Most Popular Books by Dean Hughes

Dirty. Lazy. Good-for-nothing. Jay Thacker is used to being called names because his dad is half Navajo. But things are different after he and his mother move to a small town in Utah to stay with his grandparents during WWII. Jay makes friends and earns money working the fields for his well-respected grandfather—but he encounters a problem in Ken, a fellow worker who’s from the nearby Japanese internment camp. Ken’s a Jap. And Jay’s dad, who’s been fighting for the navy out in the Pacific, is missing in action. This moving story about an unlikely friendship deftly addresses themes of prejudice and intolerance, providing readers a glimpse of the past that enlightens the present.

Spencer Morgan And Dieter Hedrick, one American, one German, are both young and eager to get into action in the war. Dieter, a shining member of the Hitler Youth movement, has actually met the Führer himself and was praised for his hard work. Now he is determined to make it to the front lines, to push back the enemy and defend the honor of the Fatherland. Spencer, just sixteen, must convince his father to sign his induction papers. He is bent on becoming a paratrooper -- the toughest soldiers in the world. He will prove to his family and hometown friends that he is more than the little guy with crooked teeth. He?ll prove to his father that he can amount to something and keep his promises. Everyone will look at him differently when he returns home in his uniform, trousers tucked into his boots in the paratrooper style. Both boys get their wishes when they are tossed into intense conflict during the Battle of the Bulge. And both soon learn that war is about a lot more than proving oneself and one?s bravery. Dean Hughes offers young readers a wrenching look at parallel lives and how innocence must eventually be shed.

A natural at bat, Wilson is winning nearly every game. But his hitting streakends when he depends on other people''s advice.

Trying to hold onto the newfound stability of his life in a foster home, thirteen-year-old David worries about the growing moodiness of his guardian Paul and the fluctuating fortunes of his Pony League baseball team.

Recent high school graduate Rick Ward, undecided about his future and eager to escape his unhappy home life, joins the army and experiences the horrors of the war in Vietnam.

Three third-grade rookies who make the Little League baseball team aren''t immediately accepted by the older players.

Although he is a basketball whiz, seventh-grader Aaron Reeves must learn to be a team player in order to make friends on the basketball team at his new school.

Originally published in hardcover in 2016 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

When Trent''s best friend Robbie and another teammate on the Scrappers begin bragging about their baseball abilities, Trent worries that it will affect the team''s play.

" ... Captures the frustrations and doubts of two periods of life--teenagers on the verge of manhood and boys leaving behind their childhood"--Inside front dust-jacket.

In despair over his basketball team''s prospects with his father as coach, fifth-grader Nutty goes to his genius friend William for help and finds more success than he ever thought possible.

When she finds that she is no longer taller than most of the other players, Heidi has to adjust to playing wing instead of striker.

Harlan Sloan, a rookie on the Little League baseball team, gets his first big base hit.

A fifth-grade boy running for school president is forced to make some important decisions regarding the amount of manipulation he should allow from his "genius" campaign manager.

"Young Gene Thomas, son of Alex and Anna, has everything going for him: his natural good looks, his family''s prosperity, and his reputation as the best athlete at East High in Salt Lake City. But now that world events are affecting his family, things may not be so rosy after all."--Jacket.

Lately, 3rd-grade-rookie Anthony Ruiz has been losing his concentration when he gets into a real game, and the other players are giving him a hard time. So the coach asks Harlan, who''s improved tremendously since last year, to work with Anthony, and he discovers that the rookie''s parents are getting divorced. . . . Illustrated.

Just as Thurlow feels that he may be able to lead the Scrappers single-handedly to the season championship, an injury sidelines him and threatens to take away their victory.

Brian Waters is so nervous that he can''t seem to do anything right on his little league team, the Angel Park Dodgers, but a pep talk from a big league star psyches him up to make a winning catch.

When Jacob loses his lucky charm, he''s convinced he''ll never be able to bat, field, or throw again until he finds it.

Called "rookie star" by the town paper, third-grader Kenny Sandoval, talented first baseman for the Angel Park Dodgers, is determined to prove that the name has not gone to his head.

Unless star guard Miles "Tip" Harris can keep his cool under pressure from opposing players, the Angel Park Lakers could have a short season.

Having failed to get their applications in for the middle school summer baseball league, Robbie and Trent scramble to find a sponsor, a coach, and enough players to form their own team.

Thirteen-year-old Kim is a star in softball, basketball, and volleyball, but when she begins playing soccer she fears she will let the team down.

When the Angel Park Dodgers get so rattled by the Reds that they can hardly play baseball, rookie Jacob attempts to relax them with meditation exercises he finds in a sports psychology book.

Kenny, the rookie star of Angel Park''s Little League baseball team, finds himself in a major slump because he''s trying too hard.

A black boy from Los Angeles has some trouble fitting in with the twelve-and-under basketball team in his new, mostly white neighborhood in Angel Park.

It takes an earthquake to help the Angel Park Pride soccer players realize the importance of teamwork.

Having been hit in the face by a ball during a previous game, Tracy tries to deal with her fear of its happening again as the Scrappers approach the baseball championship.

When Jeff Reinhold breaks his arm, a small Asian boy named Lian Jie becomes the new second baseman.

Follows the members of the Angel Park Dodgers Little League team through their second season as they discuss batting averages, RBIs, and Jonathan Swingle, the new superstar and super braggart.

Eleven-year-old Lucky is worried that the nomadic life he and his father share will come to an end in Provo, Utah, when his father begins seeing a woman with a hostile twelve-year-old son.

In this gripping and eye-opening novel, two Syrian refugee teens trying to make a living on the street corners of Beirut must decide how far they’re willing to go to make a home for their family in an unwelcoming country. Thirteen-year-old Hadi Saleh and his family are displaced. At least that’s what the Lebanese government calls them and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city don’t think they’re displaced—they think that they don’t belong in this country either. And as he faces the insults day after day, Hadi hardly dares to dream anymore that this might change. But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to school and becoming an engineer. He makes Hadi wonder if more might be possible. But Malek is new to the streets, and soon Kamal, the man who “oversees” many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner…alone. And people who don’t follow Kamal’s orders don’t last long. Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh realities remain stubbornly out of reach?

Eleven-year-old Sterling Malone tries out for quarterback because his father thinks African-Americans need to prove they can be leaders, but Sterling isn''t sure he wants to be a leader.

Nutty runs for a second term as student council president against his arch-rival Mindy and encounters dirty tricks.

Brad loves baseball and wants to be a star player like his best friend, Butter, but he''s probably the worst player on the whole team. When the big game arrives, will Brad strike out or become a home-run hero?

Feeling unwanted, an eleven-year-old orphan runs away from his foster home and lives on the streets until he finds a new type of family at a hotel.