After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living.
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Onion John
His friendship with the town odd-jobs man, Onion John, causes a conflict between Andy and his father.
La Calle Es Libre
This urban story of caring and self-reliance takes place in a barrio in Caracas where wilderness, open space, and wild animals are threatened by the unstoppable advancement of urban expansion. This is a true story of a community that united to build a park for their children to play.
Wiggling Pockets/Los bolsillos saltarines (My Family: Mi Familia) (Spanish Edition)
How many frogs fit in Danny’s pockets? It’s a jumping surprise! ¿Cuántas ranas caben en los bolsillos de Danny? ¡Es una sorpresa saltarina! One frog hops on Tina’s head, Una rana brinca encima de la cabeza de Tina, And another springs onto Mom’s delicious cherry pie! Oh, no! ¡Y otra rana cae encima del delicioso pastel de cerezas que hizo Mamá! ¡Ay, no! We don’t want to eat frog pie! ¡No queremos comer pastel de ranas! Wiggling Pockets Los bolsillos saltarines This bilingual book will appeal to anyone who’s ever been unintentionally mischievous—just like Danny with his wiggling pockets full of frogs! Este libro bilingüe le encantará a todos los que sin querer han sido un poco traviesos . . . ¡igual que Danny y sus bolsillos saltarines llenos de ranas!
Felita
A vivid portrayal of a close-knit Hispanic community Felita’s parents promise she will love their new neighborhood. Only Abuelita, her grandmother, understands how much Felita will miss her old block, and her best friend Gigi. But her new neighbors taunt and tease Felita and her family because they are from Puerto Rico. First published twenty years ago, Felita’s compelling story has resonance for kids today.”An honest, realistic view of an important aspect of contemporary American life.” –The Horn Book* An NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies* A Child Study Children’s Book Committee Children’s Book of the Year* A Puffin Novel * 112 pages * Ages 8-12
Going Home
Everything in Felita’s life seems to change the year she turns twelve. Felita spends her summer in Puerto Rico, where she struggles to fit in. By the time summer has ended, Felita is beginning to feel at home with herself and her Puerto Rican heritage.
Pepita on Pepper Street/ Pepita En La Calle Pepper
Pepita is almost always happy. But she isn’t today because everything is different on her new street. There’s no familiar grocery store on the corner, and no tortilla shop squeezed right next to it. Rosa’s house isn’t down the street, and worst of all, her best friend Sonya no longer lives right next door. Pepita is definitely not happy about her move to Pepper Street. But her dog Lobo doesn’t mind the new neighborhood, and in fact, he likes the new smells he encounters as Pepita walks him up and down the street. He even wags his tail at the new people they meet: Mrs. Green, who wears a straw hat while weeding her rose garden; Mrs. Becker, who paints the pepper trees, and her dog, Blackie; and Jose, the mailman, who hopes Lobo won’t bite him. Soon, Pepita realizes that her father’s suggestion, “the best way to stop feeling new is to get to know people” is good advice. And when a girl with bright red hair named Katie Ann comes by to visit, Pepita learns that making new friends isn’t so hard after all.
Riding the Universe
Seventeen-year-old Chloé Rodriguez, who inherited her uncle’s beloved Harley after his death, spends the subsequent year trying to pass chemistry, wondering whether she should look for her birth parents, and beginning an unlikely relationship with her chemistry tutor, while also trying to figure out how she really feels about the boy who has been her best friend since they were children.
The Jumping Tree
These lively stories follow Rey Castaneda from sixth through eighth grade in Nuevo Penitas, Texas. One side of Rey’s family lives nearby in Mexico, the other half in Texas, and Rey fits in on both sides of the border. In Nuevo Penitas, he enjoys fooling around with his pals in the barrio; at school, he’s one of the “A list” kids. As Rey begins to cross the border from childhood into manhood, he turns from jokes and games to sense the meaning of work, love, poverty, and grief, and what it means to be a proud Chicano-moments that sometimes propel him to show feelings un hombre should never express. It’s a new territory where Rey longs to follow the example his hardworking, loving father has set for him. From the Hardcover edition.
Let’s Eat!/A Comer! (My Family: Mi Familia)
It’s dinnertime. Look at all the food! Es la hora de cenar. ¡Cuánta comida! There are beans, tortillas, Hay frijoles, tortillas, cheese, and even a green salad. queso y hasta una ensalada de lechuga. Enough for the whole family. Suficiente para toda la familia. Let’s sit down and enjoy it together. Vamos a sentarnos y disfrutarla juntos. Let’s eat! ¡A comer! This first book in the new bilingual My Family/Mi familia series will charm readers with its close-knit family—a family that is grateful for its many blessings. Éste es el primer libro de la nueva serie My Family/ Mi familia. Los lectores quedarán encantados con esta familia unida que se siente agradecida por todas sus bendiciones.