Literature By Time Period

Book 2 of the Circle C Adventure series. Andi nearly tramples her new teacher in a reckless, impromptu horse race down the main street of Fresno, California--not a good way to begin the fall 1880 school term. Her troubles multiply when she must decide if she should deliberately walk into a dangerous situation to rescue the teacher's mean-spirited, trouble-making daughter.

Book 3 of the Circle C Adventure series. Strange things are happening on the Circle C. Andi finds a stranger near death in the creek. A mysterious young woman shows up at the ranch with her three young children. And why was Andi never told the secret her family has carefully kept hidden? Angry and hurt at being left out, Andi saddles Taffy and sets out to find some answers--answers that turn her world upside down.

Book 4 of the Circle C Adventure series. When a flood damages the schoolhouse, Andi is ecstatic—until her family sends her to a stuffy San Francisco school for young ladies. The plight of a small, Chinese slave girl captures her heart, sending Andi and her new friends into the dark alleys of  Chinatown, where danger greater than she’s ever known waits to swallow them up.

Book 5 of the Circle C Adventure series. A map of old gold diggings lures Andi and her friends into the Sierras. Big brother Mitch goes along to keep them safe, but instead of gold they find heaps of trouble—trouble that leaves Mitch gravely injured. Andi needs help fast. But whom can she trust? And what good is a bag of gold when her beloved brother lies near death in the middle of nowhere? 

Book 6 of the Circle C Adventure series. Andi wants to surprise her mother with the perfect birthday gift. But working in town after school puts Andi in the wrong place at the wrong time. She witnesses a back-alley crime that places a beloved citizen at the scene. Will the price of telling the truth about what she saw be too high if it means losing Taffy forever? 

In his final quest, Gilgamesh, still mourning the death of his dear friend Enkidu, sets out to find the key to immortality. His journey is perilous. He must fight ferocious serpents and wild lions. He travels through bitterly cold caves, across scorching deserts, and over the fatal waters of the Sea of Death. Finally he arrives at the palace of Utnapishtim, the only human who knows the secret of immortality. Utnapishtim sets Gilgamesh a test to stay away for six days and seven nights, but Gilgamesh fails. His last hope, a flower of eternal youth, is eaten by the goddess Ishtar, who exacts her revenge. Finally, Enkidu comes from the underworld to show Gilgamesh true immortality: the king will be remembered for his good deeds, courage, and love for his people. This book is used in Illuminations.

Chebron, the young son of an Egyptian high priest, and Amuba, a young slave in the boy's household, are close friends; but their lives are greatly altered when Chebron accidentally kills a cat, an animal held sacred by the ancient Egyptians. Forced to flee for their safety, the boys and their companions begin a long and dangerous journey.

In this controversial classic fairy tale, a farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality, setting the stage for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned. Illustrations and Orwell's proposed but unpublished preface are included in this anniversary edition.

The king was going mad . . . So begins Polly Schoyer Brooks's account of one of history's most compelling stories and one of the world's most popular heroines-Joan of Arc. Brooks tells us of a fifteenth-century France ravaged by war, plague, and religious conflict; of a king who suffered fits of madness and his weak son who made a disappointing successor; and of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles by rallying the dispirited French nation with her desire to see the rightful king rule. 

When a Roman ship is wrecked off the coast of Britain, an infant, Beric, is the only survivor. He is rescued by a British tribe who raise him as their own until they can no longer ignore his Roman ancestry. Fifteen-year-old Beric feels increasingly bitter isolation when, because of his Roman birth, he is cast out by the Celtic tribe that raised him and, after reaching a Roman settlement, he is sold into slavery and sentenced to serve in a galley for the rest of his life.

"Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched" is what the people said. And that made young Gerhard Koestler smile. He knew that Erasmus had influenced Luther's thinking. He also believed both men were trying to serve God according to the Scriptures. Young Gerhard Koestler lived in Germany in the 1500s. He inherited money and a castle when his rich parents died. After a series of adventures and narrow escapes, Gerhard arrived in Basel, Switzerland, where he was able to live in the same house as Erasmus. Although Erasmus' enemies accused him of agreeing with Martin Luther, Erasmus said that the Bible was his guide.

Martin Luther's son has a problem. What should young Hans Luther do when he grows up? How can he ever do anything important when he is constantly overshadowed by his famous father? Gradually he discovers who he is and how God wants him to live. Through Hans' eyes 9-to-14 year olds will learn to know Martin Luther not only as the great Reformer-preacher, but also as a father with a sense of humor and as a friend.