Edgar Award Winner: A teenager and his family must uncover the haunting historical legacy of their Civil War–era house.Shortly after moving into an old, spooky home, thirteen-year-old Thomas Small and his family start hearing strange noises. The house has a past, and when Thomas discovers a hidden passageway that may have been part of the Underground Railroad, the family realizes the house has a history as well. To find out all there is to know about the House of Di...

“THE PEOPLE COULD FLY,” the title story in Virginia Hamilton’s prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.Leo and Diane Dillon have created powerful new illustrations in full c...

All of the kids at school stay away from "Bluish," but when Dreenie and Tuli learn to see beyond her differences, they discover a true friendTen-year-old Natalie is different from the other kids at her New York City magnet school: She is often absent, wears a knit cap, and uses a wheelchair. Her classmates have nicknamed her "Bluish" because her pale skin is tinted blue from chemotherapy. Dreenie is fascinated by and a bit frightened of Bluish—she watches her from ...

An American Library Association Notable Book: In rural Ohio in 1938, twelve-year-old Willie Bea prepares for Halloween—and an alien invasion!Halloween is Willie Bea's favorite holiday. Her relatives always visit, and everyone cooks, bakes, and tells stories. Best of all, the kids get to dress in costume and go trick-or-treating. But this Halloween is different. When Willie's glamorous aunt Leah, who reads palms and wears sweet-smelling perfume, hears on the radio th...

An American Library Association Notable Book and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year: Twelve-year-old Arilla goes on a quest to discover who she is and where she fits into her family—and the worldArilla Adams is tired of being the moon to her older brother's sun. Sixteen-year-old Jack has rejected being part of an interracial family and identifies only with his Native American heritage. But Arilla, also part African American and part Nati...

A monumental collection by one of America's greatest authors of children's literature — and the launch of a new imprint, ReLIT, that republishes lost classics for a modern readership!Virginia Hamilton (1936-2002) was not only one of the most magnificent writers who ever lived — winning honors such as the Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor, National Book Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award for classics like The House of Dies Drear, The People Could Fly

Looking for ways to add rigor to your students' explorations of rich, complex literature? Students will be engaged as they analyze this book that has won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. M.C. Higgins, the Great: An Instructional Guide for Literature provides engaging activities that incorporate the following research-based literacy skills: close reading tasks; text-based vocabulary practice; cross-curricular activities; text-dependent questions; reader response writing p...

Hamilton’s classic coming-of-age tale: The National Book Award– and Newbery Award–winning novel about a young man who must choose between supporting his tight-knit family and pursuing his own dreamsMayo Cornelius Higgins perches on top of a homemade forty-foot tower, considering two destinies. Behind him is his family’s beloved house at the foot of a mountain that strip mining has reduced to loose rubble. In front of him, the beautiful Ohio River Valley and the gre...

A girl and her twin brothers discover their special powers in the first of a fantasy series by the Newbery Medal–winning author of M.C. Higgins, the Great.For Justice and her identical twin brothers Levi and Thomas, the summer begins like any other. But as the slow days pass, Justice begins to notice a strange energy between her brothers, beyond their normal twin connection. Thomas becomes increasingly bossy and irritable, while Levi seems weak and absentm...

Junior Brown is a musical prodigy losing touch with reality and everyone around him—except for one important friendJunior Brown is different than the other kids in his eighth-grade class. For one, he weighs three hundred pounds. He's also a talented musician with a serious future as a professional pianist—if he survives middle school. With an overbearing mom, disappointed teachers, and fellow students who tease him mercilessly, Junior starts to slip away into his o...

"The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable."--(starred) School Library Journal.

Justice and the First Unit travel to Dustland once again. Can they destroy evil and save the future world?Knowing they have unfinished business in the future, Justice, the Watcher, Thomas, the magician, Levi, the sufferer, and Dorian, the healer, again combine to form their unit and time-travel to Dustland. The unit hopes to guide the beings of Dustland out of the dangerous, barren place in the hopes of finding a safer home. But neither the unit nor the inhabitants ...