Books with author Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Meet Violet. She's going on vacation to sunny Florida. She packed her bag very carefully.Meet Pooch. He's going on vacation to Grandpa's snowy farm. Violet packed his bag very carefully, too.After they both leave, disaster strikes! When their bags get mixed up, Violet thinks Pooch's vacation will be miserable. But Pooch the dog is having a grand old time, so all is very well!

A large extended family is enjoying their summer vacation in New England, and Grandpa has been getting everyone up at five in the morning to dig for clams. They haven't found many yet, but their luck is about to change. The morning after a big storm, they discover a bumper crop of clams on the deserted beach! The rest of the day is spent collecting and cleaning the clams, and their reward at the end of the day is sitting down to a huge dinner of clam chowder, stuffed baked clams, and spaghetti with clam sauce! As you and your child join Grandpa and the gang in their clam-digging adventures, you will discover the importance of family and how food brings people together, all while learning a new language!

This book about a child's simple faith is one that children will long remember--and adults will love to share.When Wanda discovers a thornbush growing in the empty lot at the corner of Fillmore and Hudson, she's quite sure it's a rosebush all ready to bloom. So she clears away the trash, checks on it every day, and brings water from the butcher shop across the street. But no roses appear. Wanda's neighbors and friends are all doubtful, but when she invites them to a tea party in her "rose garden" one day in June, they're in for a big surprise.