Patricia Reilly Giff

The Zigzag Zebras have been challenged by the Timpanzi School Tigers to a race. They'll have to practice hard. Too bad Gina is a better opera singer than a runner. Ramon has them running all over--in the schoolyard, down Stone Street, back into the gym, down the stairs. They have to win

Charlie has lots of ideas. Need something to go sky high? Ah-ha The zinger-winger Need to launch a cheese popper into soup? The amazing popper-upper But the zinger-winger zings more than wings and the popper-upper plops. Charlie isn't allowed to invent for a week. Meanwhile, the afterschool invention fair is coming up. He needs time to make something special. Good thing he has his friends and Mr. Redfern, another inventor, to help him out.

Rachel, Cassie, and Joey live in the city with their Pop, until Pop's search for work lands the family on a run down farm. Dreamy Rachel loves to read, and doesn't know much about the country. Times are hard there, too--the school and library are closed. When Pop gets work near Canada, he has to leave the children on the farm alone. For two months But Rachel's the oldest, and she'll make sure they're all right. Somehow.

Mitchell really doesn't want to go camping with the other kids at the Zigzag Afternoon Center. Sleeping in the woods with creepy crawly things, coyotes, and bears? Yikes But his best friend Habib is going, and it's Mitchell's birthday that weekend. He's just got to find a way to be brave, and scare the bears away As the fifth book in the Zigzag Kids series--which also includes Number One Kid, Big Whopper, Flying Feet, and Star Time--Bears Beware continues to delight readers with award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff's quirky, lovable group of kids, capturing all the excitement and surprises of new friends and after-school fun.

Elizabeth is drawn into a dramatic story from the American Revolution when she discovers a portrait of her ancestor, a girl called Zee, who has a striking resemblance to Elizabeth. The girls' lives intertwine and Elizabeth's present-day story alternates with Zee's. As Elizabeth learns about Zee, and walks where Zee once walked and battles raged, the past becomes as vivid and real as the present.

In the fourth book in the Zigzag Kids series, it's showtime at the Zelda A. Zigzag Afternoon Center. Gina loves to sing and she's determined to be the star of the play. She's already told everybody she knows to come see her. But her friend Destiny wants to be the star, too

Jill has long arms and strong hands. And when it comes to playing soccer, she knows how to use her head

In this companion to the Newbery Honor-winning Lily's Crossing, thirteen-year-old Genevieve risks everything to defy the Nazis and join the French Resistance. Winner of the Christopher Award It's not always thinking of being happy. Doing the right thing will make you happy. Despite the farm-work and her irritable grandmother Mem , Genevieve thinks she may have found a new home in Alsace, France, where she spent the summer of 1939. Without much to return to in New York, Gen is ready to see if this new life will make her happy. But then World War II erupts. The Nazis conquer France. Now everyone in Alsace must speak German, act German, and think German--or else. Even worse, a cold Nazi officer has commandeered a room in Mem 's farmhouse--and he can tell that Gen and her grandmother aren't loyal to the Reich. But Gen won't be cowed. And when her friend R my commits an act of sabotage, she hides him in the last place the Germans will look--in the attic, right above the Nazi's head. For more thrilling historical fiction, don't miss Island War, a survival story set in the remote Aleutian Islands, occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and A Slip of a Girl, a novel in verse about the Irish Land War of the late 19th century.

A two-time Newbery Honor-winning author spins a tale of children surviving on their own on a remote Japanese-occupied island during World War II. Izzy has come to the remote Aleutian Island in 1941 because her mother is studying the rare birds there. Matt has been dragged there by his father, who has a secret job for the U.S. government. Neither is a fan of the other. But then the U.S. is suddenly at war, Japanese soldiers invade the island, and Izzy and Matt become the only Americans to evade the evacuation to a Japanese concentration camp. Differences must be put aside, now that they must rely on themselves to hide from the Japanese left behind and survive the harsh winter and Allied bombing raids.

Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff tells a vivid, contemporary story about a remarkable boy who risks everything for his family and a bold girl who helps him. At home in Mexico, Mateo knows where he belongs: with Mami, Abuelita, little brother Lucas, and big brother Julian. When Julian leaves to work in el Norte, the United States, Mateo misses him. And when the family stops hearing from Julian, Mateo knows he has to find his beloved brother. With only his old notebook and a backpack, Mateo heads for the border, where dangers await: robbers, and the border police, who will send him back home or perhaps even put him in prison. On his journey, Mateo meets Angel, a smart, mysterious girl who can guide his crossing. Angel is tough; so is Mateo, and his memories of his loving family sustain him. Because no matter what happens, he can't go home until he finds Julian.

Sirens A scary sound, especially to Siria, whose brave pop is a firefighter. Siria loves everyone at Pop's city firehouse. She also loves to study the stars. Her mother named her after the brightest start in the winter sky. When Siria hears sirens, she sneaks out to chase the trucks, to bring Pop and the other firefighters luck. She'd be in big trouble if she ever got caught. Good thing her best friend, Douglas, is always by her side. As Christmas approaches, Siria suspects that someone in the neighborhood is setting fires. She has to find out who's doing it. When clues point to a surprising suspect, she realizes that solving this mystery will take all kinds of courage. Patricia Reilly Giff, the author of many beloved and award-winning books, is at her best in this action-packed story. In Winter Sky, friends, family, and a very special dog help Siria see how brave she really is. Nominated to the Arkansas Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award

It's 1944, W.W. II is raging. Jayna's big brother Rob is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle Theresa, the recipe book, and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.

This week the kids at the Zigzag AfternoonCenter are being creative, and trying new things. But that's not so easy for Destiny. All of her ideas turn into disasters until she finds out what a good poet she is. The sixth book in award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff's Zigzag Kids series captures all the excitement of new friends and after-school fun."

When Charlie hears that special buzz in his head, he knows it means one thing: an idea for a new invention. But Charlie's ideas tend to backfire--such as the flying feet that don't really fly. If only Charlie could make his inventions work, people might think he's as special as his older brother, Larry. Then the Zigzag afternoon center organizes a Come as a Character Day, and Charlie gets his chance to shine.

The author of the beloved Kids of the Polk Street School series introduces a new generation of readers to a multicultural group of kids who enjoy all the activities of an after-school center. I'M #1 That's what Mitchell McCabe's favorite T-shirt says. He'd like to be Number One at the Zigzag Afternoon Center, where there are lots of fun activities to choose from: swimming, nature walks, field trips, art, even homework help. And YAY--there's snack time But Mitchell is worried. What if he's the only kid who doesn't get a prize on Prize Day? Luckily, Mitchell realizes he's a winner at something terrific. In this delightful new series, award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff introduces readers to a quirky, lovable group of kids, capturing all the excitement and surprises of new friends and after-school fun.

The author of the beloved Kids of the Polk Street School series introduces a new generation of readers to a multicultural group of kids who enjoy all the activities of an after-school center. It's Discovery Week at the Zigzag Afternoon Center Everyone writes their discoveries on a big sheet of paper in the hallway. But Destiny Washington can't think of anything new to discover. Before she knows it, Destiny has told a BIG whopper. And snooty Gina, who's great at discovering things, knows all about it. Destiny has to find a way out of the whopper. In the end, she makes the best discovery of all. In this delightful new series, award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff introduces readers to a quirky, lovable group of kids, capturing all the excitement and surprises of new friends and after-school fun.

During World War II, after moving with her parents to Willow Run, Michigan, when her father gets a job in the B-24 bomber-building factory, eleven-year-old Meggie learns about different kinds of bravery from all of the people around her. Reprint.

SEWING NO ONE could hate it more than Dina Kirk. Endless tiny stitches, button holes, darts. Since she was tiny, she's worked in her family's dressmaking business, where the sewing machine is a cranky member of the family. When 13-year-old Dina leaves her small town in Germany to join her uncle's family in Brooklyn, she turns her back on sewing. Never again But looking for a job leads her right back to the sewing machine. Why did she ever leave home? Here she is, still with a needle and thread--and homesick to boot. She didn't know she could be this homesick, but she didn't know she could be so brave either, as she is standing up to an epidemic or a fire. She didn't know she could grow so close to her new family or to Johann, the young man from the tailor's shop. And she didn't know that sewing would reveal her own wonderful talent--and her future. In Dina, the beloved writer Patricia Reilly Giff has created one of her most engaging and vital heroines. Readers will enjoy seeing 1870s Brooklyn through Dina's eyes, and share her excitement as she discovers a new world.

This Newbery Honor book about a girl who has never known family fighting for her first true home "will leave readers . . . satisfied" (Kirkus Reviews). A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century Hollis Woodsis the place where a baby was abandonedis the baby's nameis an artistis now a twelve-year-old girlwho's been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she's taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she'll never forget. Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family.