Best Selling Books by Johanna Hurwitz

Finally...first grade! Elisa is finally in a grade with a number -- just like her big brother, Russell. Elisa is old enough to take piano lessons, lose a tooth, or make a special Mother's Day breakfast. Sometimes Russell treats her like a baby, but Elisa is making big plans! Elisa is finally in a grade with a number -- just like her big brother, Russell. Elisa is old enough to take piano lessons, lose a tooth, and make a special Mother's Day breakfast. Sometimes Russell treats her like a baby, but Elisa has big plans!

Four-year-old Elisa gets her picture taken, starts learning to read, breaks her arm, and experiences other exciting aspects of growing up.

Cricket is looking forward to fourth grade. She is sure she will be the teacher's pet again. But Cricket is no longer the smartest student in class--not since Zoe Mitchell moved to town. Zoe wants to be friends, but can Cricket make friends with the competition?

Increasingly aware of the differences between her family, who are nonobservant Jews, and their Catholic neighbors, 10-year-old Gerry Flam begins to investigate her heritage.

Seven-year-old Russell and his three-year-old sister Elisa have adventures with friends and family in their New York City apartment building. Another entry in the popular Riverside Kids series.

From July 1942 until August 1944, a young girl named Anne Frank kept a diary. Keeping a diary isn't unusual. Lots of girls do. But Anne's diary was unique. It chronicled the two years she and her family spent hiding from the Germans who were determined to annihilate all the Jews in Europe. In this sensitive and thoughtful introduction to the Holocaust and to the life of one of its best known victims, acclaimed author Johanna Hurwitz deftly evokes the background of World War II while capturing the unforgettable spirit and tragedy of Anne's life. From July 1942 until August 1944, a young girl named Anne Frank kept a diary. Keeping a diary isn't unusual. Lots of girls do. But Anne's diary was unique. It chronicled the two years she and her family spent hiding from the Germans who were determined to annihilate all the Jews in Europe. In this sensitive and thoughtful introduction to the Holocaust and to the life of one of its best known victims, acclaimed author Johanna Hurwitz deftly evokes the background of World War II while capturing the unforgettable spirit and tragedy of Anne's life.

After spending a Fresh Air Fund vacation discovering a new world on a Vermont farm, Dossi thought that returning home to the bustling New York of 1910 would be simple. Little did she know that, even in. a familiar place, there are new things to experience.

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.

Moving to a new town, the birth of a sister, and the death of her rabbi father make 1923 a bittersweet year for eleven-year-old Carrie Levin. Based on the real-life story of author Johanna Hurwitz's mother.

Ali Baba is back as a fourth grader, still having adventures that only he could have. Who but Ali Baba could find the "real" Santa Claus? Or who could make such an incredible mess simply by staying at home alone for the first time?

Monty tries to master a magic kit -- and finds some real-life situations tricky -- in this spot-on story about an endearing, utterly relatable first-grader.

A year after her father has left home for good, fifth-grader DeDe helps her mother cope with the realities of life after divorce.

Chronicles the life of the Swedish storyteller, discussing her unplanned development as an author and the creation of her beloved carrot-topped heroine, Pippi Longstocking.

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

As a composer, conductor, pianist and teacher, Leonard Bernstein managed to fit four lives into one. A nine-time Emmy winner, he composed both serious and popular music, including the well-known Broadway and movie hits, West Side Story and On the Town. C

Now that Elisa's in second grade, she's taking charge of whatever comes her way — from a baby-sitter who doesn't know how to change a diaper to an airplane trip without her parents. Of course, it's not easy taking charge when your big brother thinks you're too little and your little brother runs amok! But Elisa is determined to make everything work out in the end. And what better way to celebrate being seven and a half than a day of eating nothing but chocolate. Chocolate cookies, chocolate milk, chocolate bars . . . chocolate and more chocolate, from morning to night. With these delicious new episodes from the whirlwind life of Elisa Michaels, Johanna Hurwitz entertains us once again with a vivid portrayal of family life as seen from four feet tall.

Nine-year-old Aldo discovers the pleasures of doing volunteer work to help the older citizens of the community and the satisfactions of earning his first money on his own for unselfish reasons.

At fifteen, Emma Meade is old enough for just about anything. Old enough to leave school, old enough to help around the farm, and old enough to notice when handsome Cole Berry takes an interest in her.

Thirteen-year-old Karen Sossi encounters bad luck when she ignores her schoolwork for cooking and baby-sitting.

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.