Most Popular Books by Elvira Woodruff

As his grandfather gives him hints about all the exciting things they will see, Jack tries to guess where they are going.

Award-winning author Elvira Woodruff has written a harrowing novel about an eleven-year-old orphan boy on a stormy sea -- and the charming daredevil who befriends him in England in 1695.When a storm brings down his father''s boat, Digory Beale is forced to leave home to discover his fate. For if Digory has been orphaned, he can never go home again. On his journey, Digory becomes the apprentice to Henry Winstanly, whose life''s obsession is to save sailors'' lives. Digory must face his fears of the sea to help Henry bring candles to the lighthouse he''s built on a killer reef. But who could have known the force of a monster storm heading their way? In this poignant page-turner, Digory comes to understand the many facets of courage -- and what it means to be a true hero.

In 1851, 12-year-old orphan Austin Ives joins a wagon train headed for California. As he makes his way across the country, Austin writes home to his brother Levi, describing life on the rugged Overland Trail. Extensively researched, with episodes based on true incidents, "the epistolary format and character development offer solid reading."--Booklist An IRA Teachers'' Choice

To Knit or Not to Knit is a unique Dear Abby/mini-knitting essay collection, offering humorous tales of triumph and terror on the needles, with a witty nod to the famous and infamous throughout history. As Mrs. Wicks happily quotes everyone from William Shakespeare to Beatrix Potter, she adds her own wit and wisdom to answer a variety of questions on knitting ranging from, Is there a quick fix for dropped stitches? to My boyfriend says my passion for knitting is stronger than my passion for him—what should I do? A number of Mrs. Wicks’ own patterns are sprinkled throughout, along with her sound advice for stitches dropped and love gone wrong. Ever the optimist, she advises her readers to pick up their needles, dust off their hearts, and cast on without looking back. Knitter and non-knitters alike will enjoy this literary look at life lessons offered through a wooly lens, from Pablo Narudo’s poem “Ode to My Socks” (hand knit of course), to Ogden Nash’s witty words on the frustration of being married to a knitter, To Knit or Not to Knit is a quirky, enjoyable read, making it the perfect gift for the passionate knitter and thoughtful reader alike.

Now in paperback! In this companion novel to Dear Levi, told in letters,11-year-old Levi helps a young African American in a harrowing flight for freedom along the Underground Railroad.

In a heartwarming novel that is destined to become a Christmas classic, acclaimed author Elvira Woodruff tells the story of two orphaned sisters whose lives are forever changed by a magical doll. Lucy and Glory are orphaned sisters with no real place to call home. Only their memories of a beautiful doll named Morning Glory brighten their bleak lives. When a deadly fever sweeps through the workhouse where the girls live, Lucy and Glory flee to the mean streets of London. One day the girls find an old battered doll that Glory senses is their beloved Morning Glory. But Morning Glory is no ordinary doll--the girls learn that she has magical powers that will change their lives in amazing ways.. With the help of the doll, the sisters discover the true meaning of the Christmas spirit.

In the early 1900s, two cousins leave their Russian shtetl with the rest of their family to come to America, hopeful that they will all pass the dreaded inspection at Ellis Island.

While enjoying a innocent lakeside campout, five modern-day children are transported back in time to the days of George Washington and other American Revolutionary figures. Reprint.

After his family moves to a different part of town, Matthew tries to get back to his old house by trying on different pairs of wings in an unusual wing shop.

This historic time-travel fantasy is a riveting sequel to a bestselling classic.Ten-year-old Matt Carlton and six friends are accidentally swept back in time--to Boston in 1776! The British now occupy the city, and redcoat guards are everywhere! While the boys are being held captive by a den of Patriot spies, the girls have been taken in by a wealthy Tory family.The pox is rampant; danger lies around every corner--and there''s no hope for returning home to their own time. How will these seven children survive?Readers will relish the nonstop action and humorous dialogue in this riveting sequel to Woodruff''s bestselling novel, GEORGE WASHINGTON''S SOCKS.

Thrilled to find an old chemistry set at her grandmother''s summer cottage, Nelly mixes up a youth potion for her grandmother, who actually becomes younger . . . but she starts shrinking! Illustrated.

"One day this child shall hold the very heart of our family in the palm of her hand," predicts Granny on the day Darcy Heart O''Hara is born in a cottage on Derry Lane, in the town of Pobble O''Keefe, in County Kerry, Ireland. Darcy grows up to be a noticer, delighting in the small beauties all around her: a dew-covered spider web, castles in the clouds, a shiny wooden rosary bead. Life is simple but sweet in Pobble O''Keefe, with her family gathered round the hearth in the evenings while Granddad''s voice fills the small room with stories. But in 1845, a blight strikes the land, the potatoes turn rotten, and Darcy and her family must leave Ireland forever. How will Darcy ever find a way to to bring the small beauties of home across the sea to America? Elvira Woodruff''s story of emigration, heartbreak, and hope is vividly illustrated with the warm, evocative oil paintings of Adam Rex.

The mummy that Andrew creates for his fifth grade project seems to have special powers and helps him to understand his feelings about himself, his dead mother, and his stepbrother, whom he calls Mr. Gifted.

Ever since his parents died, Nick has lived in a house above a funeral home owned by his aunt and uncle. Nick''stired of doing chores for his perfectionist uncle and having his friends make fun of him. The new neighbors next door think he''s a part of "the Addams family."

Vacationing on a farm in West Virginia near the haunted glass factory where crazy old Irwin Loop used to make marbles, eleven-year-old Jenna decides to use the place to shock her mute younger brother into talking.

Noah Murphy carries his plastic "little guys" everywhere. One day, while sitting on the school bus with his younger brother, Jess, Noah makes a wish using magic powder from the toy machine. Noah looks at his little guys--Commander Falcon and Sergeant Gordy and three headless green aliens. "Let them all come to life, all my guys. And let me be their size, so I can have an adventure with them." That''s when the bus hits a bump and strange things start to happen. Will the fourth grade at Roosevelt School ever be the same again?

During a school trip to Ellis Island, Dominick Avaro, a ten-year-old foster child, travels back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants to America.

Marty receives a surprising reply when he writes a letter describing his spirited but sick grandfather to Napoleon Bonaparte.

When Mrs. McClosky''s three rambunctious boys wake up one day and find they have turned into monkeys, Mrs. McClosky takes them to live at the zoo where they are a big hit.

Andy''s offerings for show-and-tell always seem to bore his kindergarten class until one day he finds a magic bottle of bubbles that temporarily transports all of them on an aerial adventure.

After finding the magic powder again, Noah and his friend Nate shrink to the size of Noah''s miniature toy men and have an exciting adventure.

Fifth graders Freckle and Tyler meet an unusual bicycle salesman and inventor who turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, traveling through time.

Moving from Iowa to a lighthouse cottage in Maine, ten-year-old Jack struggles to live up to his father''s high standards and encounters a young ghost who presents Jack with a 150-year-old unsolved sea mystery.

The eleven-year-old son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London befriends a Jacobite rebel being held prisoner there.

Fifth graders Freckle and Tyler meet an unusual bicycle salesman and inventor who turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, traveling through time.

A 6-lesson curriculum unit that explores voluntary and involuntary migration, and international and domestic migration in or within the United States.

The O''Mally sisters'' bubble bath has some scary moments when they realize their bubbles contain chickens, frogs, and a mean, hungry alligator.