THANKS TO NICKI
American Girl Series
Ten-year-old Nicki Fleming is about to start fifth grade. She has spent the summer on her Colorado ranch working with Sprocket, the service dog she has been training, and helping her mother, who is expecting twins. In addition, Nicki's best friend Becca was away all summer, and Nicki has gotten to be close friends with Kris, one of the new girls at their school.The start of a new school year is usually an exciting time for Nicki, but this year it's laced with sadness because it means that Sprocket will soon leave for advanced training and eventual placement with a person with special needs. Starting school is also more challenging this year because it means trying to maintain close friendships with both Kris and Becca, who don't know each other very well. Can Nicki find a way to let Sprocket go AND to keep both Kris and Becca close?
NICKI
American Girl Series
Nicki Fleming is a 10-year-old girl who is a natural with animals. She lives on a working Colorado ranch with her parents and younger brother. She is optimistic, generous, and compassionate, and she loves skiing almost as much as she loves animals.Nicki has a hard time saying "no" to people. Whenever anyone asks for her help, she's ready to lend a hand. When Nicki says "yes" to becoming the main trainer of a service dog that she and her mother had planned to train together, Nicki ends up in over her head, and struggles to juggle multiple responsibilities: to her parents, her best friend, her teacher--and to the dog.But in the process of training the lively and spirited Sprocket, Nicki's affection for him grows--even while she keeps reminding herself that she has to give him up to someone who needs him more than she does. Equally important, Nicki learns some important lessons for herself.
NOWHERE NOW HERE
When her family moves from Florida to the Colorado prairie to raise alpacas, twelve-year-old Laney must leave behind the ocean she loves and accept the new landscape and life ahead of her.
A CEILING OF STARS
Pleasant T. Rowland Award for Fiction for Girls
In a series of letters and journal entries, twelve-year-old Vivien describes being abandoned by her mother and struggling to survive on the streets of a big city while searching for her family.
WATER AT THE BLUE EARTH
Colorado Book Award, Winner
The story of an unlikely friendship, life on the frontier and how the protagonist, Wren, deals with complex issues and ultimately a crucial decision. Set in late 19th century Colorado, Water At the Blue Earth includes a little known yet very interesting chapter of Colorado's history.