Attending an art show with artist Senora Sanchez, where she is featured in one of the artist's paintings, Sarah is dismayed when Senora Sanchez's dog runs away in the middle of everything, setting off a search through New York City.

Brooklyn, 1875: Bird Mallon lives on Water Street where you can see the huge towers of the bridge to Manhattan being built. Bird wants nothing more in life than to be brave enough to be a healer, like her mother, Nory, to help her sister Annie find love, and to convince her brother, Hughie, to stop fighting for money with his street gang. And of course, she wishes that a girl would move into the empty apartment upstairs so that she can have a new friend close by. But Thomas Neary and his Pop move in upstairs. Thomas who writes about his life in his journal--his father who spends each night at the Tavern down the street, the mother he wishes he had, and the Mallon family downstairs that he desperately wants to be a part of. Thomas, who has a secret that only Bird suspects, and who turns out to be the best friend Bird could ever have.

Elizabeth is drawn into a dramatic story from the American Revolution when she discovers a portrait of her ancestor, a girl called Zee, who has a striking resemblance to Elizabeth. The girls' lives intertwine and Elizabeth's present-day story alternates with Zee's. As Elizabeth learns about Zee, and walks where Zee once walked and battles raged, the past becomes as vivid and real as the present.

Emily is stuck with crybaby Jill Simon as her "secret Pal" to be kind to for the whole month of December.

It's the first day back to school after winter vacation, and Richard Best is off to a bad start. Who ever heard of a January without any snow? And as usual, he has already forgotten something--the ruler Ms. Rooney had told him to bring for dinosaur day. Luckily Richard finds a ruler in his desk--with a dinosaur's initials--and he's sure the ruler is special. And then he finds out it has magic powers. All his wishes begin to come true: Snow stars falling, he remembers to do his homework, and the bully Drake Evans gets sick. But now with Drake sick in bed, Richard begins to worry. His only hope is the magic ruler--but it's gone. What will help him?

Emily Arrow is excited about the prospect of making cards for Valentine's Day, but a fight with Sherri Dent puts a damper on her enthusiasm.

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 up. He can already taste those Candy Corns. And before he knows it, he has. Three fat juicy ones. What will Ms. Rooney do when she finds out?

Three city siblings, now living on a farm during the Great Depression, must survive on their own when their father takes a construction job miles away in Canada.

This “brilliantly told” (New York Times) Newbery Honor Book gives readers a sense of what it was like to be on the American home front while our soldiers were away fighting in World War II. As in past years, Lily will spend the summer in Rockaway, in her family’s summer house by the Atlantic Ocean. But this summer of 1944, World War II has changed everyone’s life. Lily’s best friend, Margaret, has moved to a wartime factory town, and, much worse, Lily’s father is going overseas to the war. There’s no one Lily’s age in Rockaway until the arrival of Albert, a refugee from Hungary with a secret sewn into his coat. Albert has lost most of his family in the war; he’s been through things Lily can’t imagine. But soon they form a special friendship. Now Lily and Albert have secrets to share: They both have told lies, and Lily has told one that may cost Albert his life.

Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic above his grandfather Mack’s room, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped. There are lots of other words, but Sam has always had trouble reading. He’s desperate to find out who he is, and if his beloved Mack is really his grandfather. At night he’s haunted by dreams of a big castle and a terrifying escape on a boat. Who can he trust to help him read the documents that could unravel the mystery? Then he and the new girl, Caroline, are paired up to work on a school project, building a castle in Mack’s woodworking shop. Caroline loves to read, and she can help. But she’s moving soon, and the two must hurry to discover the truth about Sam.