Words by Heart

Lena can recite the Scriptures by heart. Hoping to make her adored Papa proud of her and to make her white classmates notice her “Magic Mind,” not her black skin, Lena vows to win the Bible-quoting contest.

Lena can recite the Scriptures by heart. Hoping to make her adored Papa proud of her and to make her white classmates notice her “Magic Mind,” not her black skin, Lena vows to win the Bible-quoting contest. But winning does not bring Lena what she expected. Instead of honor, violence and death erupt and strike the one she loves most dearly. Lena, who has believed in vengeance, must now learn how to forgive. (Yearling)

Throwing Shadows

In each of these extraordinary short stories from the perceptive pen of E. L. Konigsburg, a chance meeting between two people casts a shadow on what things have been and what they can become, and changes a life forever.

‘ A retired college president is determined to best a young beachcomber

‘ A store manager accuses a boy of shoplifting

‘ A tour guide strikes a bargain with an enterprising orphan

‘ A boy recovering from a broken arm befriends an elderly woman

in an old folks’ home

‘ A widow and her son seize an opportunity presented

by a pair of antiques dealers

In each of these extraordinary short stories from the perceptive pen of E. L. Konigsburg, a chance meeting between two people casts a shadow on what things have been and what they can become, and changes a life forever. (Atheneum)

A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832

The journal of a 14-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town, her father’s remarriage, and the death of her best friend.

Catherine, a girl coming of age in nineteenth-century New Hampshire, records the hardships of pioneer life and its many joys. Even as Catherine struggles with her mother’s death and father’s eventual remarriage, her indomitable spirit makes this saga an oftentimes uplifting and joyous one. (Atheneum)

The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope

David Kherdian recreates his mother’s voice in telling the true story of a childhood interrupted by one of the most devastating holocausts of our century.

David Kherdian recreates his mother’s voice in telling the true story of a childhood interrupted by one of the most devastating holocausts of our century. Veron Dumehjian Kherdian was born into a loving and prosperous family. Then, in the year 1915, the Turkish goverment began the systematic destruction of its Armenian population. (Greenwillow Books)