Responsibility Requires Action
Responsibility is the active side of morality: doing what I should do, doing what I said I would do, doing what is best for everybody; especially doing the one thing I should be doing right now.
Adventures of Ulysses
The mythological wanderings of Odysseus are recounted by the Greek epic poet, Homer. (Circa 550 B.C.)
Breaking Through
Since coming from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields, fighting to "break through" to improve his life and complete his education.
Buried Onions
See the barrio life seen through the eyes of a young man desperately seeking a way out. All Eddie wants is to get by, hold down a job, and walk a straight line into the future.
Esperanza Rising
This novel tells of a Mexican girl's fall from riches and her immigration to California in the 1930s. The story highlights her awareness of Mexico's post-revolution tensions, the rivalry with Oklahoma Dust Bowl victims, and struggles of Mexican workers trying to organize themselves to ask the U.S. government for better living conditions.
Grapes of Wrath
The hardships faced by migrant agricultural workers who arrived in California during the Great Depression are depicted by this Nobel Prize-winning California author.
Iqbal
When young Iqbal is sold into slavery at a carpet factory, his arrival changes everything for the other overworked and abused children there. It is Iqbal who explains to them that despite their master's promises, he plans on keeping them as his slaves indefinitely.
Island of the Blue Dolphins
This novel tells the tale of Karana, an Indian girl living on an island off the coast of California. As her tribe evacuates, she suddenly jumps off the ship when she realizes that her brother has been left behind.
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza is out of control because he has attention deficit disorder (ADD). After injuring another student, Joey finally gets the right professional help and starts to regain control of his actions.
Julius Caesar
Brutus, best friend of the Roman ruler Caesar, reluctantly joins a successful plot to murder Caesar and subsequently destroys himself.
Kindred
A contemporary Los Angeles woman travels back in time to an Antebellum plantation, where she is assumed to be a slave and discovers the identity of her ancestors. Violent confrontations and emotional intensity are aspects of this novel depicting the political, ethical, and social influences of slavery on both black and white Americans.
Lord of the Flies
Stranded on an island when an atomic war destroys the rest of the world, a group of young boys revert to savagery as they struggle to survive.
The Breadwinner
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 11-year-old Parvana has rarely been outdoors. Barred from attending school, shopping at the market, or even playing in the streets of Kabul, the heroine of The Breadwinner is trapped inside her family's one-room home.
The Circuit
These 12 poignant short stories about a family of migrant workers in the California fields are based on the author's own experiences. Each story describes the tenacity and courage of a family determined to build on its limited opportunities.
The Long Valley
Where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themselves in the world, these stories reflect Steinbeck’s characteristic interests: the tensions between town and country, laborers and owners, past and present.
The Outside Shot
Recruited by a small Midwestern college to play basketball, Lonnie Jackson, a Harlem boy has many new experiences, including working with a child who needs physical therapy and dealing with corruption in college sports.
The Outsiders
Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy is loyal to his brothers and his gang from the wrong side of the tracks. Ponyboy is caught in a turbulent chain of events after his best friend kills a member of a rival gang.
The Pigman
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati they had no idea that they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man.
Tuck Everlasting
The Tuck family have become ageless by drinking from a magic spring. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster and a greedy evil stranger discover their secret, the Tucks are determined to prevent a disaster.