Frank Carlson Library

Declan O'Brien always had a gentle word to share, odd phrases he liked to repeat, and songs to sing while he played basketball. His favorite song was Dona Nobis Pacem, "Grant Us Peace." His family loved him deeply and always knew they were loved in return. but a terrible accident one day changes their lives forever, and Fiona and Finn O'Brien are left without a father. Their mother is at a loss. What words are there to guide them through such overwhelming...

They say Maniac Magee was born in a dump. They say his stomach wasa cereal box and his heart a sofa spring. What's truth, what's myth? It's hard to know. But when Jeffrey Lionel Magee wanders into

Visiting his dad's hometown in Japan four months after his father's death would be hard enough for Ben. But one morning the pain turns to fear: first, a massive earthquake rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle's house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away -- and pulled apart -- by a terrible tsunami. Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough...

Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini lives in the house where Houdini spent his final years, so he has always been interested in the famous magician, and has even learned a few simple magic tricks; he just never expected Houdini to contact him from beyond the grave--and what Houdini wants him to do could well cost Harry his own life.

The people of fourteenth-century Florence, Italy, starving after years of bad weather and natural disasters, now face the Black Plague but twelve-year-old Maria is determined to survive. Includes historical note, glossary, and discussion questions.

When her father dies, Amie's ability to play music dies, too. Nothing short of a miracle can bring back what she has lost. Amie has spent her life perfectly in tune with Ba-ba, her father--she plays the violin, his favorite instrument; she loves all his favorite foods, even if he can't eat them during his cancer treatments; and they talk about books, including Amie's favorite series, Harry Potter. But after Ba-ba dies, Amie feels distanced from everyone...

"Glorieta Magdalena Davis Espinosa is happy that Papi married Alice. She's happy that he can smile again after years of mourning Mama. But the urn containing Mama's ashes disappeared into a drawer the day Alice moved in. If everything about Glorieta's life is going to change, then she wants one thing to go her way: She wants to hear stories about her mama when the family gathers on the last night of los Dias de los Muertos. And that can only happen...

Three years after his father's death by suicide, twelve-year-old Drew embarks on a journey toward understanding, forgiveness, and hope.

"Sometimes, home isn't where you expect to find it. After losing his mom in a fatal car crash, Kaede Hirano--now living with a grandfather who is more stranger than family--developed anger issues and spent his last year of middle school acting out. Best-friendless and critically in danger repeating the seventh grade, Kaede is given a summer assignment: write an essay about what home means to him, which will be even tougher now that he's on his way...

Twelve-year-olds Reef and Theo have a mutual problem: their memories are getting mixed up, and that means that Reef is losing his memory of his mother, recently dead of COVID, which terrifies him--but for Theo his new memories are helping him deal with his domineering father. Reef and Theo don't know what's happening to them. They'll be going about their days and then suddenly they'll have these strange flashes of memory -- but the memories don't...