"The Great Death-Defying Signor Joseph Dobbinelli: Most Daring Animal Trainer in the World", the sign reads, and Sr. Dobbinelli is in need of a good, stout winter barn for his circus animals. Clay and his family have just the barn in Connecticut, but do they have what it takes to care for lions and tigers?  

Seven-year-old Lennie has just moved with his family to a new home. On his first day of school, at a time when racial integration in schools was new, he discovers he is the only black person in his classroom. With the gentle support of his parents and a positive attitude, Lennie finds solutions to his troubles. This sweet story is packed with great moral messages for young listeners. 

Set in New York in the early 1900s, Melissa Across the Fence begins with an enchanting description of the grand house next door. "In the rear, a lawn ran right back to the fence broken only by a narrow gravel walk, and with a stone fountain directly in the middle.... But there was one strange thing about the house that puzzled Melissa: Nobody ever seemed to live in it." However, that soon changes when the shut-up house becomes occupied and Melissa sees a mysterious, pale-looking boy always looking out his window.

An adventure awaited the six Murray children! They had been invited to stay with their relatives out of town while their mother recovered from an illness. Little did they know that an ancient feud, a charge against their uncle, and a mysterious stranger in the town would motivate them to unite as family and friends to unravel a mystery.

The two children watched and waved until the figures grew smaller and smaller. At last the big, white-topped wagon rolled slowly around a bend in the dusty road. Then they could no longer see their old farm. Daniel and Betsy blinked their blue eyes before they looked at each other. Daniel and Besty's family are some of the very first people to arrive on a little mountain in Oregon where gold was discovered. It's not long until a whole town of muslin tents pops up. Will the family find gold, and if they do, can they find a place to hide it?

One morning at breakfast, Mother said, "Freddy, the new house next door has been sold. A family with a six-year-old child is moving in today". The new girl's name is Linda, and the two children become fast friends, sailing boats in the pond, taking care of an injured hummingbird, and saving ducks from a waterfall.

Set in California in the 1870s, this story follows Mike O'Grady and his family as they leave their potato farm to settle in the redwood forest. Ten-year-old Mike is sad to leave his family's farm, but he soon finds his new home exciting and discovers a love of nature and of drawing. From being threatened by a wounded grizzly bear to discovering waterfalls, Mike's adventures combine in a fun, wholesome book packed with good messages.

The Apple family lived in the city, but with so many new little Apples coming along, their home was becoming quite crowded. It didn't take long for them to find the perfect house in the country, but it required some ingenuity and cooperation to make it their own. Follow along with the Apple family as - with tenacity and some animal mischievousness - they achieve their dream of owning a home suited for their every need.

When John Taylor and his parents move from their apartment in the big city to a house in the suburbs, the adventure has just begun. With a big backyard and woods to explore, he quickly finds that there is a whole exciting world to discover with his new friend, Jim. As the boys search for answers to the mystery that they uncover, they learn that treasured friendships can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Told from four-year-old Laura's point of view, this story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Laura lives in the little house with her pa, her ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard for the family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her family celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town.

In Hold On to Your Kids, Dr. Neufeld and Dr. Maté explore the phenomenon of peer orientation: the troubling tendency of children and youth to look to their peers for direction - for a sense of right and wrong, for values, identity and codes of behavior. But peer orientation undermines family cohesion, poisons the school atmosphere, and fosters an aggressively hostile and sexualized youth culture. It provides a powerful explanation for schoolyard bullying and youth violence; it is an escalating trend that has never been adequately described or contested.

Most people know this book from the Academy Award-winning motion picture starring Winona Ryder. Now, introduce them to the sparkling American classic behind the movie: a charming portrait of the joys and hardships of the four sisters in Civil War New England. Separated by the war from their beloved parents, these "little women" struggle to find their place in the world.

Everyone knew that a tile roof was a precarious perch. Everyone saw, too, that the steadily rising water had reached a corner of the attic floor near the stairway and was beginning to spread, slowly but surely, toward them. Based on the great flood that swept over Holland in 1953, the gripping story When the Dikes Broke follows the tale of the van Rossem family as they are awakened by sirens and the clanging of church bells and soon realize that the dikes have broken. As the water rises to their roof, the family is separated, and a desperate and daring search is set in place.

"The hush of a golden May afternoon lay on the peaceful, watery streets of Leyden." Thus begins the story of Jacqueline and her brother Gysbert, but things do not remain peaceful for long. Leyden, soon, lay completely encircled by the Spanish army. With wonderfully trained carrier pigeons, determination to find a way out of the city, and a lot of courage, the two siblings believe they can help free Leyden. 

Tom drew back into the shadow of the wall, for at that moment, the gate opened, and two of the governor's black horses appeared, pulling a large wagon behind them. Tom could just make out the dark forms of several men crouching low on the seat. The horses' hooves must have been padded, for they scarcely made a sound, even on the cobblestones of the courtyard.