Books in Harper Trophy series

A wild, stormy night . . . A shipwreck . . . The sudden appearance of a stranger . . . That is how it all begins. The stranger is Finn Learson, a young and handsome man who seems to be the only survivor of the wreck. Finn Learson is charming and generous, and the Henderson family gladly give him shelter. Only young Robbie Henderson does not trust Finn Learson and his oddly unsettling secret smile. Robbie is sure that he is hiding something--but what? The clues Robbie finds are mysterious: Finn Learson's love of dancing; an ancient gold coin that Finn gives to the family; strange omens in the ashes of a fire; and beautiful young Elspeth Henderson's increasingly odd behavior. Then, in one frightening moment, Robbie recalls his grandfather's warning and discovers at last the terrible, incredible truth about Finn Learson. And Robbie knows it's up to him to save his sister . . . before it's too late. Only 12-year-old Robbie knows that the mysterious Finn Learson is the evil Great Selkie, the seal-man of Shetland Islands legend. Phoenix Award winning author Mollie Hunter "has written another suspense story finely laced with folklore; her storytelling is as spontaneous as it is irresistible."—H. ‘Sure to keep readers spellbound.’ —SLJ. Notable Children’s Books of 1971-1975 (ALA)1976 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book for FictionBest Books of 1975 (SLJ)Outstanding Children's Books of 1975 (NYT)Children's Books of 1975 (Library of Congress)Kirkus Choice 1975

Steve Ferris makes a crash landing on a lonely beach when hurricane winds force his plane down. Days pass, and Steve cannot understand why he doesn't see any rescue planes. Gradually he realizes he is on an uncharted island; rescuers will not be able to locate him, and soon they will think he drowned in the storm. With skill and determination Steve fashions crude equipment for survival, and he discovers that he can live quite well off the land and from the ocean. But he must find a way to return to civilization.

Life is hard for the three Stone children. The death of their mother has left them bereft and grieving. Their father tries hard to make things better, but he is busy trying to keep their farm going. Even the land around them seems to have betrayed them: It is so barren that it is known as sour land.Then Moses Waters comes to teach at the black school at Cedar Corners. Moses can hear things no one else can, like the sound of the grass and the earth humming together. More than anyone else, he seems to have a special understanding of the Stone family. Only Moses can help them out of their grief.But a sour land grows sour people. There are some folks in town who don't approve of the friendship between the white Stone family and the new black teacher. And it looks like they will go to dangerous lengths to stop it.

When Rosie accidentally swallows an apple seed, her big sister Katie tells her that before long apple tree branches will bloom right out of her ears. Soon Rosie is imagining both the hazards and delights of having branches growing from her ears, and Katie is learning how fast a little white lie can grow. Written by bestselling author and psychologist, Harriet Lerner, and her big sister, Susan Goldhor, with delightfully funny illustrations by Catharine O'Neill, this is a special story about straying from the truth, forgiveness, and the boundless powers of a child's imagination. 1996 ‘Pick of the Lists' (ABA) Children's Choice Award winner for 2002.

When Mark, the father David scarcely knows, arrives to take him on a weekend fishing trip, David is tense and nervous. His parents have been separated for years, and David wonders if his rugged, outdoorsman father is testing him in some way.But the weekend turns out to be an adventure that neither one of them has planned on. A giant grizzly bear forces David up, a tree, then attacks Mark, eats their provisions, and puts their pickup truck out of commission. David must take charge. He finds a strength in himself he never thought he had, and in taking care of his seriously injured father starts to overcome his fear of him. There's only one problem: Can David get himself and his father out of the forest in time?

The prairie was like a giant plate, stretching all the way to the sky at the edges. And we were like two tiny peas left over from dinner, Lester and me.Louisa loves the Nebraska prairie, the only home she's ever known. It's a lonely place, surrounded by miles of wild, flat grasslands, but it's the wonderful kind of loneliness that comes of stillness and open sky and oneness with the land. A different kind of beauty enters Louisa's world when the new doctor and his wife, Emmeline, move to the prairie from New York City. Emmeline is the most beautiful person Louisa has ever seen, and she teaches Louisa to love poetry. But she is also frail and unsuited to pioneer life. Louisa wonders whether Emmeline will ever come to love the prairie as she herself does.