Books with author Denise Orenstein

Things are hard for eleven-year-old Yonder. Her mother died and her father has sunk into sadness. She doesn't have a friend to her name . . . except for Dirt, the Shetland pony next door.Dirt has problems of his own. He's overweight, he's always in trouble, and his owner is the mean Miss Enid, who doesn't have the patience for a pony's natural curiosity. His only friend is Yonder, the scrawny girl next door.So when Miss Enid decides to sell Dirt for horsemeat, Yonder knows she has to find a way to rescue him. Even if that means stealing Dirt away and sneaking him into her own house. What follows will make you worry, will make you cry, and will ultimately fill you with hope, love, and an unshakable belief in the power of friendship. Especially the four-legged kind.

Things are hard for eleven-year-old Yonder. Her mother died and her father has sunk into sadness. She doesn't have a friend to her name... except for Dirt, the Shetland pony next door.Dirt has problems of his own. He's overweight, he's always in trouble, and his owner is the mean Miss Enid, who doesn't have the patience for a pony's natural curiosity. His only friend is Yonder, the scrawny girl next door.So when Miss Enid decides to sell Dirt for horsemeat, Yonder knows she has to find a way to rescue him. Even if that means stealing Dirt away and sneaking him into her own house. What follows will make you worry, will make you cry, and will ultimately fill you with hope, love, and an unshakable belief in the power of friendship. Especially the four-legged kind.

In the late 1960's, in the small community of Bethel, Alaska, a beaten teenager named Dove Alexie is in prison. One day, he mysteriously vanishes, and curiously, there is no mention of hi s arrival or departure on the prison records. Four young people in Bethel tell their stories, and the narrative circles around Dove – their unseen companion. Told with humour and insight, Unseen Companion spins together four unique voices that capture the complexities of human existence and the search for one's place in the universe. o Based on the author's own experiences living and doing social work in fourteen Alaskan bush villages, which left Orenstein uniquely qualified to write the kind of loss and hopelessness presented in this novel. o An intriguing and layered narrative structure, unique voices, and a brilliant over–arching metaphor that sums up one's place in the universe make this a unique and resonant book that will stick with readers for years to come. Ages 12 +

Things are hard for eleven-year-old Yonder. Her mother died and her father has sunk into sadness. She doesn't have a friend to her name . . . except for Dirt, the Shetland pony next door.Dirt has problems of his own. He's overweight, he's always in trouble, and his owner is the mean Miss Enid, who doesn't have the patience for a pony's natural curiosity. His only friend is Yonder, the scrawny girl next door.So when Miss Enid decides to sell Dirt for horsemeat, Yonder knows she has to find a way to rescue him. Even if that means stealing Dirt away and sneaking him into her own house. What follows will make you worry, will make you cry, and will ultimately fill you with hope, love, and an unshakable belief in the power of friendship. Especially the four-legged kind.

What happens when a girl tries to steal a dog -- but the dog steals her heart instead?pI made my birthday vow: I would get Willis out of jail, no matter what./ppWhen Bean's brother gets arrested for joyriding in a stolen car, Bean is devastated. She's determined to get him out of jail by raising the bail their mom can't afford. She tries everything, from applying for summer jobs, to offering to paint summer mansions. It's at one of those old mansions that she meets a young girl named Phoebe and her giant (and very valuable) guard dog, Honey./ppBean quickly hatches her plan: She'll convince Phoebe to sell Honey and let her use some of the cash for bail./ppBut when Honey's sale takes a dangerous turn, Bean is torn between her desire for her brother's freedom and her loyalty to Phoebe and sweet, drooly, affectionate Honey. Can Bean fight for her family without betraying her new friends?/p

I made my birthday vow: I would get Willis out of jail, no matter what.When Bean's brother gets arrested for joyriding in a stolen car, Bean is devastated. She's determined to get him out of jail by raising the bail their mom can't afford. She tries everything, from applying for summer jobs, to offering to paint summer mansions. It's at one of those old mansions that she meets a young girl named Phoebe and her giant (and very valuable) guard dog, Honey.Bean quickly hatches her plan: She'll convince Phoebe to sell Honey and let her use some of the cash for bail.But when Honey's sale takes a dangerous turn, Bean is torn between her desire for her brother's freedom and her loyalty to Phoebe and sweet, drooly, affectionate Honey. Can Bean fight for her family without betraying her new friends?

In the late 1960's, in the small community of Bethel, Alaska, a beaten teenager named Dove Alexie is in prison. One day, he mysteriously vanishes, and curiously, there is no mention of hi s arrival or departure on the prison records. Four young people in Bethel tell their stories, and the narrative circles around Dove – their unseen companion. Told with humour and insight, Unseen Companion spins together four unique voices that capture the complexities of human existence and the search for one's place in the universe. o Based on the author's own experiences living and doing social work in fourteen Alaskan bush villages, which left Orenstein uniquely qualified to write the kind of loss and hopelessness presented in this novel. o An intriguing and layered narrative structure, unique voices, and a brilliant over–arching metaphor that sums up one's place in the universe make this a unique and resonant book that will stick with readers for years to come. Ages 12 +

Bethel, Alaska -- a small community in a stark landscape where a powerful and richly textured story spins together, one voice at a time. It is the late 1960s as beaten teenaged Dove Alexie sits in prison. One day, Dove suddenly vanishes, and there is nothing in the prison records to mark his arrival or departure. Out of the tundra, four young people step forward with their stories: Lorraine Hobbs, a precocious loner who brings meals to the prison; Annette Weinland, the local minister's daughter, who volunteers at the prison; Thelma Cooke and Edgar Kwagley, two Yup'ik adolescents orphaned and displaced from their native communities. At the core of each narration is Dove -- and the mystery of his disappearance. Like planets in the solar system, these four young people travel in separate orbits with an unseen companion, Dove. Denise Gosliner Orenstein's masterpiece of intertwining voices captures the complexities of human existence with humor and insight.