New Releases by Patricia Lee Gauch

I am the river. Blue and green, fast and flowing, sweeping river grasses aside . . . moving between Lake Erie and Detroit. The Detroit River has long had a story to tell. It has seen a time before people. And it has seen many faces cross its waters, from Indigenous people guiding canoes to settlers on its banks and freedom seekers riding the underground railroad north toward liberty, with Bob-Lo Island at the river’s end, so close to Canada. At one time, a giant steamboat carried hundreds of excited children and adults to the amusement park that was built on Bob-Lo. But Sarah E. Ray discovered in 1945 that not all people were invited on this boat, to this island, once a symbol of the journey to freedom. It depended, she discovered, on the color of your skin. This is the dramatic story of how one young woman’s courage could create a dramatic turning point that would stand out proudly, and forevermore, in the history of a river older than the country called America.

Joseph called himself Little Donkey -- such a clumsy, foolish fellow, or so everyone thought. That is perhaps why people did not notice what happened whenever Joseph was overjoyed. He did not merely smile or squeeze his sides or rub his hands together. Joseph flew.

A creative young girl breathes new life into a cardboard box in this “gleeful little story of imaginative play” for fans of Harriet the Spy and Harold and the Purple Crayon (School Library Journal) The day the refrigerator arrives in its large brown carton, Christina Katerina and her mother are both excited, but for very different reasons. Christina quickly claims the box, where she creates a castle, a clubhouse, and other fantastic playthings with her sometimes-friend and neighbor, Fats Watson. Together, they embark on countless hours of adventure, swearing their undying friendship—and waging furious battles, too! “One of the classic characters of children’s literature,” the spunky and playful Christina Katerina has inspired young readers to embrace their creativity since 1971 (Kirkus Reviews). A staple in classrooms and libraries, this classic children’s book is a timeless ode to the power of a child’s imagination—and to the beauty that can be found in even the most ordinary of objects.

Elizabeth Amelia, a knitted wool woman, marries and begins to knit children from strands of herself until she almost disappears.

Everyone knows Tempe Wick is a most surprising girl, but she exceeds even her own reputation when two mutinous Revolutionary soldiers try to steal her beloved horse.

Poppy creates magical puppets whose personalities are determined by what Poppy ''hears'' in the wood before he carves it. When he takes his puppets on the road, their show becomes famous throughout the land. But one day Poppy impatiently shapes a ballerina puppet, Clarinda, from a piece of wood without listening carefully to the wood''s message. Clarinda will not perform--and almost ruins the show--until Poppy discovers her secret wish.

When she has trouble mastering her dance steps in the part of the Ugly Duckling for the spring ballet recital, Tanya is discouraged and fears that she has much in common with the character.

When Tanya, the smallest and wiggliest girl in her ballet class, makes friends with a talented newcomer, they both learn something.

Problems between best friends cause trouble for the whole neighborhood, but fortunately they don''t happen very often.

Tanya aime tellement la danse que maman décide de l''envoyer au cours de danse. Mais là, tout est différent.

In this fictional, but historically accurate account of a young girl''s involvement in the Battle of Gettysburg, Tillie Pierce Alleman tells of her experiences helping wounded soldiers. A Child Study Children''s Book Committee: Children''s Book of the Year.

When 14-year-old Kate''s dog bites a friend of the family she knows she must make a decision about the dog''s future.

A private school English teacher divides his class into two competing teams, equips each with a map and five dollars, and sends them off on a two-hundred-mile bicycle journey to Washington, D.C.

Seven men who don''t like to walk borrow an old mare to ride to the Widecombe fair.

A retelling of the German legend in which the children of medieval Dinkelsbuhl confront the leader of the Swedish soldiers plundering their town.

A boy and his grandfather share leisurely, pleasant experiences during summertime at the lake.

Christina finds many uses for the large box that housed the new refrigerator.

A little girl describes the house she would like to live in with her family--a house that grows and expands with her imagination.