Katherine Paterson

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is publishing a monthly series of e-only essays to correspond with Katherine Paterson's two-year term as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The subjects of the essays include: writing and literature for young people, the wonder and imagination found within great books, common questions novice writers ask, and Katherine's own personal experiences throughout her historic career.

Feeling deprived all her life of schooling, friends, mother, and even her name by her twin sister, Louise finally begins to find her identity.

While living on a Vermont poor farm during 1855 and 1856, Jip learns his identity and that of his mother and comes to understand how he arrived at this place.

Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.

It's 1899 in a small town in Vermont, and the turn of the century is coming fast. According to certain members of the church where Robbie's father is the preacher, the end of the century might even mean the end of the world. But Robbie has more pressing worries. He's sure his father loves his simple-minded brother, Elliot, better than him, and he can no longer endure the tiresome restrictions of Christianity. He decides to leave the fold and become...

The beloved author of Bridge to Terabithia and other classics of children's literature reveals the fascinating personal stories that have shaped her creative life. For nearly fifty years, Katherine Paterson's stories have captured readers young and old. From Bridge to Terabithia's Leslie Burke to the unforgettable Gilly Hopkins to countless others, her characters are woven into the memories of several generations. Paterson's writing has always explored...

Meli Lleshi is positive that her drawing of her teacher with his pelican nose started it all. The Lleshis are Albanians living in Kosovo, a country trying to fight off Serbian oppressors, and suddenly they are homeless refugees. Old and young alike, they find their courage tested by hunger, illness, the long, arduous journey, and danger on every side. Then, unexpectedly, they are brought to America by a church group and begin a new life in a small...

Nine-year-old Vinnie Matthews is a little girl with a big problem. She needs a lifesaver-not the candy kind, but a real one that will take her back to her home in Washington and make her daddy live again. Life without Daddy means moving to Grandma's rickety old house in Virginia and going to a new school where the other girls only make fun of Vinnie. Most of the time, Vinnie spends recess sitting alone on the school steps. But one day on the playground,...

In James Johnson's family, everybody strums and sings. With their music, his mamma, daddy, and uncle get crowds stomping at county fairs. Eleven-year-old James loves to sing harmony with his grandma on their favorite old mountain ballads. One day, the Johnson family hires a manager to book their appearances. But when the manager hears James sing, he quickly gives the boy a stage name and puts him on national TV. As his popularity grows, James will...

Moving to an old Vermont farmhouse with his mom, his new stepfather and a new baby brother has been a terribly lonely experience for Josh Wilkinson. And to make things even worse, now the school bully and his gang have picked Josh as their main target. Then one day while trying to find his dog, Manch, in the woods behind his house, Josh discovers a secret. Manch and his friends can talk! Not only that, but they're also faced with a bully problem--a...