Central Kansas Library System

Twelve-year-old Lily Pruitt loves her grandparents, but she doesn't love the circus -- and the circus is their life. She's perfectly happy to stay with her father, away from her neglectful mother and her grandfather's elephant, Queenie Grace. Queenie Grace, a circus elephant, is happy to have Grandpa Bill as her keeper. She has had cruel keepers in the past, but Bill is her friend and treats her with love and respect. She doesn't quite understand...

Visiting his dad's hometown in Japan four months after his father's death would be hard enough for Ben. But one morning the pain turns to fear: first, a massive earthquake rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle's house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away -- and pulled apart -- by a terrible tsunami. Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough...

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, Markus...

When Grandma comes down with a "bad case of sadness" one year after Grandpa's death, Daysha collects objects that will remind her grandmother of Daysha's grandfather.

When Toby the dog gets old and sick and finally dies, the children who love him express their love in different ways.