Patricia MacLachlan

When Little Robot finds a creative solution to his loneliness he gets straight to work on shaping the perfect companion out of metal, and affectionately names him Little Dog.

"One hundred years ago, a little boy watched his family and community come together to build a grand red barn. This barn become his refuge and home-a place to play with friends and farm animals alike. As seasons passed, the barn weathered many storms. The boy left and returned a young man, to help on the farm and to care for the barn again. The barn has stood for one hundred years, and it will stand for a hundred more: a symbol of peace, stability,...

Describes summer days growing up on the prairie.

When a drought tests the commitment of a mail-order bride from Maine to her new home on the prairie, her stepchildren hope they will be able to remain a family.

Barkus is a large and very clever dog, and Baby is a cat, and together their adventures make life exciting for seven-year-old Nicky and her family.

"Grace's aunt Lily is a writer. She works with words every day and teaches Grace interesting words like 'melancholy' and 'delirious.' But Lily is often 'flummoxed' by her writing. Her stories don't go anywhere, her desk is a mess, and her writer's group can't help. So Lily posts an ad: A writer of books needs an assistant, a coach, a helper, for inspiration and some magic! The next day, Grace opens the door, and there is Rex: a Labrador retriever...

Robbie and his dog, Ellie, spend the summer at his grandmother Maddy's house, where Robbie learns many things about his emotionally distant parents and himself.

Before they were the Boxcar Children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden lived with their parents at Fair Meadow Farm. Newbery-Award winning author Patricia MacLachlan pays loving tribute to the classic novel by Gertrude Chandler Warner in this story of the Alden children's origins and the challenges they faced before their boxcar adventures.

On a snowy New Year's Eve, two black horses pull a sleigh through town, spreading love and joy to the community.

"Nora and Ben's younger sister Birdy loves to keep secrets ... One day Birdy watches her mother spit into a tube, ready to send it off to find out more about herself ... Birdy spits into a tube, too, when no one sees her. But when the test results come back, they are a surprise. Birdy is seemingly not related to Nora and Ben's parents. But if she is adopted, how could that have happened without the children knowing?"-- Provided by publisher