The Barn by Avi

It's 1855, and nine-year-old Ben is called home from school to find that his father had suffered a 'fit of palsy' as Dr. Flanagan diagnoses it. Ben isn't sure what a palsy is; all he knows is that his father - always tall and broad and strong, with a joke or a story for every minute of the day - is now lying on the bed limp and small, not moving or speaking or even seeming to recognize his children.

Ben's older sister Nettie - 15 years old and ready to marry - and brother Harrison - 13 and nearly a man himself - are almost sunk with despair. Since their mother had died several years earlier, there are only the three of them now to work their claim and care for their father. And neither of the older children are convinced that their father will long live.

Only Ben believes stubbornly that their father can and will recover - and he believes that the thing that will cure his father is building the barn Father always said he would build one day. It will be long hard work, just the three of them, but Ben is convinced that they can do it - and that they can have their father back.

The Mystery of the Yellow Hands by Jake & Luke Thoene

When children are being kidnapped from their homes in London, who do you ask to solve the case? Why, Sherlock Holmes, of course! And who does Holmes ask for help when he's just the tiniest bit busy? The Baker Street Brigade!

Danny (thirteen and the leader), Peachy (an Irish redhead), and Duff (tall and cheerful) are three newspaper boys who work together for the Daily Telegraph and live together at the Waterloo Road Ragged School. They are incredibly excited to have the chance to help the great Sherlock Holmes and to be detectives - especially when a friend of theirs is the next one to be kidnapped...

The first of four books about these young detectives.

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

This is one of those books that you read once, as a child or an adult - and then you keep coming back to it the rest of your life. Of course, for me that could just be because I have a sister named Katie who has the same grit, determination, and just plain stubbornness to get the job done as Katy does. But I think that's only part of it.

You see, Katy of our story is a big strong crawler tractor - a beautiful red crawler tractor - who works for the city of Geoppolis in their Highway Department. She has a bulldozer attachment for helping with road construction, and a big smooth snow plow for in the winter.

During the summer, Katy is always busy helping with the road construction and upkeep projects around the city. The bigger the task, the more she loves it and the harder she works - and she never gives up until the job is done.

But then during the winter, Katy mostly sits in her barn with her shiny snow plow and has nothing to do. The little bit of snow on the ground can be handled by the trucks - Katy's too strong for this job!

But then it begins to snow... and snow... and snow... and snow... When the whole town is snowed in and unable to move, who do you think can save the day?

Children will enjoy exploring the pen-and-ink drawings of construction equipment, town landmarks, and Katy's quest to clear the city.

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

Twelve year old Heidi has lived all her life in one apartment, with her mother and their next-door neighbor, Bernie. Well, technically it's two apartments; Bernie has her own, but there's a door that connects hers to Heidi's, and it's always open.

Bernie is a big part of Heidi's life: she took care of Heidi when she was a baby, teaches her schoolwork, and in many ways is the mother that Heidi's real mother cannot be.

You see, Mama - or Precious, as Bernie calls her - has a hard time remembering things, or learning how to do them, or even talking. Bernie and Heidi keep a list and Mama has only twenty-three words that she says: things like good and hot and Heidi. But there's one word that only Mama says, and she says it often: soof.

It drives Heidi crazy, that she doesn't know what Mama's word means. It isn't in the M.B.F - Man's Best Friend, otherwise known as the big Webster's Dictionary - and neither Heidi nor Bernie have any idea what it could be. And of course, Mama can't tell them - in fact, she seems to get more and more agitated whenever Heidi asks.

But when Heidi finds an old camera in a drawer and gets the pictures developed, suddenly she has more questions - and the chance at a lot of answers.