Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his can...

A classic biography of John Paul Jones for young readers in a new, illustrated edition.Called a pirate by the British and a patriot by the Americans, John Paul Jones was a brilliant sea captain, a true American hero, and the father of the U.S. Navy. With this classic biography for young readers by Newbery Medal winner Armstrong Sperry, readers will imagine themselves on deck at the side of the great captain, engaging enemy ships in close combat. Jones became an inv...

An exciting, fact-based, old-fashioned tale of adventure at sea, winner of a Newbery Honor for young readers in 1936.When his father loses his fortune at sea, a boy, Enoch Thacher, signs up with a famous shipbuilder and takes a record-breaking trip around Cape Horn on the famous Flying Cloud.The Flying Cloud was a real ship and its maker was master shipbuilder, Donald McKay (1810-1880). The era depicted in this novel is a time when the win...

ALA Newbery Medal • African Studies Association Child Book Award HonorMafatu has been afraid of the sea for as long as he can remember. Though his father is the Great Chief of Hikueru—an island whose seafaring people worship courage—Mafatu feels like an outsider. All his life he has been teased, taunted, and even blamed for storms on the sea.Then at age fifteen, no longer willing to put up with the ridicule and jibes, Mafatu decides to take...

Mafatu's name means "Stout Heart," but his people call him a coward. Ever since the sea took his mother's life and spared his own, he has lived with deep fear. And even though his father is the Great Chief of Hikueru–an island whose seafaring people worship courage–he is terrified, and consequently, he is severely scorned.By the time he is twelve years old, Mafatu can bear it no longer. He must conquer his fear alone. . . even if it means certain death.This classic tale of ...

Awarded the Newbery HonorWhen a novel like Huckleberry Finn, or The Yearling, comes along it defies customary adjectives because of the intensity of the respouse it evokes in the reader. Such a book, we submit, is Old Yeller; to read this eloquently simple story of a boy and his dog in the Texas hill country is an unforgettable and deeply moving experience.When his father sets out on a cattle drive for the summer,...

At just 12 years old, Matt must face serious challenges in the Maine wilderness while awaiting his father's return to their cabin.When he is saved from a terrifying bee swarm attack by an Indian chief and his grandson Attean, Matt gains a valuable friend in the young Indian boy.As the boys become closer and learn new skills from each other, Matt must face a heart-wrenching decision when the tribe decides to move north. Is it time for Matt to move on with Attean's tribe and ...

For fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins comes Theodore Taylor’s classic bestseller and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, The Cay.Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle o...

Hit the road with Bud in this Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy on a journey to find his father—from Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.It’s 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him:He has his own suitcase full of special things.He’...

The government sends Brian back to the Canadian wilderness in this beloved follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen!Two years after Brian Robeson survived fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness, the government wants him to head back so they can learn what he did to stay alive. This time Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him. But a freak storm leaves Derek uncon...

In the Pacific, there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea birds abound. Karana is the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Hers is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.