Akron Public Library

"Meet the marvelous Pyes: There is Mrs. Pye, the youngest mother in town; Mr. Pye, a famous bird man, who handles all the nation's important bird problems; Rachel Pye, who is so reasonable she can make unreasonable ideas sound like good ones; Jerry Pye, who knows about rocks of all sorts and plans to grow up to be a rock man; and Uncle Bennie, who is only three years old. Last is Ginger Pye, the "intellectual dog." The most famous pup in all of Cranbury,...

A young boy living in the Ozarks achieves his heart's desire when he becomes the owner of two redbone hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters.

An adventurous new work from Newbery Honor-Winning author, Alan Armstrong.
In the spring of 1947, outer space was an unexplored realm. But eleven year-old Alexis (Alex) Heart and her impulsive brother, Chuck, believe that the stars are within reach. In the midst of building their own rocket, Alex befriends Captain Ebbs, and an army scientist who is working to create food for future space travelers, and who is also a descendent of Captain John Smith....

As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death. It's1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing's that easy in Penny's family. For starters, she can't go swimming because her mother's afraid she'll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a...

"Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters"-- From the author of Newbery Medal winner Moon Over Manifest comes the odyssey-like adventure of two boys incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail. When Jack Bakers father sends him from his home in Kansas to attend a boys boarding school in Maine, Jack doesnt know what to expect. Certainly not...

Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and while her bullying seems isolated at first, things quickly escalate, and reclusive World War I veteran Toby becomes a target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby's strangeness, Annabelle...

Clem wants a dog for his thirteenth birthday, but what he gets is a miner's cap. It is the 1920s in Leadanna, Missouri, and Clem must become a man, leaving school and joining Pap in the lead mines--money is tight in the Harding household. Meanwhile, Lindy, whose face bears a scar from an accident that left her motherless, is forced to help her abusive father sell moonshine. As Clem searches for another way to support his family, the two become friends....

In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida.

The story of four generations of an Italian American family, beginning with an immigrant who came through Ellis Island with big dreams, a small shovel, and his parents' good advice: "Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family."

"When thirteen-year-old Billie Sims learns that the Freedom Riders, a civil rights group protesting segregation on buses in the summer of 1961, will be traveling through Anniston, Alabama, she thinks change could be coming to her stubborn town. But what starts as angry grumbles soon turns to brutality, and Billie is forced to reconsider her own views"--