Colorado Parks & Wildlife Research Library

Abused by an alcoholic, unemployed father, Doug Wallace and his seven siblings barely survived childhood--fleeing in the night from landlords, scrambling for food, and burning down the only home they ever owned to collect insurance money. In this raw testimony of a heart-breaking, hardscrabble childhood, Doug Wallace paints an unforgettable portrait of a child determined to free himself from the cycle of poverty that strangled his family for generations....

Kozol returns to the scene of his prize-winning books Rachel and her children and Amazing Grace, and to the children he's portrayed there, to share their journeys and unexpected victories as they grow into adulthood.

"A story about a homeless boy and his imaginary friend that proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary"--

A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and true one. It cuts right to the heart of life ... If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you will deny yourself a rich experience ... It is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolans lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919 ... Their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings...

Debbie Laramie is a preacher. Debbie and her son, Hayden, are sent from a big city church to the small town of Paradise, where Debbie finds a community in desperate need of direction and a town that has turned its back on its neediest neighbors. She tries to build a new vision for her congregation that embraces everyone, even the poor and outcast.

An insurance check can allow the Youngers to escape their frustrating life in a crowded Chicago apartment, but escape means different things to each family member.

In postwar, poverty-stricken Rome, a man, hoping to support his desperate family with a new job, loses his bicycle and main means of transportation to work. With his wide-eyed young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief.

The classic Dickens story about a bitter old man who's given a chance for redemption when three ghosts come to visit him on Christmas Eve. Bonus features include: Introduction by Leonard Maltin, Dead to Begin With documentary, Scrooge By Another Name featurette, The Human Blarney Stone documentary, A Scholar's View video narrative, collection of early silent Dickens films, commentary tracks, and more!

When low-born, country girl Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles, a series of tragedies befalls her as she comes under the influence of the manipulative Alec D'Urberville.