a slave on a Virginia plantation and one a free man in Pennsylvania, are reunited after years of separation when they accompany soldiers on opposing sides of the Civil War.
In a series of journal entries, a boy in Denmark recounts the role he and his friends played in the Resistance and reflects on being Jewish during World War II
While working together on a school report about the 1960s, Aleesa and Kenneth are transported to March 1968, where they suddenly realize that the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. is only days away.
Kelly, one of a group of students with special needs chosen to participate in Dolphin Dives, finds her voice again after not speaking for three years when one of the animals is threatened by a very angry boy.
After Byron receives a whipping for stealing a ham for his pregnant wife and she dies giving birth to twins, Byron decides to escape slavery via the Underground Railroad.
Fern learns why the Native Americans are forcing people from their farms and does what she can to help.
Fern and Roy must leave their mother in Denver to spend the summer with their Gran and Paw in the Rocky Mountains.
A young Indian boy attends a school for Native Americans and is caught between the traditions of his people and the new ways of the white man. He is determined to get an education in order to return home and help his Native American people.
Caroline learns the meaning of freedom while struggling to maintain the family cotton plantation during the Civil War.
Cassie, who is spending the summer with her aunt while her parents go through a divorce, becomes friends with Joey, a boy in a wheelchair who lives nearby with his grandmother.
After Carlos and his family move from the Dominican Republic to Chicago, Carlos finds himself missing his old friends and country, but a meeting with his hero, Sammy Sosa, changes his life forever.
