New Releases by A. Lafaye

2020 Kansas Notable Book STARRED REVIEW! "The historic town of Nicodemus, Kansas, springs to life through expressive artwork done in softly fluid lines and hues, conveying all of the hope and joy of the movement."—Foreword Review A family leaves behind sharecropping to settle the frontier and find a new kind of freedom. When Dede sees a notice offering land to black people in Kansas, her family decides to give up their life of sharecropping to become homesteading pioneers in the Midwest. Inspired by the true story of Nicodemus, Kansas, a town founded in the late 1870s by Exodusters—former slaves leaving the Jim Crow South in search of a new beginning—this fictional story follows Dede and her parents as they set out to stake and secure a claim, finally allowing them to have a home to call their own.

Bartholomew Botts loves pets. Unfortunately, when Bartholomew brings his brand-new frog to class, his teacher, Mr. Patanoose, declares: No frogs in school! How will Bartholomew keep his animal friends close at hand and follow Mr. Patanoose''s rules, too? Full color.

Cass Anne Marie came squalling into her mother''s waiting arms, a mother who had known the hard edge of expecting after three previous stillbirths. A fierce winter crept over their small mountain community and took Cass Anne''s life, but her mother -"cried her back"--crying so hard she brought her infant''s soul back to the living, breathing world. The residents of the community believe this opened Cass Anne up to the devil so they shun her and her mama, protecting their families from the "devil child."In an effort to tip the cosmic scales in her favor, Cass Anne fills her days with small kindnesses for her unsuspecting neighbors. When she begins to receive omens of bad things to come, folks are certain the devil is using the child. Cass Anne isn''t to be believed and it is only after tragedy strikes that the town is forced to see that omens can be a thing of beauty and a young girl can be an instrument of grace.

From A. LaFaye, a heartwarming tale of high adventure, family lore, and learning to conquer fear. Shape-shifting selkies, baby-stealing fairies, and spitting in water as a test for liars: Kyna’s adoptive parents have an endless stream of stories to keep her amused. But no matter how hard they try, Kyna can’t get over her fear of the water. As a small child, a storm at sea claimed her family, and nearly took her own life. Now even bathwater sets her on edge. When Kyna’s parents announce that they’ve rented a summer house on “magical” Lake Champlain, Kyna begs to be left home for the summer. No such luck. Once there, she explores the forests and the hillsides and resolves to stay as far from the water as possible. But when a new friend sets out to prove that there are selkies in the lake, Kyna finds herself far too close to the water, and dangerously close to a truth she can’t believe.

Young Gabe''s is a story of heartache and jubilation. He''s a child slave freed after the Civil War. He sets off to reunite himself with his mother who was sold before the war''s end. "Come morning, the folks take to the road again, singing songs, telling stories, and dream-talking of the lives they''re gonna live in freedom. And I follow, keeping my eyes open for my mama. Days pass into weeks, and one gray evening as Mr. Dark laid down his coat, I see a woman with a yellow scarf ''round her neck as bright as a star. I run up to grab her hand, saying, Mama?" Gabe''s odyssey in search of his mother has an epic American quality, and Keith Shepherd''s illustrations—influenced deeply by the narrative work of Thomas Hart Benton—fervently portray the struggle in Gabe''s heroic quest. Selected as a 2012 Skipping Stones Honor Book and for the 2012 IRA Teacher''s Choices Reading List. A. LaFaye hopes Walking Home to Rosie Lee will honor all those African American families who struggled to reunite at the end of the Civil War and will pay her respects to those who banded together through the long struggle for freedom. She is the author of the Scott O''Dell Award-winning novel Worth and lives in Tennessee with her daughter Adia. Keith Shepherd is a painter, graphic designer, and educator working out of Kansas City, MO. His painting "Sunday Best" is part of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum''s permanent collection. He describes his work as being "motivated by family, religion, history, and music."

Stella Reid is fighting to save the home she loves. After her father is killed and her mother succumbs to yellow fever, it''s up to Stella to run Oak Grove, her family''s plantation. Unlike most Southerners, Stella sees herself as equal to the African Americans she works side-by-side with in the cotton fields. The white Southerners reject her, and the freed men can''t trust her after generations of enduring the horrors of slavery. So Stella stands alone as she fights to follow through on her father''s dream to leave Oak Grove to her and the slaves. His will is nowhere to be found. Now, the bank has foreclosed on the plantation -- and the day of the auction is rapidly approaching. With no legal claim to the land, Stella is confronted with the possibility of losing Oak Grove, the only home she''s ever known. In this inspiring novel, A. LaFaye, winner of the Scott O''Dell Award for Historical Fiction, recounts a young woman''s struggle to save her family''s land and preserve their memory, illuminating the harsh realities faced by women and freed slaves during the turbulent years after the Civil War.

“In my fourteenth year the influenza infected my whole world. . . . Seems as though just as the Great War came to a close, the folks of Downeast Maine set to fighting a war of their own.” Born into an artistic and eccentric family, Lyza laments that her only talent is carving letters into wood. At least, that is, until the devastating loss of her mother to influenza during the pandemic of 1918. The illness has settled on their small coastal town in Maine, and the funeral marches pass Lyza’s house almost daily. When her unconventional father begins to prepare for the return of his dead wife, Lyza is the only one to protect him from being committed to a nearby work farm. Awash with grief and longing for her mother, Lyza journeys into the thin territory that divides the living from the dead. Relying on her courage and an undiscovered talent, Lyza must save her father and find her own path. From the celebrated author of Worth, this is a powerful story of love that persists beyond the grave.

A thirteen-year-old girl in Depression-era Louisiana grapples with her mother moving to Chicago, her father remarrying, and finding where she belongs. 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, Nissa’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. Praise for Nissa’s Place “Honeyed and colorful.” —Booklist “LaFaye surpasses the lyricism and emotional depth of her sparkling debut, The Year of the Sawdust Man, in this sequel. . . . Readers will be moved as Nissa comes to view Heirah Rae’s flight as an act of courage and a spur for Nissa to make her own dream of a library in Harper come true.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Eleven-year-old Nissa''s life has never been perfect. Living in the small town of Harper, Louisiana, with a mama like hers, circa 1933, has led to lots of mean rumors. But now Mama is gone, and all the townsfolk talk about is who she might have run off with. Nissa''s memories of the Sundays her mama would come home smelling of sawdust lead her to suspect the rumors could be true. Did her mama go away with the Sawdust Man? And if so, does it mean she''s never coming back? A. LaFaye''s powerful first novel beautifully explicates the world of a child in distress and how she copes with something beyond her understanding.

In 1936, fourteen-year-old Nissa takes a stand against racial prejudice and for her own integrity and independence, drawing on the support of her individualistic mother, her father, stepmother, and some of the inhabitants of their Louisiana town.

After breaking his leg, eleven-year-old Nate feels useless because he cannot work on the family farm in nineteenth-century Nebraska, so when his father brings home an orphan boy to help with the chores, Nate feels even worse.

Ebon Jones has to help his dad after he gets hit on the head. He needs to get dad''s spirit and body back together before it''s too late.

Raleia''s family has just moved to Tidal, Maine, which in 1911 was destroyed by a tidal wave. It''s 60 years later, and Raleia''s hippie parents can''t understand her fascination with the town''s past, and why Raleia turns to a sad, old reclusive man who lives on Strawberry Hill. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Leaving her home in Wisconsin in 1865, sixteen-year-old Katherine sets out for Chicago to prove to her family that she can make a life for herself.