Sharon Dennis Wyeth – författare

A young teenager deals with her family''s disintegration with the help of a teacher who gives her a summer job working in his garden.Haley''s excited about turning 13, but her teenage years start off with a thud when, shortly after her birthday, her mother checks herself into the hospital for severe depression. Her older brother, Otis, is busy with his job selling clothes, and Haley tries to keep her mind off the family problems with her own job, helping a music teacher clean up his backyard garden. As Haley''s family life becomes more and more unstable, it''s her work and her growing friendship with her employer that sustain her. When Otis gets arrested for selling stolen goods and a social worker takes Haley into a group home, it''s her employer she turns to to help her pick up the pieces.From the Hardcover edition.

"Daughter--that''s my name.  Daughter McGuire--I''m eleven."When Daughter McGuire, her mother, and her younger brothers, Satchel and Jerry Lee, move next door to her grandparents, she''s faced with starting over in a new school, making new friends, and keeping clear of troublemakers like the Avengers.  Life would also be easier if her father hadn''t run off to Colorado.  If her parents were together again, her mother''s creepy friend Jim Signet wouldn''t be hanging around.But things pick up when Daughter and her classmates Connie and Anna discover Topknot Cave and start the Explorers Club.  And at school Mrs. Jackson, Daughter''s teacher, suggests an exciting family heritage project.  The hitch is that some people think that Daughter''s family heritage is too "mixed-up".  According to her family tree she is African-Italian-Irish-Jewish-Russian-American.  One of the Avengers calls her a "zebra", because one of her parents is black and the other is white.  Daughter is so upset, she begins to wonder what she should call herself.As her project comes together, Daughter learns more about her background and the story of the courageous woman whose name she carries.  Little does Daughter McGuire know that her own courage will soon be tested in a way she had never dreamed of.Sharon Dennis Wyeth wrote The World of Daughter McGuire because she wanted to issue a challenge.  As she says, "Daughter McGuire''s world is by no means perfect.  Parents don''t behave the way you want them to and there are cruel acts of bias.  But there is also humor in this world and love aplenty in Daughter, Satch and Jerry Lee''s not-so-typical, typical extended family.  I want my readers to make connections in spite of external bias, to celebrate ourselves as individuals in a world where conscience counts more than color."From the Trade Paperback edition.

HOT ICETaboo to the touchA fire in the coldThat was usWelcome to a stage, where a soaring painting takes shape before your eyes, a big-booty poet stands at the mike, and there’s a seat right in front, just for you. This is a place where wise old ladies live and boys act like horses.This is a vision of love that was crushed and brought back to life. And this is my story. I’m Orphea Proud. Welcome to the show.As Orphea, who discovers her sexuality as a lesbian, shares her story, powerful questions of family, prejudice, and identity are explored.From the Hardcover edition.

Some call it Freedom Day; some call it Emancipation Day; some call it Juneteenth. Learn more about this important holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States in this Step 3 History Reader.On June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered. Order Number 3 was read, proclaiming that they were no longer enslaved--they were free. People danced, wept tears of joy, and began to plan their new lives. Juneteenth became an annual celebration that is observed by more and more Americans with parades, picnics, family gatherings, and reflection on the words of historical figures, to mark the day when freedom truly rang for all. Step 3 Readers feature engaging characters in easy-to-follow plots and popular topics--for children who are ready to read on their own.