FIESTY FEMALES AND WEARY TRAVELERS

The Great Depression was a time when hardly anyone had any money. It was so bad in parts of the country, people would travel from town to town hoping to find something that would give them money to eat. While the strain was obvious to many of the kids, life went on, and accidents still happened. Mary Bayliss was said to be a miracle after she survived a horrible accident - one that her brother, Leo, did not survive. This story has a little bit about history, a little bit about family, a lot about dealing with the loss of someone you love. LEO AND THE LESSER LION by Sandra Forrester is a really good book. It's not too heavy on the history, and really shows how some things in life are just timeless. For 5th - 8th grades.

TALES AREN'T JUST FOR WAGGING

Some people just don't understand that when you adopt a puppy, that puppy will be with you their entire lives. Or that's how it SHOULD be anyway. But some dogs are abandoned, left all alone in the big cold world. Waggit is one of those dogs. WAGGIT'S TALE is a heart-warming story of loss, love, friendship and adventure. WAGGIT AGAIN continues Waggit's adventures when he escapes from a farm. Just when he thinks life is great, his owner leaves him all alone in a big park. It isn't long before Waggit stumbles across a band of wild dogs struggling to survive, and he joins them in all their adventures and misfortunes. WAGGIT'S TALE by Peter Howe is the story of the return to his owner and civilization. Both are great books for 4th grade and up.

Like animal stories, then check out this book list.

CAT OF THE THEATER

One cannot imagine the world behind the scenes of the theatre - at least not in the 18th century! Mystery, intrigue, and spectacular performance fill the pages and Cat Royal's life, a young orphan girl left on the steps of the Drury Lane Theater in London. What lurks behind the curtain isn't what you would expect, and Cat leads you through the exciting city life of old England. THE DIAMOND OF DRURY LANE by Julia Golding spins a tale of dangerous adventure and paints a picture of what life was like more than 200 years ago. For 6th grade and up.

A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY

There was a time when kids went outside to play, made up imaginary games evoking historical characters and aliens from the future, families went on road trips in search of gold, radiation was still a new treatment for cancer, and cancer was still mysterious. In THE LUCKY PLACE by Zu Vincent, families are becoming visibly dysfunctional through the eyes of Cassie, spanning ten years from age three to thirteen. There's Old Daddy, the drunk, and New Daddy, the one Cassie likes better. Jaime, her older brother, is not happy about New Daddy, but escapes his anger and frustration by taking as many dance classes as possible. There are complex relationships rich with emotion, told from a soft, gentle, very human perspective. This book will capture the attention of 5th grades and up.

LUCKY COLOR

RED MEANS GOOD FORTUNE: A STORY OF SAN FRANCISCO'S CHINATOWN is a small book with a big story. Like so many other immigrant groups, the Chinese-Americans experienced difficulties adapting to this country's new rules and ways of living. The story talks about the financial, social and physical hardships that the Chinese Americans faced during the 1860's in San Francisco. It is written in a way where you are getting lots of information but at the same time do not feel overwhelmed or bored. There are also illustrations in black and white which are a good distraction. The story is by BARBARA DIAMOND GOLDIN and the illustrations are are WENHAI MA.

For grades four and up.