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.

"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...

"After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back"-- Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter resuced him as a kit. But one day the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild. At his grandfather's house three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be - with Pax. He strikes out on...

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...

After her mother's death, thirteen-year-old Opal moves to her uncle's farm where she befriends a group of orphaned, music-loving bats, and summons the courage to protect them from a mining company as she attempts to find them a new home.

After his pet rabbit dies, Josh feels sad and does not want to own another pet until an elderly neighbor's cat goes missing.

Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it.