Bibliography

No Applause, Please

(Dutton, 1977)

Ruthie Zeiler, fourteen-year-old poet and singer, and her friend, Laurie, have always been a duo. But when Laurie’s stage mother makes other plans, their friendship is tested to the limit.

The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn’t

(Dutton, 1976)
Konrad refuses to believe that he is a dog. Abigail, a little girl, goes along with him until mayhem ensues.
Illustrated by Kelly Oechsli.

Twelve-year-old Wheel Wiggins is the head honcho of his neighborhood. Every year he masterminds the town’s 4th of July extravaganza. But this time he’s stuck for an idea and suffering from, as he puts it, “executive stress,” made worse when everyone’s favorite deejay, Wild Willie, announces a contest for the best Independence Day celebration. At last Wheel does dream up his greatest scheme ever – an amazing carnival. But then a new kid arrives in town – a hot shot, unicycle-riding rich kid named Topper, who wants not only to join Wheel’s gang, but to take it over. And the war begins.

It’s Hard to Read a Map with a Beagle on Your Lap

(Holt, 1993)
Silly dog poems. True doggerel.
Illustrated by Clement Oubrerie.

California Demon

(Disney-Hyperion, 1992)

When fourteen-year-old, would-be witch Rosie Rivera tried to concoct a love potion, she accidentally let a nasty, not-so-little imp out of a bottle instead. The creature stows away to California in a Christmas gift opened by Danny Pauling and his sister Laura. The kids think they’ve hit the jackpot and acquired a genie, who calls himself Mr. Ed, to grant them endless wishes. But Mr. Ed’s outlandish tricks soon wreak havoc all over L.A., landing Danny, Laura, and their mother in danger. It’s up to Rosie and her mother Lydia, a retired witch, to save the day.

Chester, The Out of Work Dog

(Holt, 1992)
When Chester’s family moves from the country to the city, the poor border collie is out-of-work. Desperately missing his sheep, he tries to herd everything in sight, with disastrous consequences, until he finally gets a new and most satisfying job.
Illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith.

In My Tent

(Macmillan, 1992)
Episodic poems depicting one family’s camping trip as seen through the eyes of a young girl.
Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully.

The Golden Heart of Winter

(Morrow, 1991)
To help him choose the next master of the forge, a blacksmith sends his three sons on a quest to bring him back something of value. Kindly Half, the youngest, stops in a magical wood to free an imprisoned raven, who tells him the secret of the most precious object in the world: the Golden Heart of Winter, a glowing heart that beats beneath the ground so that spring will follow winter forever and Life will rule equally with Death. When his two greedy brothers dig up the Heart, it is up to Half to rescue it and save his land from ruin.
Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky.