When the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Mieko's nearby village was turned into ruins, and her hand was badly injured. Mieko loves to do calligraphy more than anything, but now she can barely hold a paintbrush. And she feels as if she has lost something that she can't paint without-the legendary fifth treasure, beauty in the heart. Then she is sent to live with her grandparents and must go to a new school. But Mieko is brave and eventually learns that time and patience can help with many things, and may even help her find the fifth treasure.

Illustrated by Darcie Park

From the manmade glitter of the Las Vegas strip to the natural splendor of Lake Tahoe, Nevada's riches go beyond the silver and gold found in Virginia City. "S is for Silver "showcases the hardy wildlife (the Desert Bighorn Sheep and the desert tortoise) and even hardier pioneers (the builders of the Hoover Dam) who shaped Nevada's landscape and character.

Eleanor Coerr began her professional life as a newspaper reporter and editor of a column for children. She taught children's literature at Monterey Peninsula College and creative writing at Chapman College in California. For the past 25 years, Eleanor has been writing children's books, lecturing, and visiting schools across the United States and abroad. Her previous children's books include "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" and "The Big Balloon Race." Eleanor shares her time between Henderson, Nevada and Pebble Beach, California.

Darcie Park was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and started drawing when she was five years old. She graduated with a BFA in illustration form California State University, Long Beach. She started her freelance illustration career in college and illustrated her first children's book, "The Reluctant Dragon," her first year out of college. Darcie makes her home in Lake Tahoe.

"An extraordinary book, one no reader will fail to find compelling and unforgettable." --"Booklist," starred review

The star of her school's running team, Sadako is lively and athletic...until the dizzy spells start. Then she must face the hardest race of her life--the race against time. Based on a true story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" celebrates the courage that makes one young woman a heroine in Japan.

" The] story speaks directly to young readers of the tragedy of Sadako's death and, in its simplicity, makes a universal statement for 'peace in the world." --"The Horn Book ""The story is told tenderly but with neither a morbid nor a sentimental tone: it is direct and touching." --"BCCB"

Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic--the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan.

Ariel would love to be in the basket of Lucky Star on the day of the big balloon race against Bernard the Brave. Her mother, Carlotta the Great, is the best lady balloonist in America. But Ariel's parents think she is too young. Little do they know she is asleep in the Odds and Ends box when Carlotta the Great orders "Hands off!" and the balloon race begins.

The thrills of Ariel's first ride in a hydrogen balloon come to life in this story based on a real ballooning family of the late 1800's. Carolyn Croll's pictures capture the pageantry and drama of the race, and will have readers rooting to the end for Ariel and her mother.

California,
here we come!

Faith's Pa says there's no room on a wagon train for Josefina, a chicken who's too tough to eat and too old to lay eggs. But Faith loves her pet. Can Josefina show Pa that she still has a few surprises left in her?