Books with author Ann Love

Mouse, a timid orphan growing up in medieval England, has little happiness in the world. But then, when she comes across a puppeteer so talented that he can make the puppets talk and dance as if they were little humans, Mouse realizes that true happiness is within reach -- and the key is learning how to make the puppets dance! What she doesn't realize, however, is just how much she and her prospective mentor have in common and how much, one day, they will share.

Jessie’s not surprised when her father says they’ll be moving from their Kentucky home to a better life in Texas. But there’s no work for her father in their new small town and Jessie doesn’t know how they’ll go on when tragedy strikes their family. Jessie’s only comfort is her new friend, a Mexican girl named Angelina. Their friendship must stay secret because Jessie’s father is joining other soldiers who are against Mexico in the fight for an independent Texas. When Jessie’s father and older brother leave, she and the rest of her family run toward the safety of the fort — the Alamo. What will become of the family now?

Julian, a school boy on a trip to a museum, meets Mr. Callisthenes who offers to teach him about Alexander the Greata hero who is nothing more than a name to most modern children who know anything of him. They are to go back in time to visit Alexander at various points in his lifetime. In the first episode, Alexander shows his father, King Philip, that he understands horses better than his elders. In the second vignette, Philip is assassinated and Alexander becomes ruler. Julian witnesses Alexander going to Troy and honoring Achilles, and making his claim as Achilles successor. Julian is at The Battle of Issus when Alexander defeats Darius, King of the Persians, and begins to subdue the Persian Empire. Julian comments on the taking of Tyre and the slaughter. Julian sees Alexander going to consult the Oracle of Ammon in Siwa, and he and his sister Melanie are present when Darius is killedwhen Alexander decides to return to Macedoniaand when he dies. This is vivid history!

Bill Wallace was an American doctor who lived and worked in Wuzhou, China, from 1935 until his death at the hands of the Communists in 1951. From the moment he arrived, China was at war or threatened by war, first from the Japanese and then from the Communists. Through it all, Bill and the staff of Stout Memorial Hospital loved and cared for the people. Stout Memorial Hospital became known as "the life of China." With the start of the Korean War in July 1950, the Communists began a campaign against "American Imperialists." At rallies, Communist leaders began to denounce American “exploiters.” The problem in Wuzhou was that the only American most of the Chinese knew was Bill Wallace. His life made the charges against America seem ridiculous. The Communists knew the only way to discredit America was to discredit Bill Wallace. Based on the 1963 book, "Bill Wallace of China," by Jesse Fletcher, and rewritten for kids by Ann Lovell, "Bill: An American Doctor in China" brings the true story of Bill Wallace to life for a new generation.

Mouse works in the scullery at Dunston Manor, peeling onions, stirring the pots, sweeping the floors, and doing her best not to get into trouble with the fractious cook. Alone at night in the dark corner she calls home, she wishes for something wondrous to happen and dreams of a better life. But what chance does she have, a girl born with nothing, not even a proper name? Then Mouse sees a puppet play and knows at once what she must do. Somehow she must learn to make the puppets dance. Somehow she must become the puppeteer's apprentice. But the puppeteer is harboring some uncomfortable secrets, and Mouse doesn't know whether she has the courage it takes to fulfill her dreams. How Mouse finds her place in the world, and a very special name, is the heart of this thoroughly absorbing and remarkable story set in medieval England.

It's the middle of summer in Mirabeau, Texas, but already Garnet Hubbard looks forward to fall -- to entering seventh grade and becoming a teenager at last. With Opal, her beautiful and popular fourteen-year-old sister, as her guide, Garnet is sure to have a great year. But everything changes when their mother, Melanie, packs them up and heads for Nashville, determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a country singer. Almost before they know it, Melanie drops the girls at her sister's house in Oklahoma, assuring them she'll be back just as soon as she's settled in Tennessee. But when a few days turn into a few weeks and beyond, with no Melanie in sight, the girls begin to realize what has happened. While Opal soon becomes one of the most popular girls in school, her younger sister struggles. For Garnet, getting used to her new life means trying to figure out how to have pride in herself when it seems she has little to offer the world and the odds are stacked against her. With only each other to lean on, Melanie's "precious gems" must learn to live with the hand they've been dealt and to accept the changing face of their family. Set in the early 1960s and beautifully told by D. Anne Love, Semiprecious is a powerful, poignant, and often funny coming-of-age novel that will stay with readers long after the turn of the final page.

So far, life for fourteen-year-old Phoebe Trask has been picture perfect. Her parents are successful; her older sister, Shyla, is on track to becoming the youngest lawyer in Texas; and her sixteen-year-old brother, Zane, the all-American best brother ever, is a star on the high school swim team. Then Phoebe's mother, Beth, becomes the traveling spokeswoman for Bee Beautiful Cosmetics, a job that keeps her away from home indefinitely, and Phoebe's father, a respected judge, finds himself embroiled in a trial that has the whole town choosing sides. What's more, the new next-door neighbor is a gorgeous widow who seems to want to take Beth's place in the family. All of a sudden Phoebe's once-solid family is on very shaky ground. In the year that follows, Phoebe is pushed to her limit as she struggles to cope with the changes in her life that just keep coming, ready or not -- and as she learns what it really means to love...and to forgive.

The Civil War truly hits home when Susanna's father is called to help the Confederate Army. Twelve-year-old Susanna is placed in charge of the family's South Carolina plantation and her two younger brothers. Then the Yankee soldiers invade their island, forcing Susanna and her brothers Neddie and Samuel to escape to their other home in Charleston. When a fire destroys their Charleston home, Susanna decides nothing will stop them from finding their father. Throughout the dangerous journey, Susanna can't help but question the traditions her family and most Southerners have been fighting to protect. Maybe it's time to stop going with the flow, and go up against the tide.

It's the middle of summer in Mirabeau, Texas, but already Garnet Hubbard looks forward to fall -- to entering seventh grade and becoming a teenager at last. With Opal, her beautiful and popular fourteen-year-old sister, as her guide, Garnet is sure to have a great year. But everything changes when their mother, Melanie, packs them up and heads for Nashville, determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a country singer. Almost before they know it, Melanie drops the girls at her sister's house in Oklahoma, assuring them she'll be back just as soon as she's settled in Tennessee. But when a few days turn into a few weeks and beyond, with no Melanie in sight, the girls begin to realize what has happened. While Opal soon becomes one of the most popular girls in school, her younger sister struggles. For Garnet, getting used to her new life means trying to figure out how to have pride in herself when it seems she has little to offer the world and the odds are stacked against her. With only each other to lean on, Melanie's "precious gems" must learn to live with the hand they've been dealt and to accept the changing face of their family. Set in the early 1960s and beautifully told by D. Anne Love, Semiprecious is a powerful, poignant, and often funny coming-of-age novel that will stay with readers long after the turn of the final page.