by Michael Landon, Jr. and Cindy Kelley (2009)
The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty--for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone whose time isn't wrapped up in a silent, handicapped kid, Mary and little Luke are out on their own in a world that has no room for the poor and disabled. Especially not at a time when most Americans are simply trying to survive their economic woes and job losses.But then arrives The Gift...Where has it come from, and why? How can a young boy who can neither hear nor speak provide comfort, direction, and sometimes challenges to seekers who learn of the special ability? Whatever the source, its presence brings a single shaft of light and hope to Mary and her beloved Luke. Will it be enough?
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
A young girl and her out-of-work father ride the rails looking for a place to call home, but with Christmas approaching and no job, Poppa leaves her in a foster home, promising to return as soon as he can.
Lynn A. Coleman
Ida Mae McAuley wounder if her occupation and marital status will forever be defined by the same word - spinster. Cyrus Morgan has proposed more than once, but is her gratitude for his kindness since her kindness since her parents' tragic deaths reason enough to accept? Seven years ago Olin Orr's temper cost another man his life. Now an accomplished tinsmith, Olin returns to Charlotte to rent McAuley's vacant smithy, knowing he must also face the past. When the lovely Ida Mae begins receiving threats, demanding she get rid of her tenant, Olin fears coming home was a mistake. But in the perpetrator trying to get rid of Olin? Or is Ida Mae the real target?
Christina Nicholson
Abducted by a titled adventurer, she was sold to the Dey of Algiers for his carnal amusement. Ravished by her own husband, the sanctity of her marriage became still another kind of sin. Loved by a man she could not have, she crossed burning sands and years of shame to reach his heart.
Alan Armstrong
Newbery Honor--winning author Alan Armstrong's latest book!Eleven-year-old Mark's anthropologist father has disappeared in the Gobi desert while tracing Marco Polo's ancient route from Venice to China. His mother decides they must go to Venice to petition the agency that sent Mark's father to send out a search party. Anxious about his father and upset about spending Christmas away from home, Mark gets a bad asthma attack in the middle of the night. That's when Doc Hornaday, an old friend of Mark's father, makes a house call, along with a massive black Tibetan mastiff called Boss. To distract Mark from his wheezing and to pass the long Venetian night, the Doc starts to spin for Mark the tale of Marco Polo. Doc describes Marco's travels and the boy finds himself falling under the spell of the story that has transfixed the world for centuries. Marco's journey bolsters Mark's courage and whets his appetite for risk and adventure, and for exposure to life in all its immense and fascinating variety.From the Hardcover edition.