As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer--a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon's birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.

Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building.

Eleven-year-old Brooklyn girl Delphine feels overwhelmed with worries and responsibilities. She's just started sixth grade and is self-conscious about being the tallest girl in class, and nervous about her first school dance. She's supposed to be watching her sisters, but Fern and Vonetta are hard to control. Her uncle Darnell is home from Vietnam and seems different. And her Pa has a girlfriend. At least Delphine can write to mother in Oakland, California...

In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.

The campaign to save the earth from being turned off is going well, but Michael K. must enlist fellow fifth-graders Venus and TJ to help hide the SPHDZ from Agent Umber, especially when they become involved in a school play.

Halloween brings out the worst in fourth-grader Henry Wolowitz and his invisible, squash-eating friend Inkling, as Henry tries to go trick-or-treating while keeping Inkling from eating all the jack-o-lanterns.

Dana is Abby and Zander's daughter, but growing up in New York City in the late nineteen fifties is not always easy, especially when you would like your own room separate from your twin sister--and when your beloved father dies and you are forced to move things just get worse.

During the 1918 influenza outbreak, nine-year-old Rettie seeks ways to make Thanksgiving special for her siblings and ailing mother.

Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school hurts people, but although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution.

When autumn arrives on 141st Street, the Vanderbeekers are busy helping Mr. Beiderman get ready for the New York City Marathon and making sure the mysterious person sleeping in the community garden gets enough to eat. But when they discover the true identity of the person making a home in the community garden's shed, their world turns upside down as they learn what it means to care for someone in an impossible situation. In this fourth book in the...