Two sisters take care of themselves when their mother decides to become an actress When their stage-struck mother joins a summer theater group and leaves home for a few weeks, Jenny and Mary convince their dad that they can take care of themselves. Surprisingly, things are actually working out al...
It’s up to Isabelle, Guy, and Herbie to show Little “Norphan” Frannie why reading is so much fun Meet Frannie, a “norphan.” It’s what Frannie says you call a kid who lost her daddy and then her mommy (when mom left to go find a new dad). Frannie is staying with her “aunt,” a waitress at the local...
Eleven-year-old Fex O'Toole's inability to resist a double dare gets him into a lot of trouble.
Anxious to change his "goody-goody" image, eight-year-old Guy is delighted when Isabelle the Itch offers to teach him the art of being a funny pest; her lessons end up teaching them both what being a tough guy really means.
It’s been three years since their mother died, and thirteen-year-old Nora and her twelve-year-old sister, Patsy, still miss her and are not prepared for their father’s plans to remarry. Because of the many changes in her life, Nora has some strange experiences: She hears her dead mother’s laughte...
A thirteen-year-old girl lives through the very special frustrations that come with the realization that real life doesn't measure up to the ideal.
When she takes over her brother's paper route, Isabelle finds an outlet for her excess energy and a way to make friends out of enemies.
Schuyler Sweet is anything but. Schuyler Sweet’s parents have recently divorced after a fifteen-year marriage, and Schuyler has no intention of living up to her name. Angry and confused, she feels like no one understands her. Then she meets an eccentric new neighbor named Nell. With her green na...
From the dust jacket flap: The adult fiction debut of the award-winning writer whose warmth and insight have won her "Alexandra series legions of fans. In this funny and uplifting novel, Constance C. Greene brings home the full meaning of family. With compassion and humor, she introduces John, ...
That was it. Olive was always joking and kidding around. In a minute she’d stop crying. Dotty looked at the floor. I shouldn’t have come, she thought. It was a mistake. Her stomach felt hollow. She had thought it would be so grand, such a treat when they got together again. She had thought that w...
Ridiculous. He was almost eleven. What did they think he was, an infant? Charlie thought he was a rat. He thumped around on his mattress for a while, digging the heels of his shoes deep into it, then he put his feet deliberately on the paper and began to walk up the wall with a heavy tread, as if...
She was leaning against the wall, staring down at her feet. She stuck one of her legs out, with the foot pointing like an arrow straight at me. “Whaddaya think?” she said. “I’m not sure they’re me.” She made a face. “The real me, that is.” “They aren’t anyone,” I said, glad she’d asked. Those sho...
Richards’s to check on our bookshelves. We had put the glue on them a couple of days ago and we wanted to see how they had turned out. They looked pretty nice and Mr. Richards said when we put a coat of shellac on them they would be all set to go. “It is the first thing I have ever made by myself...
I heard a man say. He had a droopy mustache and deep grooves on either side of his mouth. He meant Baba. Her new hat, which she’d bought just for the wine and cheese one-man show, was eye-catching. It was black, with a flat crown and a wide brim. Getting into the artsy-craftsy spirit of the eveni...
Even when he checked his ears and his muscles and they seemed to be too big and too small as they’d always been, he still felt good. He tucked his amulet inside his shirt, first rubbing it for luck. He didn’t go anywhere without that amulet. He found a pair of matching socks in his drawer and he ...
Leslie slouched in the doorway. “You alone?” She only called him John Boy when she was feeling frisky. She knew he hated it. “No, there are eight or ten guys here with me, turkey.” He pushed aside the mounds of books and magazines to make room for her. “I alvays haf time for one so beautiful as y...
Halfway down the block, Philip caught up with her. “Hey, I want to take you around on my route now,” he said, slamming on his brakes and kicking up a flurry of dust. “So’s you’ll know what to do Monday.” “What’s to know? All I need is a list of your customers and where they live,” Isabelle said. ...
Timothy Owen Chapter 15 Traveling on foot, he took the long way around to Patrick’s. He didn’t want to get where he was going any sooner than he could help. He was a bundle of nerves, as a direct result of this morning’s meeting with Sophie, as well as the prospect of escorting Melissa to the tea...
Edna went too. Edna liked to bark at the fish. Sometimes the fish barked back. Those were the dogfish. “I can’t miss with this,” Oliver said, waving his new rod. “Hand me a marshmallow, Arthur.” “We ate all the marshmallows,” Arthur said. “All we got left is worms.” “Marshmallows are better bait,...
I folded back the orange rug carefully and tucked it in a corner. It’s Doris’s pride and joy, and has to be handled with care. Then I fiddled with the radio, and when I found some nice slow music, I picked up Buster and we started out. We swooped around as if we were in a ballroom with waiters ca...
Stern’s street and, wouldn’t you know, soon came upon a vast clump of violets, growing wild. They were fragrant and delicate, colored white and purple. He picked all his hands could hold. Tomorrow he’d return and pick more. “Well, hello dere.” The large boy, larger even than Philip, loomed in Guy...
I said, “remember Jean-Pierre?” Last night she’d had another of her bad dreams. I wanted to see if she’d remember the next morning. Sometimes she didn’t. When she woke, her brain was washed clean of any memory. “Sort of,” Joss said. “I loved him a lot.” When Joss was small, around four or five, s...
Esposito’s desk, swinging his leg, acting completely at home there. “Where’s Mrs. Esposito?” Isabelle asked. “Not here, that’s for sure,” he said, grinning at her. “No, seriously, she’s out sick. I’m the substitute.” “We never had a man substitute before,” Isabelle said, looking him over. “Yeah, ...
Mr. Barker asked when Paul stopped at the store after school on Thursday. “The missus was asking about you last night. Said she wanted you to come for a meal real soon. I told her maybe you wouldn’t be around forever, maybe you’re going to live with your mom, and she said not to sneak away withou...
“Are you doing needlepoint?” I said. Usually when she looks harassed that way it means she’s doing needlepoint. “No,” she said grumpily. “I’m working my buns off. Come on in, but don’t expect me to entertain you.” Entertain me? Since when. I followed her into her bedroom. It was a mess. It looked...