Spring Pearl: The Last Flower

Bound

Donna Jo Napoli · 189 pages

YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND. Bound to her father's second wife and daughter after Xing Xing's father has passed away. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where the life of a woman is valued less than that of livestock. Bound to be alone and unmarried, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Dubbed "Lazy One" by her stepmother, Xing Xing spends her days taking car

Dragon Keeper

Carole Wilkinson · 339 pages

set in China in 141 B.C. In a remote western palace, Ping, a slave girl of unknown origin, serves the emperor's Dragon Keeper, an incompetent drunkard who neglects the two last-known dragons in his charge. When one of them dies and an evil hunter threatens to kill the other for his magical body parts, the old dragon, Danzi, escapes with the girl. He entrusts Ping with his precious and beautiful pu

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break

Lensey Namioka · 157 pages

Ailin's life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound.

The Kite Rider

Geraldine McCaughrean · 304 pages

In thirteenth-century China, after trying to save his widowed mother from a horrendous second marriage, twelve-year-old Haoyou has life-changing adventures when he takes to the sky as a circus kite rider and ends up meeting the great Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

The Courtesan

Alexandra Curry · 384 pages

"The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father's summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature. Will the private ritual that is her father's legacy and the wise friendship of the crippled brothel maid be enough to sustain her? When

Rodzina

Karen Cushman · 215 pages

A twelve-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and to the hazards of a new life.

Audacity Jones to the Rescue

Kirby Larson · 216 pages

In 1910, Audacity Jones is an eleven-year-old orphan living a monotonous life at Miss Maisie's School for Wayward Girls, and wondering why nothing exciting ever happens--but when the mysterious Commodore Crutchfield whisks her away to Washington D.C., she finds herself involved in a sinister and dangerous plot against the president of the United States.

Beyond the Bright Sea

Lauren Wolk · 283 pages

Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar. Crow has always been curious about the world around

Moonraker's Bride

Madeleine Brent · 571 pages

The stranger she married that night was gone by morning. But she could never forget she was "Moonraker's Bride." Set against the exotic backdrop of China and England at the turn of the century, this breathtaking novel unfolds a fascinating tale of love, intrigue and mystery--of a man who trusted no one and a woman who trusted too much.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Elizabeth George Speare · 249 pages

Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is

Way Down Deep

Ruth White · 197 pages

In the West Virginia town of Way Down Deep in the 1950s, a foundling called Ruby June is happily living with Miss Arbutus at the local boarding house when suddenly, after the arrival of a family of outsiders, the mystery of Ruby's past begins to unravel

Emily of New Moon

L.M. Montgomery · 314 pages

Eight Cousins

Louisa May Alcott · 216 pages

Rose, a shy orphan, blossoms in the company of her spirited relatives when she takes up residence at "The Aunt Hill." This captivating novel by the author of Little Women offers readers of all ages endearing, inspiring stories about growing up, making friends, and facing life with kindness and courage.

Parvana's Journey

Deborah Ellis · 204 pages

Parvana sets out alone to walk across war torn Afghanistan in search of her family. Her mother, sister and little brother are missing and she has just buried her father. A look at the situation in Afghanistan and the courage and resilience that can keep children afloat even in the most terrible circumstances.

Meet Samantha: An American Girl

Susan S. Adler · 61 pages

In 1904, nine-year-old Samantha, an orphan living with her wealthy grandmother, and her servant friend Nellie have a midnight adventure when they try to find out what has happened to the seamstress who suddenly left her job.

Making Bombs for Hitler

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

The Callender Papers

Cynthia Voigt · 214 pages

In nineteenth-century Massachusetts, orphan Jean, employed to sort out the family papers of a reclusive artist, becomes curious about the mysterious, long-ago death of his wife and the subsequent disappearance of their young child.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Grace Lin · 282 pages

In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her

Caught in the Act

Joan Lowery Nixon · 150 pages

Eleven-year-old Michael Patrick Kelly from New York City is sent to a foster home, a Missouri farm with a sadistic owner, a bullying son, and a number of secrets, one of which may be murder.

Keeping Safe the Stars

Sheila O'Connor

In rural Minnesota in 1974, thirteen-year-old Pride Star, raised to be independent, must accept help from friends and neighbors to care for eleven-year-old Nightingale and six-year-old Baby when her grandfather is hospitalized with a brain infection.

Happy Birthday Samantha!: A Springtime Story

Valerie Tripp · 62 pages

When Samantha's tenth birthday party is spoiled by the boy next door, Aunt Cornelia and her young twin sisters try to ease Samantha's disappointment by inviting her and Grandmary to visit them in New York City.

A Little Princess

Frances Hodgson Burnett · 224 pages

This is a story about a different kind of princess than one might imagine; a princess that is an orphan - lonely, cold, hungry and abused. Sara Crewe begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a rich man. When he dies a pauper, she is thrown on the non-existent mercy of her small-minded, mercenary boarding school mistress. Stripped of all her belongings but for one set of clothes and a doll,

At the Edge of the World

Avi · 234 pages

Branded as traitors by the king's authorities, Crispin and his guardian, Bear, flee to coastal towns in fourteenth-century England, where they perform a musical juggling act and bond as a family after befriending a disfigured girl.

The Golden Goblet

Eloise Jarvis McGraw · 248 pages

The story of a young orphaned boy trained as a metalworker in ancient eygpt who uncovers a plot by his wicked half brother to steal from the pharoahs tombs. Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he when he is all but imprisoned by his evil half brother, Gebu? Ranofer knows the only way he can escape Gebu's abuse is by chang