Best Selling Books by Robert Newton Peck

"Rural Vermont during the 1920''s is the setting for this nostalgic account of episodes in the lives of young Robert Peck and his pal, Soup."--(starred) School Library Journal.

Originally published in hardcover in 1972, A Day No Pigs Would Die was one of the first young adult books, along with titles like The Outsiders and The Chocolate War. In it, author Robert Newton Peck weaves a story of a Vermont boyhood that is part fiction, part memoir. The result is a moving coming-of-age story that still resonates with teens today.

Although Arly Poole seems bound to follow in his father''s footsteps as a field worker in Jailtown, Florida, where his family lives in 1927 in the shadow of a cruel boss, his world suddenly seems larger when a schoolteacher comes to town.

In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Robert Newton Peck''s bestselling classic, A Day No Pigs Would Die, here is the eagerly anticipated sequel. This must for schools, libraries, and summer reading lists is now available for the first time in paperback. Times are difficult during the Great Depression, and thirteen-year-old Rob Peck must struggle to keep his family together after the death of his father. Disaster after disaster strikes and the family is forced to sell their farm. Relying solely on their strong Shaker faith and close family ties, the Pecks finally prevail and young Rob learns that true wealth extends beyond money and that real values are priceless.

Tugwell Dockery hasn''t spoken since the horrific events that unfolded one afternoon six years ago at his grand-father''s ranch. Now he''s back there, newly orphaned, living with his grandfather and gutsy great-aunt. The only person who understands him is his brother, Broda Joe. But Broda Joe''s in jail, and Tug hasn''t seen him in two years. Now, more than ever, Tug needs Bro, but their reunion will cost them more than they ever expected.

After an airplane crash that claims the lives of most of his family, sixteen-year-old Tate finds unexpected solace in the stories of his great-aunt Vidalia''s childhood travels with a Depression-era Negro League baseball team.

A young girl living on a Vermont farm relates the events of the day her uncle brought her a genuine "Junior G-man machine gun."

While doing research for a school essay about a reclusive old mountain man, two boys fall into an abandoned mine shaft from which only the old man can rescue them.

Arly, an orphan in search of a home and a family, escapes from a brutal migrant labor camp, joins a traveling religious show, and battles a devastating Florida hurricane.

In 1938, with the help of a doctor and her elderly, horse-thieving father, a seventeen-year-old orphan steals thirteen horses from Chickalookee, Florida''s doomed rodeo and finds a family in the process.

A freak snowstorm almost keeps Rob and his best friend Soup from celebrating Soup''s ninth birthday, but the boys'' ingenuity makes the party a success.

As Valentine''s Day approaches their Vermont town of Learning, Soup and Rob experience several forms of love.

Soup and his best pal, Rob are planning to go on a hayride. Rob hopes it''s going to be an ordinary hayride, but he should know better when Soup is in charge. There''s no stopping the boys as they fly into action.

Rob and Soup set in motion a wild scheme to catch the eye of the Hollywood talent scout visiting their small Vermont town.

Drawings by Hal Frenck.

In Depression-era Florida, young Yoolee assumes the responsibility of protecting his family from an unspeakable horror stalking the swamplands.

A visit from Uncle Virus and his motorcycle gang stimulates Soup to new and ingenious schemes, involving a cache of moonshine, a motorcycle competition, and revenge on the dreaded Janice Riker.

Rob manages Soup''s campaign for class president in their small Vermont town.

Twelve-year-old mascot Babe helps her aging friend and pitcher Sober McGinty arrive in time for the antics at Durkee''s Lot when two local teams meet for the biggest game of the season.

Higbee Hartburn, Graffiti Prep''s foremost prankster, goes to great lengths to provide the school with a victorious basketball team.

Assisted by her friends costumed as Samson and Gideon, frecklefaced Trig masquerades as the seductive Delilah for the church Halloween costume pageant.

Greatly disappointed that the celebrated Miss K will not be their teacher, Finley Streeter and Stanley Dragavich pull pranks on the new teacher in their small town.

An official Junior G-man takes matters into her own hands when Clodburg''s only uniformed policeman is replaced by a traffic light.

Rob and Soup engineer an incredible appearance by Santa and his sleigh in their small Vermont town.

The story of Abbott Coe, 16-year-old orphan boy, set in the wilds of Canada in 1754 as the French and Indian War brewed across North America.

In 1932 in Florida, despite his older brother''s objections, fifteen-year-old Ladd finds himself, through a series of unforeseen circumstances, traveling alone more than 100 miles to bring back wild horses for the rodeo and for breeding.

Anticipating the celebration of Miss Kelly Day in honor of the teacher of their one-room school in Learning, Vermont, Soup and Rob save the day from certain catastrophe at the hand of Dr. Elsa Pinkerton Uppit.

Sixteen-year-old Kenny''s hike through the Adirondacks in search of a writer at Lost Pond becomes a fight for survival as he realizes he is not alone in the hostile wilderness.

Sixteen-year-old Tee sets off on a grueling cattle drive up through the Florida wilderness of the 1920s in order to prove to his father that he is just as talented a rider as his older brother Micah. Reprint.

Rob totes Soup''s huge drum through the Fourth of July parade before he realizes Soup hasn''t carried his share. Before the close of the celebration Rob gets even.

With over 65 books published, including the breathtaking (and somewhat autobiographical) A Day No Pigs Would Die, Robert Newton Peck has enjoyed an illustrious writing career. Now, in an autobiography as unique as he is, Peck tells his story through the people in his life. From his roots as a poor Vermont farmer’s son to his years as a soldier in World War II, from his time slogging away in a paper mill to his semi-retirement in Florida, Peck shows us people who too often go unseen and unheard–the country’s poor and uneducated. “For decades, I’ve examined the autobiographies of my fellow authors. Bah! Many could have been titled And Then I Wrote . . . So instead of my life and lit, here is the unusual, a tarnished treasury of plain people who enriched me, taught me virtues, and helped me hold a mite of manhood. They’re not fancy folk, so please expect no long-stemmed roses from a florist. They are, instead, the unarranged flora that I’ve handpicked from God’s greenhouse . . . weeds in bloom.” From the Hardcover edition.

When his irresponsible younger brother dies in an accident, Hiram MacHugh, a bachelor and justice of the peace of Hallapoosa, Florida, takes in his young niece and nephew

A bishop''s wife and a used-car salesman compete in a watermelon seed-spitting contest.

The year she turns twelve on Spanish Hoof, her family''s beloved ranch in Florida, Harry gets a pony and learns some hard lessons about life.

A collection of mini lessons with accompanying CD that teaches creative writing to middle-school students.

The further adventures and misadventures of Rob and Soup, two boys growing up in a small Vermont town.