"This friendship take is certain to win attention from those just reaching the double digits themselves." —The Bulletin

"While many of the story elements will be familiar to readers, they are presented here in a meaningful and thoughtful way." —SLJ

The Double-Digit Club
Holiday House, April 2004
Ages 9-12, ISBN 0-8234-1805-7

Teachers' Guide available

This summer nine-year-old Sarah is dreading the first day of summer vacation. It will be her best friend's birthday, and stuck-up Valerie Miller will ask Paige to join her silly Double-Digit Club, a group that ignores girls who are not ten yet. If Paige says yes Sarah will have no friends for the whole summer because her birthday isn't until the end of August. Even though Sarah and Paige have promised to be "last, best, and only friends," Sarah is not sure Paige will be able to pass up the chance to be accepted by the most popular girls in school. In this heartfelt novel, a girl discovers the meaning of true and honest friendship and learns to face the future as a wiser and more open person.

"In this sharply observed look at the fraught social lives of tween girls, fourth-grade best pals Sarah and Paige make a pact; they'll never join prissy Valerie's Double-Digit Club, a clique open only to 10-year-olds. But ..." —Booklist

Land of the Buffalo Bones, the Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English girl in Minnesota
Scholastic, April 2003
Ages 9-12, ISBN 0-4392-2027-0

Fourteen-year-old Polly Rodgers keeps a diary of her 1873 journey from England to Minnesota as part of a colony of eighty people seeking religious freedom, and of their first year struggling to make a life there, led by her father, a Baptist minister.

This story is based, not just in a real time in United States history, but on real people, too. The characters who populate it are my own ancestors. In 1873, my great-grandfather, the Reverend Dr. George Rodgers, brought a colony from southwestern England to northwestern Minnesota. What makes this a story worth telling is that the entire endeavor, far from being a typical American success story, turned into a disaster of quite fascinating proportions.

Runt
Clarion Books, October 2002
Ages 9-12, ISBN 0-6182-1261-2

Teachers' Guide available

Deep in the Minnesota woods, four normal sized pups—Leader, Sniffer, Runner, and Thinker—are born to a wolf pack.

Then comes one last, very small pup. For him there is no name but Runt. Runt struggles to learn the ways of the wild alongside his brothers and sisters but often makes mistakes, many of them serious. When he feels the displeasure of the other wolves,especially his father, he withdraws more and more.

The way Runt discovers his own worth makes for a uniquely moving tale. As is true with all good animal stories, it reflects our own world and reminds us of what it means to be alive.

"Bauer portrays the wolves' place in the natural world with compassion, respect, and warmth, but this is also the story of any unique individual's struggle to find his or her niche." —School Library Journal

"[Bauer's]passion for the animals is evident throughout this compelling, poignant story. There is a ready-made audience for this, Bauer's first novel about animals."
—Booklist (starred review)

An Early Winter
illustrated by Susan Winter
1999, Ages 9-12
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin,
ISBN 0-3959-0372-6
Paperback, Yearling,
ISBN 0-4404-1694-9

Tim is distressed to learn that his mom, new stepfather, and grandmother are sure Granddad has Alzheimer's disease. Refusing to accept the possibility that they may be right, Tim persuades Granddad to run away with him on a fishing trip, convinced this will prove that Granddad is still capable of taking care of himself. But on the way to the lake, Granddad keeps forgetting things: their equipment, the soft drinks, even how to make change at the roadside store. When Granddad can't get them out of a dangerous situation on the water but instead makes the problem worse, Tim finally realizes his grandfather has changed, but his awareness may have come too late. Well-developed characters and page-turning suspense ensure that this riveting yet poignant novel will hold readers captive.

New York Public Library 100 Best Books for 1999

Face to Face
Clarion, May 1991
Ages 9 to 12
Paperback, Yearling,
ISBN 0-4404-0791-5

Michael has always dreamed of owning a rifle. Maybe then the kids in school will stop bulling him. So when his stepfather gives him a rifle for his thirteenth birthday, he finally feels in control. But due to an accident the gun is taken away.

After that Michael believes the answer to all his problems is a trip to see his real father, who has been out of his life for eight years. However, when his father, a rafting guide, forces him to make a trip down one of the roughest whitewater passes, Michael wonders if he's made the right choice. Does true courage have anything to do with being a tough guy?

1992 Children's Book of Distinction, Hungry Mind Review; ABA Pick of the Lists; Minnesota Book Award for older children

On My Honor
Houghton Mifflin,1987
Ages 9-12
Hardcover, Clarion Books,
ISBN 0-8991-9439-7
Paperback, Yearling,
ISBN 0-4404-6633-4

Joel's best friend Tony drowns while they are swimming in the forbidden, treacherous Vermilion River. Joel is terrified at having to tell of his disobedience and overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt. A riveting story of two boys whose friendship is abruptly cut short when one drowns while swimming in a forbidden river. This moving account tackles a difficult subject with understanding.

Teachers' Guide Available

Read Marion's comments
about On My Honor.

1987 ALA Newbery Honor Book; 1987 ALA Notable Children's Book; School Library Journal Best Books of 1986; Booklist Editors' Choice; Publishers Weekly Choice: The Year's Best Books; Children's Book Award runner-up, Great Britain, 1988; Flicker Tale Children's Book Award, North Dakota, 1989; William Allen White Award, Kansas, 1989; Golden Archer Award, Wisconsin, 1989; BBY, IRA selection for 1990 Janusc Korczak Literary Competion in Poland; Teachers' Choices, 1984, NCTE; Booklist Reviewers' Choice; Jane Addams Peace Association, 1984 Children's Book Award

Touch the Moon
Clarion Books, October 1987
Ages 9-12, ISBN 0-8991-9526-1

A compelling and suspenseful fantasy about a young girl who wishes so hard for a horse that her wish comes true. However, when they go for a ride and become trapped in a cave, the girl realizes that dreams carry their own responsibilities.