The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. 2008

An Orphan Parody

Inspiration Book:

The Willoughbys by Lowry, Lois - Yearling, p2008, c2008--Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.2

A tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, in which the four Willoughby children set out to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

Rationale: For me, this is an unusual story for Lois Lowry. It reminds me of the Lemony Snicket books “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” While not suitable for youngest children, books about orphans, especially resourceful orphans have an appeal for middle grade students and up. Note the continuing love of the Boxcar Children and now the Lemony Snicket books; note the love of fairy tales that have a person, usually a “princess” left to fend for herself.

For me, this is a Quick Pick title, meaning I would quickly introduce the title, but not spend time studying it as part of a unit. Kids and teachers are always looking for new books to read and a Quick Pick book fits that role. How would I use it?

1. This title, for me, is a read aloud, one that could involve a lot of interesting discussion. While reading aloud, use the discussion questions and activities found at the February 2010 LibrarySparks cite https://www.upstartpromotions.com/pdf/librarysparks/2010/lsp_feb10_LL_willoughbys.pdf  (now sadly OP)
2. Also use the the list of “classic” literature that Lowry appends. Have each member of the group choose one “classic” to read while you read aloud. Have the students note whenever a reference is made or hinted at to their book. Later have a discussion about what makes a classic a classic and whether many children would still consider the book to be a classic.
3. Thirdly display the books from the bibliography below to display, booktalk, refer to, and encourage students to check out.

Two cautions about The Willoughbys. Even though Lois Lowry is an American, the book is very British sounding. The result, it’s difficult for the average reader even the child reading at a 5.2 level. The eccentricities of the characters pull the reader in, but...

The second caution, If you don’t like a book, don’t do a study of it or even a read aloud. This book came too soon after the very popular Lemony Snicket books--in fact, I wondered initially whether this was a copycat type book. Its literary quality and humor, however, far outweigh the Snicket books.

Teacher Resources:

Lois Lowry introducing the backstory and reading http://www.teachingbooks.net//book_reading.cgi?id=2353

Lesson Plan from Multonah Library (good simple directions) http://www.multcolib.org/talk/ORCA/2011/guides-willoughbys.html

Author Reading for Boston Globe

Reading section about Melinoff house where left baby

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/specials/mehegan_lowry/

Arte Johnson reading from the beginning http://www.teachingbooks.net//book_reading.cgi?id=6681

Children’s Bookshelf Interview (Print) http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/15033-children-s-bookshelf-talks-with-lois-lowry.html

Reading/Interview on NPR (7:07 minutes)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92267961

Grades 3-6 Bibliography

Anne of Green Gables : a graphic novel by Marsden, Mariah — Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2017. Dewey: 741.5; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.0. A graphic novel adaptation of the classic novel about Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, who is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm. The siblings, who asked for a boy to help them with their farm work, are determined to send her back to the orphanage, but Anne quickly changes their minds.

Gingersnap by Giff, Patricia Reilly — A Yearling Book, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.8. 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. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

The war I finally won by Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker  — Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.0. As the frightening impact of World War II creeps closer and closer to her door, eleven-year-old Ada learns to manage life on the home front.

Flight of the phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist, Book 1) by LaFevers, R. L — Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.9. Ten-year-old Nate is sent to live with a family cousin, the world's last beastologist, after his parents are declared lost at sea, but danger mounts when he is brought on an expedition to the Arabian desert, gets lost, and must protect a newly hatched phoenix egg and rescue his guardian. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Holt, Kimberly Willis — Henry Holt and Company, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.3. After the sudden death of her parents, Stevie, thirteen, is sent to live at a rundown motel, where she charms everyone except her estranged grandfather.

Bronze and Sunflower by Cao, Wenxuan — Candlewick Press, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.4.  Taken in by a poor family in a rural village after the death of her father, Sunflower bonds with the family's only child, Bronze, who has not spoken since being traumatized by a terrible fire. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

The great unexpected by Creech, Sharon  — Joanna Cotler Books, 2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.3. Orphans Naomi and Lizzie, living in America, and grown-up sisters Sybil and Nula, from Ireland, learn what life is truly about as they receive help from one another and open up their hearts to love and forgiveness.

The ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Hahn, Mary Downing - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p2010, 2010 --Fic--Int Lvl 3-6--Rd Lvl: 4.4 In the nineteenth century, ten-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage to live with her great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes the home has another resident, who means to do her and James harm.

Train I ride by Mosier, Paul  — Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.4. raveling from California to Chicago after her mother dies of a drug overdose and her grandmother of lung cancer, thirteen-year-old Rydr meets other passengers on the train and attempts to accept her own situation

Gracefully Grayson by Polonsky, Ami — Hyperion, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.6. Grayson, a transgender twelve-year-old, learns to accept her true identity and share it with the world

The magic misfits by Harris, Neil Patrick — Little, Brown and Company, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.8. Six young magicians and illusionists team up to save their small town from a crooked carnival owner and his goons.

Slob by Potter, Ellen - Philomel Books, p2009, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.0. Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were killed.

Worth by LaFaye, A - Aladdin Paperbacks, p2006, c2004 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.0

After breaking his leg, eleven-year-old Nate feels useless because he cannot work on the family farm in nineteenth-century Nebraska, so when his father brings home an orphan boy to help with the chores, Nate feels even worse.

Woundabout by Rosen, Lev AC  — Little, Brown and Company, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.0. Orphaned siblings nine-year-old Cordelia and eleven-year-old Connor, accompanied by their pet capybara, go to live with their aunt in the strange town of Woundabout, where nothing seems to change.

A tangle of knots by Graff, Lisa — Philomel Books, 2013. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.. Destiny leads 11-year-old Cady to a peanut butter factory, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever"--Provided by publisher.

Paint the wind by Ryan, Pam Munoz - Scholastic p2009, c2007 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.3

After her overprotective grandmother has a stroke, eleven-year-old Maya, an orphan, leaves her extremely restricted life in California to stay with her mother's family on a remote Wyoming ranch, where she discovers a love of horses and encounters Artemisia, a wild mare that her mother once rode.

Water steps by LaFaye, A - Mildweed Editions, p2009, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.3

Eleven-year-old Kyna, terrified of water since her family drowned in a storm that nearly took her life as well, works to overcome her phobia when her adoptive parents, Irish immigrants with a mysterious past, rent a cabin on Lake Champlain for the summer.

Eddie : the lost youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Gustafson, Scott — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.4. Edgar Poe, aided by the imp McCobber, has twenty-four hours to prove himself innocent of an act of mischief committed at the home of the judge who lives beside John Allan, foster father of the orphaned author-to-be.

The Castle Corona by Creech, Sharon - Joanna Cotler Books, p2010, c2007 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.5 Two orphaned peasant children discover a mysterious pouch, the contents of which lead them to the majestic Castle Corona, where their lives may be transformed forever.

The magician’s elephant by DiCamillo, Kate - Candlewick Press, p2011, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.5 When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day who tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures in an attempt to find her.

The case of the frozen hearts by Kennedy, Emma - Puffin Books, p2012, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.8 When Wilma Tenderfoot, the feisty and determined assistant to the world's greatest living detective, and her beagle Pickle, find a mummified body buried on the grounds of the Gothic mansion Blackheart Hoo, they seek to identify the body and solve the mysteries of a key, some buried treasure, and a kidnapping.

When mischief came to town by Nannestad, Katrina — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.9. In 1911, when orphaned ten-year-old Inge comes to live with her stern grandmother in a remote island village in Bornholm, Denmark, she ends up changing the climate of the town, bringing joy and laughter to her grandmother's life and finding a new family for herself to help assuage her grief over losing her mother.

The Ogre of Oglefort by Ibbotson, Eva  — Puffin Books, c2011 p2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.1. Ivo, an orphan boy, teams up with the Hag of Dribble and a troll called Ulf to rescue a princess from the Ogre of Oglefort, but things turn out differently when they arrive at the ogre's castle only to find a contented princess and a depressed ogre inside.

Alistair Grim's Odditorium by Funaro, Gregory  — Hyperion/Disney, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.3. In Victorian England, Grubb, an orphan about twelve years old, escapes his life of drudgery as a chimney sweep's apprentice and finds himself in a very strange house filled with magical objects and creatures, but soon he learns that there are dark forces seeking his new master.

The Palace of Laughter by Berkeley, JOn - HarperTrophy, p2007, c2006 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 6.4 Orphaned eleven-year-old Miles Wednesday and his companion, a Song Angel named Little, are helped by a talking tiger as they set off to find a mssing Storm Angel and Miles' beloved stuffed bear, ending up in a peculiar circus where the audience cannot stop laughing.

Grades 5-8 Bibliography

City of orphans by Avi — Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 3.9. In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Beyond the bright sea by Wolk, Lauren — Dutton Children's Books, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.0. Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Her only companions are Osh, the man who rescued her from a tiny skiff as an infant and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their neighbor across the sandbar. But it isn't until the night when a mysterious fire appears across the water that an unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart and an unstoppable chain of events is triggered. Using her bravery and perseverance, Crow must follow clues that not only lead to a personal treasure, but to uncovering her lost identity and, ultimately, understanding what it means to be a family.

Keeping safe the stars by O'Connor, Sheila — Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.0. In rural Minnesota in 1974, thirteen-year-old Pride Star, raised to be independent, must accept help from friends and neighbors to care for eleven-year-old Nightingale and six-year-old Baby when her grandfather is hospitalized with a brain infection.

What Momma left me by Watson, Renee - Bloomsbury, p2012, c2010 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl 4.0. After the death of their mother, thirteen-year-old Serenity Evans and her younger brother go to live with their grandparents, who try to keep them safe from bad influences and help them come to terms with what has happened to their family.

Juliet’s moon by Rinaldi, Ann - Graphia, p2008, c2008 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 4.2

In Missouri in 1863, twelve-year-old Juliet Bradshaw learns to rely on herself and her brother, a captain with Quantrill's Raiders, as she sees her family home burned, is imprisoned by Yankees, and then kidnapped by a blood-crazed Confederate soldier.

Loot : how to steal a fortune by Watson, Jude — Scholastic Press, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.2. When Alfie McQuinn, the notorious jewel thief, is killed on a job, his last words to his son, March, are to "find jewels" and this instruction leads the boy to Jules, the twin sister he never knew he had--and the perfect partner to carry on the family business.

The ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Hahn, Mary Downing  — Clarion Books, 2010. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.4. In the nineteenth century, ten-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage to live with her great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes the home has another resident, who means to do her and James harm.

No ordinary day by Ellis, Deborah — Groundwood Books, 2011. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.4. Valli has always been afraid of the lepers living on the other side of the train tracks in the coal town of Jharia, India, so when a chance encounter with a doctor reveals she also has leprosy, Valli rejects help and begins an uncertain life on the streets.

At the bottom of the world (Jack And The Geniuses, Book 1) by Nye, Bill  — Amulet Books, 2017. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.6. Traveling to Antarctica for a prestigious science competition, twelve-year-old Jack and his genius foster siblings, Ava and Matt, become caught up in a mystery involving a missing scientist.

Locomotion by Woodson, Jacqueline - Puffin Books, p2010, c2003 --811--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 4.7. Inspired by his teacher, eleven-year-old Lonnie begins to write about his life in a series of poems in which he discusses his feelings about his friends, his foster mom, his little sister Lili, and the death of his parents.

The year we sailed the sun by Nelson, Theresa — A Richard Jackson Book, Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.7. In St. Louis, Missouri, in 1911, orphaned eleven-year-old Julia Delaney rails against countless disappointments and the nun's strict rules at the House of Mercy, especially after her sister Mary turns fourteen and must leave, but she, her family, and best friend get tangled up with a gangster and a decade-old mystery.

Way Down Deep by White, Ruth - Square Fish, p2011, c2007 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 4.8

In the West Virginia town of Way Down Deep in the 1950s, a foundling called Ruby June is happily living with Miss Arbutus at the local boarding house when suddenly, after the arrival of a family of outsiders, the mystery of Ruby's past begins to unravel.

Red glass by Resau, Laura - Delacorte Press, p2009, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5.8--Rd Lvl: 4.9

Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain.

The nine pound hammer by Bemis, John Claude - Yearling, p2009, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 5.0. Drawn by the lodestone his father gave him years before, twelve-year-old orphan Ray travels south, meeting along the way various characters from folklore who are battling against an evil industry baron known as the Gog.

Peace, Locomotion by Woodson, Jacqueline - Puffin Books, p2010, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 5.0. Through letters to his little sister, who is living in a different foster home, sixth-grader Lonnie, also known as "Locomotion," keeps a record of their lives while they are apart, describing his own foster family, including his foster brother who returns home after losing a leg in the Iraq War.

The fire chronicle (Books Of Beginning, Book 2) by Stephens, John — Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.1. In the second book in the Books of Beginning Trilogy, Michael and Emma must track down the Chronicle of Life, while Kate must find a way back to present day from the year 1899. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Much ado about Grubstake by Ferris, Jean - Harcourt, p2006, c2006 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 5.1. When two city folks arrive in the depressed mining town of Grubstake, Colorado in 1888, sixteen-year-old orphaned Arley tries to discover why they want to buy the supposedly worthless mines in the area.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" (All The Wrong Questions, Book 3)by Snicket, Lemony — Little, Brown and Company, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.1. Young Lemony Snicket investigates a rash of fires that have plagued the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, revealing secrets that involve the Department of Education and the notorious villain Hangfire.

The humming room by Potter, Ellen — Feiwel and Friends, 2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.2. Twelve-year-old Roo Fanshaw, who has a talent for hiding, is sent to live with his estranged uncle in his on Cough Rock Island, where he discovers the secrets of the largely uninhabited house and its hidden garden.

Counting by 7s by Sloan, Holly Goldberg — Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.3. Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

The night gardener by Auxier, Jonathan — Amulet Books, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.3. Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

Wild things by Carmichael, Clay - Boyds Mills Press, p2009, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 5.3. Stubborn, self-reliant, eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, moves to the country to live with her prickly half-uncle, a famous doctor and sculptor, and together they learn about trust and the strength of family.

Last airlift : a Vietnamese orphan's rescue from war by Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk — Pajama Press, 2011. Dewey: 959.704; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.5. Tells Tuyet's story of when she was an orphan in Vietnam during the war and when Saigon was taken over orphans were airlifted and brought to Canada, and recounts her first few days with her new family.

"Who could that be at this hour?" (All The Wrong Questions, Book 1) by Snicket, Lemony  — Little, Brown, 2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.5. Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket begins his apprenticeship with S. Theodora Markson of the secretive V.F.D. in the tiny dot of a town called Stain'd By The Sea, where he helps investigate the theft of a statue. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Barry, Dave - Hyperion Books for Children, p2006, c2004 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 5.6. Peter, an orphan boy, and his friend Molly fight off thieves and pirates in order to keep the secret safe away from the diabolical Black Stache and his evil associate Mister Grin.

The case of the frozen hearts by Kennedy, Emma - Puffin Books, p2012, c2009 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 5.8 When Wilma Tenderfoot, the feisty and determined assistant to the world's greatest living detective, and her beagle Pickle, find a mummified body buried on the grounds of the Gothic mansion Blackheart Hoo, they seek to identify the body and solve the mysteries of a key, some buried treasure, and a kidnapping.

Paper things by Jacobson, Jennifer — Candlewick Press, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.8. Nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with a bossy guardian, and runs off with his little sister Ari. The two struggle to find a place to live and to get Ari into the middle school for gifted students they promised their mother she'd get into. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Until the day arrives by Machado, Ana Maria — Groundwood Books, 2014. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.8. A novel set in the seventeenth century about two Portuguese orphans who are sent to Brazil, where they encounter slaves from Africa.

lWhen mischief came to town by Nannestad, Katrina — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.9. In 1911, when orphaned ten-year-old Inge comes to live with her stern grandmother in a remote island village in Bornholm, Denmark, she ends up changing the climate of the town, bringing joy and laughter to her grandmother's life and finding a new family for herself to help assuage her grief over losing her mother.

The 9 lives of Alexander Baddenfield by Marciano, John Bemelmans — Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2013. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.0. Twelve-year-old Alexander Baddenfield, the last in a long line of evil men who die young, has his cat's extra eight lives transplanted into his own body, while his caretaker, Winterbottom, strives to keep him safe.

The Ogre of Oglefort by Ibbotson, Eva  — Puffin Books, c2011 p2012. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.1. Ivo, an orphan boy, teams up with the Hag of Dribble and a troll called Ulf to rescue a princess from the Ogre of Oglefort, but things turn out differently when they arrive at the ogre's castle only to find a contented princess and a depressed ogre inside.

Alistair Grim's Odditorium by Funaro, Gregory  — Hyperion/Disney, 2015. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.3. In Victorian England, Grubb, an orphan about twelve years old, escapes his life of drudgery as a chimney sweep's apprentice and finds himself in a very strange house filled with magical objects and creatures, but soon he learns that there are dark forces seeking his new master.

The Palace of Laughter by Berkeley, JOn - HarperTrophy, p2007, c2006 --Fic--Int Lvl: 3-6--Rd Lvl: 6.4 Orphaned eleven-year-old Miles Wednesday and his companion, a Song Angel named Little, are helped by a talking tiger as they set off to find a mssing Storm Angel and Miles' beloved stuffed bear, ending up in a peculiar circus where the audience cannot stop laughing.

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Giff, Patricia Reilly - Dell Yearling, p2004, c2002 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 6.4

A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

Secrets of the Cirque Medrano : a novel by Scott, Elaine — Charlesbridge, 2008. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.5. In the Paris village of Montmartre in 1904, fourteen-year-old Brigitte works long hours in her aunt's cafe, where she serves such regular customers as the young artist Pablo Picasso, encounters Russian revolutionaries, and longs to attend the exciting circus nearby. Includes author's note on the Picasso painting "Family of Saltimbanques.

Lemony Snicket : the unauthorized autobiography by Snicket, Lemony - HarperCollins, p2002, c2002 --Fic--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 7.1

Fictional author Lemony Snicket, a character created by Brett Helquist to write "A Series of Unfortunate Events," provides a glimpse into his mysterious and sometimes confusing life, using fanciful letters, diary entries, and other miscellaneous documents as well as photographs and illustrations.