The Newbery Medal–winning childhood classic of life on a Florida farm—part of the Regional series from the author of the Mr. Small picture books. Birdie and her family are trying to build a farm in Florida. But it’s not easy with the heat, droughts, and cold snaps—and neighbors that don’t believe in fences. But Birdie won’t give up on her dream of strawberries, and her family won’t let those Slaters drive them from their home! This Newberry Medal–winning novel presents a realistic picture of life on the Florida frontier. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lois Lenski including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

Newbery Awards.

A Cajun girl tries to keep her family together on the Louisiana bayou It’s been almost 2 years since Suzette’s father caught 2 bullets in his back. Since then, he’s been bed-ridden, too sick to hunt or fish or do any of the things a bayou man must do to keep his family fed. While he heals, Suzette scours the swamps around her house for fish, gators, or anything she can sell to put food on the table. It’s hard, but Suzette is a proud Cajun, and work doesn’t scare her. When an Indian girl appears on the bayou, Suzette finds in her a friend—and maybe a way to save her family. This moving novel lovingly depicts the warmth and vitality of Cajun people and a time when the bayous seemed to stretch forever.

From the glittering skyscrapers of Manhattan’s media elite to the slacker haven of a fashionably low-rent L.A. bar, Strawberry Saroyan traces her journey from girl- to womanhood, as well as from fantasy to reality. A powerful and profoundly postmodern coming-of-age story, with a voice reminiscent of Liz Phair’s one moment and Mary McCarthy’s the next, Girl Walks into a Bar explores Saroyan’s struggle not only with who she is and who she wants to be but also with who she is in the context of what she’s supposed to embody: the iconic, media-promulgated “girl,” a twenty-first-century version of Audrey Hepburn standing outside Tiffany’s looking at diamonds. Girl Walks into a Bar takes a handful of the most striking and formative episodes of Saroyan’s life and brings them to the page as a filmmaker might, zooming in on the crucial “scenes”: Saroyan losing her virginity, starting her own riot-grrrly magazine, falling in dysfunctional love. Yet all the while she’s trailed by that other black-clad girl, the Platonic ideal of so many modern young women’s fantasies. Will the two ever meet? That question lies at the heart of Saroyan’s genre-bending memoir. Girl Walks into a Bar promises to be one of the most memorable debuts of the year.

DIVDIVWhat would it be like to live on a houseboat on the Mississippi River with two parents, four kids, eight chickens, several turtles, a dog, and a cat? Patsy and her family are about to find out! /divDIVAt first, Patsy is upset when her parents decide to move from their home in River City, Illinois, to a houseboat on the Mississippi River. She’ll miss her house and friends, and she’s sure the trip downriver will be boring. Gradually, she and her brother and sisters get used to their new life. Patsy grows to love the ever-changing river, where she even learns to swim. But she can’t help longing for a real house—on land. /divDIV /divDIVHouseboat Girl is based on the experiences of real families living on the Mississippi River in the summer of 1954./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Lois Lenski including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate./div/div

American Indian children celebrate the strawberry festival.

"Lydia Poole eats only one cup of Cheerios per day and lets her weight drop below ninety pounds. When Lydia's sister introduces Jesse, a new friend and filmmaker, Lydia agrees to be the subject of his documentary. With the camera running, Lydia shifts from the viewfinder's object to the eye behind the camera. In doing so, she discovers how she wants to see her world."--