"Soon we will eat the frozen cattle.... And then, when that is gone, what shall we eat?Shall we eat the snow? Shall we eat the ice? Shall we eat the bark on the frozen trees?What shall we eat?"Spring, 1846: Douglas Allen Deeds dreams of starting a new life out West. When the opportunity to join the Donner Party Expedition arises, he leaves the life he's known behind to set out on the nearly 2,000-mile trek from Independence, Missouri to sunny California.But progress is slow. Brutal heat, poisoned water, and rough terrain slows the expedition down. Soon they have a choice: continue on the known but grueling trail, or take a shortcut that would cut 350 miles from their journey-but take them through unknown territory. Is it worth the risk?Winter comes quickly in the mountains, and the wrong choice could leave them stranded in the Sierra Mountains when the snow comes, with no shelter, supplies, or even food.Newbery Honor-winning author Rodman Philbrick brings to life the excitement, danger, and horrors of the Donner Party's journey west.

Learn about the treacherous journey across the Sierra Nevada mountain range that isolated and trapped a group of pioneers heading to California for an entire winter in this latest addition to the New York Times Bestselling What Was? series. In the winter of 1846-47, a group of eighty-seven pioneers heading from the Midwest to California found themselves snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range with no way forward and no food or supplies. While forty-eight of the group members survived, the others perished due to extreme weather, starvation, and illness. To survive, the remaining people resorted to extreme measures...including cannibalism. Learn about the many miscalculations, bad decisions, and extreme weather that led to the demise of nearly half of the Donner Party in this book for young readers about one of California's first major disasters.

In the spring of 1846, the Donner and Reed families joined a wagon train bound for California in hopes of a better life. But when the party took an untested shortcut, it set them down a tragic path. As they crossed the Sierra Nevada, heavy snow fell in the mountain pass. They were trapped. Supplies were already low, and now they faced a winter of starvation. Told through the gripping, full-color graphic novel format, this Deadly Expeditions tale transports readers back in time to follow the Donner Party's disastrous trek west and their struggle to survive.

Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick sends readers rushing down a raging river on a life-or-death adventure when a white water rafting trip goes terribly wrong! Daniel Redmayne is fast asleep on the first night of a white water rafting trip, when he's awoken by screams. The dam has failed. The river is surging, and their camp will be under water in a matter of moments.As the shrieking roar of the river rushes closer, the kids scramble to higher ground. They make it; their counselors do not.Now they're on their own, with barely any food or supplies, in the middle of the Montana wilderness. Do Daniel and his four classmates have what it takes to stay alive until they can get rescued? Alone in the wild, they forge powerful bonds -- but develop dangerous disagreements. If nature doesn't break them, they might just destroy each other.This gripping survival story from the Newbery Honor author of Wildfire is filled with adrenaline-pumping adventure and moments of true bravery.

A thrilling historical adventure by the master of adventure himself, Rodman Philbrick. It's Maine, 1924, and the Ku Klux Klan is on the rise. Davy and Jo Michaud have been recently orphaned. Taken in by a distant relative—a famous aviator—they are now working with a group of stunt pilots who spend their time wing walking, leaping from plane to plane, and flying through fireworks! But though the stunts are dangerous, the real threat is building behind the scenes. The KKK is on the rise in Maine that summer, inspired by the racial fears promoted in Birth of a Nation. They spew hatred of immigrants, Blacks, Jews, and French Catholics—that last, a rage that will be directed at Davy and Jo. When Davy and Jo cross paths with the Klan, they get tangled up in a terrible revenge plan, and held as hostages. Can they escape with their lives?

Another WILD adventure from Rodman Philbrick, author of Wildfireand Wild River. Wild Wave is the adventure of two kids trapped in the aftermath of a tsunami. It's kids vs. nature in another edge-of-your seat read! When a tsunami heads for the coast, Nick Chase and Jess Hardy have to run. They make it into the woods above the bay--only to see the sea flooding their whole neighborhood along the shore. Destroying everything. In the broken landscape that's left behind, the two must try to find their way to safety. But when they come across a stranded elderly couple, it's up to Nick and Jess to work together and get help so that they can all make it out alive. This is another gripping environmental survival story from the Newbery Honor author of Wildfire and Wild River.

In this page-turning adventure by Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick, a solar event knocks out our planet's electricity, and a boy must risk his life to save his sick mother. What would you do if every spark of electricity suddenly vanished, as if somebody had flipped a switch on the entire planet? Cars won't start, the heat shuts off, there's no water in your faucet, and your radio, TV, and flashlight go dark. Everyone in Charlie's small town is baffled. But as time passes, lawlessness erupts and takes an ugly turn. When the market and pharmacy are torched by an anti-Semitic arsonist, Charlie realizes his mother will die without her medicine. So he dons skis and heads off alone, seeking the nearest hospital. After traveling 50 miles through brutal ice and snow, Charlie encounters a burned-out, looted city of terrified citizens. Will he be able to save his mom?Heroic, eloquent, and unforgettable, The Big Dark raises timely questions about responsibility, tolerance, and love.