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Erika's story
Vander Zee, Ruth
After being thrown from a train as a baby during the Holocaust, Erika finds safety, love, and peace in the family that saves her.

Almost gone
Jenkins, Steve
All living things are related in some way. The reality of human destruction, and its impact on the survival of animals are key components to the extinction of many animals in our environment. As each species disappears, the world as we know it, forever is changed. Will the little bird who visits your morning windowsill be next?

Our tree named Steve
Zweibel, Alan
In a letter to his children, a father reflects upon the importance of a good friend and the value of a place to feel safe and secure. The father recalls various memories of his family as it has grown in relationship to a favorite tree that had been part of their lives since they built their home. The tree seems to help the family through many events but does not withstand a huge storm. The father uses the wood to build a tree house to continue its importance to the family.

The ghost of nicholas greebe
Johnston, Tony
At midnight, Nicholas Greebe dies. The following day he is buried by his family. However, a small dog digs around his grave and runs off with one of Nicholas Greebe's bones!This upsets Nicholas. His ghost decides to haunt his family until the missing bone is returned.

Pushkin meets the bundle
Ziefert, Harriet M.
Pushkin lives with Kate and Michael. Kate and Michael took Pushkin everywhere and did everything with him. That is, until one day when Kate and Michael brought home a bundle. They started paying attention to the bundle and not to Pushkin. The bundle was a baby. Pushkin does everything in his power to get Michael and Kate's attention. The baby always cries, too. Finally, Pushkin decides to do some of his tricks and the baby started laughing. The baby and Pushkin were best friends from then on.

So far from the sea
Bunting, Eve
Laura and her family are moving, so they are coming to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center one last time. Years ago, this center was used to house anyone living in the United States that were of Japanese descent. These people were forced to leave their homes and come to the center because Japan bombed the United States. The center is bare now except for all of the memories and the cemetary, including her grandfather's grave.

The tenth good thing about barney
Viorst, Judith
A young boy copes with the death of his cat by remembering what he loved about it.

Remember the secret
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Because she has already discovered the wonders of God, Suzy understands the true meaning of her friend's death.

The christmas tree ship
Winter, Jeanette
Captain Herman and his crew cut trees in Michigan to deliver to the city of Chicago for Christmas. When a blizzard forms over Lake Michigan, the Captain and his crew disappear. From then on, the Captain's wife and daughters carry out the Christmas Tree Ship tradition for many years.

My little foster sister
Stanek, Muriel
An only child is upset about a foster child temporarily living in her home, but then she grows to love the child as a sister. A bond grows between them through reading, singing, and playing together. The little girl grieves when the foster child is adopted by her aunt and uncle.

The paper princess
Kleven, Elisa
A little girl draws and cuts out a princess, but the wind blows her away. The princess then meets many new friends and has many new adventures as she tries to find her way back to the little girl.

See a white horse
Miles, Miska
Henry feels sad about the void left in his life after his dog, Old Tuck, passes away. When a stranger on a white horse with a brown dog comes into town, Henry wishes that he could have a new dog. The stranger allows Henry to have his brown dog, if he can find him, for the stranger has set the dog free. Henry searches desperately for the dog and finally finds it, naming it Young Tuck.

Hard to be six
Adoff, Arnold
This is one little boy's story of coming to accept his age. He feels inferior to his big ten year old sister and he longs to be old like her. It is not until he talks to his grandmother and sees his grandfather's grave that he realizes that life at any age is hard.

The cherry tree
McCaughrean, Geraldine
A family tries to recuperate after a war in which they lose their father and their home. The children meet and help an old man take care of a sickly cherry tree. As the tree grows and begins to blossom, so does the village and its people.

Miss maggie
Rylant, Cynthia
Nat is terrified to go into the house of Miss Maggie because he has heard that there is a snake inside her house. But he is so curious that he begins peeking through the windows. Even though Nat does not find a snake, he does find a good friend.

The never-ending greenness
Waldman, Neil
A young boy plants trees to cope with the separation and loss he feels from his father who is at war. In doing this he single handedly turns a gloomy countryside destroyed by war back into the beautiful, alive place it once was. He also starts a holiday known today as Tu b'Shvat.

Marianthe's story one: Painted words. Marianthe's story two: Spoken memories
Aliki
When a child moves to a new school it can be frightening. Mari not only moved to a new school, but a new culture as well. Mari uses painted pictures to communicate her words and recalls her life through spoken memories.

Room for a stepdaddy
Cook, Jean Thor
Joey wishes Daddy still lived at home and has a great deal of trouble accepting Bill, his new stepfather. After many experiences with Bill, like playing ball and swimming, Joey decides there is plenty of room in his life for Daddy and Bill. He loves both of them.

Why?
Popov, Nikolai
A mouse steals a flower from a toad which causes war to break out. It's mice against toads as the battle escalates. Total destruction once again leaves toad and mouse alone. (A Wordless Book).

Through the mickle woods
Gregory, Valiska
Three mythical stories told by a wise old bear help a mourning king go on with his life after his wife, the queen, dies.

Billy's beetle
Inkpen, Mike
A boy has lost his beetle. He asks many people and animals in his search for the beetle. The search continues until it is found.

Hortense
Paul, Jan S.
Hortense Hen finds her nest empty, so she gets the barnyard animals to help her look for the missing eggs.

Dusty
Malone, Nola Langner
Dusty, a cat, and a little girl form a friendship. Dusty grows up and soon must leave. The girl tries to cope with her loss.

Smoky night
Bunting, Eve
A riot breaks out in a young boys neighborhood which leads to his apartment building catching on fire. This tragedy brings together people from different backgrounds when they share in the trauma of both losing their cats and having their homes taken over by fire.

Fred
Simmonds, Posy
The night that Sophie and Nick bury their beloved cat, they find all of his cat friends outside. They find out their cat was famous and the other cats wanted to have a party to say goodbye.

Iris and walter
Guest, Elissa Haden
Iris is disappointed when her family moves to the country. There are no other children to play with and it is very boring for her. No one can seem to cheer Iris up, and then Grandpa comes along. He asks her to take a walk down the road. Will this walk help Iris find what she has been missing?

Toddlecreek post office
Shulevitz, Uri
The village of Toddlecreek is very small, but it has a post office that is the heart of the village. A postal inspector comes and decides to close the post office. After this, the village is never the same.

Nate the great and the boring beach bag
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman
Nate the Great is at the beach when Oliver, the pest, loses his beach bag. With the help of his dog, Sludge, and information from other children on the beach, Nate successfully solves the case of the missing bag.

Bizzy bones and the lost quilt
Martin, Jacqueline Briggs
Bizzy loses his favorite quilt. He cannot sleep and is very sad. Some other mice find it with a hole in it. They help Bizzy repair it and Bizzy makes new friends.

The party
Reid, Barbara
Two sisters leave their friends to go to a family birthday party. When the girls get to the party, they play games with lots of children and eat lots of good food and birthday cake. They have so much fun at the party that they don't want to leave!

Better with two
Joosse, Barbara M.
An old lady, and her dog have a regular routine everyday. And when Laura, the girl next door sees Mrs. Brady alone instead of with Max she wonders why. When Laura finds out Max died, she finds comfort in her mom and then consoles Mrs. Brady, because two is better than one.

My friend gorilla
Morozumi, Atsuko
Daddy brings home a nice and helpful gorilla from the zoo. The gorilla stayed until someone said he used to live in Africa. The gorilla was brought back to Africa, and even though he is missed, he is happy there.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
Taback, Simms
There once was a lady who ate so much that it got her into trouble. She eats everything from a fly to a horse. In the end her body cannot take the horse and she dies. The moral of the story is stop at the cow and don't eat the horse.

Henny penny
Galdone, Paul
An acorn falls on Henny Penny's head and she thinks the sky is falling. She goes to tell the king, and a few of her friends go with her. A fox lures them into his cave and eats up Henny Penny and her friends.

The gingerbread boy
Galdone, Paul
In desire for a boy of their own, a couple bakes a gingerbread boy. The gingerbread boy comes to life, and runs for freedom while being chased by hungry people. A fox, who outsmarts the boy, ends up with a tasty snack.

Lost
Johnson, Paul Brett//Lewis, Celeste
A little girl loses her dog Flag in the desert. She and her dad search for a month, but there is no sign of Flag. One day, when the girl returns home from school, she notices an old truck in her driveway. A man found Flag and brought him home!

Good-bye, sammy
Murrow, Lisa Ketchum
A child takes his stuffed bunny on a trip. The bunny becomes lost, so the child makes friends with a new bunny.

Judge rabbit and the tree spirit: A tale from cambodia
Spagnoli, Cathy
A newly married couple is separated when the husband is called to war. An evil tree spirit sees how sad the man is and decides to take his place. The spirit takes the form of the man and lives with his wife. The man returns from the war to find the spirit.

Inatuk's friend
Morrow, Suzanne Stark
Because it is winter and no seals can be found, Inatuk and the people in his village are going hungry. In order to survive, Inatuk's family must move into the city where his father can work. Inatuk has a hard time because he must leave his best friend.

Tiger flowers
Quinlan, Patricia
Joel's uncle, Michael, dies of AIDS. Joel remembers the fun times he and Michael spent together. These happy memories help to comfort Joel.

Dream wolf
Goble, Paul
This Native American story describes some boys who are alone in the wild at night. They meet a wolf who has close kinship to a tribe until the white men drives the wolves away. The boys bring the wolves back.

Dear daddy
Schindel, John
Jesse really wants to visit his father who lives far away. Jesse and his dad write letters back and forth to pass the time until Jesse can visit in the summer.

Fly high, fly low
Freeman, Don
Sid and Marge, a pigeon and a dove, choose to live and settle down in an old city sign. One day, when Sid is gone and Marge is left behind, the sign is demolished.

Daddy's roommate
Willhoite, M.
A young boy learns that a family divorce can be a tragic event. When his father moves in with another man, the boy learns that the two grown men are gay. Finally the boy learns to love each of them even though he feels uncomfortable at times.

The sleeping lady
Dixon, Ann
Nekatla and Susitha are a young couple preparing to wed. THe wedding is put on hold when war breaks out, and Nekatla must travel to another village to try to restore peace. Susitha waits on a grassy hill for Nekatla to return, and she falls asleep. Nekatla is killed in war, and Susitha never awakens and is now known as the sleeping lady.

Elizabeti's doll
Stuve-Boden, Stephanie
After the arrival of her new baby brother, Elizabeti, from Tanzania, sees her mother care for him and she decides she wants a doll to care for herself. She does everything her mother does to her 'doll' and also faces the problem of losing her. Elizabeti also teaches the reader a little about her culture.

Molly's rosebush
Cohn, Janice
A young girl deals with the loss of her newborn sibling. After spending time with her grandmother, she is better able to understand death.

Waiting to sing
Kaplan, Howard
A young boy loves playing the piano but especially listening to his father play while his mother sings along. The boy's mother also listens to him play. Shortly after the boy, his sister, and his father come back from a vacation at the beach, the mother dies. Playing the piano helps the young boy and his father cope with their loss.

Father's rubber shoes
Yeo, Yumi
Yungsu's family moves from Korea to America. When Yungsu goes into his new town and sees children playing, he missed his friends from Korea. Yungsu tells his mother that he wants to go back to Korea, but his father explains that their life will be better in America.

Cricket boy
Ziner, Feenie
Hu Sing's father is asked to come to the emperor's palace to fight his champion cricket against the emperor's own champion. In trying to protect the cricket, Hu Sing accidentally kills it, and then kills himself, until he has a strange dream.