Illuminations Year 4, 3rd-8th Grade

Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on an Orphan Train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. When her mother left Marianne at the orphanage, hadn't she promised she'd come for her after making a new life in the West? Stop after stop goes by, and there's no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy, plain Marianne, either. But that's all right: She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train pulls into its final stop, a town called Somewhere . . .

From the "Prince of Storytellers," an exciting account of life on the high seas as seen through the eyes of young Ned Hearne. The brave 16th-century teen sails with Francis Drake, experiences a harsh seafaring life, visits unexplored lands; and witnesses the great naval battle between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada.