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Rocks in his head
Hurst, Carol Otis
Carol Hurst's father loves collecting rocks in his spare time. After the Depression forces him to close his gas station, the father gets a job working with rocks at a science museum, realizing his dream.

The adventures of sparrowboy
Pinkney, Brian
Henry, the paperboy, loves to read the comics. One day while on his route, he imagines that he has the ability to fly. He flies around saving the day like his favorite comic hero.

The ant bully
Nickle, John
Lucas is different than the other kids and he is often bullied by one boy in particular, Sid. Sid takes Lucas' hat and sprays him with water and to take out his frustrations, Lucas in turn bullies the ants. To teach Lucas a lesson the ants take him to their queen ant. The Queen ant has the wizard ant shrink Lucas so he can live and work as an ant so he can appreciate what they do. Lucas gathered food, defended the colony, and attended to the queen. The queen has Lucas turned back into his normal size and when Lucas wakes up, he sees that the ants have decided to teach Sid a lesson because how he is ant size.

The babe and I
Adler, David A.
A young boy and his family are living through the Great Depression of 1932. When he learns that his father does not have a job, he gets a job with his friend selling newspapers to help make money for his family. He sells all of his papers outside of Yankee Stadium due to the popularity of Babe Ruth and his stories in the paper. He even gets to meet the Babe!

The best beekeeper of lalibela: A tale from africa
Kessler, Cristina
In the Ethiopian mountain village of Lalibela, famous for its churches and honey, a young girl determines to find a way to be a beekeeper despite being told that is somethign only men can do.

The best single mom in the world: How I was adopted
Zisk, Mary
A girl tells the story of her single mother's decision to adopt her from overseas. She discusses their time together and their happy life as a family.

The bobbin girl
McCally, Emily Arnold
Ten-year old Rebecca works all day in a hot and noisy cotton mill. She's grateful to be able to help her struggling family, but not all the girls at the boarding house feel the same way. Some girls are starting to get sick. Judith, an older girl that is Rebecca's idol, wants to protest the mill's recent paycut but the troublemakers are fired. Does Rebecca have the courage to join?

The gardener
Stewart, Sarah
Lydia takes a train to go live with her Uncle Jim who doesn't smile. Lydia uses flowers and plants to bring joy to everyone. She writes home to her mother, father, and grandmother to describe to new experiences.

The honest-to-goodness truth
McKissack, Patricia C.
Libby lies to Mama about feeding the cow. When she is caught and punished, Libby vows to tell the truth from then on. She ends up hurting her friends when she tells it like it is. Can Libby tell the truth and get her friends back?

The ink drinker
Sanvoisin, Eric
A boy, who hates to read, is stuck in his father's bookstore for summer vacation. He doesn't like books, so what's he going to do?Things change and an adventure begins when the boy spies a strange customer and follows him. Maybe the boy will realize he does like reading after all, or maybe not.

The night worker
Banks, Kate
Alex dreams of becoming a night worker just like his dad. One night before bedtime, Alex is surprised when his dad hands him a hard hat. Now Alex can see what it is really like to be a night worker!

The paperboy
Pilkey, Dav
While everyone else is still asleep, the paperboy is up making his rounds. He has to get up very early and get dressed, eat breakfast, and fold his papers. When he is finally done delivering his papers, he goes back to bed just when everyone else is getting up.

The red piano
Leblanc-Barroux, Andre
A young pianist is sent to a re-education camp in China. She lives for her secretive two hours of music after a long day's work. Her parents managed to send a piano to Mother Han's house and she manages to smuggle music in notebooks. One night the pianist is caught at the piano, forcing her to live through an extended-re-education while her love and talent for music are challenged.

The roman twins
Gerrard, Roy
Maximus and his twin sister Vanilla are slaves to the cruel master Slobbus Pompius. They run away when Slobbus buys Polydox the horse then quickly decides to kill him. Maximus and Vanilla go through a chariot race and an invasion of Rome before they finally gain their freedom.

The seven gods of luck
Kudler, David
Saohiko, Kenji, and their mother take a trip into town, to the market to sell their crafts and goods. They come across the famous Shrine of the Seven Gods of Luck.

The story of paper
Compenstine, Ying Chang
Paper is invented by three boys who had the need to write something down. The boys use bugs to make symbols in the dirt. Combining different home techniques such as making rice cakes and scrapping clothes, paper was invented. The three boys are successful and praised.

The storytellers
Lewin, Ted
Abdul and his grandfather travel the streets of Fez, Morocco on the way to work. After passing merchants, carpenters and other citizens hard at work, grandfather spreads out a carpet to begin his job, telling stories to a crowd.

Tom goes to kindergarten
Wild, Margaret//Tegge, David
Tom is anxious and excited for his first day of kindergarten. When he finally arrives, he does not want his family to leave and insists they stay with him. The next day, Tom feels grown up but now his parents do not want to leave kindergarten.

Tomas and the library lady
Mora, Pat
Tomas and his family are migrant workers who travel between Iowa and Texas to find work. Tomas loves to listen to his grandfather's stories but he knows all of them and decides to go to the library to learn some new stories. The librarian welcomes Tomas in and offers him cold water to drink and stories to read. Tomas visits the library lady whenever he can and even teaches her some of his native language, Spanish. When Tomas' family must leave the library lady gives Tomas a book to take with him.

Tractor
Brown, Craig
A tractor pulls many different types of machines in order to plant and cultivate a crop of food. Once the corn grows, the farmer uses another machine to harvest it for market.

Uncle's new suit
Passen, Lisa
Uncle Carmen gets a new job, and the entire family goes to the store to help him pick out a new suit.


Wash day
Cole, Barbara H.
Every wash day, Granpa plays his trumpet, keeping the children entertained while Miss. Ett does the wash. This music tradition stays strong until grandpa becomes ill and a tragedy occurs, causing grandpa to pass on his beloved trumpet to begin a new tradition.

Weslandia
Fleischman, Paul
Wesley never really fits in at school. Even his parents think he is odd. One summer though, he creates his own civilization. Everyone develops a new respect for Wesley by the time he returns to school in the fall.

When jessie came across the sea
Hest, Amy
Jessie and her Grandmother are very close family to each other because there are no other relatives. Grandmother teachers Jessie to sew and Jessie teaches Grandmother to read. One day, Jessie is requested to travel to America by the rabbi. Her journey by ship is hard, but she meets a young man, Low, who she finds again in America and marries. Grandmother travels to America on the money that Jessie earned sewing lace for three years.

Where does joe go?
Pearson, Tracey Campbell
Every winter Joe from the neighborhood Snack Bar disappears without a trace. All of the towns people have creative ideas on where he is. But in the end he turns out to be someone the children love...even more than the hotdogs and ice cream he gives them in the summertime!

Wind child
Murphy, Shirley Rousseau
Resshie is a child of the wind. She is a talented weaver and is known across the country, and beyond. However, she's not happy. All she wants is a husband to keep her company. She meets the men in the villages, she even tries weaving one, but she is still not happy. Then a stranger comes who is everything she's dreamed. Through her wonderful weaving, they can spend forever together.