Danger Close To HomePapa is in danger for helping to rescue a free-state settler who was unjustly arrested by Kansas's proslavery sheriff. He has gone into hiding, and Momma and the Keller children are alone in their remote cabin while marauding border ruffians are roaming the countryside, looking for livestock to steal.But there's a lot more at stake at the Keller homestead than their chickens and cows. Charlie has come upon Lizzie, a runaway slave girl trying to make her w...

Westward Ho!Congress has ruled that settlers in Kansas Territory will decide whether Kansas will enter the Union as a free or a slave state. Charlie Keller's papa is an abolitionist, and he's moving the family to Kansas so he can cast his vote for freedom.Papa and Momma, big sister Ida Jane, even baby Sophie, seem excited about being pioneers -- but not Charlie. Why couldn't they stay back home in Massachusetts with Grandpa and with Charlie's beloved old dog,...

While Papa is off fighting on the Missouri border, Charlie is left in charge of the family in their remote cabin in Bleeding Kansas while a fierce prairie blizzard rages in this second book in the 1850s-set Prairie Skies chapter book series.When Charlie and Papa arrive in Lawrence for supplies, they find the bustling Kansas town threatened by border ruffians from pro-slave Missouri. Papa decides to remain behind with other free-soil settlers to defend the town, so ...

Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honor author Patricia McKissack's inspiring A PICTURE OF FREEDOM is now back in print with a gorgeous new cover! It's 1859 and Clotee, a twelve-year-old slave, has the most wonderful, terrible secret. She knows that if she shares it with the wrong person, she will face unimaginable consequences. What is her secret? While doing her job of fanning her master's son during his daily lessons, Clotee has taught herself to read and write. However, she s...

Nell makes two wishes on her birthday, but the next day they show little sign of coming true. Everyone in her household is busy and wants her out from underfoot and no one is willing to help her find her lost cat. In the end she finds more than a cat and she makes her own wishes come true with the help of a row of tall, bright, smiling sunflowers.

Another powerful story in the Logan Family Saga and companion to Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.For David Logan, a time of distress means taking the higher road.During a drought, the Logan family shares their well water with their neighbors, black and white alike. But David’s brother Hammer finds it hard to share with Charlie Simms, who torments them because they are black. Hammer’s pride and...

In the tradition of Copper Sun and Chains, this is the stirring tale of a girl’s journey from Africa to freedom and from youth to womanhood, as recounted in this dazzling debut novel.Ayanna Bahati lives in a small African village when she is brutally kidnapped, along with her brother, and forced onto a slave ship to America. As Ayanna, renamed Anna, rises from the cotton fields to the master’s house, she finds the familial love she’s been yearning...

The summer of 1898 is filled with ups and downs for 11-year-old Moses. He's growing apart from his best friend, his superstitious Boo-Nanny butts heads constantly with his pragmatic, educated father, and his mother is reeling from the discovery of a family secret. Yet there are good times, too. He's teaching his grandmother how to read. For the first time she's sharing stories about her life as a slave. And his father and his friends are finally getting the respect and positions of power t...

Sally Harrison and her family are slaves on a plantation in Georgia. But when Master decides to sell Sally and her brother, the family escapes to seek shelter with a tribe of Seminoles who are rumored to adopt runaway slaves. After a perilous journey, Sally’s family finds and joins the tribe. But while her father and brother easily adjust to Indian ways, Sally can’t seem to find her place. Combining the poetry of Sally’s songs with the heartracing tension of the family’s escape, author Bre...

For a long time, the main role of First Ladies was to act as hostesses of the White House...until Eleanor Roosevelt. Born in 1884, Eleanor was not satisfied to just be a glorified hostess for her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor had a voice, and she used it to speak up against poverty and racism. She had experience and knowledge of many issues, and fought for laws to help the less fortunate. She had passion, energy, and a way of speaking that made people listen, and sh...

Sam wants a pet for her birthday, but her mom and dad have already said that their apartment is too small for a cat or a dog. A trip to Rainbow Street Shelter to look at the smaller animals can't hurt, though!At the shelter, Sam finds the perfect pet for her, a fluffy black guinea pig named Henry. But she can't help noticing how happy her little brother is when he's reading to Nelly, the Rainbow Street dog. Why can't he read like that when he's in school? Nelly looks happy, too. Sa...

I was one of the fortunate few who got to know Clifford Johnston. Cliff placed this manuscript in my care, and in doing so, has given us a brief glimpse into his life. Though his words were written with the hope that a select person would someday read them, I’m sure you will find that reading this piece will give you a deeper sense and understanding of the man that many of us have come to love and admire.Sincerely,Marcy JacksonWARNING! This novelette contains mild s...