Books published by publisher Cricket Books

Emma's known all along that girls are better than boys, and the fifth-grade science fair gives her the opportunity to prove it. With the help of her best friend, Louise, she begins work on the most talked-about science project since Louise's brother created a solar eclipse in the school gym. But Emma soon discovers that knowing the truth is one thing and proving it scientifically is something else. Her project divides the school, girls against boys, and Emma and Louise find themselves at the center of the controversy. Worst of all, the facts don't appear to be as clear-cut as she thought. Emma has to decide whether to forge an alliance with the boys to ease the tension at school. Then she realizes that despite her talk about the superiority of girls, she's been underestimating her best friend's intelligence. Only by overcoming her own narrow-mindedness can Emma win the science fair and make it through fifth grade.Reminiscent of Jane Austen's Emma, The Boy Trap recounts the humorous adventures of a witty, charming, and likable girl who is forced to confront the folly of her own arrogance.

Robert is back for another round of hilarious adventures, and this time he’s pitted against his archrival Susanne in a classroom contest. "People used to think a runny nose meant your brain was leaking." Third-grader Robert learns this and other wacky facts when he and his friend Paul start training to be contestants on The Instant Millionaire. When Robert discovers that he’s too young to be on the show, he submits his teacher’s name. Nothing goes as planned after that, but Robert tries his best to set matters straight. Fans of the previous Robert books will love this new story of the boy’s antics as he gets in over his head once again.

John Riley's Daughter opens in a small South Carolina town in the early 1970s with the disappearance of Memphis Riley's 29-year-old mentally handicapped aunt, Clover. Memphis and Clover have never gotten along, which is just one of the things Memphis's grandmother will never forgive her for. Six years ago Memphis's folksinging father, John Riley, dropped her off at her grandmother's house "temporarily" after her mother died; he hasn't been back since. Now Memphis's life is a constant round of domestic battles and uneasy truces. And she can't rely on her mother, Rosie, who no longer appears in her daughter's dreams. After Clover disappears, Memphis finds herself on the defensive yet again, and even her grandmother suspects that Memphis may have harmed Clover. In this powerful story told in the first person and set over the course of three sweltering July days, Memphis must come to terms with her life, her attitudes, and her options.

Rivka has never been beyond the walls of Prague's Jewish quarter. One day she ventures outside . . and nothing will ever be the same.* Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Notable Book 2001.* Lilith Magazine's 5th Annual Selection of Books for Young Readers* Included in Great Books for Girls, by Kathleen Odean (Random House)"Kanefield weaves a suspenseful tale of friendship and love." Hadassah Magazine. "Rivka's Way captures the curiosity, compassion, and determination of a young girl struggling to find her place in the world." From the Babaganews Study Guide"The details of daily life are completely convincing, the foreign setting is made familiar, and Rivka's character rings true. A rewarding read for the romantically inclined." School Library Journal "A simple but daring adventure." Voice of Youth Advocates "This well-told tale will appeal to fans of both historical fiction and spunky female protagonists." Kliatt, Reviews of Selected Books "When Rivka befriends a man who is unjustly thrown into debtor's jail with no recourse, she is faced with a hard decision, to risk leaving the ghetto again or to abandon this man to a grim fate. Her choice creates an uproar and deeply changes Rivka's view of her world." Lilith Magazine"Readers will be pleased to find another character who shares Rivka's deep sense of justice." BooklistTERI WON THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE ASSOCIATION 2015 CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD for a children's book that effectively promotes the cause of world peace and harmony between the races in the older reader's category for The Girl From The Tar Paper School.

What should the music of America sound like? At the end of the nineteenth century, no one was sure ? should we imitate Europe, or find our own voice? But what would that be? When the great Czech composer Antonin Dvorak came here, he found the answer in the ?sorrow songs? of his African-American student, Henry Burleigh, in the rhythms of the Indian drums, in the church tunes of Spillville, Iowa. Author, critic, and music-educator Joe Horowitz vividly captures the America Dvorak visited, and the brilliant New World Symphony he created. Through the story of one classical composition, Horowitz reveals the many ways in which all Americans have shaped our culture.

Alienated at school and struggling with his parents’ separation, Kit takes his loneliness to the blacktop, where he loses himself in running — until one day, an accident on the road catapults him into what seems to be a parallel universe. Names and places are strange yet oddly familiar, and Kit is torn between newfound popularity in this world and panic at the thought of never returning home. While Kit’s routine centers on training for an important cross-country race against a rival school, the reader is drawn into Kit’s predicament and his growing fascination with an enigmatic teammate, Alrika. She leads Kit to wonder if he is racing not only for his school but also for his life.

Third-grader Robert Dorfman is having a triple-rotten day, one that's terrible for him but will be terribly funny for readers. First his brother, Charlie, hogs the bathroom. When Robert gets to school, his best friend, Paul, is absent. And-oh no!-he forgot he has an afternoon appointment with the orthodontist. A new palate expander means Robert eats baby food for dinner, much to Charlie's delight. And if that isn't bad enough, Robert loses a wire and thinks his dog, Huckleberry, has swallowed it. After an emergency trip to the veterinarian's, where Huck has a dog X-ray, Robert searches for his missing wire by emptying the (ugh!) vacuum cleaner bag. He decides it would be cool to teach Huckleberry to be a "wonder dog," like the ones he saw in a video, but Huck has other ideas. Fortunately, Robert's resourcefulness solves all of his problems in a surprising plot twist that earns him the respect of his teacher, family, and friends.

A collection of 15 Czechoslovakian fairy tales as told by Parker Fillmore. All these stories appear in many versions in the different folklore collections made by such native writers as Erben, Nemcova, Dobsinsky, Rimavsky, Benes-Trebizsky, Kulda. They represent the folk-tale in all stages of its development from the bald narrative of The Bird with the Golden Gizzard which Kulda reports with phonographic exactness, to Nemcova's more elaborate tale, Prince Bayaya, which is really a mosaic of two or three simpler stories. Included is Katcha and the Devil for the sake of its keen humor, which is particularly Czech in character; The Betrothal Gifts to show how a story common to other countries is made most charmingly local by giving it a local background; The Three Golden Hairs to contrast it with a famous German variant which is believed to be much inferior to the Slavic version; and several fine stories of the prince gone off on adventures which in common with the folk-tales of all Europe show a strong Oriental influence.