Juvenile Fiction / Lifestyles Books

A history of the author Laura Ingalls Wilder's own family, as well as a very thorough overview of pioneer life in America, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS is the first book in the beloved nine-book Little House series. Set in the woods of Wisconsin during the 1870s, this book follows one year in the life of the Ingalls family--Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and baby Carrie. Although LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS is primarily a testament to the author's family, the book also provides detailed information about the struggles and constant hard work of pioneer life. For example, readers will learn how Ma, with the help of Mary and Laura, cured the meat of the animals that Pa hunted, killed, butchered, and skinned so that the family would have food to eat during the long, cold Wisconsin winter. A celebration of family love and the American pioneer spirit, the Little House books are extremely popular, and even today readers can visit the homes once occupied by the Ingalls family--almost all of which have been preserved as historical landmarks. Illustrated with B&W pencil drawings.

This is the classic and immensely popular first novel in the series about Anne Shirley, an irrepressible red-headed orphan. The Cuthberts decide to adopt an orphan--a strong, hardworking boy to help with the farm chores. Anne is sent to live with them by mistake. Talkative, romantic and imaginative, Anne must convince the Cuthberts to keep her. Once adopted, Anne embraces her new life with energy, and no one who meets her is ever the same.

This is the sixth book in the highly acclaimed and beloved series of books chronicling the life of Laura Ingalls who lived at the end of the 19th century. The year that Laura was 13 and living in the Dakota Territory, there was a severe winter that lasted seven months, with blinding blizzards that came so quickly, people got lost in them and died. With no train able to bring supplies, the families in the little town were slowly starving, until Almanzo and another young man made a risky journey to buy some wheat to save the town.

This is the third book in the highly acclaimed and beloved series of books chronicling the life of Laura Ingalls, who lived at the end of the 19th century. This volume describes the childhood of Almanzo Wilder, Laura's future husband. It tells about daily life with his older brother and two sisters on his father's prosperous farm, his passionate love for horses, and his yearning for a horse of his own.

The fifth book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic autobiographical series follows the family's move from Minnesota to the lonely Dakota territory. There, Pa goes to work for the railroad, and the family waits for a new home. Laura and Mary experience their first-ever train ride, and soon, everyone settles into a snug little home by Silver Lake.

This is the second title in Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic American series about her childhood on the prairie. In the late 19th-century, the Ingalls family moves from the relative safety of Wisconsin to the unknown prairies of Kansas, where they build a log cabin and start up a small farm. Braving the elements, wolves, and much more, the tightly knit family discovers a new home. With Garth Williams' B&W illustrations.

An 11-year-old boy spends his first post-World War II summer on his aunt's farm with his mischief making cousin, Harris.

Shy, quiet 13-year-old Ratchet Clark, used to life with her neurotic mother, spends an unusual summer in rural Maine with her elderly, eccentric twin great-aunts Tilly and Penpen. Though the aunts are "as different as chalk and cheese," they share an obsession with death, curse like sailors, and enjoy whiskey. In an enormous, old Victorian on cliffs above the sea, they garden, care for a cow, and can blueberries come August. A fountain of incredible stories, Tilly fills Rachet in on their often hilarious life histories, while Penpen adds occasional commentary. As the summer progresses, Rachet learns to love the woods, milking the cow, gardening, and everything that goes on in that big, crazy house. 2003 National Book Award recipient for Young People's Literature.

First published in 1962, THE SNOWY DAY was the first full-color picture book to feature an African-American as its main character. One day a boy named Peter wakes up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. After breakfast, Peter dons his red snowsuit and solitarily explores his newly snowy world. He enjoys such activities as making snow angels and building a snowman, and even considers joining some bigger boys in a snowball fight, although he realizes that he's not yet old enough for such activities. After a day full of fun, Peter tucks a snowball in his pocket and returns home. Later, however, he is disappointed to discover that his snowball has melted away. That night he dreams that all the snow has melted, but in the morning he is delighted to discover that not only is his neighborhood still snow-covered, but that it's also still snowing. Once again, he ventures out into the snow for a day of fun--this time accompanied by his friend from across the hall. This peaceful, gentle story, which is illustrated with torn paper collages and watercolor paintings, is the winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal.

Based on the career of Metropolitan Opera star Olive Femstad this novel traces the life of Thea Kronberg, a singer who leaves small-town Colorado to go to Chicago to study music, where she rises to the top of her profession. After a turbulent life that includes the death of a lover, exploitation by a teacher, and a passionate affair with a married man, Thea finds happiness--but her truest happiness, throughout, comes from her career as a singer.

At Westchester's elite Octavian Country Day, Massie Block is the seventh grade diva whom all the girls hate, yet long to be. Though she's wealthy and pretty, popularity is hard to hang on to, and the three young-adult novels in this paperback boxed set showcase this quite well. Included are the Clique novels #4, #5, and #6, INVASION OF THE BOY SNATCHERS, THE PRETTY COMMITTEE STRIKES BACK, and DIAL L FOR LOSER.

While enjoying a stroll, a young boy meets a variety of animals including a black cat, a brown horse, and a green duck, all of whom decide to accompany him. This introduction to animal and color identification is illustrated with watercolor paintings.

Duck is a hardworking fowl lives on a farm owned by a very lazy man. All day long the farmer lies about in bed, eating chocolates, reading the newspaper, and occasionally yelling out the window to Duck in order to ask "How goes the work?" Meanwhile, poor Duck spends his days caring for the other animals, doing the laundry, and even serving meals to his good-for-nothing master. The other animals notice not only how tired duck is, but also how very lazy the farmer is, and so they decide to do something drastic. Will the hens, the cow, and the sheep be able to come to Duck's aid--and teach the farmer a lesson he'll never forget? Illustrated with watercolor paintings.

After a violent fight with his stepfather, 16-year-old Travis Harris is sent to live with his Uncle Ken--the brother of Travis's father, who died in Vietnam before Travis was born. Travis has a reputation for trouble, but he also considers himself a serious writer and even sends a manuscript to a publishing company. Settling into his new surroundings, Travis begins working at his uncle's horse stable, where he sets out to tame a wild horse in hopes of impressing Casey, a beautiful horse trainer. Will Travis's troublesome past come back to haunt him?

The second installment of Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" urban-fantasy series follows teenager Clary Fray as she delves deeper into the world of the half-angel/half-human Shadowhunters, explores her own mysterious background, and struggles with her feelings for the brooding demon-hunter Jace Wayland.

When Mary O'Shea's father leaves their home on Mackinac Island to fight in the War of 1812, she and her brother and sister are left to manage the family farm. The family's efforts are made more difficult when the British invade and occupy the island. The first book in the trilogy.

A year in the life of an early 19th-century New England family. This picture book depicts how a man and his family spend the year making items for him to sell from his ox-cart when he goes to town. Once all the items have been sold--knitted gloves, woven shawls, a hand-sewn ox yoke, even the ox--the man buys supplies so that the cycle can begin all over again. The illustrations are color paintings on wood. Selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1979 and winner of the 1980 Caldecott Medal.

Emily Bartlett lives on an isolated farm where there are no children around to play with. The nearest town is so small that it doesn't even have a library, but fortunately, Emily entertains herself with her wild imagination. One time she decides to bleach a horse, then she feeds the hogs a treat that makes them act very strangely. But her best idea yet comes when she decides to open up her own public library.

Fourteen-year-old Mary Call tries to keep her family together after the death of her sharecropper father.

A young girl gives an account of her neighbor, Mr. Potter, the owner of a genuine U.S. Government Inspected Balloon Farm. No one knows how Mr. Potter manages to grow such wonderful balloons, so one night the girl stays up and secretly observes his technique. Bright acrylic paintings illustrate the text.