Patricia Reilly Giff

A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

Living with her beloved aunt and faithful dog years after her mother left and she stopped speaking, young Judith communicates through gestures and drawing cartoons while tackling the challenges of a new school and questioning whether or not to seek out her mother.

Held back for a year in second grade, Richard can't seem to help getting into trouble, until he gets really interested in reading and helps his class in a special way.

Almost twelve-year-old Siria, who chases firetrucks in the middle of the night to ensure her fire fighter dad's safety, learns about bravery one winter as she tries to mend a broken friendship.

When Mitchell's father gets a new job and his family moves, he and his sister go to a new school where they must make new friends and adjust to new routines.

Emily Arrow determines to get the most fish in the library's Fish for a Good Book contest but she doesn't take into account the equal determination of Dawn Bosco.

Dawn Bosco uses math, logic, and her detective skills to return a red purse to its rightful owner When Dawn Bosco finds a red purse on the playground after school one day, she knows she’s also found a new mystery to solve. But after she puts up posters and makes an announcement on the loudspeaker, too many people are trying to claim the purse! The only clues are a shopping list, some money, and some dust that looks like...

Mitchell is afraid when the children from the Zigzag Center go camping overnight, but he tries to be brave and discovers that nature is not so scary after all.

Gina wants more than anything to be the star of the show that her class will perform, but everything seems to go wrong until she makes a generous choice.

It's the first day back to school after winter vacation, and Richard Best is off to a bad start. Who ever heard of a January without any snow? And as usual, he has already forgotten something—the ruler Ms. Rooney had told him to bring for dinosaur day. Luckily Richard finds a ruler in his desk—with a dinosaur's initials—and he's sure the ruler is special. And then he finds out it has magic powers.
All his wishes begin to come true: Snow stars...