Best Selling Books by Johanna Hurwitz

All Curtis wants is a dog. At the animal shelter, Curtis falls in love with Sammy, a friendly puppy with curly black fur, floppy ears, a wagging tail, and perfect white teeth. He's the best dog in the whole world. At home, things are different-Sammy steals food and chews sneakers and toys-but Curtis loves him anyway. Then Sammy bites Curtis's mom, and Curtis has to face the fact that Sammy's not perfect after all. Will Curtis have to give Sammy up? Or will he do whatever it takes to keep his dog?

When he and his family move to the suburbs, Aldo has difficulty finding new friends.

When his owner's parents let him go in Central Park, a young guinea pig learns to survive in the natural world with the help of a "park-wise" squirrel while trying to find his way back home.

Yard sales, ice-skating, and surprise parties are just a few of the things that make fourth grade fun. But Julio and his friends know it’s time to get serious when the class begins preparing for the big statewide test at the end of the year. Just thinking about it is enough to give anybody a stomachache! Julio and his best friend, Lucas, are going to try every superstition in the book to make sure they pass. They’ll wear their underwear inside out, use brand-new pencils, and even—gulp—study. But when test day comes, Julio finds out there are some surprises no one can prepare for! Whether one has read about Julio and Lucas and their other classmates before in class clown and class president or this is the first meeting, here is a story that will strike a familiar chord. With the warmth and realism she is known for, beloved author Johanna Hurwitz brings us the hardships and humor of Julio Sanchez’s fourth-grade year.

"Once again Hurwitz exhibits her talent for creating characters who talk, act, and think just like real kids. Realistic dialogue . . . and commonplace situations that sparkle with humor combine to make this a fine choice".--School Library Journal. Illustrated. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

When a childhood illness leaves her blind and deaf, Helen Keller's life seems hopeless indeed. But her indomitable will and the help of a devoted teacher empower Helen to triumph over incredible adversity. This amazing true story is finally brought to the beginner reader level.  

Nora loves making new friends--but there aren''t many kids to play with in her New York apartment building. Apart from her little brother, Teddy, there''s only four-year-old Russell. The three of them have lots of fun--but what would happen if there were more kids around? More fun, that''s what!

Russell''s enjoying his first year in school. The trouble is his baby sister, Elisa. She''s only a few months old, and she''s a pest! But sometimes, as Russell is about to discover, it''s not so bad to have a little sister. Because that also means he''s something special: a big brother!

Maggie is dreading the new school year until she meets Scout, her science teacher's new guide dog. She soon discovers that her teacher, Mr. Carlson, isn't really used to letting Scout guide and protect him. So Maggie helps them adjust to each other as she learns to adjust to middle school. But just when the teacher and his guide dog seem to be working well together, they get hit by a car and Dr. Mac has to perform emergency surgery on Scout.

When Adam''s mother promises a surprise, he is sure it will be the mountain bike he''s been pining for. The arrival of a llama-with the news that Mrs. Fine will start a trekking business from their Vermont home-comes as a bit of a blow.

A traumatic event in the lives of seventeen-year-old Stephen and his fourteen-year-old sister helps them to understand and accept themselves and each other.

When Cricket Kaufman breaks her ankle just before her spring-break vacation trip to Washington, D.C., she''s stuck at home with prankster Lucas Cott instead of sightseeing with her best friend, Zoe. But when Cricket stirs up some mischief of her own, she learns that good friends can remain true even at the most unexpected times. Another winning installment in the ''Class Clown'' series.

A prominent children''s books author shares her life, her daily activities, and her creative process, showing how all are intertwined.

When Rory and Derek go to their best friend Bolivia''s house for spring break, everyone gets sick, and the vacation does not turn out quite as they had planned it. Reprint.

A simple story about a young boy when he is sick.

Two inseparable ten-year-old boys discover there is room in their friendship for another person and it really doesn''t matter that she is a girl.

What do you do when you think your best friend is a liar and a thief? "In this engaging sequel to The Hot & Cold Summer, Hurwitz again demonstrates what makes her books so popular....The dialogue is natural, the humor unforced and the fifth-grade perspective controlled and right on target."--Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books.

Excited about the prospects of playing practical jokes on the non-English-speaking French girl who will be spending the summer in his house, Lucas gathers his friends together for the fun.

A young girl receives a pair of beautiful red shoes from Tia Rosita and finds different uses for them until she grows enough for them to fit.

For use in schools and libraries only. Can Lexi, the street-smart squirrel and his friend PeeWee, a well-read guinea pig, make a difference in the life of a man living hungry and friendless in Central Park?

Fifteen-year-old Elaine suddenly finds her life very interesting, as her family deals with the death of a cat, her little brother gets five dogs for his birthday, and she begins a promising romance.

Five-year-old Elisa has an older brother and a new baby brother, but her elderly neighbor says the middle is the best, just like the filling in a sandwich.

Arlene and Ilene love so many things about being identical twins. They like sharing a room, sharing friends, and wearing matching outfits. But they re in different classes at school, and one twin has a scar that the other one doesn t. One morning, their friends Monty and Joey point out a new difference that takes the sisters by surprise and gets them thinking: if they are identical twins, why are there differences between them at all?

Second-graders Arlene and Ilene Kelly are twins, identical twins to be exact, and they love being a pair. They love to dress alike, they have identical pet ferrets, and they do everything together. But being a twin is not always easy. And when Arlene gets sick and has to visit the hospital, the twins each find out what it's like to be one instead of two. But whether they're together or apart, Arlene and Ilene know they're lucky to have each other. Second-graders Arlene and Ilene Kelly are twins and they love being a pair. At Halloween, on different streets in identical witch costumes, some neighbors think that the girls are one person trying to get extra candy.

First-grader Monty Morris includes his new baby sister in a school project, gives his mother a surprising gift, gets a little more than he can handle with his friend Joey's dogs, and learns that sometimes a day filled with excitement is not the best thing.

First-grader Montgomery Gerald Morris enjoys an exciting year as his class acquires a pair of parakeets as pets, he loses his first tooth, and he becomes a big brother.

In early twentieth-century Vermont, sixteen-year-old Emma confides in her diary both her hopes of becoming a farmer's wife one day and her frustrations with her parents' belief that she is too young to be courted by the handsome Cole Berry.

A yard sale, ice skating, class pictures, and a surprise party are a few of the things that make fourth grade fun for Julio and his friends, but they must get serious about studying as the statewide end-of-year test approaches.

In her letters to a Vermont friend, eighth grader Dossi, a Russian, Jewish immigrant living in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1910, shares her thoughts about her new brother-in-law, the diphtheria epidemic, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.