Sandra Dallas's Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and nightly horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Ohio after their parents’ death. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at Neusteter’s department store, share a small, neat house and each finds a local beau – for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man—Dorothy’s father—in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a victim of the flu. Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiance “over there”. As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from the murder investigation and the flu. Set against the backdrop of an epidemic that feels all too familiar, Little Souls is a compelling tale of sisterhood and of the sacrifices people make to protect those they love most.

How vividly Steven Schwartz describes his characters and how cunningly he wields the knife edge of suspense. I loved entering each of the worlds he creates - a grandfather fighting for his grandchildren, a man misled by a hippie couple, a woman who falls asleep at the airport, a teacher who holds his class hostage. - cover page.

Presents stories dealing with topics of love, kindness, friendship, and family life

In The Greatest Gift of All, Izzy finds out that her parents won't let her go to Pine View Camp. Her summer is ruined! But things begin to change for Izzy when she starts to do Give-back Time with Grandpa Mike and meets the Braids Girl. The Chicken Soup for Little Souls series (more than 400,000 copies sold) brought the magic of Chicken Soup to young readers with heartwarming stories of love, friendship, and kindness that parents could read to their young children. Now these classic books have been resized and rewritten into intermediate-level readers that kids 6 and up can read themselves. While the text has been shortened and simplified, it retains the enduring Chicken Soup message of sincere and heartfelt virtue.

When Ben and his friend Kelly spontaneously decide to rescue an abused dog, they can't possibly foresee the obstacles that accompany such a decision. Armed with patience and the immense power of his never-wavering love, Ben works toward—and waits for—his most cherished goal. A Dog Of My Own is a tender story of the healing power of love—one that will long live in the hearts of all little souls. This heartwarming story was beautifully illustrated by Katya Krenina, whose stylized, contemporary illustrations have been lavishly praised by reviewers and heralded as "stunning" by the New York Times Book Review. Publishers Weekly has compared her style to that of Chagall, for its intuitive, dreamlike quality.

Make way for the Goodness Gorillas! These self-appointed kindness-spreaders are turning their classroom, their families, and their whole community topsy-turvy with good deeds! Peter sharpens all his classmates' pencils for them...Jessica pulls out a mat for everyone in her gymnastics class...Tina packs up her old toys and gives them to a charity...the whole group cleans up the neighborhood park. But the Goodness Gorillas are about to face their toughest challenge ever. What will they do about Todd, the meanest boy in class? Is Todd really bad through and through, or is it true that there's goodness hiding within every little soul?

Isa generously gives up her beloved red velvet coat made for her by her dressmaker grandmother when a jolly old gentleman shows up on Christmas Eve in need of just such a garment.

For a shy girl like Julie, there couldn't be anything worse than the very first day at a brand new school. What if the kids don't like her? What if no one ever talks to her at all? Julie's big sister has some advice—and a plan—that just might help. But will Julie be too scared to even give it a try? Little souls will cheer for Julie and celebrate her transformation as a terrible day turns into a wonderful one in this tender story of overcoming limitations. And the funny, surprise ending will help readers realize that no matter how bad a situation seems, a happy solution is always close at hand.