Books with author Patricia Bell

A finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and longlisted for the National Book Award, The Firebrand and the First Lady is the riveting history, two decades in the making, of how a brilliant writer-turned-activist and the first lady of the United States forged an enduring friendship that helped to alter the course of race and racism in America.In 1938, the twenty-eight-year-old Pauli Murray wrote a letter to the President and First Lady, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, protesting racial segregation in the South. Eleanor wrote back. So began a friendship that would last for a quarter of a century, as Pauli became a lawyer, principal strategist in the fight to protect Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a co-founder of the National Organization of Women, and Eleanor became a diplomat and first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Lillian Smith Book AwardFinalist Georgia Author of the YearNominated Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award

Following the success of Trucks: Whizz! Zoom! Rumble!, Trains: Steaming! Pulling! Huffing!, and Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming!, Patricia Hubbell introduces the fourth installment to her popular series featuring "things that go!" Sean Addy and Megan Halsey portray a variety of airplanes using vibrant clip art, etchings, and original drawings. Perfect for anyone who loves flying machines!

From House to HomeNever in my life would I have imagined I’d be homeless. But here I am, fifteen and sleeping on a park bench with nothing but the clothes on my back, twelve dollars in my pocket, and a backpack full of useless school books.It’s incredible how fast things can change. One minute I’m walking home from the bus stop, and the next my mother is being carted off by the police for drug- dealing and I am left with no family to take me in.Just as I resolve myself to entering a group home full of bullies and cockroaches, my principal finds a peculiar name on my emergency contact list. That’s when my world totally changes and I am thrust into a situation completely beyond my control.And to top it off – I do have family! Turns out my mother lied to me all my life. And that’s not all she lied about. Unbelievable!From Good to BadAunt Kari glances toward the sound of the ringing phone with a puzzled expression. She looks back at the two of us, shrugs, and then rushes into the kitchen to grab it before it goes to voicemail.I stop and listen for a second. Nothing big, just polite conversation. I continue sweeping, thinking it’s probably someone trying to sell eco-friendly cleaning products or something. But then, her voice rises in a very Un-Aunt Kari like tone.“What? . . . This can’t be happening,” she cries. “There’s no way I’m letting her go back there.”At the mere tone of her voice, my heart drops into my tennis shoes. The subconscious threat that has hovered in the back of my mind suddenly leaps into my chest. My stomach squeezes into a ball at the realization — I’m the her she’s speaking of. I drop the broom, and it bounces to the carpet, making only a muffled thump. Still, Uncle Derek glances over at me. Evidently, he hasn’t heard the conversation going on in the other room.That’s when I realize the inevitable has happened … My mother is out of jail.From Lies to Truth“Guess who’s back at school this year?” Amy asks before I get a chance to sit down.“Who?” I don’t know why I inquire, because I’m sure I don't know who she’s talking about, anyway.She leans in closer to me — so close, I can smell the cheeseburger she just took a bite of. “Josie Mendez,” she whispers so softly I can barely hear her.Who in the world is that and why would I care? I stare at her politely puzzled. Wait a minute. Why does that name sound familiar?“Hey, slugger. What’s the big secret?” Chris walks up behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. That’s when it hits me. Like a plug that’s been pulled in a sink with an open drain — Josie Mendez. The girl who accused Chris of raping her when he was a freshman.“The Josie Mendez?” I turn around to see Chris’s brows tighten into rigid lines. “His Josie Mendez?”“What about her? Haven’t we already—”“She’s back.”Girl UnbrokenAs I stare at the off-white ceiling of the ambulance, my body is numb, my eyes blurred. Tight straps confine me to yet another prison — a gurney. For my own protection, they said. The muffled blare of sirens echo in my ears. But even after all I’ve been through, all I can think about is that strange, haunting voice — The girl on the other side of the door. It ricochets off the sides of my skull.I’m not going to leave you, she whispered from the other side of my prison cell. The police are on their way. It was so gentle, caring, so self-assured. What’s your name? she asked. Mine is Karina.How could she be so calm? Soon the monster would be back, and he would do to her what he’d done to me. I wanted to scream at her to run. Get out of there as fast as she could, but she was my only hope. Hope for what? There was nothing left to hope for. Still . . .

All her life, Saffire Tipton had heard stories from her Grandpa Joe about a place where Kings ruled, magic flourished, and strange creatures roamed the land. But those were just stories. At least that’s what she thought until she found herself in the world of Elysia. When Prince Wallace finds a strange girl in the forbidden forest caught up in Bramble Weed, he enters inside to arrest her. No one was granted access into the forest without permission from the Queen of the Flitterlings. As with any world, Elysia is not without conflict of its own and Saffire is not welcomed by all. Join the adventure with Saffire as she meets flying Flitterlings, tough Jabbers, meddling Krags, and learns about the alluring Electra.

Crossing over the border is a dangerous business......But Lupita must cross from Mexico to America. After her father dies in a fishing boat accident in the seas near their small Mexican village, Lupita's family is left in poverty. Lupita and her big brother, Salvador, must smuggle themselves into the United States to earn money to support their mother and young siblings. America is not the land of opportunity they had hoped. A new language, hard labor, and the constant threat of la migra -- the immigration police--make every day a difficult challenge. But for feisty Lupita, there is always hope for a better manana -- tomorrow.

Never in my life would I have imagined I’d be homeless. But here I am, fifteen and sleeping on a park bench with nothing but the clothes on my back, twelve dollars in my pocket, and a backpack full of useless school books. It’s incredible how fast things can change. One minute I’m walking home from the bus stop, and the next my mother is being carted off by the police for drug- dealing and I am left with no family to take me in. Just as I resolve myself to entering a group home full of bullies and cockroaches, my principal finds a peculiar name on my emergency contact list. That’s when my world totally changes and I am thrust into a situation completely beyond my control. And to top it off – I do have family! Turns out my mother lied to me all my life. And that’s not all she lied about. Unbelievable!Books in the Karina's Journey SeriesFrom House to HomeFrom Good to BadFrom Lies to TruthGirl Unbroken - A Novella

Design, plant, and grow a world of your very own—inside a terrarium! Including 15 unique, imagination-inspiring project plans, each accompanied by adorable, full-color photographs, kids and their grown-ups will discover how easy terrariums are to plant and grow. Kids love to create, imagine, and have fun. Nothing fulfills all three of those desires quite like designing and planting a terrarium. With the step-by-step project instructions found in A Family Guide toTerrariums for Kids, the results are beautiful, inspiring, and confidence-building. Making these little landscapes develops motor skills, spacial awareness, and provides a wealth of sensory input. The science behind the art is included with quick and simple lessons on ecosystem functions, the water cycle, and plant nutrition. But for kids, it's all about being active and building something cool! Plus, when the project is complete, there's a piece of living art to share with family and friends or display on a bedroom shelf. With the terrarium plans found in A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids, everyone in the family can tap their inner “science geek” to:Use multi-colored sand and succulents to craft a desert terrariumPlant, trim, and tend a terrarium bonsai treeBuild a peat bog filled with carnivorous plantsMake an aquatic terrarium, complete with a marimo moss ball “pet”Design a prehistoric garden of air plantsCreate a plant-filled habitat for a praying mantisGrow a Japanese garden with living rocksWith information on selecting the best terrarium container, growing materials, decorative elements, tools, and plants, readers are primed for success that lasts long after the terrarium has been built. Terrariums combine imagination and creativity with a dash of hands-on science. And you get to play in the dirt! What could be better than that?

“Guess who’s back at school this year?” Amy asks before I get a chance to sit down.“Who?” I don’t know why I inquire, because I’m sure I don't know who she’s talking about, anyway.She leans in closer to me — so close, I can smell the cheeseburger she just took a bite of. “Josie Mendez,” she whispers so softly I can barely hear her.Who in the world is that and why would I care? I stare at her politely puzzled. Wait a minute. Why does that name sound familiar?“Hey, slugger. What’s the big secret?” Chris walks up behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. That’s when it hits me. Like a plug that’s been pulled in a sink with an open drain — Josie Mendez. The girl who accused Chris of raping her when he was a freshman.“The Josie Mendez?” I turn around to see Chris’s brows tighten into rigid lines. “His Josie Mendez?”“What about her? Haven’t we already—”“She’s back.” Books in the Karina's Journey SeriesFrom House to HomeFrom Good to BadFrom Lies to TruthGirl Unbroken - A Novella

Aunt Kari glances toward the sound of the ringing phone with a puzzled expression. She looks back at the two of us, shrugs, and then rushes into the kitchen to grab it before it goes to voicemail. I stop and listen for a second. Nothing big, just polite conversation. I continue sweeping, thinking it’s probably someone trying to sell eco-friendly cleaning products or something. But then, her voice rises in a very Un-Aunt Kari like tone. “What? . . . This can’t be happening,” she cries. “There’s no way I’m letting her go back there.” At the mere tone of her voice, my heart drops into my tennis shoes. The subconscious threat that has hovered in the back of my mind suddenly leaps into my chest. My stomach squeezes into a ball at the realization — I’m the her she’s speaking of. I drop the broom, and it bounces to the carpet, making only a muffled thump. Still, Uncle Derek glances over at me. Evidently, he hasn’t heard the conversation going on in the other room.That’s when I realize the inevitable has happened … My mother is out of jail. Books in the Karina's Journey SeriesFrom House to HomeFrom Good to BadFrom Lies to TruthGirl Unbroken - A Novella

As I stare at the off-white ceiling of the ambulance, my body is numb, my eyes blurred. Tight straps confine me to yet another prison — a gurney. For my own protection, they said. The muffled blare of sirens echo in my ears. But even after all I’ve been through, all I can think about is that strange, haunting voice — The girl on the other side of the door. It ricochets off the sides of my skull. I’m not going to leave you, she whispered from the other side of my prison cell. The police are on their way. It was so gentle, caring, so self-assured. What’s your name? she asked. Mine is Karina.How could she be so calm? Soon the monster would be back, and he would do to her what he’d done to me. I wanted to scream at her to run. Get out of there as fast as she could, but she was my only hope. Hope for what? There was nothing left to hope for. Still . . .Books in the Karina's Journey SeriesFrom House to HomeFrom Good to BadFrom Lies to TruthGirl Unbroken - A Novella

Following the success of Trucks: Whizz! Zoom! Rumble!, Trains: Steaming! Pulling! Huffing!, and Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming!, Patricia Hubbell introduces the fourth installment to her popular series featuring "things that go!" Sean Addy and Megan Halsey portray a variety of airplanes using vibrant clip art, etchings, and original drawings. Perfect for anyone who loves flying machines!