Catherine faces the moral dilemma of aiding someone she believes is a runaway slave, choosing what she sees as true Christianity over the law.  In her journal, she describes how she must cope with teachers at school, how she must fill her mother's role in the household, and how she adjusts to a new stepmother.  An authentic account of everyday life in New England.  (RR) 

  1981  Paterson, Katherine.  Jacob Have I Loved.  New York: Crowell, 1980. 

This is a powerful story of growing up with a self-confident, lovely and talented twin, while feeling like a misfit oneself.  Louise lives on the Chesapeake, and through choice and necessity, helps her father on the water.  While her work is valuable, she doesn't fit in.  Louise defines her life by who Caroline is.  The perceptive reader will realize long before Louise does that she will never find peace until she looks for something that she wants.  (RR) 

  1982  Willard, Nancy.  A Visit to William Blake's Inn:  Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers.  New York: Harcourt, 1981.  (Click here for a fun picture.) 

Two hundred years ago, William Blake wrote poetry—“Tyger, Tyger, burning bright.”   In this book, Newbery winner Nancy Willard writes poems about an imaginary inn, describing the guests and staff.  Angels shake featherbeds while Rabbit shows guests to their rooms.  When Tiger asks for a bedtime story, this is what he gets. “Now I lay me down to sleep with bear and rabbit, bird and sheep.  If I should dream before I wake, may I dream of William Blake.”  (MK) 

  1983  Voigt, Cynthia.  Dicey's Song.  New York: Atheneum, 1982. 

Thirteen-year-old Dicey and her three younger siblings are sent to live with their grandmother, whom they have never met.  They have trouble adjusting to their new home.  Dicey worries about all of them.  Somehow, Dicey and Gram must reach out and hold on to the people they love. (VK) 

  1984  Cleary, Beverly.  Dear Mr. Henshaw.  New York: Morrow, 1983. 

Leigh has a lot of things on his mind.  His parents are divorced, he never gets to see his truck driving father, he doesn’t have any friends, and someone keeps stealing things out of his lunch bag. He writes all of his thoughts to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw.  Beverly Cleary shows another side to her talent—writing about serious matters through the eyes of a boy in a difficult situation. (AB) 

  1985  McKinley, Robin.  The Hero and the Crown.  New York: Greenwillow, 1984. 

Aerin discovers in an old book a salve that proofs skin and clothing against dragon fire, and her discovery draws her to prove herself to the king, her father.  However, her battle with an dragon nearly kills her, and only then does she discover she is destined to return to her kingdom as a hero with the fabled blue sword in one hand and the legendary hero’s crown in the other. (MA) 

  1986  MacLachlan, Patricia.  Sarah, Plain and Tall.  New York: Harper, 1985. 

One day Papa tells Caleb and Anna that he has placed an ad in the newspaper for a wife.  He has received an answer from Sarah that she will come from Maine to stay for a month to see how things go.  Will Sarah stay, or will she miss the sea too much?  (JP) 

  1987  Fleischman, Sid.   The Whipping Boy.   New York: Greenwillow, 1986. 

Here’s an adventure filled with cut throats, rat catchers, and a dancing bear. A spoiled heir to the throne, known as Prince Brat, runs away from the castle and takes the lowly boy Jemmy along. Jemmy’s role in life is to suffer the punishment for Prince Brat’s acts of mischief. The story takes a turn when the real learner uses his skills to outwit a group of highwaymen. (JHP) 

  1988  Freedman, Russell.  Lincoln: A Photobiography.  New York: Clarion, 1987. 

With impressive text and carefully selected photographs, Lincoln, the book, honors Lincoln, the man.  Read about Lincoln’s journey from having little "eddication"  all the way to the White House.  Photographs from the Abraham Lincoln Museum and National Portrait Gallery will appeal to visual learners and history buffs.  (AL) 

  1989  Fleischman,  Paul.  Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices.  New York: Harper, 1988. 

Find a friend and both of you read aloud this wonderful collection of poetry. Listen to your voices as you read about grasshoppers, book lice, and honeybees.  Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind book.  Cheers for insects!  (SF)