orphans

Eleven-year-old Danny Monteverde believes in magic, he believes that the enchanted land of Rio Luna in his older sister's favorite book is real, and most of all he believes that if he can find the way to Rio Luna he will find his sister, Pili, there, because he does not believe that his sister would run away from the group home where they lived and leave him behind; but after years of being passed from one foster family to another, his faith begins to fade--until one day he finds a mysterious book in the library that contains a map to Rio Luna ... and a way to find Pili.

Maeve Merritt's fears that life would grow dull after she let free Mermeros prove unfounded when Mr. Poindexter tries to use one of his three wishes with the djinni. Both Mr. Poindexter and Mermeros go missing, and without them Tom, Maeve's friend, will be forced into an orphanage again. So, Maeve, Tom, and Alice set out on flying carpetbags to find out where their friends have gone.

Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers a disabled cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

After their guardian disappears, twelve-year-old twins Jess and Jude are fostered by the Blakeney family, but their search for information about their parents puts them in danger when they uncover secrets their wealthy benefactors want to keep hidden.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Tom has spent most of his life locked behind the cruel walls of Weatherly Orphanage, but when he learns that his parents might still be alive, Tom knows he must do what he can to find them. He can't leave Weatherly without his best friend Sarah, so arms with a single clue to his past, the word Britfield, the two make a daring escape by commandeering a hot air balloon. Now they're on the run from a famouse Scotland Yard detective and what looks like haf the police officers in England. Tom and Sarah's journey takes them from Oxford University to Windsor Castle, through London, and finally to Canterbury. Along the way, they discover that Tom may be the true heir to the British throne, but even with the help of two brilliant professors, it looks like Tom and Sarah will be captured and sent back to the orphanage before they have a chance to solve Tom's royal mystery.

"As the frightening impact of World War II creeps closer and closer to her door, eleven-year-old Ada learns to manage life on the home front"--Provided by publisher.

While trying to save Christmas for her fellow orphans, lonely Plum is magically transported to the Land of Sweets, where her pure heart saves the day for King Christopher, King Patrick, and their subjects.

"Giselle, the ancient secret Queen of Paris, finally tells the story of her youth. What fate befell her in years long past? Do her memories hold a clue about how she can avoid death? What can Ao do for her, as her apprentice--or as her groom?"--Back cover.

Madeline and the other orphans of the vine-covered house in Paris spend Easter at the White House visiting with the President's daughter.