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On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
Showing 1 - 20 of 101 items
By Sara Saedi. 2018
Television show writer and novelist recounts her teenage years in the 1990s, and reveals how she discovered that her family…
had entered the United States as undocumented immigrants. Provides a humorous account of balancing teen angst with trying to become an American citizen. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Curtiss Anderson. 2008
In this classic story of a midwestern boyhood, Curtiss Anderson takes readers into the colorful lives of his robust Norwegian…
family and their wonderfully familiar summerscape in northern Minnesota: the lake place. Sweet childhood reminiscences comprise this coming-of-age memoir set in the poignant summers of the 1930s and '40sBy Tom Gleason. 2001
Each of John Howard Wilson's five adult children remembers his death and the experience of losing their father. As each…
shares very personal moments, the reader steps inside a family's life and explores the profound bonds between father and childBy Mike Graf, Marjorie Leggitt. 2012
In the seventh book in the Adventure with the Parkers series, the family heads to Colorado to visit the high…
peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. When the snow clears, the park's many famous sights are on display: Trail Ridge Road, spectacular wildflowers, elk, waterfalls, and unique alpine tundra. The family's big adventure is a hike up Longs Peak, a Colorado "fourteener." But afternoon storms begin to pelt the family during their training hikes, and they begin to question the wisdom of a nighttime summit ascent. Award winner. For grades 5-8By Mike Graf, Joyce Turley. 2016
Tag along with the Parkers - twins James and Morgan and their parents - and learn all about sequoias as…
they hike among the giant trees, explore dark caves, scramble up huge granite domes, and cool off in the spray from amazing waterfalls. They even climb to the top of 14,494-foot Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower forty-eight states. There's a new adventure at every turn, from encountering black bears to meeting an old man who lives in a giant log. For grades 3-6By ReShonda Tate Billingsley. 2005
Twelve years after losing her parents, Aja James is tired of worrying about her siblings' problems: Eric's uncontrollable rage and…
Jada's impenetrable silence. Meanwhile Aja's best friend, Roxie, fixes her up with sexy bachelor Charles Clayton. Strong language. 2001By Nancy Ogaz. 2004
Shy, thirteen-year-old Alex Stone wants to impress his classmate Brianna Santos, avoid the neighborhood bully, and be a normal teenager,…
but he has to watch over Nic, his older, autistic brother. That complicates everything until he realizes how much he loves Nic. For grades 5-8. 2004By Georgia Bockoven. 1998
Twenty years ago when her parents were killed, Karla Esterbrook and her sisters went to live with their grandmother, Anna…
Olsen. Karla and Anna have never been close, but now that Anna is dying, Karla has returned to California to put Anna's affairs in orderBy Laura Moe. 2016
Michael is just trying to get through his community service after he made the dumb decision to try to blow…
up his friend's car with fireworks--the same friend who stole Michael's girl. Being expelled and losing his best buddy and his girlfriend are the least of his problems: he's living in a car, his mother is a hoarder, and his life seems to be falling apart - until he meets Shelly, that is. UnratedBy Eleanor Agnew. 1999
The authors share their personal accounts along with the memories and experiences of hundreds of women who are the daughters…
of alcoholic mothers. Co-author is Sharon Robideaux, foreword by Dr. Robert J. Ackerman. 1999By Elizabeth Acevedo. 2019
Teen mother Emoni Santiago struggles with the challenges of finishing her senior year, raising her two-year-old daughter, and following her…
dream of working as a chef. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2019By Randy Ribay. 2018
Told from alternating perspectives, Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind…
Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Kim Rogers, Julie Flett. 2023
In this lyrical picture book by Kim Rogers (Wichita), with illustrations by Boston Globe-Horn Book Honoree Julie Flett (Cree-Métis), Becca…
watches her grandma create, play, and dance—and she knows that she wants to be just like Grandma. Becca loves spending time with Grandma. Every time Becca says, “Let me try,” Grandma shows her how to make something beautiful. Whether they are beading moccasins, dancing like the most beautiful butterflies, or practicing basketball together, Becca knows that, more than anything, she wants to be just like Grandma. And as the two share their favorite activities, Becca discovers something surprising about Grandma. Features an author’s note and glossary.By Cynthia Lord. 2015
When her blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar, twelve-year-old Lily meets Salma Santiago, a young Hispanic girl whose migrant family…
is in Maine for the blueberry-picking season. The two forge a friendship, but are confronted with some of the hard truths of prejudice and migrant life. For grades 4-7. 2015By Virginia Hamilton. 2001
Fourteen-year-old Tree resents her working mother for leaving her in charge of her seventeen-year-old brother Dab, who is simple. But…
when she encounters her uncle's ghost, Tree comes to a deeper understanding of her family's problems--and the power of love. For grades 6-9. C.S. King Award, Newbery Honor. 1982By Rita Williams-Garcia. 2010
Oakland, California; 1968. Eleven-year-old Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with…
their poet mother Cecile, who abandoned them years ago. Cecile resents their presence--and sends them to a Black Panther summer camp. For grades 4-7. C.S. King Award, Newbery Honor. 2010By Uri Orlev. 2010
When his family moves to Israel, nine-year-old Michael bonds with his grandfather Raphael, who has strong convictions about being a…
vegetarian, helping others, and knowing the soul's dark secrets. Raphael bestows an unusual gift on Michael, dream sharing. For grades 4-7 and older readers. 2010By Charise Mericle Harper. 2009
Just Grace and her class are forced to study food from around the world after troublemaker Owen jokes about someone's…
lunch. Just Grace picks potato chips for her topic but gets jealous when her dad helps her friend Mimi research his favorite food--hot dogs. For grades 2-4. 2009By Walter Dean Myers. 2008
Harlem. African American high school senior Drew Lawson aims to go to college and play basketball for the NBA despite…
his mediocre grades. Rivalry begins when Drew's coach favors Tomas, a new white teammate from Prague. For junior and senior high readers. 2008By Kimberly Holt. 1998
Louisiana, 1950s. Twelve-year-old Tiger Ann Parker begins to feel embarrassed in front of the other kids about the "slowness" of…
her parents. Her grandmother is the one who keeps the family intact. After Granny dies, Tiger has a chance to move to the city with her sophisticated aunt, but she is reluctant to abandon the parents who love her. For grades 6-9