Akron Public Library

"This heartfelt story tells the true but unlikely tale of a young woman working in the city and a young boy in desperate need of friendship and guidance. In the short time after they meet, Laura realizes Maurice has never celebrated Christmas, so she opens her heart and her home and sets out to show him how wondrous the holiday is. What she finds through his glowing eyes is that the meaning of the holiday is truly about giving, not getting, as they...

"Letters to the Midwife is a wonderful collection of correspondence received by Jennifer Worth, offering a glimpse into a long-lost world" - back cover "Jennifer Worth (1935-2011) based her hugely successful books, Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End, on her own experiences in the East End in the 1950s. This book contains letters from all sorts of people - from other midwives to lorry drivers - responding to the...

A nonfiction story of young people in the ghetto, as girls become mothers, boys become criminals, and hope struggles against deprivation.

"Dr. Paul Farmer left the U.S. to live with the world's poor. He cofounded Partners in Health to try to secure healthcare for the people of Haiti; the organization also has projects in Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, and Peru. Wangari Maathai was a feminist and environmentalist who started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. The 30,000 women of the movement have planted more than 40 million trees"--Provided by the publisher.

Explores life and social conditions near the Baghmati River on the grounds of the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, where some children eke out an existance by begging and diving for coins thrown into the river as funeral offerings for the cremated, while others on nearby streets are surrounded by drugs and disease.

"Carrie Sheffield grew up fifth of eight children with a violent, mentally ill, street-musician father who believed he was a modern-day Mormon prophet destined to become U.S. president someday. She and her seven siblings were often forced to live as vagabonds, remaining on the move across the country. They frequently subsisted in sheds, tents, and, most notably, motorhomes. They often lived a dysfunctional drifter existence, camping out in their motorhome...

"In this gripping, intimate look at life in the ghetto, Johnny Williams is a house panter that moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are even tougher, and it takes every ounce of Johnny's love and courage for the couple to make it through their strife, finding redemption."

The story of the comic strip character Little Orphan Annie, who is adopted by billionaire "Daddy" Warbucks.

A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and true one. It cuts right to the heart of life ... If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you will deny yourself a rich experience ... It is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolans lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919 ... Their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings...