Orphans Home

Orphan Annie, from the musical Annie, has a hard-knock life. FACT! So when Lily D trains for the role of Orphan Annie, she insists on doing everything for herself. She makes a pillowcase dress, trades her favorite glittery pencil, does REALLY hard chores and sleeps out in her tent. But will all her efforts to walk in Orphan Annie's shoes really help Lily D to understand what it is like to be all alone in the world, with only hope to hold onto?

Inspired by the much-loved classic Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, Into the Spotlight is a magical new story from best-selling author and acclaimed performer Carrie Hope Fletcher. Brilliant Aunt Maude visits seasides the world over and has become quite the pebble collector. Pebbles of all shapes, sizes and colours and even one that looked a bit like Elvis Presley if you squinted a bit. Her favourite pebbles, however, are Marigold, Mabel and Morris.

What if John Henry had a son? Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog.

Left all alone after her mother passes away, 12-year-old Louisa LaRoche watches the sky for her father. Long ago, a powerful gust of wind swept through town, stealing him away on the wings of his untamed magic - the same magic that stirs within Louisa. As if she is made of hollow bones and too much air, her feet never quite touch the ground. But for all her sky gazing, Louisa finds her fortune on the leaf-strewn street when she spots a gleaming black-and-gold invitation - a ticket to the Carnival Beneath the Stars.

Peter and Santa live a rather dull existence with their aunt, Rebecca, but when she dies, they face the awful prospect of life in separate orphanages. In desperation, they run away to find their only living relative, Uncle Gus, who works in a circus as a clown. Gus will let them stay only if they promise to work hard, and so the children plunge headlong into the circus world, where they soon discover skills they never knew they had. But life is so different - will they ever truly belong?

Peoples are strange! The things they are doing and saying - sometimes they make no sense. Did their brains fall out of their heads? And why so much saying, so much talking all the time day and night, all those words spilling out of those mouths? Why so much? Why don't they be quiet? In the ancient stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a tiny village high in the Swiss Alps, life for one angel has been the same, well, for as long as she (or he?) can remember.

Lizzie St. Claire wants to be invisible. Forced to move out of her home, she and her mom now live in a transitional housing shelter, Good Hope, until they can get back on their feet. She just wants to keep her head down at Good Hope and her new school so that she doesn’t have to admit the real reason she and her mom lost everything. But at the nearby Birchwood Stables, some new friends - along with the arrival of a frightened pony named Fire - help Lizzie to open up and accept help from those around her, even if it means she’ll have more to lose if things change again.

Identical twins Johnny and Will are orphaned and separated as toddlers. Johnny is adopted by an abusive aunt in Tennessee. Will is adopted by a loving, affluent couple who live in the country near Birmingham, Alabama. When he grows into boyhood, Johnny runs away and is sheltered by Linc, a reclusive black man who lives deep in the Blackwater Swamp. My Brother's Story tells of the twins adventures as they struggle to reunite.

Runaway orphan Elizabeth learns about life as a misfit pirate, being brave, and finding a true home in this adventurous and heartwarming series. Tighten your sword belt and get ready for a wild ride as Elizabeth journeys the high seas, investigates a mystery with her friends, and sneaks aboard a ship to find treasure.

Anne Shirley has come a long way since her days as a mischievous orphan living in the house at Green Gables. She is now 18 and headed to faraway Redmond College in Kingsport. Anne's college years are sure to be full of fun, but they will also be a time for soul-searching and big decisions. When her longtime friend Gilbert Blythe proposes, Anne feels they can never be more than friends. But is her new admirer, the handsome and wealthy Roy Gardner, really the man of her dreams?

Live the Magic Love the Adventure Carrie and David love their new drawing teacher, Ms. Shire, but when she gives them a project to draw statues, Carrie's life changes. Her statue of horses and a robed figure haunt her dreams. The nightmares get worse and worse until she is pulled into the dream world. Now Carrie is locked into a statue and unable to move. Will someone come to her rescue? Book 1: Fierce Winds & Fiery Dragons Book 2: Curse of the Invisibles Book 3: Too Much School Book 4: Adrift Book 5: An Unexpected Adventure Book 6: The Haunted House Book 7: The Unicorn's Quest Book 8: Cry ...

It’s hard to imagine things could get worse after one’s parents die in a greenhouse explosion. But that is precisely what happens to Basil and his younger sister, Dahlia. They escape from the social worker who wants to split them up to different foster homes by jumping off a moving train, only to find themselves wounded (Dahlia) and bedraggled (Basil) and without a soul to care for them. What’s more, they’re lost in the wilds of New York City.

Rainbow Grey may be only ten years old but the future of the whole world depends on her! It’s up to Ray to defeat Tornadia Twist—the greatest villain that ever lived. Ray has to figure out what her ultimate magical gift is and use this power to stop Tornadia before she destroys the Weatherlands and Earth. With epic adventures, magic galore and everything at stake, the battle for the skies is ON!

Orphan Benjamin Bartholomew Piff closed his eyes, blew out the candle, and wished with all his might. Soon after, sirens wailed all over the Wishworks Factory: Ben had followed every rule of birthday wishing to a T and had made the most dangerous wish of all...a wish for unlimited wishes.

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

California Poppy has been dropped off, yet again, with an unsuspecting relative. This time it’s her eccentric great-aunt Monica, a woman she’s never even met. Aunt Monica has no idea what to do with an 11-year-old, so she puts California to work researching their ancestor, the once-famous etiquette expert Eleanor Fontaine. California soon discovers that Great-Great-Great-Aunt Eleanor is...not exactly alive and well, but a ghost - and a super sensitive one at that.

Annabel Grey is primed for a proper life as a young lady in Victorian England. But when her mother suddenly disappears, she's put in the care of two eccentric aunts who thrust her into a decidedly unladylike life, full of potions and flying broomsticks and wizards who eat nothing but crackers. Magic, indeed! Who ever heard of such a thing?

A ghost saved 12-year-old Maddie's life when she was an infant, her Granny Lane claims, so Maddie must always remember that she is special. But it's hard to feel special when you've spent your life being shuttled from one foster home to another. And now that she's at the East Tennessee Children's Home, Maddie feels, well, less than ordinary. Six-year-old Ricky Ray, who came to the Home after his parents failed to come back from a party, thinks Maddie's the cat's meow. But what does a little boy like that know?

In Arcady's Goal, by Newbery Honor author Eugene Yelchin, for 12-year-old Arcady, soccer is life. Sent to live in a children's home after his parents are declared enemies of the state, he plays to win his dinner, and to maintain his sanity. When a visiting inspector decides to adopt him, Arcady questions his motivations. Who could want an enemy of the people as a son?

Stanley Potts is just an ordinary boy, but when all the jobs in Fish Quay disappear his Uncle Ernie develops an extraordinary fascination with canning fish. Suddenly their home is filled with the sound of changing machinery and the stench of mackerel, and Uncle Ernie's obsession reaches such heights that he would even can Stan's beloved goldfish! Stan, however, has his own destiny, which leads him - via a hook-a-duck stall - to Pancho Pirelli, the blue-caped madman who swims with piranhas.