Christopher Paul Curtis

When his poor sharecropper father is killed in an accident and leaves the family in debt, twelve-year-old Little Charlie agrees to accompany fearsome plantation overseer Cap'n Buck north in pursuit of people who have stolen from him; Cap'n Buck tells Little Charlie that his father's debt will be cleared when the fugitives are captured, which seems like a good deal until Little Charlie comes face-to-face with the people he is chasing.

Elijah of Buxton, recipient of the Newbery Honor and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Eleven-year-old Elijah lives in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves near the American border. Elijah's the first child in town to be born free, and he ought to be famous just for that- not to mention for being the best at chunking rocks and catching fish. Unfortunately,...

Kids. They think they got it so rough these days. But nobody has it worse than Papa Red did when he was a kid. And you better listen up when he talks. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.