Sonia Levitin Books In Order

Platt family Books In Order

  1. Journey to America (1970)
  2. Silver Days (1989)
  3. Annie’s Promise (1993)

Novels

  1. Rita, the Weekend Rat (1971)
  2. Roanoke (1973)
  3. Jason and the Money Tree (1974)
  4. The Mark of Conte (1976)
  5. Beyond Another Door (1977)
  6. The No-Return Trail (1978)
  7. The Year Of Sweet Senior Insanity (1982)
  8. Smile Like a Plastic Daisy (1984)
  9. A Season for Unicorns (1986)
  10. The Return (1987)
  11. Incident At Loring Groves (1988)
  12. The Golem and the Dragon Girl (1993)
  13. Escape from Egypt (1994)
  14. Adam’s War (1994)
  15. Evil Encounter (1996)
  16. Yesterday’s Child (1997)
  17. The Singing Mountain (1998)
  18. The Cure (1999)
  19. Dream Freedom (2000)
  20. Clem’s Chances (2001)
  21. Room In the Heart (2003)
  22. The Goodness Gene (2005)
  23. Strange Relations (2007)
  24. Junk Man’s Daughter (2007)
  25. Troubled Times (2014)

Picture Books

  1. Who Owns the Moon? (1973)
  2. A Single Speckled Egg (1975)
  3. A Sound To Remember (1979)
  4. Nobody Stole the Pie (1980)
  5. The Fisherman And The Bird (1982)
  6. All The Cats In The World (1982)
  7. The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket (1991)
  8. Nine for California (1996)
  9. A Piece of Home (1996)
  10. Boom Town (1998)
  11. Taking Charge (1999)
  12. When Elephant Goes to a Party (2001)
  13. When Kangaroo Goes to School (2001)

Non fiction

  1. Reigning Cats and Dogs (1978)

Platt family Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Picture Books Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Sonia Levitin Books Overview

Journey to America

A Jewish family fleeing Na*zi Germany in 1938 endures innumerable separations before they are once again united.

Silver Days

‘Levitin does an outstanding job depicting life as it was for Jewish immigrants who came to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. The book is written in an easy to read style which all types of readers can understand. This is one book that a reader will not be able to put down once it is begun.’ Voice of Youth Advocates.

Annie’s Promise

The Platt family, driven from their home in Germany by WWII, struggles to adapt to their new life as Americans. For 12 year old Annie, there’s the additional challenge of establishing her independence from her old fashioned parents. When Annie is invited to attend a summer camp in the California mountains, it’s a chance for her to find her own identity and to discover some surprising strengths and flaws in herself and in her family.

Roanoke

Where did they all go? Sixteen year old orphan William Wythers, is eager to try life in the New World. He and the other settlers face an arduous voyage and difficult months ahead on Roanoke Island, off the coast of Virginia. Yet there is a wonderful freedom in defining the rules for this new world in America. And when William falls in love with a young Native American woman, it seems that life is going to be happy after all. But when John White arrives from England with fresh supplies for the settlement, not a single person remains. Who knows what happened? An unsolved mystery in American history comes brilliantly alive in Sonia Levitin’s historical novel about the lost colony in Roanoke.

The Mark of Conte

When he realizes that the computer at his new school thinks that he’s two people, Conte decides to take a double course load and graduate in half the time.

The Return

Fifteen year old Desta belongs to a small, isolated mountain community of Ethiopian Jews. She and her brother and sister leave their aunt and uncle and set out on the long and dangerous trip to freedom an airlift from the Sudan to Israel, the Promised Land. They travel barefoot, facing hunger, thirst and bandits. ‘Vivid and compelling…
Levitin’s tour de force is sensitively written.’ BOOKLIST. An ALA 1987 Best Book for Young Adults.

Incident At Loring Groves

Casssidy Keaton earns good grades, has lots of friends and a good home life. But having spent two weeks at summer camp, she begins her junior year a little bored and a little restless. Ken Farquar had ‘fallen’ for Cassidy at camp. Still, he’s not sure he really fits in with her crowd and he’s not sure he wants to anyway. Right now, all he knows is that he wants to be with Cassidy. But one moonlit night, everything in their lives changes. While partying with their friends, Cassidy and Ken stumble upon a dead body. Suddenly, they are faced with the toughest decision of their lives. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.

The Golem and the Dragon Girl

Laurel Wang knows that the ghost of her beloved great grandfather lives in the oak tree outside her house. But now her grandparents are arriving from China, and the family must move to a bigger place, leaving the protective spirit behind. Twelve year old Jonathan and his family are moving into Laurel’s house and he’s not too happy either. He’s living with a stepfather he can’t stand and a dog he didn’t choose; now he has to say goodbye to his old neighborhood and his wonderful Uncle Jake. But moving blues soon give way to angry ghosts, fortune cookies that predict the future, and a very scary accident, as the two teenagers with very different backgrounds join together to investigate a mystery and in the process discover something remarkable about each other.

Escape from Egypt

When Moses comes to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, Jesse, a Hebrew slave, finds his life changed by his growing faith in God and his attraction to the half Egyptian, half Syrian Jennat. AB.

Yesterday’s Child

‘Time will help. Time will heal.’ That’s what people promised. But for Laura, nothing is helping or healing. Her mother’s death has left a void in her. It’s made Laura realize she hardly knew her mother, and that can never be fixed. So Laura lies in her mother’s bed, puts on her lipstick, reads her letters anything to answer Laura’s questions and end her unbearable loneliness. Then Laura finds a letter that raises more questions than it answers. Written the day before her mother’s death, it’s addressed to someone named Megan and speakes vaguely of ‘forgiveness.’ Laura’s never heard of Megan, but Megan and Laura’s mother appear to have been childhood friends who hadn’t spoken in twenty five years. What would prompt her mother to write Megan now? And what did she mean by ‘forgiveness’? If Laura can unveil the mystery behind the letter, maybe she’ll also unveil the mystery that was and still is her mother. But Laura’s search for answers becomes an obsession. Laura can’t stop, not until she knows the truth about everything even if it kills her.

The Singing Mountain

When sixteen year old Carlie learns that her older cousin Mitch is staying in Israel to study at an Orthodox yeshiva, she is upset and angry. Since she was orphaned years ago, Carlie and Mitch have lived together like brother and sister. Now she wonders, is there more to the relationship, and is it wrong to care so deeply? In Israel Mitch finds fulfillment in studying the Torah, in his work as an artist, and in his new relationship with an Israeli girl. In California, Carlie, her aunt Vivian and uncle Harry grow increasingly alarmed at Mitch’s defection. They fear he has been brainwashed. Aunt Vivian decides to take Carlie to Israel to lure Mitch back home. Once there, Carlie is awakened by Mitch’s new spirituality. After surviving a traumatic incident she realizes that she has a strength of her own. Finally, Carlie holds the key to the changing paths that each of them will take. Told in alternating points of view, this dramatic novel contrasts two cultures and compels readers to think about the role of religion in their own lives.

The Cure

‘You are a criminal, Gemm 16884 aggressive, hostile, nonconforming. We have noted tendencies toward diversity in your gait, in your dreams, and most especially in your repeated persistence in’ the Elder cleared his throat ‘making music.’Branded a deviant and therefore a threat to the utopian society of Conformity, Harmony, and Tranquility that exists in the year 2407, Gemm 16884 is given the choice between being recycled or undergoing a painful and mysterious cure. Gemm chooses The Cure, and suddenly finds himself living the life of Johannes, a 16 year old Jewish musician in starsbourg, Germany, in 1348, at the onset of the Black Death. As the pestilence spreads, the townspeople begin the accuse the Jews of causing the disease. Surrounded by hatred and horror, Johannes struggles to hold on to his family and faith as well as his belief in the basic goodness of human beings. But can he return to the future and become Gemm again after having known such emotions as pain…
and love?

Dream Freedom

Slavery still exists in some parts of the world, even in the year 2000. In Sudan, tens of thousands of men, women, and children of the Dinka and Nuba tribes are regularly captured, taken from their homes and families, and forced into hard labor. Based on a true story and real life contemporary events, this novel tells how a group of students in Denver, Colorado, learns of the atrocities in Sudan, and how they begin to make a difference raising money to ‘redeem’ slaves and educating others about this dire situation. Award winning author Sonia Levitin juxtaposes the safe and secure world of an American classroom with the severe hardship of the Dinka people, making Dream Freedom a book that will raise consciousness around the world.

Clem’s Chances

In 1860, after his mother and baby sister die, fourteen year old Clem embarks on a cross country trip to find his father, who has set out for the California gold rush. Along the way, Clem earns money by working at various jobs, including stable boy and rider for the Pony Express.

Room In the Heart

Told from several points of view, this novel reveals how life in Copenhagen was soiled by the Na*zi occupation and how the Danes fought back with courage and kindness. Julie lives with the constant, nagging fear that her family will be sent to a concentration camp. Niels can’t stand the brutish, arrogant Na*zi soldiers and finds himself drawn to the Danish resistance. When Niels learns of the Na*zi plot to round up all of Copenhagen’s Jews, he is dominated by a single thought: rescue. Julie wonders how she will endure so many good byes, especially to Niels. This riveting read is based on the true story of how thousands of Denmark’s Jews were saved from the Na*zis.

The Goodness Gene

Will has been trained since birth to promote The Goodness, his father’s program to maintain order in the Dominion. Now that he is sixteen,Will is sent to witness firsthand the synthetic production of food and humans, and the euthanasia program that the authorities call Compassionate Removal. The more Will sees, the more he questions his role. When Will discovers the shocking truth about himself that he is the clone of a twentieth century despot he realizes that the future of the world lies in his hands. This suspenseful, innovative novel raises fascinating questions about whether our behavior is determined by DNA, upbringing, or a higher power.

Strange Relations

A summer in paradise. That’s all Marne wants. That’s all she can think of when she asks her parents permission to spend the summer in Hawaii with Aunt Carole and her family. But Marne quickly realizes her visit isn’t going to be just about learning to surf and morning runs along the beach, despite the cute surfer boy she keeps bumping into. For one thing, Aunt Carole isn’t even Aunt Carole anymore she’s Aunt Chaya, married to a Chasidic rabbi and deeply rooted in her religious community. Nothing could be more foreign to Marne, and fitting into this new culture and house full of kids is a challenge. But as she settles into her newfound family’s daily routine, she begins to think about spirituality, identity, and finding a place in the world in a way she never has before. This rich novel is a window into a different life and gets to the very heart of faith, identity, and family ties. From the Hardcover edition.

Junk Man’s Daughter

Even before they immigrate to America, Hanna and her family dream of the new life they will have there. You will see, Hanna, Papa said. There are streets of gold. But when they arrive, they find life very different from what they had imagined. Their apartment is small and Hanna and her brothers must sleep on a mattress on the floor. Mama spends her days knitting shawls and sweaters to sell on the streets but no one stops to buy. And Papa can find no work. Hanna looks everywhere for the gold Papa promised them but it is not to be found. What will happen to their dream of a new, better life in America?One day a seemingly insignificant find on a slushy street leads to an opportunity for a brighter future. And like many others before them, Hanna and her family realize that through small steps and hard work they can make their American dream come true.

The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket

Ever since his heart was broken, Jack has kept it safe from harm by carrying it in a bucket. One day a magic carp leaps from a pool of water, turns into a beautiful maiden and steals Jack’s heart, challenging him to solve a riddle to win it back. His search leads Jack to discover the surest cure of all for a broken heart. Full color.

Nine for California

Mama and her five youngsters team up with three adults Mr. Hooper the banker, teacher Miss Camilla, and Cowboy Charlie on a stagecoach journey to join Papa in California during the Gold Rush.

Boom Town

After her family moves to California where her father goes to work in the gold fields, Amanda decides to make her own fortune baking pies and she encourages others to provide the necessary services from a general store to a school that enables her town to prosper.

Taking Charge

When her mother has to leave home suddenly, Amanda learns how demanding it is to run a household and care for a baby.

When Elephant Goes to a Party

Explains all the things that Elephant should know about how to behave when attending a birthday or other kind of party.

When Kangaroo Goes to School

Kangaroo learns the proper way to behave on the first day of school.

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