Books published by publisher Milkweed Editions, 2012

Ever since Nissa Bergen's father Ivar remarried, Nissa has felt like a stranger in her own home, clinging to her memories of her free-spirited mother, Heirah Rae, who moved to Chicago to escape the conformity of small-town Louisiana. To make matters worse, she's not ready for the physical changes that are happening to her. So when Heirah asks Nissa to stay with her for a while, Nissa decides it's time for a change. But Heirah's life in Chicago painting sets for a theater is overwhelming to Nissa, and she misses her home and father in Harper. Slowly, Nissa realizes that she has to stop living for her mother and start living for herself. Ivar and Lara's visit convinces her that home is in Harper. And after a revelation in the Chicago library, Nissa discovers a way for her to stake her independence and find her place in her family and her life. Told with the lyricism that marked The Year of the Sawdust Man, Nissa's Place is a beautiful continuation of Nissa's story and a remarkable book on its own. Once you meet Nissa Bergen, you'll never forget her.

WINNER OF THE MILKWEED PRIZE FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATUREWINNER OF THE 2013 PATERSON PRIZE FOR BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERSALA RAINBOW LIST RECOMMENDED BOOKAMELIA BLOOMER PROJECT LIST RECOMMENDED BOOKLAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALISTMINNESOTA BOOK AWARD FINALISTFOREWARD REVIEWS BOOK OF THE YEAR HONORABLE MENTIONIn the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology and visiting the famous new amusement park--a summer of fun before she returns for her final year of high school, after which she’s expected to marry a nice boy and settle into middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of equally oppressive guardians--her father’s wealthy cousin and the matron’s stuck-up daughter. Only a liberating job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocating boredom of traditional femininity.

Isabelle Lee has a problem, and it's not just Ape Face, her sister, or group therapy for an eating disorder, or even that her father died and her mother is depressed and in denial. It's that Ashley, the most popular girl in school, is inviting Isabelle to join her at lunch and at sleepovers at her house, and this is presenting Isabelle with a dilemma. Pretty Ashley has moved Isabelle up the social ladder, but is it worth keeping the secret they share?Caught in the orbit of popularity and appearances, Isabelle must navigate a world with mixed messages, false hopes, and potentially harmful turns, while coping with her own flailing family and emotions. The author brings a depth of characterization, humor, and a real adolescent's voice to this multileveled story about the desire to be perfect in an imperfect world.

Eleven-year-old Sebby has found the perfect escape from his crummy house and bickering family--a secret cave he calls "The Hole in the Wall." He discovers this astonishing cave in a pristine, beautiful glen in the midst of a devastated mining area behind his home. But it’s not long after Sebby’s found it that his world starts falling apart: His family’s chickens disappear, colors start jumping off the wall and coming to life, and after sneaking a taste of raw cookie dough he finds himself with the mother of all stomachaches. When Sebby sets out to solve these mysteries, he and his twin sister Barbie get caught in a wild chase through the tunnels and caverns around The Hole in the Wall—all leading them to the mining activities of one Stanley Odum, the hometown astrophysicist who’s buying up all the land behind Sebby’s home. Exactly what is Mr. Odum mining in his secret facility, and does it have anything to do with the mystery of the lost chickens and Sebby’s stomachache? The answers to these questions go much further than the twins ever imagined.

The North American Prairie stretches from Alberta and Saskatchewan south to Texas, and from the edge of the Rockies east to Illinois. In the same vein as its predecessor about the North Atlantic Coast, this book gathers the literature of the North American Prairie as a way to introduce young readers to the region’s natural heritage. Herein readers will enjoy songs and narratives of Plains Indians, tales of 19th-century settlers, and contemporary essays and poems.

Ever since Nissa Bergen's father Ivar remarried, Nissa has felt like a stranger in her own home, clinging to her memories of her free-spirited mother, Heirah Rae, who moved to Chicago to escape the conformity of small-town Louisiana. To make matters worse, she's not ready for the physical changes that are happening to her. So when Heirah asks Nissa to stay with her for a while, Nissa decides it's time for a change. But Heirah's life in Chicago painting sets for a theater is overwhelming to Nissa, and she misses her home and father in Harper. Slowly, Nissa realizes that she has to stop living for her mother and start living for herself. Ivar and Lara's visit convinces her that home is in Harper. And after a revelation in the Chicago library, Nissa discovers a way for her to stake her independence and find her place in her family and her life. Told with the lyricism that marked The Year of the Sawdust Man, Nissa's Place is a beautiful continuation of Nissa's story and a remarkable book on its own. Once you meet Nissa Bergen, you'll never forget her.

Spanning Texas to Florida, the Gulf Coast is one of America’s most distinct regions. This book, comprised of poems, essays, journal entries, and information on the area’s natural features, reveals the region’s remarkable richness. With stops in such uniquely southern locales as Texas’s Neches River Bottom, Mississippi’s Pascagoula, and Louisiana’s Bayou Dorcheat, the book introduces dynamic past and present inhabitants of the area, including Choctaw Indians, fur traders, cotton farmers, and city kids. Readers also encounter wild creatures such as rattlesnakes, alligators, mosquitoes, panthers, manatees, and whooping cranes. Literary selections by Zora Neale Hurston, Barry Hannah, E. O. Wilson, Joseph Bruchac, John James Audubon, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and other writers with ties to the Gulf Coast pay tribute to the region’s strong storytelling tradition. Maps and 30 black-and-white illustrations are included.

Ariel is the head chef in her family kitchen. Cucumber salads, fettuccine carbonara, fish tacos, and peanut butter pie are just a few of the dishes she crafts when she’s feeling frustrated by the world. And it’s turning into a frustrating year. Ariel, Nicki, and Mattie have been inseparable friends since they were little kids, but now Mattie’s mom has decided to move away. It’s the girls’ last year in middle school, and they can’t fathom being separated. The friends concoct a plan that will keep Mattie in the Bay area — she’ll move in with Ariel and her family. But before you can say "bff," the party is over. Everything Mattie does gets on Ariel’s nerves, and it’s not long before the girls are avoiding each other. This was supposed to be their best year ever, but some painful lessons are threatening to tear their friendship apart. Can the girls scramble to make things right before the bond crumbles?