Fiction dealing with specific issues Books

Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling story is now one of the biggest family movie events of 2005--celebrate with this irresistible movie tie-in edition. The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket -- and comes out with a dog. W...

Ryan: In the headlights, I saw her face. Brown hair swinging as she turned to stare at us. Brown eyes stretched wide and startled. Then she hit the windscreen. Tara: I heard a roaring, shuddering noise. I was in mid-air, arms and legs stretched out. Then everything the car, the guys, me went rushing...

In the tradition of his best-selling alphabet book, Animalia, author and illustrator GraemeBase takes young readers on an exhilarating journey of discovery with an ingenious fusion of counting book, puzzle book, storybook, and art book. From the plains of Africa and the jungles of the Amazon to ...

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way ...

Tessa has just a few months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her Ten Things To Do Before I Die list. And Number One is sex. Released from the constraints of 'normal' life, Tessa tastes new experiences to ...

In which the villainous Gropmund Grouper devises a dastardly scheme to rob the innocent folk of Reeftown of their homes and money, but is foiled by the efforts of the intrepid Pearl Trout, her fiery brother, Finneus, and brave Corporal Bert of the Soldiercrab Army. Graeme Base, who created Abram...

Jason Carrillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend, but he can't stop dreaming about sex…with other guys. Kyle Meeks doesn't "look" gay, but he is. And he hopes he never has to tell anyone -- especially his parents. Nelson Glassman is "out" to the entire world, but he can't...

'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up'. Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam: his mum's got rid o...

Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equalit...

This is Bryce Courtenay's classic best-selling story of the triumph of the human spirit, specially adapted for young readers. Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, little six-year-old Peekay learns that small can beat big and that the most important thing is the power of one: the forc...

One of the original 12 Little Golden Books, The Poky Little Puppy has sold nearly 15 million copies since 1942, making it one of the most popular children& #8217; s books of all time. Now this curious little puppy is ready to win the hearts and minds of a new generation of kids.

You don't know me, but I know about you…. I can't make you live longer, I can't stop you from hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me. It's been months since Dani Vanoy's older sister Cassie has been diagnosed as having a brain tumor. And now the treatments aren't helping....

It's the end of the road…. Jason Carrillo came out to his basketball team and lost his university scholarship. Now that he's graduated, he's been asked to speak at the opening of a gay and lesbian high school across the country -- but what is he going to say? Kyle Meeks is getting ready to go...

Thw Wolfe brothers, Cameron and Ruben, are a couple of low achievers from the suburbs who are desperate to be winners like their older brother Steve. Cameron dreams, falls in love with Rebecca, and then realises that he's a fighter, not a loser. Ages 13+ years.

The Wolfe family has fallen on hard times. Dad has been out of work for months, Mum works a night shift, Sarah gets drunk and Steve wants to leave his lunatic family. Cameron and Rube turn to illegal boxing for the money they need and the self-respect they want. Nothing will ever be the same. Ages 1...

Take a roller coaster ride through the vastness of space and, in the midst of an exciting adventure, discover the mysteries of physics, science and the universe with George, his new friends next door - the scientist Eric and his daughter, Annie - and a super-intelligent computer called Cosmos, which...

Nelson Glassman and Kyle Meeks, best friends for many years, are gay teens at Walt Whitman High School. Kyle becomes romantically involved with basketball jock Jason Carrillo, while Nelson embarks on a strained relationship with Jeremy, who has tested positive for HIV. Jason comes out to his team-ma...

Demetrius and Paula Ogglebutt are two perfectly beautiful and well behaved children - which is more than can be said for their problem parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ogglebutt can't agree on anything, and spend their days playing extremely nasty practical jokes on one another. Drastic measures are needed. So...

Sent to live with his uncle after a violent confrontation with his stepfather, sixteen-year-old Travis, an aspiring writer, finds life in a small Oklahoma town confining until he meets an eighteen-year-old horse trainer named Casey. "A powerful story. . . . Travis is Everyteen: part insecur...

For the first time in the history of the Little House books, this new edition features Garth Williams' interior art in vibrant, full color, as well as a beautifully redesigned cover. The little settlement that weathered the long, hard winter of 1880-81 is now a growing town. Laura is growing up, a...

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to...

Michael Morpurgo's inspiring new story of Robbie, a boy in a coma -- victim of a car accident. Locked inside his own head, able to hear but not move or speak, Robbie tries to keep himself from slipping ever deeper into unconsciousness. Robbie, football fan and animal lover, runs after his dog Lucky ...

 The little train that can do just about anything...

"Dear Reader, " You have undoubtedly picked up this book by mistake, so please put it down. Nobody in their right mind would read this particular book about the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire on purpose, because each dismal moment of their stay in the village of V.F.D. has be...

A true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction. Accolades Winner of Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 1997. Winner of Carnegie Medal 1997. Winner of LA Carnegie Medal 1997. Winner of Guardian Children's Fiction Award 1997. Shortlist...

When Uno arrives in the forest one beautiful day, there are many fascinating and extraordinary animals there to greet him. And one entirely unexceptional Snortlepig. Uno loves the forest so much, he decides to live there. But, in time, a little village grows up around his house. Then a town, then ...

Simon is a typical teenager - in every way except one. Simon likes girls, weekends and enjoys mucking about and playing practical jokes. But what s different is that Simon has muscular dystrophy - he is in a wheelchair and doesn t have long to live. See Ya, Simon is told by Simon's best friend, Nath...

A wordless, visually compelling look at our changing environment, featured on a government reading list for schools. A mother and baby look through a window at a view of wilderness and sky as far as the eye can see. With each page, the boy grows and the scene changes. At first, in a clear patch of f...

Seventeen-year-old Ellis isn't quite sure how he got into this mess, but it's so interesting that he just can't bring himself to get out of it. "Now was the time to say a polite good-bye and make for home. But wouldn't that good-bye be rather like walking out before the end of the film?" O...

An extraordinary new novel of friendship by Kate DiCamillo, author of the celebrated debut novel BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE. Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger--a real-life, very large tiger--pacing back and forth in a cage. Wh...

Daddies are terrific! Rhyming text and dellghtful illustrations show dads and their kids having all sorts of fun comping, gardening, pretending, and just being together.

Let's hear it for mommies! The rhyming text in this delightful book thanks moms for all the fun things they do with their children. Lovingly illustrated scenes show moms and kids cheering at a ball game, exploring in a museum, and playing games at home.

In the tradition of Bart Yates and K.M. Soehnlein comes a sexy, sensitive, coming-of-age novel from a major new talent. Sixteen-year-old Jason Peele and his Indian boyfriend Raj spend a lot of time debating the philosophy of the pacifist Gandhi and his teaching of nonviolence. Their disagreement ...

Marlo Thomas' "New York Times" best seller is updated and repackaged for a new generation of young readers - it includes an audio CD in the back of the book with 4 free to be classics! Notable writers, artists, and musicians joined forces to produce this bestselling book which teaches chil...

Told as a fable, this true story is a timely reminder of the fragility of our world. It was raining outside, so I said: 'Gramps, tell me a story.' This is a story about David and his father, a lighthouse-keeper, who came to an island to build a lighthouse. They chopped down the trees and ferns wh...

Original stories by C. S. Adler, Marion Dane Bauer, Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden, James Cross Giblin, Ellen Howard, M. E. Kerr, Jonathan London, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, LeslEa Newman, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jane Yolen Each of these stories ...

Nominated for the Governor General's Literary Awards 2005, (Children's Literature, Text) The setting is Sri Lanka, 1980, and it is the season of monsoons. Fourteen-year-old Amrith is caught up in the life of the cheerful, well-to-do household in which he is being raised by his vibrant Auntie Bundle...

Once there lived a lovelorn prince whose mother decreed that he must marry by the end of the summer. So began the search to find the prince's perfect match and lo and behold… …his name was Lee. You are cordially invited to join the merriest, most unexpected wedding of the year. King ...

Eleven-year-old Edwina confronts old and new challenges when her longtime best friend Sally faces the inevitable death of the grandmother who raised her.

Oliver Tolliver lives all alone and has one of everything in his little house -- one table, one chair, one apple, and one pear. To him, it's perfect. But when he invites Peggoty Small over to admire his arrangement, he finds she has quite another opinion. She feels his one-of-each house leaves no ro...