National Network for Equitable Library Service

On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life.

Why do we dress up on Halloween? Why do we carve pumpkins? Learn all about the history of this holiday with short text and engaging illustrations. Critical thinking questions encourage engagement from young readers.

When a newly married couple from a small Moroccan village moves to the city of Casablanca, the mirror on their wardrobe causes much confusion, as they each think their spouse has married someone new.

Angry that his father is afraid to kindle the Hanukkah lights, Emanuel stows away on a whaling ship. When a storm overtakes the boat, it is his father's change of heart and the family menorah that light the way home.

Destined from childhood to be an important piece in the intricate chess game of power, Matilda is the granddaughter of William the Conqueror but also descended, through her mother, from the ancient line of Anglo-Saxon kings. Betrothed to Emperor Henry of Germany at the age of eight, she is married at twelve and crowned Empress. By her early twenties she is a widow, and the only surviving legitimate heir to her father, Henry l of England. Forced into a second marriage to a boy ten years younger, she gives birth to three sons, the male heirs her father longs for.

Revenge is a rocky road in this nonstop adventure in Ralph Compton's bestselling Gunfighter seriesJasper Duncan's stagecoach is the fastest one in California; at least that's what he tells folks looking for a ride between the Stanislaus mines and Sonora. But he needs a windfall of cash to stay in business, and he needs to stay in business to continue his hunt for the outlaw Alec Casey, who murdered Jasper's father. He's learned Casey has a base of operations in the Stanislaus woods and he's determined to find it.

A deftly crafted, scintillating mash-up of Victorian mystery and horror--Sherlock Holmes and Mr Hyde encounter villains with unfathomable, terrifying abilities.1903. A darkness has descended on London. A series of grisly murders are uncovered, trophies taken, bodies arranged, and soon there are whispers of Jack the Ripper's return.A new client arrives at Baker Street seeking Sherlock Holmes's help: Dr. Jekyll claims his friend has been wrongfully accused of the hideous crimes, a friend called Mr.

He demanded the immediate dispatch of two suitably trained operatives to Salzburg. Extreme measures might be necessary. In 1945, with their thousand-year empire falling around them and the Allies on their heels, the Nazis hide a sealed chest in the dark, forbidding waters of the Finstersee—a lake surrounded by the brooding peaks of the Austrian Alps. There it lies for twenty-one years, almost forgotten, until a British agent decides to raise it from the depths.

If it's not weddings, then hapless widows are expected to attend christenings ... Lady Violet returns with St. Sevier to her family seat, and finds Derwent Hall at sixes and sevens upon the occasion of her nephew's christening. Other guests have brought their children along to celebrate the occasion, and Sebastian MacHeath is on hand to serve as godfather. Nobody seems to be getting along, despite the happy nature of the gathering. Summer heat builds to an unbearable crescendo as clandestine affairs, marital troubles, and family tensions escalate.

Lady Be Good transports us to the glittering, sumptuous era of 1920s New York to follow the life of aspiring actress Dorothy Hale as she comes of age. Breaking societal rules imposed on women, "Peck's Bad Girl of Pittsburgh Society" leaves behind her privileged world for the bright lights of Broadway to chase her dream. From convent school debutante runaway to Ziegfeld showgirl to Hollywood star, Hale transforms herself into one of the most adored figures in the highest echelons of society.