by Lensey Namioka (2003)
FIONA CHENG IS half and half: Her father is Chinese and her mother is Scottish. Fiona looks more like her father than her mother, so people always expect her to be more interested in her Chinese half than her Scottish half. Lately even Fiona's confused about who she really is."A realistic, gentle and funny tale."--Detroit News & Free Press"Readers will identify with Fiona's struggle to fit in."--Publishers WeeklyFrom the Hardcover edition.
Helen Cresswell
Upon returning from a vacation, the members of the eccentric Bagthorpe family find chaos as a tramp takes over their house, their maid disappears, and the demonic Cousin Daisy arrives with her pet goat.
Mildred D. Taylor
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence. It is a story of physical survival, but more important, it is a story of the survival of the human spirit. And, too, it is Cassie's story -- Cassie Logan, an independent girl raised by a family for whom independence is primary, a family determined not to relinquish their humanity simply because they are Black. Cassie has grown up protected, grown up strong, and so far grown up unaware that any white person could force her to be untrue to herself, could consider her inferior and treat her accordingly. It took the events of one turbulent year -- the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliated Cassie in public simply because she was Black -- to show Cassie why the land meant so much, why having a place of their own where they answered to no one permitted the Logans the luxuries of pride and courage their sharecropper neighbors couldn't afford and their white neighbors couldn't allow. Richly characterized, powerfully told, Mildred Taylor's novel is unforgettable. The Logans' story is at times warm and humorous, at times terrifying. It is a story of courage and love and pride, the story of one family's passionate determination not to be beaten down. -- Back cover. This is a moving story -- one you will not easily forget -- about growing up in the deep south.
Morris Gleitzman
Angus dreams of being bold, brave, wild and free. Like the pirate in the stories he tells his younger brother and sister. Instead Angus is just plain tired from changing nappies and wiping food off walls. His Mum calls him Mr Dependable, but Angus can barely cope. Another baby would be a disaster. So Angus comes up with a plan to stop his Mum getting pregnant. That's when he meets Rindi, and Angus thought he had problems! Suggested level: primary, intermediate, junior secondary.
Linda Urban
Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life.