Lois Lenski

The entire ranch is thirsty—will the rains ever come?
Tomboy Charlie loves the ranch and the outdoors, especially now that she has a horse of her own and can ride like a true cowboy. She doesn’t understand why her mother keeps after her to help out in the house, too. But ranch life is hard, especially when there’s a drought. There isn’t enough water for the crops or cattle, and horrible dust storms sweep away the...

In 1945, in Florida, ten-year-old Birdie Boyer and her family struggle to make their new farm prosper despite heat, droughts, cold snaps, and rowdy neighbors.

"The sharp blast of the mine whistle echoed through the valley, sending nine-year-old Tina Wilson on flying feet down to greet her father as he returned from his day's work at the coal mine. It was a custom for every father to have a treat in his bucket, and the miners' children scrambled to be first to get theirs. But the mine whistle could mean other things in the lives of the miners and their families. Sometimes it was the signal for disaster....

A young boy dreams of music and sunshine in the Great Smoky Mountains
As far as Billy is concerned, there’s no sight more beautiful than the sun setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains. When the day is done, he sneaks away from his work to watch the sun go down. If his father knew, he would call Billy lazy, but Mama would understand. She knows life in the mountains is hard and that there’s no point in living if a person can’t...

Joel, son of an Oregon logger, grows up in a family that sees the forest as a thing to be cut down; but as he watches fire, flood, and cutting damage the forests he loves, and realizes the dangers of his father's profession, he is better able to select the right future for himself.

Jim Drummond and his family want a piece of land of their very own and the security that comes with it. Travelling as a migrant farm workers brings daughter Judy in contact with lots of people of different walks of life, color, and beliefs.

A Cajun girl tries to keep her family together on the Louisiana bayou
It’s been almost 2 years since Suzette’s father caught 2 bullets in his back. Since then, he’s been bed-ridden, too sick to hunt or fish or do any of the things a bayou man must do to keep his family fed. While he heals, Suzette scours the swamps around her house for fish, gators, or anything she can sell to put food on the table. It’s hard,...

In rhyming text, a girl describes the many ways in which she and her brother play together on a summer's day. Play, play, on a summer day. Summer means the outdoors to kids everywhere. The days are long and full of summertime fun such as swimming and afternoon picnics. This classic 1953 picture book is back with bright colors after being out of print for decades. Annotation. Play, play, on a summer day. Summer means the outdoors to kids everywhere....

Fireman Small and his little fire engine answer a call, rescue a little girl, and save a house from burning down.