Most Popular Books by Marguerite De Angeli

WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL • A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME • An uplifting story of resilience set in medieval times about a boy who learns to overcome obstacles and ultimately save the castle. This historical fiction novel is a classic for all ages! “An enthralling and inspiring tale of triumph.” —The New York Times Ever since he can remember, Robin, child of Sir John de Bureford, has been told what is expected of him as the son of a nobleman. He must learn the ways of knighthood. But Robin’s destiny is changed suddenly when he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. Fearing a plague, his servants abandon him, and Robin is left alone. A monk named Brother Luke rescues Robin and takes him to the hospice of St. Mark’s, where he is taught woodcarving and patience and strength. Says Brother Luke, “Thou hast only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it.” Robin learns soon enough what Brother Luke means. When the great castle of Lindsay is in danger, Robin discovers that there is more than one way to serve his king.

"''My earliest memory is of morning stillness, the sun creeping through a little alcove touching the edge of a barrel-top and shining on boxes that stood about the room as if we had just moved in. It must have been Sunday, though I wouldn''t have known that any more than I would have known that the exciting colored chalks in their neat box were called pastels. I only knew that they were enticing and that I yielded to the temptation to try them.'' So begins the story of one of the pioneers of American children''s book publishing. Marguerite Lofft de Angeli was born on March 14, 1889 in Lapeer, a small town in northern Michigan which she introduced to children in Copper-toed Boots. When she was thirteen, her family moved to Philadelphia, and the history of that city and the colorful customs of the surrounding countryside were later used as background material for several of her books. Although she had studied to become a concert contralto, she gave up that career when John de Angeli persuaded her to marry him and raise a family instead. While her children were young, Mrs. de Angeli began to take drawing lessons and in 1935 her first children''s book, Ted and Nina Go to the Grocery Store, was published. This first book was based on the activities of two of her five children. As the years passed and her family increased to include thirteen grandchildren and one great grandchild, they in turn have served as models for such de Angeli books as Just Like David. The awards Mrs. de Angeli has received are many. In 1946 Bright April was named an Honor Book in the New York Herald Tribune''s book awards. In 1950, The Door in the Wall received the Newbery Medal and in 1961 it won a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. And the qualities that Mrs. de Angeli has been honored for are the same ones that infuse this book--honesty, curiosity, humor, an underlying sense of values, and above all genuine warmth. Everyone who has a concern for children''s literature will delight in reading this lively account of a life full of interesting events and people, and in learning of the particular places and personalities that inspired Mrs. de Angeli''s many popular books."--Dust jacket.

A young African-American girl with a bright personality named April who lives in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, experiences racial prejudice.

A curious Amish boy who lives on a Pennsylvania Dutch farm shares a wonderful secret with his father.

A little boy, who wants most of all to own a pair of copper-toed boots and a dog, works hard to earn his boots and finds a dog too.

An Amish girl living with her family on their farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, tries to finish her hooked rug so that she may take her first trip to market with Father.

A young boy travels with his father, a railroad engineer, on the first train between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

"...story of Jared, English lad shipwrecked on the Jersey coast, in 1760, and of his life with young Quaker Abner and his wife. Small boy adventures, with Indians and treasure hunts..."--Kirkus Reviews.

Mother sends Ted and Nina to the grocery store.

Jan and Brus, twin sons of Norseman, Harald Redbeard go a-Viking with their father. They are shipwrecked on the Scottish coast and meet Gavin, the Black Fox of Lorne. In their search for their mother and for their father''s muderer they journey through the wilds of tenth century Scotland.

Nine-year-old Hannah, a Quaker living in Philadelphia just before the Civil War, longs to have some fashionable dresses like other girls but comes to appreciate her heritage and its plain dressing when her family saves the life of a runaway slave.

"A Mennonite boy, mischief-maker in the schoolroom, proves to his parents he is a responsible lad and earns a trip to the German town and a school prize from his teacher." --

Jeffry and David and their family drive from Pennsylvania to a new home in Ohio where Jeffrey, almost six, achieves his ambition to be just like his older brother.