Shubert wonders why other bugs in his school make fun of Crenshaw the Cricket and call him names. All the bugs learn to see Crenshaw through "loving eyes" and understand why he behaves differently from them.

"Shubert, a lightning bug, expects to lead his class in the welcoming of a new member. The warm welcome turns quickly into teasing, laughing, and exclusion. Spencer, the new student, looks different from everyone else. See how Mrs. Bookbinder and the Bug Valley gang learn to accept diversity and also embrace it."--Back cover.

Berlin had been safe for Anita Powitzer for as long as she could remember. But when Hitler came to power, everything changed. Now policemen harmed instead of helped, and Anita couldn't even talk to her best friend. Flung from her secure childhood into a fearful world, she and her family had to find a way to flee Berlin before it was too late. It was risky, and Anita had to be separated from her loved ones, but this was the only way out. Alone in a country with a language she didn't understand, staying with people she had never met, Anita had to wait and hope her parents could join her. Would she and her family be safe? A journey fraught with danger from Germany to Great Britain, and finally to America, this is the true story of one Jewish family's escape from Nazi Berlin.

It seems that the legendary composer Franz Schubert is alive—well, sort of—in the twenty-first century: His soul has taken up residence in the body of Brooklyn lawyer Liza Durbin. Even more astonishing, so has his prodigious gift. A mediocre pianist at best as a child, Liza can suddenly pound out concertos and compose masterly music out of the blue. But how can a brilliant male Austrian composer from the nineteenth century coexist in the everyday life of a modern American woman? And how can Liza explain what’s happened to her without everyone thinking she’s gone off the deep end? Fortunately, the evidence is tangible, and Liza is soon brought into the esteemed halls of Juilliard under the tutelage of the revered—and feared—Greta Pretsky, a humorless woman whose only interest in Liza is her channeling of Schubert. Greta’s greedy for her next big star, and the entire New York City press is whispering of Liza’s brilliance as the public awaits her debut at Carnegie Hall. Even Liza’s boyfriend, Patrick, seems more in love with her than ever. Yet as Liza yields to Franz’s great passion, her own life and identity threaten to elude her. Why was she chosen as the vessel for this musical genius—and when, if ever, will he leave? Their entwined souls follow a path of ecstasy, peril, and surprise as they search for the final, liberating truth. A strikingly original novel, Sleeping with Schubert plays on years of speculation regarding Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.” Bonnie Marson’s extraordinary imagination supposes that Schubert cannot truly die until the mystery is solved—even if it means being resurrected in the body of a deceptively ordinary woman. Filled with drama and humor, this irresistible novel explores love, genius, and identity in ways that will engage and amaze readers.

They were U.S. Army soldiers. Just a few years earlier, some had been slaves. Several thousand African Americans served as soldiers in the Indian Wars and in the Cuban campaign of the Spanish-American War in the latter part of the nineteenth century. They were known as buffalo soldiers, believed to have been named by Indians who had seen a similarity between the coarse hair and dark skin of the soldiers and the coats of the buffalo. Twenty-three of these men won the nation's highest award for personal bravery, the Medal of Honor. Black Valor brings the lives of these soldiers into sharp focus. Their remarkable stories are told in the collected biography. Derived from extensive historical research, Black Valor will enrich and inspire readers with its tales of trials and courage.