Most Popular Books by Elisa Carbone

The fascinating companion title to the award-winning historical novel Blood on the River: James Town 1607. After the colony of James Town is founded in 1607. After Captain John Smith establishes trade with the Native Americans. After Pocahontas befriends the colonists. After early settlers both thrive and die in this new world . . . a girl is born. Virginia. Virginia Laydon, an infant at the end of Blood on the River, has now grown up in a colony that is teetering dangerously on the precipice of conflict with the native Algonquins. Virginia has the gift, or the curse, of the knowing-an ability that could help save the colony, and is equally likely to land her at the burning stake as an accused witch. Virginia struggles to make sense of her own inner world against the backdrop of pivotal years in the Jamestown colony. The first representative government is established, the first enslaved Africans arrive, and the self-righteousness of the colony''s leaders angers the Algonquin. When Virginia''s mother first learns of her gift, she is terrified. Kill it, her mother says, or they will kill you. When accusations and danger threaten, Virginia learns that she is on her own; her mother must protect her young sisters rather than stand up for her. So begins a journey of self-realization and increasing strength, as Virginia goes from being a self-protective young girl to someone who knows she must live her own truth even if it will be the end of her.

Driven from his home by the Ku Klux Klan and still reeling from the death of his mother, Nathan moves with his father and grandfather to the desolate Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to start a new life. Fortunately, life on Pea Island at the end of the 19th century is far from quiet. The other island residents include the surfmen--the African American crew of the nearby U.S. Life-Saving Station--and soon Nathan is lending an extra hand to these men as they rescue sailors from sinking ships. Working and learning alongside the courageous surfmen, Nathan begins to dream of becoming one himself. But the reality of post-Civil War racism starts to show itself as he gradually realizes the futility of his dream. And then another dream begins to take shape, one that Nathan refuses to let anyone take from him.

Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.

The year is 1878, and 13-year-old Eva has lost all the family she’s ever known. Eva feels like an orphan—but she’s not. Sadie Lewis, the woman who gave her up at birth, is alive and well in Denver. And Eva sets out to find her, carrying only an address on a slip of paper. But Denver holds more surprises than Eva can bear. When she reaches 518 Holladay Street, she discovers Sadie Lewis’s shocking secret—a secret that lands Eva in a house of ill repute, forced to dance with strangers for her keep. But Eva knows in her bones that she’s free—and that she’s got to escape. In a novel that pulses with the sights, sounds, and wild dangers of the frontier West, Elisa Carbone explores the many faces that family, and freedom, can take.

Becky is convinced that Akhil Vyas is the weirdest person on earth when he shows up in her English class. He refuses to sit in chairs, stares at her with spooky eyes, and has scar-covered skin. But soon Becky’s revulsion turns to fascination. The National Institutes of Health is studying Akhil, but he won’t say why—until something happens that makes him swear Becky and her friend Omar to secrecy. Suddenly Becky isn’t sure what’s more shocking—Akhil’s secret, or the chilling reason why he must reveal it. Elisa Carbone weaves a tale of intrigue that will enthrall any reader.

Jump. That is what P.K. has done. A totally wild, crazy jump from a restrictive life with her family into a life of total adventure—rock-climbing out west with a guy she barely knows. At first, everything’s amazing. Not only are they climbing in awesomely beautiful national parks like Yosemite but they seem awesomely made for one another. P.K. is in heaven. And then the cops show up . . . with an arrest warrant. And P.K. has to decide who to believe: this amazing guy whom she trusts with her life—or the cops, who want her to believe that he may take her life.

Adventure on the high seas! WHAM! The Pliny jolts as if Black Beard himself has just punched her in the belly. Pedro and I slide and smack--bang--into the bulwark. "We''re grounded," cries the first mate. "We''ve hit a shoal!" In May of 1882, a large steamship ran aground off the coast of New Jersey. Elisa Carbone imagines what it was like for two boys on that ship: waking up in the middle of the night, waves crashing over the side, the storm too big to lower the lifeboats. And then the flashing of light from shore--the surfmen, true "heroes of the surf," come to rescue them. The award-winning author''s meticulous research combined with Nancy Carpenter''s spectacular illustrations make this thrilling adventure on the high seas one not to be missed!

It''s 1838, and James has made a secret plan to escape Master Graham’s farm–and slavery. James tells his dog Zeus he has to stay behind: he’s simply too noisy to bring along on a dangerous nighttime journey. But when two white men capture James soon after he runs, he’s grateful his faithful hunting dog didn’t obey. Zeus has followed behind, and the scrappy hound rescues James from his captors. An author’s note describes the real life inspiration behind the book: James Smith, a slave who escaped with the help of his dog and went on to become a farmer and Baptist minister.

You have finished your Ph.D. and landed your first academic job. Scanning the fine print, you realize the introductory class you have been assigned to teach is being held in an auditorium. A really big auditorium. Panic begins to set in. . . . In this handy and practical book, Elisa Carbone offers a wealth of sound advice on how to deal with a large class, from the first day to end-of-semester evaluations. Full of examples taken from many different disciplines, Teaching Large Classes will be an ideal companion for any teacher facing the challenge of the large introductory class.

Twelve-year-old Ann Maria Weems works from sunup to sundown, wraps rags around her feet in the winter, and must do whatever her master or mistress orders--but she has something that many plantation slaves don''t have. She has her wonderful family around her. To Ann, her teasing brothers, her older sister, and her protective and loving parents are everything. And then one day, they are gone. Separated from her family by her master and shipped off as a housemaid, Ann learns something about independence and about love before the opportunity for escape arrives. A white man risks his life for Ann, cuts her hair short, dresses her like a boy, and launches her on her journey on the Underground Railroad to Canada, her family, and finally to freedom. Until she was a teenager, Ann Maria Weems lived in the mid-1800s near the author''s home in Maryland. This fictionalized account of her extraordinary life is ideal for students, teachers, and parents hungry for interesting and informative reading in African-American history and the Underground Railroad.

Diana Hopkins lived in a white house. THE White House. World War II is in full force across the seas. It''s 1943, President Roosevelt is in office, and Diana''s father, Harry Hopkins, is his chief advisor. And Diana wants to be part of the war effort. After some well-intentioned missteps (her quarantine sign on her father''s office door was not well-received), the President requests her help with his newest plan for the country''s survival: Victory Gardens! From award-winning author Elisa Carbone comes the true story of how Diana Hopkins started her own Victory Garden on the White House lawn under the tutelage of Eleanor Roosevelt. With dedication and patience, she showed the nation that the war effort started first on the homefront.

When 10-year-old Sarah wakes up with a wad of bubble gum stuck in her hair, she has no idea how much trouble it will cause. First, she has to cut off her long hair–then she’s mistaken for a boy on her new basketball team. At least she has good friends, and each is facing a personal challenge of her own. Christina fumes at being forced to represent Mexico in a school pageant despite her Salvadoran background. And Olivia has a secret about her leg she’s reluctant to share with even her new best friends. With the help of some funny mishaps, the trio comes to realize that it’s far better to be true to themselves than pose as people they’re not. Sarah’s mom calls it showing the world their naked truth. And sometimes that’s embarrassing!

Lots of laughs and spunky characters abound in this totally entertaining middle-grade novel. When ten-year-old Sarah has to start a new school, all she really wants is to make one good friend. What she makes is a newfound enemy who launches a crusade to make Sarah''s life miserable.

Samuel Collier de doce años, es un niño humilde de las calles de Londres. Cuando se convierte en el paje del Capitán John Smith y aborda el Susan Constant con destino al Nuevo Mundo, no puede creer su buena fortuna. Ha oído que por aquellos lados el oro llega a las costas con cada marea. Pero a partir del tormentoso viaje y su primer contacto con los nativos, se da cuenta de que el Nuevo Mundo no es nada parecido a lo que él imaginaba. La exuberante costa de Virginia donde establecen la colonia de James Town es a la vez hermosa e imponente, y es difícil saber quién es amigo o enemigo. A medida que aprende el idioma de los indios algonquinos y observa la sabia diplomacia del Capitán Smith, Samuel comienza a darse cuenta que puede ser quien él quiera ser en esta nueva tierra.

Twelve-year-old Corey, wishing for a normal family life, struggles with the fact that her father drinks too much and has trouble holding a job.