Patricia Reilly Giff

"Set during the Irish Land Wars (1879-1882) this novel in verse follows Anna Mallon through a series of tragedies as her mother dies, older sibling immigrate to America, and she and her father and sister with special needs are about to be evicted from their farm"--

When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.

When her brother Rob, a Navy cook, goes missing in action during World War II, Jayna, desperate for family, leaves upstate New York and their cranky landlady, accompanied by a turtle and a ghost, to seek their grandmother, who Rob believes may live in Brooklyn. Includes soup recipes.

In the mid-1800s, Nory and her neighbor and friend, Sean, set out separately on a dangerous journey from famine-plagued Ireland, hoping to reach a better life in America.

In a humorous and entertaining guide, two-time Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff breaks down the process of writing fiction into steps, all while trying to cope with constant distractions from her exuberant seventy-pound golden retriever puppy, Rosie. Citing examples from her award-winning novels she explains how to proceed with each step in chapter sections titled "Can You See What I Did?" Young writers can find the inspiration and...

It's almost Thanksgiving, and Richard Best can't stop thinking about Ms. Rooney's Candy Corn contest. Whoever can guess the exact number of yellow-and-orange candies in the jar on Ms. Roney's desk gets to keep them all. The only problem is Richard has to read a page in a library book for each guess.
Smelly Matthew, who sits in front of him, knows they'll never win. "We're the worst readers in the class, " he says. But Richard won't give...

Second-grader Dawn Bosco must put her detective skills to the test in these four mysteries at the Polk Street School
The Mystery of the Blue Ring Dawn Bosco and Emily Arrow used to be best friends, until Dawn took Emily's unicorn. Even though Dawn eventually gave it back, Emily still won't talk to her. When Emily's blue birthday ring goes missing after art class, the rest of the second grade accuses Dawn of stealing it. Dawn sets...

When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past, and, with the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered.

Rachel, Cassie, and Joey live in the city with their Pop, until Pop's search for work lands the family on a run down farm. Dreamy Rachel loves to read, and doesn't know much about the country. Times are hard there, too—the school and library are closed.  When Pop gets work near Canada, he has to leave the children on the farm alone. For two months! But Rachel's the oldest, and she'll make sure they're all right. Somehow.