Best Selling Books by Gloria Whelan

A pioneer adventure perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series! On Libby Mitchell’s tenth birthday, she and her parents climb into a covered wagon and set off on a journey that takes them two months and a thousand miles. Their trip from Virginia to the deep woods of Michigan is hard, but it is exciting, too. And at its end lies their new home—a place that is rugged, wild, and full of promise. History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves!

Originally published: New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Originally built in 1921 to race in the ocean, a sailboat named Bernida captures the attention and heart of a Michigan sailor. He buys the boat and brings her to the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit. In 1925 the sailor enters Bernida in the very first Port Huron to Mackinac Island Race.

This is a wonderful book of stories. Gloria Whelan is adept in creating the small luminous details that bring a story to life. She is miraculously fair to all her characters, young and old, and her accounts are both funny and frightening.

Peter Liebig can''t wait for summer. He''s tired of classrooms, teachers, and the endless lectures about the horrible Nazis. The war has been over for ten years, and besides, his town of Rolfen, West Germany, has moved on nicely. Despite its bombed-out church, it looks just as calm and pretty as ever. There is money to be made at the beach, and there are whole days to spend with Father at his job. And, of course, there''s soccer. Plenty for a thirteen-year-old boy to look forward to. But when Peter stumbles across a letter he was never meant to see, he unravels a troubling secret. Soon he questions everything—the town''s peaceful nature, his parents'' stories about the war, and his own sense of belonging.

Libby Mitchell can’t believe her luck! In 1841, her pioneer family decides to move north—near her best friend, Fawn, who lives with the Ottawa tribe. But the girls’ happiness at reuniting is short-lived. Greedy men want to cheat Fawn’s people out of their land and put all of the forest in danger. Now Libby and Fawn must think of a way to stop them—before the woods that they call home are lost forever. History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves!

"When Mai''s family discovers that Vietnam government soldiers will soon apprehend her father and grandmother, the family slips away in the night. They trudge through the swamps of the Mekong Delta toward the sea. The gut-wrenching trip to Hong Kong is just another step toward a new life, which the family eventually finds. Whelan''s characters are distinctive, and her story is riveting, haunting, and memorable, reflecting the human virtues of determination, hope, love, and courage in the face of the most devastating of circumstances and injustices."--Booklist.

Eight-year-old Zulviya, her sister and her cousin, her mother and her grandmother... they all belong to the loom. For generations the women of Zulviya''s family have earned their living by weaving rugs by hand. The rugs are valuable and the women are proud of their beautiful handiwork. But the work is hard. It takes months to weave a rug; each one contains hundreds of thousands of knots. Before one work day has passed, Zulviya will tie thousands of knots. As she sits at her work, Zulviya weaves not one but two patterns. The pattern on the loom will become a fine rug. She weaves a second pattern in her mind. There she sees the green of the Afghani hills, the bright blue of the nearby lake, and the vivid orange of the setting sun. And Zulviya takes comfort in the landscape in her mind. Gloria Whelan''s other picture books in the Tales of the World series are Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers (2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner) and Yatandou (a Junior Library Guild selection). Ms. Whelan lives in Michigan. Pascal Milelli''s illustration clients include Harper''s, The Atlantic, and Scribner Books. His picture book, The Art Room, by Susan Vande Griek, received the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator''s Award from the Canadian Library Association in 2003. Pascal lives in Vancouver, Canada.

During a long, snowy winter, the fourth grade boys and girls at Starvation Lake Elementary School have a contest to see who can raise the most money to help pay for a class trip.

In the winter of 1840, the night of the full moon is approaching. Nothing will stop Libby Mitchell from visiting her best friend, Fawn, during a special ceremony at the nearby wigwam camp. But Libby’s adventure takes an unexpected turn when soldiers suddenly rush in. They order everyone at the camp, including Libby, to move off the land—immediately! With each passing day, the displaced people must move farther away from home. Will Libby ever see her family again? History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves!

Sixteen-year-old Ali comes face to face with murder and kidnapping during what promised to be a pleasant summer on Lake Michigan.

The kids from Starvation Lake are all excited about their trip to the ecology center . . . all of them, that is, except Baylor. Just the thought of being outdoors makes Baylor sick. The cold and the germs are bad enough, but no one said anything about the bears!

A critically acclaimed historical novel by the author of the National Book Award-winning novel Homeless Bird. When shy ten-year-old Lucy comes to live with her aunt and uncle at their mission school, she''s surprised at the number of harsh rules and restrictions imposed on the children. Why, she wonders, should the Indians have to do all the changing? And why is her aunt so strict with them? Then a girl called Raven runs away in protest, and Lucy knows she must overcome her timidity and stand up to her aunt—no matter what the consequences. With her trademark lyricism, spare prose, and strong young heroine, award-winning author Gloria Whelan has once again taken a chapter from history and transformed it into gripping, accessible historical fiction that is perfect for schools and classrooms, as well as for fans of Linda Sue Park and Louise Erdrich.

Raids on his corn, garbage can, and bird feeder lead Mr. Twerkle to trap five raccoons and take them out to the woods, but they refuse to stay where he puts them.

Voices for Freedom contains three stories focusing on the Underground Railroad and the 1963 Freedom March on Washington. Stories are Friend on Freedom River, Riding to Washington, and The Listeners.In Friend on Freedom River, written by Gloria Whelan, runaway slaves ask Louis to ferry them across the Detroit River to freedom in Canada. He’s not sure what to do. If they are caught, it means prison for Louis. Written by Gwenyth Swain, Riding to Washington tells of one girl’s journey to attend the 1963 “Great March on Washington.” Janie and her father ride a bus to Washington, D.C. to hear a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. During the trip, Janie sees firsthand the injustices that many others endure. In The Listeners, another offering from Gloria Whelan, each night Ella May and her friends secretly listen outside the windows of their master’s house. They listen to learn their fates and those of the other slaves.

Judo, origami, sushi - with just a few words an immediate landscape is conjured: the country of Japan. In K is for Kabuki: A Japan Alphabet, young readers are invited to travel to faraway Japan and explore its rich history, traditions, and role in today''s world. Evocative artwork captures the spirit of each letter topic. O is for Origami A paper frog, a paper tree, a paper sunflower just for me, a paper fox, a paper shrew, a paper tiger just for you. From the comic relief of Kyogen theater to the meditative powers of a Zen garden, K is for Kabuki brings the past, present, and pageantry of Japan to life.To find recipes, games, interactives maps and much more for this title visit www.discovertheworldbooks.com! Gloria Whelan is the award-winning author of many children''s books including Homeless Bird, for which she received the National Book Award. She lives in Michigan. A librarian by profession, Jenny Nolan has worked for The New Yorker and Rolling Stone magazines and as a researcher for investigative reporters. She lives in Michigan. Oki S. Han''s book, Basho and the Fox, was a New York Times best-seller. Her books, Mr. Long Beard and My Hometown, both won the Korea Children''s Book Award. In 2005 Oki was selected as Illustrator of the Year at the Bologna Children''s Book Fair for My Hometown. She lives in Korea.

When a tire fire causes a punk rock band to take a detour to Starvation Lake, the fourth-grade students talk them into playing at the school fund raiser.

The community of Starvation Lake helps fourth-grader Dawn Zonder clean and repair an old house, hoping that her family will find the money to be able to move in.

When another girl is born to Chu Ju''s mother, it is quickly determined that the baby must be sent away. Chinese law states that a family may have only two children, and tradition dictates that every family should have a boy. Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju knows she cannot allow her sister to be sent to an orphanage and so she sets out in the middle of the night, vowing never to return.

"In Depression-era northern Michigan, a young boy meets a teenager serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps, the work relief program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to employ millions of young men during the Great Depression"--

A fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway''s sixteenth summer, during which love for his family, need for independence, and responsibility for decisions vie with each other, moving him from boyhood to manhood.

A collection of prize-winning short story entries for the Tuscany Prize for Catholic fiction.

It''s the year 1900, the dawn of a new century and a chance for a new beginning for Verna and Carlie, whose mother died two years ago. They are headed to their new home—the grounds of an asylum for the mentally ill. Their father, a doctor, has been hired to treat its patients while the girls are under the strict and watchful eye of their aunt Maude. The towering asylum, the murmuring patients with their tormented pasts, the exquisite locked garden at the center of the grounds—Verna perceives forbidden mystery and enchantment everywhere. Even Aunt Maude''s temper will not keep her from striking out on her own exciting adventures. But is Verna ready to confront all the secrets and emotions that have been locked within—even those of her own heart?

Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a name or word derived from some aspect of the country of Canada, and each term is presented in a rhyme and then further explained in a note.

In 1841 thirteen-year-old Libby and her family begin a new life on the shores of Lake Michigan where her father works as a surveyor for the Ottawa Indians and Libby is reunited with her Indian friend Fawn.

Times are hard in northern Michigan, and without a warm coat, Holly may not be able to start school. Will her Mama figure out a solution? National Book Award winner Whelan''s lyrical prose is accompanied by detailed paintings from Michigan artist van Frankenhuyzen. Illustrations.