New Releases by Sonia Levitin

Each paperback in this series features a trio of fictional stories highlighting a moment in American history. Troubled Times contains three stories focusing on the Great Depression. In The Lucky Star a girl helps her sister and other children learn to read when their school is closed. Rudy Rides the Rails features a boy living the hobo life. In Junk Man''s Daughter, a family struggles after moving to the United States.

Even before they immigrate to America, Hanna and her family dream of the new life they will have there. "You will see, Hanna," Papa said. "There are streets of gold." But when they arrive, they find life very different from what they had imagined. Their apartment is small and Hanna and her brothers must sleep on a mattress on the floor. Mama spends her days knitting shawls and sweaters to sell on the streets but no one stops to buy. And Papa can find no work. Hanna looks everywhere for the gold Papa promised them but it is not to be found. What will happen to their dream of a new, better life in America? One day a seemingly insignificant find on a slushy street leads to an opportunity for a brighter future. And like many others before them, Hanna and her family realize that through small steps and hard work they can make their American dream come true.

A summer in paradise. That''s all Marne wants. That''s all she can think of when she asks her parents permission to spend the summer in Hawaii with Aunt Carole and her family. But Marne quickly realizes her visit isn''t going to be just about learning to surf and morning runs along the beach, despite the cute surfer boy she keeps bumping into. For one thing, Aunt Carole isn''t even Aunt Carole anymore—she''s Aunt Chaya, married to a Chasidic rabbi and deeply rooted in her religious community. Nothing could be more foreign to Marne, and fitting into this new culture—and house full of kids—is a challenge. But as she settles into her newfound family''s daily routine, she begins to think about spirituality, identity, and finding a place in the world in a way she never has before. This rich novel is a window into a different life and gets to the very heart of faith, identity, and family ties.

As son of the Compassionate Director of the Dominion of the Americas, Will, along with his twin brother Berk, has been groomed for leadership in a society that values genetic fitness, but he encounters information which causes him to question that society as well as his own identity.

After German forces occupy Denmark during World War II, fifteen-year-old Julie Weinstein and fifteen-year-old Niels Nelson and their friends and families try to cope with their daily lives, finding various ways to resist the Nazis and, ultimately, to survive.

Explains all the things that Elephant should know about how to behave when attending a birthday or other kind of party.

Kangaroo learns the proper way to behave on the first day of school.

After her family moves to California where her father goes to work in the gold fields, Amanda decides to make her own fortune baking pies and she encourages others to provide the necessary services--from a general store to a school--that enables her town to prosper.

Publisher Description

An English youth and an Indian girl are caught up in the events leading to the mysterious disappearance of the colony at Roanoke Island.

A sixteen-year-old boy living in 2407 collides with the past when he finds himself in Strasbourg in 1348 confronting the anti-Semitism that sweeps through Europe during the Black Plague.

When her mother has to leave home suddenly, Amanda learns how demanding it is to run a household and care for a baby.

After her mother''s sudden death, high school student Laura starts hunting for information about her mother''s mysterious past, and in searching, uncovers some terrible secrets.

Annie''s Promises is Sonia Levitin''s unforgettable work of historical fiction. As a young refugee from Nazi Germany, Annie Platt seizes the opportunity to attend Quaker Pines, a camp for people of many different backgrounds. The conclusion to Levitin''s series about the Platt family, German Jewish refugees, is a "solidly crafted novel." (Publisher''s Weekly)

Amanda travels by stagecoach with her four siblings and her mother from Missouri to California to join her father.

When Moses comes to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, Jesse, a Hebrew slave, finds his life changed by his growing faith in God and his attraction to the half-Egyptian, half-Syrian Jennat.

Laurel Wang knows that the ghost of her beloved great-grandfather lives in the oak tree outside her house. But now her grandparents are arriving from China, and the family must move to a bigger place, leaving the protective spirit behind. Twelve-year-old Jonathan and his family are moving into Laurel''s house -- and he''s not too happy either. He''s living with a stepfather he can''t stand and a dog he didn''t choose; now he has to say goodbye to his old neighborhood and his wonderful Uncle Jake. But moving blues soon give way to angry ghosts, fortune cookies that predict the future, and a very scary accident, as the two teenagers with very different backgrounds join together to investigate a mystery and in the process discover something remarkable about each other.

After winning an ordinary dish at a local carnival, a thirteen-year-old is catapulted into a terrifying world of psychic phenomena where she discovers some shocking truths about her own past.

When Adam and his friends start a war with a rival club over a clubhouse, the conflict ends in violence.

Silver Days is Sonia Levitin''s story of a Jewish family—escaping from Hitler''s Germany—that moves from New York City to California. In this sequel to Journey to America, the reunited Platt family works hard at settling in to America, but the spectre of the war in Europe continues to affect their lives.

Having once had his heart broken, Jack keeps it in a bucket safe from harm until one day a young maiden asks him to solve a riddle which teaches him the true meaning of love.

Casssidy Keaton earns good grades, has lots of friends and a good home life. But having spent two weeks at summer camp, she begins her junior year a little bored -- and a little restless. Ken Farquar had "fallen" for Cassidy at camp. Still, he''s not sure he really fits in with her crowd -- and he''s not sure he wants to anyway. Right now, all he knows is that he wants to be with Cassidy. But one moonlit night, everything in their lives changes. While partying with their friends, Cassidy and Ken stumble upon a dead body. Suddenly, they are faced with the toughest decision of their lives. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.

It''s 1938, and terrible things are happening in Germany. Jews are being hounded with no laws: you must a wear a yellow star on your clothing; you cannot attend this school; you cannot go here...or there. The Nazis are in charge. Lisa Platt lives with her parents and two sisters. She doesn''t fully know what is happening, but she is scared. Her father decides the family''s only chance is to get to America. He''ll have to go first to find a home and a job. Meanwhile, Lisa, her mother, and sisters will have to live Switzerland and wait to hear from him. And so they do, waiting, enuduring more hardships than any of them could ever have imagined.

Desta and the other members of her Falasha family, Jews suffering from discrimination in Ethiopia, finally flee the country and attempt the dangerous journey to Israel.

Claudia''s conversion to feminism causes trouble.

Leni describes her senior year of high school during which things at home, at school, and in her personal life happen with heightened intensity.

Describes the events in Cynthia''s life as she tries to prove she can provide a good home for the school''s pet rat.

Jacov, a slow boy, is given the special honor of "blowing the shofar (ram''s horn)" on the Jewish high holy days.