September/October 2002
— A Manhattan girl spends a reluctant summer on a Kentucky farm, where a barefoot country girl teaches her to climb trees, ride horses, and watch sunrises.
— An 8-year-old processes 9/11 through the contrast between her safe home life, library escapes, and the frightening images on TV, wondering about children in other countries.
— A second-grader leaves school early for a phone call from her father's childhood nurse in Greece, navigating language barriers and discovering her connection to a namesake grandmother.
— The Land by Mildred D. Taylor; Phyllis Fogelman Books: New York, 2001; $17.99 “Can’t figure how you can be so crazy ’bout them white brothers of yours neither, when once...
— Two seventh-graders investigate dead fish at a marsh, uncovering a plot to destroy the wetland for a mall, and catch the criminals in a nighttime stakeout.
— Esperanza Rising by Pam Murioz Ryan; Scholastic Press: New York, 2000; $15.95 Did you know that esperanza means hope in Spanish? That word, and that word alone, is the perfect...
— Leaving her family's beach house for the last time this summer, a girl recalls memories of swimming, sailing, and sea turtles while dreading the return to school schedules.
— In 3014, thirteen-year-old Cassie's birthday is forgotten when her busy parents leave for work trips, but she finds strength in a message from her great-grandmother.
— A boy sits alone in his room during his birthday party, listening to family sounds below and feeling grateful for this perfect moment.
— A girl in princess clothes and sandals joins an all-boys basketball team, endures weeks of mockery, then makes the game-winning shot when it matters most.