Best Selling Books by Rosemary Wells

DIVDIVDIVNothing—and no one—will stand in Kathy’s way of winning the tennis championship. After all winning is everything . . . or is it?/divDIV Kathy Bardy doesn’t have the good looks and ease of her best friend, Julia. She doesn’t have the grades of her little sister, Jody. What she has is tennis. Kathy’s coach even says she’s the most promising New England junior to come along in years. With tennis come trophies, free equipment, and tournament prize money—and all these things put Kathy on equal more footing with pretty and well-heeled Julia. /divDIVThen, out of nowhere, comes Ruth Gumm, an indifferent player Kathy should beat every time. But Kathy can’t beat her. She loses her cool and her nerves every time Ruth is on the other side of the net. And Ruth is supposed to play Kathy in the first round of an important tournament, one that could lead to enormous future success for young Kathy Bardy. /divDIVSuddenly, Ruth is found drowned in a swimming pool. Is Kathy connected to Ruth’s death? Was it just an accident, or had someone else stepped into the picture?/divDIV /divDIVThis chilling mystery was named a runner-up for the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and a School Library Journal choice for Best Book for Young Adults./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Rosemary Wells including rare images from the author’s collection./div/div/div

Based on a memoir written in the early twentieth century, tells the story of a young girl and her life in Russia, her travels to America, and her subsequent life in the United States.

From beloved author-illustrator Rosemary Wells comes a sweet and relatable picture book about how friends are so much better than things and what a wonderful feeling it is to share. Every night, Charles puts his favorite things to bed: his little doctor kit, his racing skates, his space man, his xylophone, his magic stars, his alligator, his Lionel Messi football, and his pecka-pecka chicken farm. One day, Charles takes his toys to the park, where he meets some other kids who wants to play with him…but can Charles learn to share his favorite things?

Celebrate the great milestone of kindergarten or preschool graduation in this bright and happy picture book featuring five graduates with big dreams—what will you grow up to be? Susannah wants to be a pilot, Akiko a doctor or nurse, Amanda a teacher, and Rafa a mechanic. They all had special talents when they were in kindergarten that sparked their dreams. This celebratory picture book will inspire readers to follow their own dreams, from kindergarten and beyond.

When picky eater Felix finds himself in a pickle, his best friend, Fiona, gently helps him widen his culinary horizons. Felix brings the same lunch to school every day: sprouts on buttered oat bread. He will also eat pasta with butter. And he loves macaroni and cheese. No need to try anything new. But on the night of his friend Fiona’s half-birthday celebration, Felix finds himself facing down an unfamiliar — and anxiety-provoking — menu. Will he leave the restaurant hungry, or can Fiona convince him to give new tastes a try? With singular compassion and humor, Rosemary Wells once again shows how the balm of friendship can help buffer a familiar moment of childhood angst.

Growing up on the Osage Indian reservation, Maria Tallchief was a gifted pianist and dancer. According to Osage tradition, women are not permitted to dance, but Maria''s parents recognized her gifts and allowed her to break the rule. Then when Maria reached the age of twelve, her father told her it was time to choose between her two loves. Maria chose ballet. It was a decision that would change not only the course of her life, but the face of classical ballet in America. The fascinating story of Maria Tallchief''s rise to become America''s prima ballerina will captivate young readers.

Stella is unnerved by a bullying group of weasels who say mean things about her humble home until her mother offers words of comfort and her father drives the trailer to a new location where kind friends are found.

In this 8x8 storybook, Ruby is cleaning up the backyard to attract robins—she’ll know it’s spring when she sees them! But Max keeps taking the leaves and branches that Ruby is trying to get rid of. Before long, robins appear near Max’s piles. Spring is here and thanks to Max, the birds have everything they need to build their nests!

In this storybook with glitter on the cover, Ruby''s having a birthday party. While all the girls play games, Max can''t stop thinking about presents. When Ruby finally opens her gifts, Max gets his chance to give Ruby an extra-special birthday surprise!

Beloved author-illustrator Rosemary Wells tells the story of a young cat who goes to bed worrying about what might happen on the first day of school—only to be pleasantly surprised in this engaging and reassuring picture book! On the night before kindergarten, Milo’s dreams are not happy ones and make him worry about all the ways things at school could go wrong. On the morning of the big day, he’s nervous and wants Mama and Daddy to come with him, but they aren’t allowed. How can Milo face kindergarten alone? But over the course of the day, Milo makes new friends and learns new things. Kindergarten turns out to be pretty great!

In a heart- and humor-filled adventure by On the Blue Comet author Rosemary Wells, a girl spends a summer caring for animals in the mid-century Southwest. Brokenhearted after her best friend leaves for the entire summer, Ivy rallies and finds herself something new and exciting to do: she hires herself out to look after people’s farm animals and pets while they’re away. So begins a summer of discovery and definition for tenderhearted but sensible Ivy, who must win over the stubborn pony Chestnut, take on the training of a puppy named Inca, and patiently court the trust of the magnificent but scarred racehorse, Andromeda. All this while tending to her own private hurts and hopes, and managing the hapless tagalong Billy Joe, who has a knack for trouble and accidents like nobody else. Celebrated writer Rosemary Wells delivers a compassionately observed and exquisitely distilled novel set in mid-century Nevada about a heroine with an exceptional gift, a heart of gold, and a budding dream for her future.

From beloved author-illustrator Rosemary Wells comes a brand-new Max & Ruby story about Max surprising Grandma and Ruby when he finds a way to read the instruction book when no one else can! When the mail carrier brings a big package from Uncle Gyorgy in Bulgaria to the house, Max turns to his Reading Is Fun book to help understand the instructions. But the book doesn’t help one bit. And Ruby is too busy. Grandma reserves a Bulgarian dictionary at the library, but the interlibrary loan will take weeks. It’s Max to the rescue in this clever and satisfying story. Max and Ruby have their own TV show on Nick Jr.!

Based on "Timothy goes to school" and other stories.

Brief rhyming text and colorful illustrations tell what happens when parents and children share twenty minutes a day reading.

Though Max''s sister offers him her stuffed animals, he cannot sleep without his red rubber elephant.

Fritz, a master at creating terrible messes, meets his match when his science project goes wrong and the Mess Fairy emerges.

“An eloquent account of the American immigrant experience.” —Booklist (starred review) “Deserves to become a modern classic.” —BookPage (starred review) “A resounding welcome to immigrants.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Based in part on a 100-year-old family journal, Rosemary Wells brings to life a story that the diary’s fragile pages tell. It’s the story of a wooden rocking chair handmade in about 1825 by her great-great-grandfather, an immigrant Jewish boy who made his way to America from Germany in the early 1800s. In 1807, Sam Siegbert is born in southern Germany. Sam’s favorite pastime is carpentry, much to his father’s displeasure. His mother says he has a gift from God in his hands. After moving to America, he builds a wooden chair with the word WILLKOMMEN on the back. The chair’s back panel was later marked with welcomes by four generations of the family in four different languages. After the family lost track of the old chair, the author created a new life for it among new owners from other corners of the world. All the families who loved the chair came to America, escaping religious conformity, natural disasters, tyrannies, war, and superstition. In its lifetime, the rocking chair, with its earliest word WILLKOMMEN, stood for openness, hospitality, and acceptance to all who owned it or rocked safely in its embrace.

Charles is a mouse of few words. He doesn’t like to talk, and he’s perfectly happy playing by himself. But his parents are not happy. “It’s time he played football or joined the ballet,” says Charles’s father. So off Charles goes to ballet class, where he curls up and pretends to be asleep. Football proves even less successful. Will anything bring Charles out of his shell? “A nicely told fable as helpful for their parents as for shy children in need of respect.” —The New York Times Book Review “Wells has a time-tested talent for taking a keenly felt emotion—in this case shyness—and exploring it in a manner that is reassuring to young listeners.” —Booklist

A child praises God for the beauty of nature.