Books in Gemma Open Door series

Suddenly driven from their African home by a war in Biafra, the McCall family washes up in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley. The locals assume they must be glad to be back in the "civilized world." But life in America is lonely, desolate and dull, and the children and their fragile mother hope that one day they will return to the life they left behind. Their father, a hardened oil man, knows better: war has destroyed any home they may have had. As the truth begins to sink in, mother and children gravitate toward another refugee from war-torn Africa and his dream. Anatole imagines an African animal park on the dry plains surrounding their California town and offers hope that these two worlds can be brought together in one place.

BJ's mother is short.Mom is an abstract painter who runs an arty café. BJ, however, takes after her missing father. Just twenty-one, she’s a college basketball player who lives and breathes the game. High tops and hoops occupy her every waking moment. When she accidentally discovers her dad, a shadowy presence throughout her whole life, she suspects her best friends may actually be closer than she thinks—are they her sisters? Maybe there is more family she’s never met! BJ just wants to keep her mind on the game.

These are the tales of one-season wonders. The history of baseball is filled with forgotten names—players who are good enough to reach the top of the sport but who, for any number of reasons, land at the edges of the game. Some spend a week or two in the major leagues and then disappear back into the minors. Many leave the sport for good. Still, for an afternoon, a week, or a couple of months, these men stood on the field alongside the best players in The Show. Here are gripping stories of their brief moments in the sun. Praise for Joe Schuster's The Might Have Been: "Surely destined to join the ranks of transcendent baseball novels." ?Richard RussoThe Gemma Open Door Series features storytelling by best-selling authors and important voices for new readers. A story doesn't have to be big to change ‎our world‎.‎ ‎

A boy, just 15, through no effort of his own, travels back in time to the late 15th century, where he meets Leonardo da Vinci. Because the universe bends back on itself, time streams overlap, and he just happens to be in the right place at the right time. Or the wrong one. Da Vinci, in addition to being an artist, was an early futurist, who drew designs for the first airplane, helicopter, submarine, and on and on. Who better to design a time machine to get the boy home? Not a great student, our time-traveler is hooked on natural science as he gets to know Leonardo. Meanwhile, da Vinci is fascinated by the stuff in the backpack – what’s that bag of Funyuns?There's plenty of intrigue along the way. Leonardo da Vinci's patron is a Borgia who wants to keep someone from the future, with all his knowledge, deep in the past. Since time travel depends on being at the right place when the time streams intersect, the final scene reveals a breathless dash to the proper place with the Borgias in hot pursuit.Part of the Gemma Open Door Series, originally designed for new readers, these books confirm the truth that a story doesn't have to be big to change the world. Time with Leo is specifically created for young adult readers.

Everyone has a prom story - the culmination of the vibrant and painful years of high school.Throw in the sexual revolution, a stuttering cousin for a date, and a parking valet dressed like Abraham Lincoln, and looking cool is an impossible dream. Edith, the fierce and vibrant narrator, tries to leave nuns snapping prom pictures and her painful past behind, and find a way to be both the free spirit her friends require and to be herself.

The city is Dublin, the year is 1972. Redser and Pancho are two teenagers from the North Wall. Redser is top of the class, especially good at math. Pancho's knack is finding money, not adding or subtracting it. Redser's parents run the local credit union. Pancho's dad runs riot in the city pubs on pay day. The boys' worlds could not be further apart. Yet they are the best of friends. One day, on his regular paper round, Redser stumbles upon the aftermath of a crime. Two elderly sisters, 'the East Wall witches', have been burgled. But the robbers haven't taken all the money. Redser and Pancho are about to face the biggest challenge of their lives.

A funny, moving and wistful story of a rural Ireland long since passed.1940's rural Ireland. Every week, young Tom is sent on an errand to the nearby town on foot. An imaginative boy, he convinces himself hes a cowboy and his journey is a foray into the Wild West. On his adventures, he meets a host of weird and wonderful characters, from Ned Wall, the farmer with half a face, to dear Miss Daisy, with her pony and elegant trap - a perfect lady. But times are changing fast, and the old ways are dying out.