People vanish for days, come to live in your bedroom, hide under tables for hours and hours, count pennies in jam jars until they have enough to buy bread, and then the next day gild halos for the school play with real gold leaf. Caddy’s home is a turmoil of piled possessions, lost belongings, and unexpected adventures. Her one constant is her three best friends, a charmed circle that she never wants to leave. But the summer that Caddy is twelve, everything turns upside down. Her mother spends most of her time in the hospital with the fragile new baby. Her father comes home from London to “organize” his family, causing plenty of chaotic confusion. Her boyfriend, not content with dating three girls, is looking to conquer a fourth. But worst of all for Caddy, her best friends are growing up and growing apart. Luckily, Caddy is the bravest of the brave and luckily for Caddy, endings are not always the end, and a world that is entirely unpredictaale is also a world full of surprises.
Babies
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Rhyming text compares babies born in different places and in different circumstances, but they all share the commonality of ten little fingers and ten little toes.
Hello Baby!
After meeting a bevy of baby animals — including a clever monkey, a hairy warthog, and a dusty lion cub — the baby in this story discovers the most precious creature of all…itself, of course!
Baby Animals in Grasslands
Young zoologists will recognize some familiar grassland friends like Giraffe, Cheetah, Kangaroo, and Antelope, but have they ever seen an Anteater look so cute on its mama’s back? Not to mention the fluffy Ostrich chick and the ever-alert Meerkat. With huggable pictures and appealing facts, this series is a great way to expand animal knowledge.
Welcome to the World
Plenty of books tell parents what’s in store when a new baby arrives. But this one lets a new baby in on what he or she might expect. Styled as a sweet and simple letter to a newborn, this picture book introduces Baby to several first-year splendors, such as feeling warm sunlight, watching the movements of clouds, hearing birdsong and experiencing a loving embrace.
Tasty Baby Belly Buttons
Urikohime, a girl born from a melon, battles the monstrous oni, who steal babies to eat their tasty belly buttons.
Not A Baby Anymore!
This beautifully photographed series of board books shows us the major stages in a baby’s first year — the first day, sitting, crawling, and walking. Mother, father, and big brother also appear. Finally in Not a Baby Anymore! the little boy has made the amazing transition to walking, and he has even started day care. We see him having his first haircut and getting all dressed up in time to celebrate his very first birthday party.
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark
Skip, an eleven-year-old runaway, becomes friends with Billy, a homeless man, and together they flee a war-torn Australian city with six-year-old Max and camp out at a seaside amusement park, where they are joined by Tia, a fifteen-year-old ballerina, and her baby.
Henry’s First-Moon Birthday
A young girl helps her grandmother with preparations for the traditional Chinese celebration to welcome her new baby brother.
Carry Me
Explores ways that babies are carried in various countries of the world.