Katherine Paterson

Jess Aarons gains the strength to cope with unexpected tragedy by going to a secret kingdom in the woods invented by Leslie Burke, a newcomer to his rural Virginia community.

An eleven-year-old foster child tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly.

Holiday hijinks abound in this very merry Christmas story about three siblings who can't resist sneaking a peek under the tree before it's time, for fans of How to Catch Santa and 5 More Sleeps. Everyone knows there's no peeking at presents before Christmas morning. But what if there's a very, very good reason to take a look? It's Christmas Eve and the three kids in this story are trying their best to go to sleep, but something keeps waking them...

Reimagines Francis of Assisi's 1224 prayer of praise in celebration of God's gifts throughout the universe.

It's 1899 in a small town in Vermont, and the turn of the century is coming fast. According to certain members of the church where Robbie's father is the preacher, the end of the century might even mean the end of the world. But Robbie has more pressing worries. He's sure his father loves his simple-minded brother, Elliot, better than him, and he can no longer endure the tiresome restrictions of Christianity. He decides to leave the fold and become...

The beloved author of Bridge to Terabithia and other classics of children's literature reveals the fascinating personal stories that have shaped her creative life. For nearly fifty years, Katherine Paterson's stories have captured readers young and old. From Bridge to Terabithia's Leslie Burke to the unforgettable Gilly Hopkins to countless others, her characters are woven into the memories of several generations. Paterson's writing has always explored...

Rosa's mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs, and Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn't Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers-an...

In James Johnson's family, everybody strums and sings. With their music, his mamma, daddy, and uncle get crowds stomping at county fairs. Eleven-year-old James loves to sing harmony with his grandma on their favorite old mountain ballads. One day, the Johnson family hires a manager to book their appearances. But when the manager hears James sing, he quickly gives the boy a stage name and puts him on national TV. As his popularity grows, James will...

Eleven-year-old Parkington Waddell Broughton knows he is the fifth person to bear this family name, but he doesn't know much more about his relatives. His father died in the Vietnam War when Park was an infant, and his mother refuses to talk about his father's life or his family. Finally, Park convinces his mother to let him visit his grandfather's farm in Virginia. The boy hopes he will find answers to his questions there. But his grandfather is...

When officials bring the lunatic to the poor farm in Vermont and lock him in a cage, Jip is the only one who befriends the shaggy old man. An abandoned child who has no memory of his life before coming to the farm, Jip has a gentle knack for calming all frightened creatures. Months later, a dark-clad stranger comes to the poor farm, asking about Jip. The boy recoils from him as he would from a snake. In the stranger's shadow, the lives of Jip and...