Most Popular Books by Karen Hesse

Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse recreates the body and soul-renewing experience of a summer downpour after a sweltering city heat wave. "Come on, rain!" Tess pleads to the sky as listless vines and parched plants droop in the endless heat. Up and down the block, cats pant while heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway. More than anything, Tess hopes for rain. And when it comes, she and her friends are ready for a surprising and joyous celebration....Through exquisite language and acute observation, Newberry medalist Karen Hesse recreates the glorious experience of a quenching rainstorm on a sweltering summer day. Jon J Muth''s masterful and lyrical watercolors perfectly reflect the spirit of the text.

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family''s wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse emerses readers in a small Vermont town in 1924 with this haunting and harrowing tale. Leanora Sutter. Esther Hirsh. Merlin Van Tornhout. Johnny Reeves . . .These characters are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year-old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish.In this story of a community on the brink of disaster, told through the haunting and impassioned voices of its inhabitants, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who bear witness.

Acclaimed author Karen Hesse''s Newbery Medal-winning novel-in-verse explores the life of fourteen-year-old Billie Jo growing up in the dust bowls of Oklahoma. Out of the Dust joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!"Dust piles up like snow across the prairie. . . ."A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo''s life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can''t talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better -- playing the piano -- is impossible with her wounded hands.To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma -- and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.

The story of Hanukkah is the story of triumph of light over darkness, of the small miracles that give hope to an entire people. In a series of eight powerful and evocative free-verse poems, award-winning author Karen Hesse captures the resilient spirit of the Jewish people through the voices of eight children at Hanukkah. The children-from Tamara in 12th-century England and Jeremie in 13th-century France to Havva in 17th-century Turkey and Ori in 20th-century Israel-have all experienced loss and hardship. But they are united by love, family, and their cherished stone lamp. The stone lamp provides each with comfort and hope, for every time its wicks are lit, the endurance of the Jewish people is re-illumined.

Tate is overjoyed when a scrawny mutt turns up in the yard one day. She even persuades Mam and Pap to let her keep Sable, named for her dark, silky fur. But before long, the incorrigible dog begins to cause trouble with the neighbors. Will Sable have to go?

Nyle''s life with her grandmother on their Vermont sheep farm advances rhythmically through the seasons until the night of the accident at the Cookshire nuclear power plant. Without warning, Nyle''s modest world fills with protective masks, evacuations, contaminated food, disruptions, and mistrust. Nyle adjusts to the changes. As long as the fallout continues blowing to the East, Nyle, Gran, and the farm can go on. But into this uncertain haven stumble Ezra Trent and his mother, "refugees" from the heart of the accident, who take temporary shelter in the back bedroom of Nyle''s house. The back bedroom is the dying room: It took her mother when Nyle was six; it stole away her grandfather just two years ago. Now Ezra is back there and Nyle doesn''t want to open her heart to him. Too many times she''s let people in, only to have them desert her. Karen Hesse''s voice and vision are grounded in truth; she takes on a nearly unharnessable subject, contains it, and makes it resonate with honesty. Part love story, part coming of age, Phoenix Rising is a tour de force by a gifted writer.

A fictionalized journal relates the experiences of a young stowaway from 1768 to 1771 aboard the Endeavor which sailed around the world under Captain James Cook.

Vera, a young Aleut girl who lives with an elderly couple on a larger island so that she can attend school, returns home for the summer of 1942 to visit her mother and friends. But when the Japanese launch an air attack on the Aleutian Islands, the U.S. government reacts by " evacuating" most of the Aleut population. Vera and her village are forced to leave their small island of Kashega and spend the rest of the war in internment camps, facing sickness, suffer, and death.

Mags has a lot to wish for, but can a stuffed unicorn really make her wishes come true?

From Newbery media winner Karen Hesse comes an unforgettable story of an immigrant family''s journey to America. "America," the girl repeated. "What will you do there?" I was silent for a little time. "I will do everything there," I answered. Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind. Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea, detainment on Ellis Island--and is if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair. Based on a true story from the author''s family, Letters from Rifka presents a real-life heroine with an uncommon courage and unsinkable spirit.

Even though she''s outgrown other babyish things, a young girl finds she still needs to suck her thumb.

In 1918, war separates Hannah Gold and her younger sisters from their parents. The girls stay with their Tanta Rose in the West End of Boston while the await the return of their Mother and Father and the beloved family life they once knew. When a deadly influenza epidemic strikes, Hannah and her aunt struggle to keep illness at bay. But evertually, like so many others, Tanta Rose and younger girls succumb to the virus. Hannah flees Boston to seek refuge with a relative but falls ill on the train. As the fever intensifies strange voices and faces surround Hannah, most remarkably a girl with violet eyes who seems to always turn up at the right moment in the most unexpected place. Through every devestating turn, Hannah continues to hold out hope of being reunited with her family. Will she realize her dreams?

Codie loves to spend time with her favorite aunt, Alix. Her aunt is a talented seamstress, and Codie knows that the perfect gift for Alix''s new baby is a handmade blanket. Codie wants to have the blanket done before the baby is born. Suddenly, the baby is coming early. Will Codie be able to finish the blanket in time?

A girl raised by dolphins must choose between two worlds in this critically acclaimed novel about what it means to be a human being.

Realizing that her father''s lack of work has endangered her family, nine-year-old Juice decides that she must return to school and learn to read in order to help their chances of surviving and keeping their house.

Radley''s parents had warned her that all hell would break loose if the American People''s Party took power. And now, with the president assassinated and the government cracking down on citizens, the news is filled with images of vigilante groups, frenzied looting, and police raids. It seems as if all hell has broken loose. Coming back from volunteering abroad, Radley just wants to get home to Vermont, and the comfort and safety of her parents. Travel restrictions and delays are worse than ever, and by the time Radley''s plane lands in New Hampshire, she''s been traveling for over twenty-four hours. Exhausted, she heads outside to find her parents—who always come, day or night, no matter when or where she lands—aren''t there. Her cell phone is dead, her credit cards are worthless, and she doesn''t have the proper travel papers to cross state lines. Out of money and options, Radley starts walking. . . . Illustrated with 50 of her own haunting and beautiful photographs, this is a vision of a future America that only Karen Hesse could write: real, gripping, and deeply personal.

A loving grandmother and her grandchild enjoy an adventure by the sea and stop to have tea.

The cats in Krasinski Square once belonged to someone… and so did a young girl, whose family has been destroyed by war. Even as she and her sister struggle to survive amid the war''s chaos, they risk their lives for a plan to help those still trapped behind Warsaw''s infamous Ghetto walls. Newbery Medallist Karen Hesse has written a beautiful story about the courage of brave young women and men who, at great risk, fought not with weapons, but with their hearts and souls. Wendy Watson''s luminous paintings inspire a visual journey to a time and place that should never be forgotten.

Sick with influenza during the 1918 epidemic and separated from her two sisters, a young Jewish girl living in Boston relies on the help of an old German man, and her visions of angels, to get better and to reunite herself with her family. An IRA Young Adults'' Choice for 1997.

Karen Hesse has achieved many honors for her more than twenty books over the course of her award-winning career: the Newbery Medal, the Scott O''Dell Historical Fiction Award, the MacArthur Fellowship "Genius" Award, and the Christopher Medal. Her novels burn with intensity, and keenly felt, deeply researched, and are memorable for their imagination and intelligence. So it is with great pride and excitement that we present Karen Hesse''s first novel in over five years: Brooklyn Bridge. It''s the summer of 1903 in Brooklyn and all fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom wants is to experience the thrill, the grandeur, and the electricity of the new amusement park at Coney Island. But that doesn''t seem likely. Ever since his parents—Russian immigrants—invented the stuffed Teddy Bear five months ago, Joseph''s life has turned upside down. No longer do the Michtom''s gather family and friends around the kitchen table to talk. No longer is Joseph at leisure to play stickball with the guys. Now, Joseph works. And complains. And falls in love. And argues with Mama and Papa. And falls out of love. And hopes. Joseph hopes he''ll see Coney Island soon. He hopes that everything will turn right-side up again. He hopes his luck hasn''t run out—because you never know. Through all the warmth, the sadness, the frustration, and the laughter of one big, colorful family, Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse builds a stunning story of the lucky, the unlucky, and those in between, and reminds us that our lives—all our lives—are fragile, precious, and connected. Brooklyn Bridge is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children''s Book of the Year.

These critically acclaimed, bestselling Newbery Winner and Honor books that highlight inner strength and perseverance are now available in this convenient eBook collection! The young protagonists in each of these stories are confronted by varying conflicts, which can only be overcome by their inner will and tenacity. These are stories of family, friendship, and hope.In RULES, all Catherine wants is a "normal" life, and having a brother with autism makes that seem nearly impossible.Summer is sad when her aunt May dies in MISSING MAY. But when a boy from school tells Summer that it''s possible to reconnect with her aunt, they go on an adventure.OUT OF THE DUST is written in verse and tells the story of Billie Jo''s struggle to survive in the Oklahoma dust bowl years during the Great Depression.Hattie''s world is turned upside down in A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE when her uncle returns after being institutionalized for schizopphrenia and autism.

Newbery Medal winner Karen Hesse''s Civil War diary, A LIGHT IN THE STORM, is now back in print with a beautiful new cover!In 1861, Amelia Martin''s father is stripped of his post as a ship''s captain when he is caught harboring the leader of a slave rebellion. Now he is an assistant lighthouse keeper on Fenwick Island, off the coast of Delaware -- a state wedged between the North and the South, just as Amelia is wedged between her warring parents. Amelia''s mother blames her abolitionist husband for their living conditions, which she claims are taking a toll on her health. Amelia observes her mother''s hate and her father''s admiration for Abraham Lincoln. But slavery is the deeper issue separating the two sides. As the Civil War rages on, Amelia slowly learns that she cannot stop the fighting, but by keeping watch in the lighthouse each day, lighting the lamps, cleaning the glass, and rescuing victims of Atlantic storms, she can still make a difference.

On her first summer visit to her grandmother since her grandfather''s death, Leah is saddened by his absence, but Gramm helps her learn how to remember Poppy with joy. Reprint.

In a series of eight powerful and evocative free-verse poems, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse captures this resilient spirit of the Jewish people over hardship and horror, through the voices of eight children at Hanukkah. Full color.

In 1860 and 1861, while working in her father''s lighthouse on an island off the coast of Delaware, fifteen-year-old Amelia records in her diary how the Civil War is beginning to devastate her divided state.