Books with author Giff Patricia

SEWING! NO ONE could hate it more than Dina Kirk. Endless tiny stitches, button holes, darts. Since she was tiny, she’s worked in her family’s dressmaking business, where the sewing machine is a cranky member of the family.When 13-year-old Dina leaves her small town in Germany to join her uncle’s family in Brooklyn, she turns her back on sewing. Never again! But looking for a job leads her right back to the sewing machine. Why did she ever leave home? Here she is, still with a needle and thread—and homesick to boot. She didn’t know she could be this homesick, but she didn’t know she could be so brave either, as she is standing up to an epidemic or a fire. She didn’t know she could grow so close to her new family or to Johann, the young man from the tailor’s shop. And she didn’t know that sewing would reveal her own wonderful talent—and her future. In Dina, the beloved writer Patricia Reilly Giff has created one of her most engaging and vital heroines. Readers will enjoy seeing 1870s Brooklyn through Dina’s eyes, and share her excitement as she discovers a new world.

The life and work of visionary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright launches our new activity book series, Meet the Architect!, an expansion of our Meet the Artist! series. Flaps, cutouts, and pull tabs, take readers on a fascinating journey through Wright's famous works — the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Fallingwater, and Taliesin, among others — and the materials and techniques he used to create them. This hands-on introduction will inspire budding architects from ages eight to eighty.

Sam must solve the mystery of who he really is.Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic above his grandfather Mack’s room, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped. There are lots of other words, but Sam has always had trouble reading. He’s desperate to find out who he is, and if his beloved Mack is really his grandfather. At night he’s haunted by dreams of a big castle and a terrifying escape on a boat. Who can he trust to help him read the documents that could unravel the mystery? Then he and the new girl, Caroline, are paired up to work on a school project, building a castle in Mack’s woodworking shop. Caroline loves to read, and she can help. But she’s moving soon, and the two must hurry to discover the truth about Sam.★ “This psychological mystery explores a child’s deepest genetic need for belonging. An engrossing examination of a profound theme in the deft hands of a discerning author.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred★ “Exquisitely rendered story of self-discovery. . . . Given the author’s expertise at developing sympathetic characters and creating a suspenseful plot, readers will find the complexity of Sam’ vulnerabilities to be asintriguing as the unfolding enigma of his past.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred

In this companion to the Newbery Honor-winning Lily's Crossing, thirteen-year-old Genevieve risks everything to defy the Nazis and join the French Resistance. Winner of the Christopher Award! It's not always thinking of being happy. Doing the right thing will make you happy.Despite the farm-work and her irritable grandmother Memé, Genevieve thinks she may have found a new home in Alsace, France, where she spent the summer of 1939. Without much to return to in New York, Gen is ready to see if this new life will make her happy.But then World War II erupts. The Nazis conquer France. Now everyone in Alsace must speak German, act German, and think German--or else. Even worse, a cold Nazi officer has commandeered a room in Memé's farmhouse--and he can tell that Gen and her grandmother aren't loyal to the Reich.But Gen won't be cowed. And when her friend Rémy commits an act of sabotage, she hides him in the last place the Germans will look--in the attic, right above the Nazi's head. For more thrilling historical fiction, don't miss Island War, a survival story set in the remote Aleutian Islands, occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and A Slip of a Girl, a novel in verse about the Irish Land War of the late 19th century.

No artist can put a smile on your face quicker than Alexander Calder. A sense of playfulness animates all of his work—from his signature hanging mobiles to his endlessly creative toys, drawings, and jewelry. Alexander Calder: Meet the Artist! is an exciting hands-on introduction to this beloved American sculptor. Calder's whimsical world is brought to life by imaginative pop-ups, pull tabs, lift-the-flaps, and cutouts. A universe of artistic possibilities opens up as young readers explore Calder's creative evolution, play with his toy designs, and even create their own sculptural circus.

We will dance on the cliffs of Brooklyn.Maggie’s Door is the story of the journey from Ireland to America told by both Nory and her neighbor and friend Sean Red Mallon, two different stories with the same destination—the home of Nory’s sister Maggie, at 416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America. Patricia Reilly Giff calls upon her long research into Irish history and her great powers as a storyteller in this deeply involving, riveting stand-alone companion novel to Nory Ryan’s Song.

This Newbery Honor book about a girl who has never known family fighting for her first true home “will leave readers . . . satisfied” (Kirkus Reviews). Hollis Woods is the place where a baby was abandoned is the baby’s name is an artist is now a twelve-year-old girl who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget. Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family.

Meggie Dillon's life has been turned upside down by World War II. Meggie's father has announced that they must help the war effort andmove to Willow Run, Michigan, where he'll work nights in a factory building important war planes that will help fight the enemy in Europe. Willow Run will be the greatest adventure ever, Meggie thinks. There she meets Patches and Harlan, other kids like her from far-off places whose parents have come here to do their part in the war. And there she faces questions about courage, and what it takes to go into battle, like Eddie, and to keep hope alive on the home front.

Brooklyn, 1875: Bird Mallon lives on Water Street where you can see the huge towers of the bridge to Manhattan being built. Bird wants nothing more in life than to be brave enough to be a healer, like her mother, Nory, to help her sister Annie find love, and to convince her brother, Hughie, to stop fighting for money with his street gang. And of course, she wishes that a girl would move into the empty apartment upstairs so that she can have a new friend close by. But Thomas Neary and his Pop move in upstairs. Thomas who writes about his life in his journal--his father who spends each night at the Tavern down the street, the mother he wishes he had, and the Mallon family downstairs that he desperately wants to be a part of. Thomas, who has a secret that only Bird suspects, and who turns out to be the best friend Bird could ever have.

This “brilliantly told” (New York Times) Newbery Honor Book gives readers a sense of what it was like to be on the American home front while our soldiers were away fighting in World War II. As in past years, Lily will spend the summer in Rockaway, in her family’s summer house by the Atlantic Ocean. But this summer of 1944, World War II has changed everyone’s life. Lily’s best friend, Margaret, has moved to a wartime factory town, and, much worse, Lily’s father is going overseas to the war. There’s no one Lily’s age in Rockaway until the arrival of Albert, a refugee from Hungary with a secret sewn into his coat. Albert has lost most of his family in the war; he’s been through things Lily can’t imagine. But soon they form a special friendship. Now Lily and Albert have secrets to share: They both have told lies, and Lily has told one that may cost Albert his life.

Discover the life and work of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci! Learn more about one of history's most creative geniuses — You might know that Leonardo da Vinci painted the famous Mona Lisa, but did you know he also wrote studies on mathematics and architecture, designed robots, and dreamed up numerous inventions, including an entire city and a machine that has been called the world's first automobile? Interactive activities with the full range of Leonardo's work — From his exquisite paintings and sculptures to his brilliant inventions and codes, there is something for everyone to enjoy in this immersive pop-up activity book. Flaps, cutouts, and pull tabs invite young readers and budding artists to engage in a hands-on exploration and even create their own ideal city.Collect the complete Meet the Artist! series:Alexander CalderHenri MatissePablo Picasso Vincent van GoghLeonardo da Vinci