New Releases by Eve Bunting

Laura Iwasaki and her family are paying what may be their last visit to Laura''s grandfather''s grave. The grave is at Manzanar, where thousands of Americans of Japanese heritage were interned during World War II. Among those rounded up and taken to the internment camp were Laura''s father, then a small boy, and his parents. Now Laura says goodbye to Grandfather in her own special way, with a gesture that crosses generational lines and bears witness to the patriotism that survived a shameful episode in America''s history. Eve Bunting''s poignant text and Chris K. Soentpiet''s detailed, evocative paintings make the story of this family''s visit to Manzanar, and of the memories stirred by the experience, one that will linger in readers'' minds and hearts. Afterword.

When Miss Goose announces that the library is going to close forever, Raccoon and his friends spring into action. Where will they get the help they need to save their beloved library? In books, of course! This cheery tale from ever-popular author Eve Bunting shows how important libraries are to every community. Facing a dilemma that is all too common in our human world today, the adorable animal denizens of Buttercup Meadow confront it with an inspiring blend of ingenuity, teamwork, and imagination. Bright, playful illustrations enhance the light treatment of this serious subject, in a story that celebrates the value of books in everyone’s lives.

Everyone in the family, and all the neighbors, too, are getting the house and garden ready for the birth of this highly anticipated child. The baby''s room is painted with rainbows and stars, special furniture is made and bought, a kite is made, local children create a welcome banner. It feels as if the entire world is waiting just for this one special baby to be born. And when it is born, the parents make this very, very clear: We loved you even before you were born...and we always will.

When the path to eight-year-old Allison''s Catholic school goes through hostile Protestant territory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Allison finds she is not alone in her loathing of the situation.

Every time his family gets excited over something Baby James can do, big brother Shane demonstrates that he can do even better, from burping to rolling over to walking.

Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn’t speak. It’s hard being the new kid in school, especially when you’re from another country and don’t know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs. Ted Lewin’s gorgeous sun-drenched paintings and Eve Bunting’s sensitive text immediately put the reader into another child’s shoes in this timely story of a young Muslim immigrant.

The Golden Gate Bridge. The impossible bridge, some call it. They say it can''t be built. But Robert''s father is building it. He''s a skywalker--a brave, high-climbing ironworker. Robert is convinced his pop has the most important job on the crew . . . until a frightening event makes him see that it takes an entire team to accomplish the impossible. When it was completed in 1937, San Francisco''s Golden Gate Bridge was hailed as an international marvel. Eve Bunting''s riveting story salutes the ingenuity and courage of every person who helped raise this majestic American icon. Includes an author''s note about the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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The boy has been waiting for this day for many months. It''s the day his daddy comes home from overseas. He jumps out of bed and gets ready for the big event. But before going downstairs for breakfast, he takes along something very important: his red balloon. There will be many families and loved ones at the pier. The red balloon will help his father find him among the crowd. But as the ship approaches, the boy loses his grip on the red balloon. Will his daddy find him in the crowd?

Kidnapped. Injected with a shrinking formula. Held prisoner in a bizarre dollhouse. Kyle Wilson, once a regular kid, is now the size of a doll, but still alive. He is the fourth Lambkin in crazy Mrs. Shepherd''s collection. She''ll keep them safe, she says. She loves them like her own children, she says. She would never harm them ... as long as they don''t make her angry. John made her angry. Look what happened to him. One thing is certain. Kyle and the others must figure out how to escape, and fast. Otherwise they''ll end up as Lambkins forever ... or worse.

Matt''s investigation of vandalism of life-sized dolls belonging to the strange but well-meaning aunt with whom he and his sister live takes him to the art world of Los Angeles.

When leprechauns Ari, Boo, and Col need to place the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they cannot help getting into mischief along the way.

A boy discovers how many wonderful things he can fit in his backpack.

Francisco, a young Mexican-American boy, helps his grandfather find work as a gardener, even though the old man cannot speak English and knows nothing about gardening.

The young narrator''s best friend, Rudi, is very sick, and it''s hard for her to understand. When Rudi dies, the narrator and the other children in school help to build a pond by the big knobby oak to remember him by. A hummingbird feeder that Rudi made hangs by the pond, and one day a special hummingbird comes to visit. . . . Based on a true story, Rudi''s Pond is an insightful book that will help young readers to deal with loss. Once again author Eve Bunting and illustrator Ronald Himler have combined their talents to create a memorable picture book.

For one family the traditional Hanukkah celebration has a deeper meaning. Amidst the food and the festivities, Grandma and Great-Aunt Rose begin their story -- the one they tell each year. They pass on to each generation a tale of perseverance during the darkest hours of the Holocaust, and the strength it took to continue to honor Hanukkah in the only way they could. Their story reaffirms the values of tradition and family, but also shows us that by continuing to honor the tragedies and the triumphs of the past there will always be hope for the future.

For one energetic three-year-old, there are countless reasons to love his new big boy bed. There’s room now for Teddy to sleep with him, and his painted clay lizard, and Hippo. He can go under the bed and pretend to be a dog and scare his cat, Whiskers. Best of all, he can get out of his bed any time he wants—as long as his parents don’t hear him! Written with warmth and humor, this story captures the feelings surrounding a rite of passage that every child experiences. Eve Bunting’s simple, reassuring text and Maggie Smith’s bright, lively illustrations are just right for beginning readers and listeners.

Little Bear loves his little boat. He rows it around Huckleberry Lake, fishing and dreaming. But then Little Bear begins to grow and grow, until one day he doesn’t fit in his little boat anymore! All children who experience growing pains will appreciate Little Bear’s predicament. And they will smile with satisfaction as the solution to his problem unfolds in simple, lyrical words and charming pictures from two award-winning picture-book creators.

A boy standing with his father on the shore watches five Orca whales and imagines them talking underwater in their star-dance light while the bubbles bubble up.

In a California garden on a rainy night, Cricket feels small and worthless. He hops up some steps and finds himself in a place filled with light and warmth and a tall, sparkling tree. He begins to sing but is scared into silence by two voices, one big and one small. It is then that he makes a marvelous discovery. Eve Bunting’s text is filled with her customary tenderness and charm, and Timothy Bush has captured its mood in his luminous illustrations. Together they create a memorable holiday book about a cricket who discovers that though he may be small, he is not insignificant.

Linda feels left out as the only one on her first-grade T-ball team who hasn''t lost a tooth.

In the late 1880s, a Cheyenne boy named Young Bull is taken from his parents and sent to a boarding school to learn the white man''s ways. "Young Bull''s struggle to hold on to his heritage will touch children''s sense of justice and lead to some interesting discussions and perhaps further research." —School Library Journal

Esteemed author Eve Bunting brings all her insight, empathy, and storytelling skill to this powerful allegorical tale, set in the streets of an unnamed city and illustrated with striking woodcuts. Danny, new to town, is proud when a glittery-eyed tiger invites him for a ride. He climbs up onto the tiger’s massive back, and together they cruise the neighborhood. Everyone gives them respect—shopkeepers and passersby, even other kids. Danny feels powerful and much older than ten. Soon, though, he realizes it isn’t respect people feel for him and the tiger—it’s fear. And when he decides to get down off the tiger’s back, he discovers it’s a lot harder than climbing on. Whether the tiger is interpreted to represent gangs, drugs, or something else altogether, this poetically told, dramatically illustrated book is sure to provoke discussions about temp-tation, peer pressure, and conformity.

As summer ends and they get ready to go back to school, two young girls try to deal with the news that the grandparents they love are getting a divorce.

Each button on Laura’s memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her mother—a button from her prom dress, a white one off her wedding dress, and a single small button from the nightgown she was wearing on the day she died. When the string breaks, Laura’s new stepmother, Jane, is there to comfort Laura and search for a missing button, just as Laura’s mother would have done. But it’s not the same—Jane isn’t Mom. In Eve Bunting’s moving story, beautifully illustrated by Ted Rand, Laura discovers that a memory string is not just for remembering the past: it’s also for recording new memories.

A young girl hopes to find her mother as she rides an Orphan Train to find a new life out west in “this finely crafted, heart-wrenching story” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on an Orphan Train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. When her mother left Marianne at the orphanage, hadn''t she promised she''d come for her after making a new life in the West? Stop after stop goes by, and there''s no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy, plain Marianne, either. But that''s all right: She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train pulls into its final stop, a town called Somewhere . . . An American Library Association, Notable Children’s Book ALA Booklist Editor’s Choice Jefferson Cup Award Honor Book

My father cuts a moon-counting stick that he keeps in our tipi. At the rising of the first moon he makes a notch in it. "A new beginning for the young buffalo," he says. "And for us." In this beautifully written story by acclaimed author Eve Bunting, a young boy comes of age under the thirteen moons of the Sioux year. With each notch in his father''s moon-counting stick, the boy marvels at the world around him, observing the sometimes subtle, sometimes remarkable changes in the seasons and in his own tribe''s way of living. With rich and carefully researched paintings by artist John Sandford, Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux is a glorious picture book about one boy''s journey toward manhood.

In a letter to the Wish Fairy, Annabel reveals that if she had five wishes she would ask for a cat, a dog, a horse, a pig, and a crow.