Books with title A Simple Gift

Ten-year-old Carrie O'Connor has lots of questions. Where does her mother, a famous New York children's writer, find ideas for her best-selling Michael Madigan series? Why does her father, a busy surgeon, sometimes spend more time curing people than caring for her? How would her life change if she landed a role in a play directed by a Broadway director? Carrie unwraps the answers in a Junior Library Guild selection called "a love song to the theatre...a love song to life." Selected for William Allen White and Mark Twain Master Lists.

Finding the courage to make amendsTen-year-old Carrie O’Connor wants to be an actress. After starring as a singing tooth in her class play at a New York City school, she convinces her parents to let her audition for a summer theater production in the mountains of North Carolina. And not just any production – it is a play based on a beloved children’s book written by her own mother! By virtue of a plucky audition (and not, she makes certain, her relation to the book’s author), Carrie is invited to join the cast. But as Michael Madigan’s Curtain Call wends its way toward opening night, Carrie makes a blunder so big it threatens to topple the whole production. Young readers will identify with this spunky young heroine as she finds a way to put things right – and makes some unexpected discoveries about her writer-mother’s past in the process.

In words, pictures, and song, a nineteenth-century hymn continues to delight “’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free.” So begins Simple Gifts, a generations-old hymn written by the Shakers of Alfred, Maine. In that simple community, people based their lives on kindness, trust, and the joys that come when we sing and dance together. In this lush volume, acclaimed illustrator Chris Raschka brings this famous song to life, celebrating animals and landscapes with bold brushstrokes and warm colors. A cat, a rabbit, a turtle, and even the trees appear to dance to the lyrics. After all, sometimes the finest gifts are the simplest ones. This fixed-layout ebook preserves the design and layout of the original print book.

Finding the courage to make amendsTen-year-old Carrie O’Connor wants to be an actress. After starring as a singing tooth in her class play at a New York City school, she convinces her parents to let her audition for a summer theater production in the mountains of North Carolina. And not just any production – it is a play based on a beloved children’s book written by her own mother! By virtue of a plucky audition (and not, she makes certain, her relation to the book’s author), Carrie is invited to join the cast. But as Michael Madigan’s Curtain Call wends its way toward opening night, Carrie makes a blunder so big it threatens to topple the whole production. Young readers will identify with this spunky young heroine as she finds a way to put things right – and makes some unexpected discoveries about her writer-mother’s past in the process.

I'm not proud. I'm sixteen, and soon to be homeless. Weary of his life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, "Old Bill," who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only to how forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

When the paths of a runaway teenage boy, an old hobo, and a rich girl intersect in an abandoned train yard, each carries their own personal baggage. Over early mornings, long walks, and cheap coffee they discover, no matter how big or small, it’s the simple gifts in life that really make a difference. A life-affirming look at humanity, generosity and love, this is a special reissue of a bestselling and award-winning Australian classic that includes up-to-date teacher’s notes.

A special reissue of a bestselling and award - winning Australian classic from popular author Steven Herrick. My hand in his stops trembling, for a moment. When the paths of a runaway teenage boy, an old hobo and a rich girl intersect in an abandoned train yard, each carries their own personal baggage. Over early mornings, long walks and cheap coffee they discover, no matter how big or small, it's the simple gifts in life that really make a difference. A life - affirming look at humanity, generosity and love.