New Releases by Janet Taylor Lisle

The War At Home Fear permeates the Rhode Island coastal town where Robert, his mother, and sister are living out the war with his paternal grandparents: Fear of Nazi submarines offshore. Fear of Abel Hoffman, a German artist living reclusively outside of town. And for Robert, a more personal fear, of his hot-tempered, controlling grandfather. As Robert watches the townspeople''s hostility toward Hoffman build, he worries about his sensitive cousin Elliot''s friendship with the artist. And he wonders more and more about the family secret everyone seems to be keeping from him—a secret involving Robert''s father, a bomber pilot in Europe. Will Elliot''s ability to detach himself from the turmoil around him be enough to sustain him when prejudice and suspicions erupt into violence? And can Robert find his own way to deal with the shocking truth about his family''s past?

An ALA Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017 “Striking, enigmatic, and haunting all around.” —Booklist (starred review) “A suspenseful, realistic, finely crafted story exploring friendship, trust, and how we judge others.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle’s novel about a pivotal summer in two girls’ lives explores the convictions we form, the judgments we make, and the values we hold. The pond is called Quicksand Pond. It’s a shadowy, hidden place, full of chirping, shrieking, croaking life. It’s where, legend has it, people disappear. It’s where scrappy Terri Carr lives with her no-good family. And it’s where twelve-year-old Jessie Kettel is reluctantly spending her summer vacation. Jessie meets Terri on a raft out in the water, and the two become fast friends. On Quicksand Pond, Jessie and Terri can be lost to the outside world—lost until they want to be found. But a tragedy that occurred many decades ago has had lingering effects on this sleepy town, and especially on Terri Carr. And the more Jessie learns, the more she begins to question her new friendship—and herself.

In “this enchanting story about friendship,” two fourth grade girls discover a magical world hidden in one’s backyard (Publishers Weekly). No fourth grader trusts Sara-Kate Connolly. Her boots are dirty, her clothes are weird, and she’s so maladjusted that the school had to hold her back a grade. But Hillary is her next-door neighbor, and can’t say no when the unusual loner invites her over to play. In Sara-Kate’s overgrown backyard, Hillary will find proof of a world of magic—the kind that can only blossom between true friends. Among the rusted car parts and wild plants, a miniature village has sprung up. It has tiny houses made from string, sticks, and maple leaves; a well with a bottlecap for a bucket; and even a little playground with a Popsicle-stick Ferris wheel. But there’s absolutely no sign of who built this miniature world. To Sara-Kate, the answer is clear—only elves could be responsible for something so enchanted. As she and Hillary watch for their elusive new friends, they learn that friendship, like magic, springs up where you least expect it. This ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection.

DIVAfter their violin teacher is attacked, two sisters stumble on dark secrets from her girlhood in France during World War II /divDIV Elsie and Mary’s lives are changed when they meet Miss Fitch, a fascinating Frenchwoman who makes her living teaching children the violin. She seems to be everything an instructor should be: stern when her students are slacking; inspiring when they lose heart. She knows how to make her young players believe in themselves. Mary is captivated, though she has no talent for the violin. Her sister Elsie is the natural musician in the family, but suddenly Elsie quits without explanation./divDIV /divDIVNot long after Elsie stops going to lessons, Miss Fitch is attacked in her home. As the girls look more closely at their teacher, they learn that the past can rise up to wreak havoc on even those whose lives seem most exemplary./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

DIVWar is coming, and it will take two very unusual friends to avert a showdown in the town of Forest /divDIV Upper Forest is the kingdom of an ancient clan of squirrels. For years they have lived and died in the trees, building an elaborate civilization high above the earth. Since man came to Forest, the trees have been thinned, but there are still enough thick groves where the squirrels can run from branch to branch, going days without touching the ground. To avoid people, their natural enemies, the squirrels make their homes higher than any human can climb—or so they think. But they haven’t met Amber Padgett./divDIV /divDIVSwift, bright, and fearless, Amber has never fit in among humans. When she pokes her head into Upper Forest, she begins an unlikely friendship with a squirrel named Woodbine. As this mismatched pair grows close, the worlds of Upper and Lower Forest collide. But Amber’s father, and other people in town, think the squirrels are pests and try to get rid of them. Which will triumph: friendship or war?/divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

DIVAn ancient oak tree has seen glory and tragedy—but nothing quite as spectacular as the showdown that’s brewing /divDIV For nearly a thousand years, the Dimpole Oak has towered over this small East Coast town, witnessing the passage of history: duels and revolution, lovers’ trysts and traitors’ hangings, victory parades and midnight conspiracies. The farmer who owns the land beneath the tree likes to tell stories of the murders and witch trials that took place in its shade. Local children play on the oak’s great roots and dig for buried treasure. The townsfolk plan a Dimpole Oak Day to celebrate their landmark./divDIV /divDIVMeanwhile, far away in India, a swami has a holy vision of the oak, and begins a journey to find it. Back in Dimpole, two boys take inspiration from the blackguards and pirates of the old farmer’s tales, and challenge a local bully to a confrontation under the oak. As all these plots and plans converge, the mighty oak stands ready to witness another grand event./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

DIVWhen their best friend changes drastically, the Investigators suspect extraterrestrial trouble /divDIV Georgina and Poco should not be climbing an apple tree in the dark. But Poco, who talks to animals, has recently developed a serious crush on a robin, and she gets worried when the bird doesn’t return to his nest one night. Poco convinces her friend to come with her to check on the nest, and while they’re peering through the tree branches, they see strange glowing objects in the sky. The array of lights can only mean one thing: aliens./divDIV /divDIVThe next morning, Poco’s robin returns and, more importantly, so does Angela. Angela had been the girls’ best friend before moving to Mexico a year ago, but she comes back totally changed. Before, she was short, chatty, and imaginative. Now she is tall, sullen, and cold. When Georgina reminds her of their former club, the Investigators of the Unknown, Angela shrugs her off. Paco and Georgina realize that the aliens have claimed their first victim, and they will have to move fast to save their friend./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

DIVIn search of the truth about his heritage, Walter only finds more mystery /divDIV Walter Kew has grown up without a past. Orphaned since birth and raised by his grandparents, he knows nothing about his parents, who died in an accident. Obsessively curious about the mother he never knew, he turns to the occult, using Ouija boards, crystal balls, and spells to reach out to the other world. But he’s never had any luck—until now./divDIV /divDIVWalking home from school, Walter hears what he thinks is his mother’s voice—faint, but very real. Although he can’t quite understand her words, he’s convinced she’s trying to tell him something. With his friends Georgina and Poco, he looks for clues. Their quest takes them to a statue of the Little Match Girl in the park, where infant Walter was once photographed with his mother. As the three investigators chase the mystery, Walter will learn more about his past—and his present—than he ever thought possible. /divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

When three kittens are carelessly thrown off the back of a truck, none of the highway cats know what to make of them. They seem to have some sort of appeal?an energy, even?that Khalia Koo, Jolly Roger and the rest of the mangy, feral cats don?t understand. But there are bigger issues to figure out when the bulldozers start coming, threatening to demolish the cats? homes as well as other historical landmarks. Can three little kittens be the answer to save the town? Illustrated with striking silhouettes, here is a spirited and original environmental story from Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle about finding help?and hope?in the smallest, most unlikely of places.

Thirteen-year-old Joelle looks like a Native American, a lost princess, according to her unwelcome fan club of eight-year-old worshippers. And it''s true that her past is a mystery. Joelle remembers nothing of her life before she was found, a scrawny five-year-old child, alone at a railway depot. But when Carlos, the slightly weird kid from her Spanish class, tells her that she looks like a girl in an old painting of Narragansett Indians, Joelle can''t help sneaking a look, and is surprised by the flicker of recognition. It''s Carlos who leads her through the forest to the ancient Crying Rocks, where howls on windy days are thought to be the spirit voices of children long ago, flung from the boulders to an early death. This terrible story sparks off memories for Joelle, slowly remembering a window, a shadowy mother, and a train journey to escape... It also leads her to discover the history of a lost American people - and to find a rare kind of courage that runs deep in her family...