Books with author Dianne Stewart

Cal Bradley just wants his life to be normal. He wants to complete his history project, not travel back in time and become part of it. He dreams of being Most Valuable Player for his middle school basketball team, not causing his rival never to have been born. And he longs to forget about the eighteenth-century pirate he and his friend, Anthony, accidentally caused to time-travel, not risk his life to save him.But the old wooden box with the gold medallion from an ancient South American treasure site has other plans for him, taking him on a journey he never could have imagined. Along the way, Cal learns about himself, about helping friends, about taking responsibility. And he discovers that even enemies are people, too.

More trouble... Seventh-grader Anthony Wescott has escaped from a pirate, altered history, and helped capture criminals. In the finale of the Quimbaya trilogy, he longs for his time-traveling days while dodging the bullies of Jefferson Bainbridge Middle School. Lured by historical accounts of an unsolved mystery in their quiet town, Anthony convinces his sister, Liv, and best friend, Cal, to travel to the 1830s to solve it. But what happens next is not in their plans...More danger... Anthony is kidnapped in 1838, and the fearless Cherokee boy who rescues him fails to escape the Trail of Tears as he was meant to do. Is Anthony willing to put his life on the line to save Daniel Kingfisher?More adventure... For help, the three young people call on former pirate Robert Morehouse, who has perfected his survival skills across four centuries. By stagecoach, steamboat, and on horseback, they pursue Daniel and his captors. But the 1830s are a turbulent time in the young nation of America, and when the Season of the Cold Moon arrives early, Anthony must reach deep inside himself and learn the real meaning of courage.

In this witty book based on an African folk tale, Thulani prefers sitting in the sun to doing his chores. Tired of milking the cow, he trades her in for a goat. When the goat gets into the corn seed, he trades it for a sheep. Sick of shearing, he buys some geese, which then get exchanged for some sunflower seeds. With each trade, his hard-working wife gets more and more exasperated. Can Thulani redeem himself and still have time for his favorite hobby, doing nothing? Droll text and lively illustrations make this book ideal for repeated readings.

Abigail Tripp dreams of adventures. Losing herself in the pages of books about far off places is the closest she’s ever gotten. That is until a birthday gift from her grandparents includes tickets to Alaska. She’s planned every detail and read every book she could to get ready for the journey. But would she be prepared for a real adventure? Lost in the wilderness with just other kids, her skills will be put to the test.

Terrible floods in South Africa’s Valley of a Thousand Hills have destroyed the crops and left the ground too wet for planting. As Lindiwe and her grandmother wait for the fields to dry, they try to earn a living by selling their beautiful beadwork to tourists in Durban. They meet with no luck until one day, a dove lands in the yard, bringing inspiration and new hope to Lindiwe and her loving Gogo. Jude Daly’s beautiful illustrations enhance this sensitive story, which raises awareness about flooding, fair trade, and rural South Africa in a child-friendly manner.

All Thulani wants is a simple life basking in the sun. Tired of milking the cow, he exchanges it for a goat ... the goat for a sheep ... the sheep for three geese ... until all he has left is a pocket of sunflower seeds! But the sunflower seeds feed the hens, the hens lay more eggs than ever and before long Thulani is enjoying the gift of his newfound fortune. A charming easy-to-understand story teaching children the concept of investing and growing what one has. Dianne Stewart’s charming story and Jude Daly’s delightful illustrations will enchant children and adults alike. For the illustrations of this book, The Gift of the Sun was selected as one of Smithsonian’s Notable Books in 1996 and Jude Daly received the Katrine Harries Award, as well as a place on the IBBY Honour List of 1998.

Never set a Pond on Fire is a collection of four short stories. These stories are gleaned from the authors days growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River and an oral tradition of story telling in his family. All are full of adventure. Each story has a different theme. They range from a whimsical story of a high school senior prank gone terribly wrong to a night of shear terror being cornered by a murderer. From being lost deep in the bowels of Mark Twain Cave to an eyrie tale of an apparition.