A Charming tale to remind us all that our kindness works miracles.“When the sun sets and stars fill the sky, the square in the little town grows quiet and still. The cool air of distant hills mingles with the sweet scent of baking bread. The moon rises and glows softly. It’s the sort of place where miracles could happen.”David and Jacob live in the same little, ordinary town, but it’s almost as if they’re from different worlds. David is so poor he can barel...

A testament to the power of stories, and how they may bring hope even in times of darkness."Everyone gathers around, and from her lips to their ears the stories go, and for a little while the camp disappears, and for a little while they are all free."As night falls, the women gather their children to listen to Mara tell her stories. They are stories of light and hope and freedom, stories of despair and stories of miracles, stories of expected pain and stories of unex...

This fast-paced thriller from the award-winning author follows a teenager caught up in political intrigue."You're my first boy, Cooper, my first boy," grandfather says just before he dies. All alone in the world, without even a dog, the only thing that keeps Cooper going is running the dairy farm.Suddenly, black sedans are swarming all around Cooper's small New Hampshire town, driven by mysterious men in dark suits. Cooper's barn is burned to the ground, an...

Two-time Newbery Medal winner Gary Schmidt talks about the frequently comic mishaps and adventures of a 12-year-old Long Island boy in the Vietnam era. Actor Khris Lewin performs an excerpt from the book. Co-presented with Bank Street Bookstore.Thalia Kids' Book Club events are lively talks between children's book authors and their fans (ages 9-12), plus one event for teens. Each event includes a creative writing project, a free-wheeling discussion with the audience, and a book sig...

A Charming tale to remind us all that our kindness works miracles.When the sun sets and stars fill the sky, the square in the little town grows quiet and still. The cool air of distant hills mingles with the sweet scent of baking bread. The moon rises and glows softly. Its the sort of place where miracles could happen.  David and Jacob live in the same little, ordinary town, but its almost as if theyre from different worlds. David is so poor he can barely feed his family. Jaco...

From award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt, a warm and witty novel in the tradition of The Wednesday Wars, in which a seventh grader has to figure out how to fulfill a seemingly impossible school assignment—and learns about friendship, community, and himself along the way.Herc Beal knows who he's named after—a mythical hero—but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the myth...

In this Newbery Honor–winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt tells the witty and compelling story of a teenage boy who feels that fate has it in for him, during the school year 1968-69.Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood isn't happy. He is sure his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Holling's domineering father is obsessed with his business image and disregards his family. Throughout the school year, Holling strives to get a handle on the Shakespeare plays Mrs. Baker ass...

In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.Two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter.After spending time in a juvenile facility, he’s placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates this emotional coming of age st...

2011 National Book Award FinalistAs a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like...

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy's mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967-68 school year in Long Island, New York. Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling-he's sure of ...

“The Dump” is what Doug Swieteck calls his new home in upstate New York. He lands there in the summer of 1968, when the Apollo space missions are under way, Joe Pepitone is slugging for the New York Yankees, and the Vietnam War is raging. At home he lives with a father who has lost his way and a brother accused of robbery. And Doug’s oldest brother is returning from Vietnam. Who knows what wounds his missions have given him?But Doug has his own mission, too, and it begins when he f...

A 2005 Newbery Honor BookIt only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father's-and the town's-disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with ...