One night, orphan Sophie is awake during the “witching hour” and sees a giant from her dormitory window. Curiously, she watches as the giant blows something into a nearby window. When the giant sees Sophie, he snatches her up and carries her off to prevent her from telling anyone about him. Sophie figures that she…
Stand-Alone Companion to Firegirl When Jeff Hick’s father stopped paying the tuition for St. Catherine’s, Jeff was forced to attend public school for eighth grade. He hates it, but he soon learns that this is the least of his problems. When his mom loses her job, any hope of returning to the parochial school…
Tom Bender and his seventh-grade classmates at St. Catherine’s watch with anticipation as the school janitor puts another desk at the back of the classroom. What will the new student be like? Then, Mrs. Tracy tells them about Jessica Feeney and her burn injuries. Nothing can prepare them for Jessica’s appearance. Most of the children…
Since Leo’s grandfather died, his grandmother has spent a lot of her time wandering around the park, walking by the river, eating free grocery store samples, reading at the library, or sitting at a table at Good Eats, the 24-hour donut shop. Missing her husband is Gram’s full-time job. Leo’s job is to find her…
When spring waters flow into the river, and everything in Canyon de Chelly comes alive, Bright Morning wants to shout for joy. She restrains herself because such joyous emotions anger the gods. Her brother was killed by lightning because of his pride over killing a six-point buck. With the return of the grass, Bright Morning…
Dr. Metcalf served as a doctor in the field hospitals during World War 1. After the war, he returns to Kansas and goes to work at St. John’s Hospital where he continues to treat wounded soldiers. Mrs. Metcalf, haunted by her brother’s death in the trenches of France, wants to forget all about the war….
One day Ben, Tom and Lindy Potter go to the zoo. As they discuss the unusual animals, a strange little man interrupts and asks if they’ve ever seen a Whangdoodle. Of course, they have not. That night, Tom looks in the dictionary and learns that Whangdoodles are mythical creatures. A few days later, while trick-or-treating,…
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, an eccentric old woman who sits in her mansion researching anything that peaks her interest, writes about Claudia and Jamie Kincaid’s adventure in a letter to her solicitor, Saxonberg, who just happens to be Claudia and Jamie’s grandfather. Mrs. Frankweiler tells their story just as they told it to her. …
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay takes off from an airstrip on an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. The plane with its payload — an 8,900-pound atomic bomb — heads for Hiroshima, Japan. The effects of such a bomb are terrible, and America hopes that unleashing its terror on a…
