Juvenile Fiction / People & Places Books

At a New England boarding school during World War II, a group of boys discover the depths of human nature among themselves, and the evil that even the most innocent is capable of.

Charlotte Brontë's first novel, published in 1847, was based in part on the author's own days in a brutal boarding school where two of her sisters died of tuberculosis; her characterization of the place in her first published work was an act of revenge. The novel's heroine is a plain, impoverished, but spirited young governess who not only wins the heart of her employer--the jaded, Byronic Mr. Rochester--but manages to defy the social conventions of her time to become a strong and fulfilled adult. Told by Jane herself as she looks back over her life, JANE EYRE became the prototype for the classic Gothic novel set in a wild, windswept location where a naïve heroine must cope with ghosts and the supernatural. It has also inspired countless romance novels and created the bitter, brooding hero who is brought back to life by the goodness and innocence of the woman who loves him. Brontë's tale, however, transcends the genres it inspired. Jane's search for love and for meaning also includes a refusal to accept less than she feels is her due. Brontë sees that quest as a moral one, and a critical exploration of the paradoxes of the English class system and of Victorian gender relations is an integral part of the book. But the main reason for its position as an enduring classic is that JANE EYRE is a stirring and satisfying tale, a page-turner. It was a bestseller in its day and remains popular today--the quintessential coming-of-age story that still has resonance for young women who are struggling to find the balance between romantic love and personal freedom.

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.

The tale of an Irish boy raised as an Indian in imperial India. It is the story of his coming of age in a world of high adventure, mystic quests, and the "great game" between the British and the Russians for control of Central Asia.

Young Heidi is forced to live with her grandfather who resides in a cottage high in the Alps of Switzerland. Heidi and her grandfather have a happy life together but her life changes when she is sent to the village to care for a sick girl.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL is Dickens's tender and comic tale of the Cratchit family, Tiny Tim, and Ebenezer Scrooge--a favorite ever since it was written, in 1843. Badly in need of money, Dickens produced A CHRISTMAS CAROL in six weeks; the first printing of 6,000 copies sold out instantly. In Dickens's original version, Tiny Tim was Tiny Fred, and Scrooge said "Bah!" but not "Humbug!"

This novel set in the Cholistan Desert of Pakistan features Shabanu, an 11-year-old girl who is the youngest member of her family. Shabanu and her sister, Phulan, have already been promised in marriage to two brothers, and although Shabanu knows it is her familial duty to marry, she doesn't want to give up her freedom and her work tending her father's camels. Despite Shabanu's efforts to be a good Muslim daughter, her parents continually warn her that her independent streak could get her in trouble unless she learns how to control herself. As the family prepares for Phulan's wedding, a tragic encounter with a wealthy landowner forces Shabanu to sacrifice her freedom to protect her family. Will Shabanu be able to let go of her dreams to uphold her family's honor?

Winner of both the Discover Great New Writers Award and the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction.

Nine-year-old Kenny narrates this story about his middle-class, African-American family and their 1963 trip from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama. The trip's purpose is two-fold--to visit their grandmother, and to get Kenny's older brother away from the rough crowd he has been running with. Sadly, racism rears its ugly head as the family travels through the South, eventually culminating in the bombing of Kenny's grandmother's church while his younger sister and many others are inside.

In the 12th entry of the bestselling Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie time travel to the Arctic Circle to discover the answer to final riddle that will lead to master librarianship. In the icy-cold environment, a little bit of luck, a seal hunter, and a polar bear come to their rescue. With B&W illustrations.

This is the author's own story of her upbringing in China by a missionary father, a distant mother, and an affectionate Chinese nurse, Lin Nai-Nai. The book examines the added difficulties foreigners experienced in a country where life was harsh even for natives, and chronicles the loneliness of an only child who longs to discover her roots in the homeland she never knew. Illustrated with photographs.

Benjy and his older sister are spending the summer with their grandmother, Miss Leota, in Virginia. During this time, shy Benjy befriends the ghost of a Civil War soldier and vows to help him restore his honor by recovering a watch he hid during a battle. The story is a combination of time travel, fantasy, and historical fiction.

This is the story of an exciting day on a Maine island--and the thrill of a loose tooth.

Fourteen-year-old Liyana Abboud loves it when her father calls her "habibi"--Arabic for "darling." She also loves to hear him tell of growing up in Palestine. However, she's not prepared for her parents' announcement that the family will be moving from the United States to Jerusalem. Strangers in a new land, Liyana and her younger brother Rafik must learn how to adapt to life and school in Jerusalem.

In famine-stricken 18th century Japan, a 13-year-old boy named Jiro, the clumsy son of a poor puppet maker, becomes the apprentice to Yoshida, the master of the Hanza Puppet Theater. As Jiro works to learn the art of puppeteering, he must also strive to please the seldom-satisfied Yoshida. Jiro's work is disrupted, however, when he sets out to discover the true identity of Sabru, the mysterious thief who robs from the rich and gives to the poor--and who seems to have some sort of connection to the Hanza Theater. Will Jiro's investigation put his life, and the lives of the others at the Hanza Theater, in danger? This work of historical fiction includes detailed information about Japanese theater as well as about life and culture in 18th Japan.

Ping is an excellent gardener who can make almost any plant flourish and bloom. Needing a successor, the Emperor, who also enjoys gardening, comes up with a contest. He distributes a seed to every child in the kingdom, declaring that whoever grows the most beautiful plant will be the new emperor. Ping is more than disappointed when his carefully tended seed refuses to grow and all he has to present to the Emperor is an empty pot. Has Ping really lost the competition? Pen-and-watercolor illustrations accompany the text.

The 11-year-old hero of Frank Chin's first novel has dreams about working on the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869--as his Chinese-American ancestors did.