January/February 2002
— Visiting Miss Caples by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel; Dial Books: New York, 2000; $16.99 When I first saw the cover of the book Visiting Miss Caples I thought the story would...
— A reluctant soccer player is forced to play halfback instead of her usual defense position and scores the game-winning goal, discovering she belongs there.
— A girl whose mother died when she was six moves constantly with her father until Miami promises permanence—but that promise breaks too, teaching her home is wherever loved ones are.
— A catalog of sounds in the aftermath of loss — from helicopters to stomach gurgles to silence — anchored by an empty iguana cage.
— During a blizzard in 1861, fourteen-year-old Abby takes over for an injured Pony Express rider to deliver President Lincoln's inaugural speech two miles through the storm.
— Lost in Time by Hans Magnus Enzensberger; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2000; $18 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel in time? And have...
— Ellen struggles with the end of sixth grade as half her classmates leave for different schools, but finds peace by reconnecting with a friend who's staying.
— A Japanese-American teenager recounts her family's forced internment during WWII, from receiving the summons through years at Manzanar to liberation that brings no true freedom.
— An eight-year-old's birthday celebration is interrupted by the September 11 attacks, transforming joy into confusion as dreams scatter like jigsaw pieces over New York.
— During an autumn storm, forest creatures—a squirrel, owl, fox, mole, and others—struggle for shelter and food, their lives intersecting in a complex web of survival.