History

Set in the Dust Bowl of the American West, Farm Girl, the true account of a child coming of age on a 1920's Nebraska farm, recaptures an era. Young Lucille Marker experiences survival during the Depression, one of the worst dust storms in history, and finally the disintegration of the close-knit community in which she grows up.

Readers who like the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder or Willa Cather will enjoy Farm Girl. Set in the locale of Willa Cather’s Nebraska novels, it includes a chapter about the Marker/Cather family connections.

Richly photographed throughout with over sixty authentic photos documenting the people and places of the story, this historical, easy-to-read small book is suitable for use in the classroom.

“Omitting sensationalized incidents and graphic sexual exploits, the book perfectly captures a young woman’s coming of age in the early decades of the 20th century. It concerns real life, relatively ordinary activities, drawn with the precision of a Norman Rockwell painting.” ~The Omaha Reader

“Through the intertwined stories of the life of the Marker family and of the broader historical time period, the book is more than captivating. Gowen’s vivid account of her mother’s life allows Farm Girl to read as seamlessly as if one were recalling personal memories.” ~The Holyoke Enterprise

“Have you thought about writing your family history, but found yourself stuck from the start? Writing a family narrative can be a daunting task, but Karen Jones Gowen found a way to bring her mother’s story to life.” ~Homespun Magazine

“Easily as good as Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn, Farm Girl is beautifully done and should be a treat for anyone who loves reading historical books. It is a book that reaches out and touches the common human experiences that everyone must go through. It is a treasure that will be enjoyed by the young and old alike.” ~McCook Daily Gazette

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball legend and the NBA's alltime leading scorer, champions a lineup
of little-known African-American inventors in this lively, kid-friendly book.

Did you know that James West invented the microphone in your cell phone? That Fred Jones invented the refrigerated truck that makes supermarkets possible? Or that Dr. Percy Julian synthesized cortisone from soy, easing untold people's pain? These are just some of the black inventors and innovators scoring big points in this dynamic look at several unsung heroes who shared a desire to improve people's lives. Offering profiles with fast facts on flaps and framed by a funny contemporary story featuring two feisty twins, here is a nod to the minds behind the gamma electric cell and the ice-cream scoop, improvements to traffic lights, open-heart surgery, and more - inventors whose ingenuity and perseverance against great odds made our world safer, better, and brighter.

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW DISAPPEARS one day on a walk into Horshoe, a dust bowl farm town in Depression-era Saskatchewan. Other children go missing just as a strange man named Abram Harsich appears in town. He dazzles the townspeople with the promises of a rainmaking machine. Only Matthew’s older brother Robert seems to be able to resist Abram’s spell, and to discover what happened to Matthew and the others.

“A remarkably effective sense of atmosphere.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Choose it for science-fiction fans who are ready for something a little different.”—School Library Journal, Starred

“Beautifully written novel . . . strong character development, an authentic setting, and some genuinely spooky moments.”—VOYA, Starred

A Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature

An ALA Best Books for Young Adults


From the Hardcover edition.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A young girl's journal records her family's struggles during two years of hiding from the Nazis in war-torn Holland.

Nights were long in Iceland winters of long ago. A whole family sat for hours around the fire in the middle of the room. That fire gave the only light. Shadows flitted in the dark corners. Smoke curled along the high beams of the ceiling. The children sat on the dirt floor close by the fire. The grown people were on a long narrow bench that they had pulled up to the light and warmth. Everybody's hands were busy with wool. As the family worked in the red fire-light, the father told of the kings of Norway, of long voyages to strange lands, of good fights. And in farmhouses all through Iceland these old tales were told over and over until everybody knew them and loved them. Men who could sing and play the harp were called "skalds," and they called their songs "sagas." Eventually these stories were written down on sheepskin or vellum so that we can enjoy them today. We follow the fortunes of Harald from the time he is acknowledged by his father as a baby and given his own thrall at the cutting of his first tooth, through his exploits as a viking adventurer, to his crowning as King of Norway. It is when Harald is King of Norway that population pressures at home and eagerness for adventure and booty from other lands combine to drive some of the bolder Vikings to set forth from their native land. Sailing ever westward across the Atlantic, they hop along the chain of islands that loosely connects Norway with America-Orkneys and Shetlands, Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland. It is from link to link of this chain that the characters in our story sail in search of home and adventure. Discoveries are made by accident. Ships are driven by the wind into unknown ports, resulting in landings and settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and America. The crude courage of these men and strangeness of their adventures appeal strongly to children, while their love of truth, hardy endurance, and faithfulness to the promised word make them characters to emulate. Suitable for children ages 9 and up to read to themselves and for children as young as 6 as a read-aloud.

Freckles, an orphan, finds a job guarding a stretch of lumber in the wild Limberlost. Before long he falls in the love with the wilderness--and with a beautiful girl. But can she learn to love him? After meeting the beautiful "Swamp Angel," he becomes determined to learn the truth about his past, and finds the courage to change his life. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

This is the latest addition to this series. It is fully annotated, with the notes facing the text. The book contains a wide range of questions for students, as well as the background to Shakespeare's England.

David Balfour, a young Scotsman orphaned by the death of his father, is betrayed by his uncle, shanghaied, and carried to the New World for a life in bondage--until a swashbuckling highlander, Alan Breck Stewart, comes to his rescue. Balfour escapes to the Highlands with the help of his friend but encounters further danger and intrigue as he tries to clear his name and regain his rightful property.