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Here Today
"In 1963, Ellie's mother, Doris Day Dingman, was crowned the Bosetti Beauty at Mr. Bosetti's supermarket, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the Dingmans began to fall apart." So begins 11-yr-old Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman's story. Ellie, who is about to start 6th grade in the small town of Spectacle, NY, is the oldest child in her off-center family. Her father works construction jobs, while her mother, Doris, has only one dream - to become a rich and famous actress. But when that dream leads to Doris's abandonment of the family, it is Ellie who is called upon to take charge.
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Belle Teal
Ten-year-old Belle Teal Harper lives with her mother and grandmother
on the wrong side of the tracks, in a small rural community during
the early 1960's. They don't have much, but they have each other,
and Belle Teal feels rich with love and loyalty to her family and
her best friends, Clarice and Little Boss.
Although she is excited about the new school year, Belle Teal
finds herself beginning to worry about other parts of her life.
Her Gran's memory isn't what it used to be. Her mother seems more
and more distracted by having to work two jobs to support the
family. Little Boss' secret — the bruises and strap marks
inflicted by his father, a mean-spirited drinker known as Big
Boss — is finally pushing the boy toward losing what's left
of his control. And there are two new students in her class, a
shy African American boy who finds himself in the center of the
town's resistance to integration, and a beautiful girl who craves
popularity, seems hell-bent on making life miserable for Belle
Teal, and is harboring a secret of her own.
In her most moving work to date, Ann M. Martin captures the powerful
voice of a girl discovering the cost of keeping secrets, and the
strength and healing power of friendship and family.
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A Corner of the Universe
The summer Hattie turns 12, her predictable small-town life is turned
on end when her uncle Adam returns home for the first time in over
ten years. Hattie has never met him, never known about him. He's
been institutionalized; his condition involves schizophrenia and
autism. Hattie, a shy girl who prefers the company of adults, takes
immediately to her excitable uncle, even when the rest of the family
-- her parents and grandparents -- have trouble dealing with his
intense way of seeing the world.
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A Dog’s Life
Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a tool shed behind
someone's summerhouse. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them
the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when
their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies
are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both
gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing
seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must
fend for herself, and in the process, makes two friends who in very
different ways define her fate. |
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On Christmas Eve
Eight-year-old Tess is convinced this is the year she will finally
meet Santa, and experience "the Christmas magic." She
also wishes with all her heart that her best friend's ill father
will recover. Tess' faith in the season results in a Christmas Eve
so wondrous, so sparkling, readers won't be able to help but feel
transformed. Like trimming the tree and "It's a Wonderful Life";
baking cookies and "White Christmas," On Christmas Eve
is sure to bring new holiday magic to readers' lives.
Read Ann’s Letter
about On Christmas Eve |
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