New Releases by Karen Ackerman

A charmingly nostalgic tale about movie madness and visions of fame.

A beautifully nostalgic picture book about one grandfather's younger days that shows you're only as old as you feel! "In this affectionate story, three children follow their grandfather up to the attic, where he pulls out his old bowler hat, gold-tipped cane, and his tap shoes. Grandpa once danced on the vaudeville stage, and as he glides across the floor, the children can see what it was like to be a song and dance man. Gammell captures all the story's inherent joie de vivre with color pencil renderings that leap off the pages. Bespectacled, enthusiastic Grandpa clearly exudes the message that you're only as old as you feel, but the children respond--as will readers--to the nostalgia of the moment. Utterly original."--(starred) Booklist.

In gentle prose and warm, appealing pictures the author and the illustrator present a story that is a familiar one in many families. Mom leaves for work just as Rachel and her younger brother, Josh, are helping their grandmother set the table for dinner. Sometimes, Rachel hears Mom come home. She wakes Josh and they go downstairs to share quiet time. Full color.

When her family moves to California in 1847, Araminta and her paint box become separated, but through a series of new owners, the box finds it way across the country and back to its owner. The paint box changes hands as it travels across the U.S.--from a Dutch farmer to a gambler, from a young bride to a Mormon family--taking readers on a journey across the newly settled country. Full color.

For fans of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes a heartstopping tale of resilience for one young girl during World War II. It's hard to leave your home and friends, but the Nazis have invaded Clara's native Austria, and her family is no longer safe. Clara and her family take only what they can carry and travel by night to the Swiss border, where they hope to escape to freedom, even while soldiers are everywhere. Can Clara's heroism carry her family across the border, with their lives and few precious possessions intact?

A rainstorm sends a family from their long-awaited first house, with all of its leaks, onto the sleeping porch to enjoy the pleasures of the summer night.

The story of a young boy who cannot resist the lure of a carnival when it visits his small midwestern town.

A young girl and her brother stay with their grandmother while their mother works at night.

What will life be like in a shelter for the homeless? That's what Livvy wonders after her father, "Poppy," loses his job and her mother leaves them. While their father looks for work, Livvy and her little brother, Younger, get to know the people in the shelter. Some are scary, while some are friendly. Before long Livvy finds a way to earn money to help Poppy buy a home. She can't stop believing in Poppy's promise "When the leaves in October are red and gold, we'll be home." Then one day Poppy has good news and bad news. Will Livvy have to give up her dreams of living together as a family?

Clara Belle shares her memories of her life with a young girl as they enjoy a walk together.

A child describes a place where all the rooms have warmth, comfort, and love, and it turns out to be home.

Henry, Will, and Charley learn to do things around the house when Mama considers retiring from housework and becoming a wartime riveter.

Transfixed by the sight of a marvelous doll in a shop window, Isobel and Mimi dare to hope that their parents will buy it for them.

At night the Banshee comes to a village in search of a lonely soul to keep her company.

Commander Ahab Flannery is once again setting out to sea but not before he says goodbye to his twenty-six alphabetically arranged children.