Books by Author Kathryn Erskine

Kathryn Erskine, 2021

The world is rich with people and places of distinct and complex cultures. And yet, even with its rich diversity, it’s easy to see that the world is one community of people who are similar in so many ways. With stunning, lush art to accompany the lyrical text, this book celebrates the connections we can make to appreciate and share our world.

Kathryn Erskine, 2017

Julian's family moves to Maine to open a B&B, but the cranky next-door neighbor wants to stop them. Julian knows Mr. X is lonely so decides to be his friend, whether Mr. X wants that or not. Julian tries to show him the wonders of the universe through his telescope but, like his family, Mr. X is too distracted. He eventually makes a bargain with Julian: I'll help you get a dog if you get over your fear of the water. Easier said than done. With his anxiety, Julian’s worries include drowning, which is why he wears a life jacket 24/7. In the end, Julian has to face his fear to hang onto the people he loves.

Kathryn Erskine, 2017

Miriam Makeba, a Grammy Award–winning South African singer, rose to fame in the hearts of her people at the pinnacle of apartheid―a brutal system of segregation similar to American Jim Crow laws. Mama Africa, as they called her, raised her voice to help combat these injustices at jazz clubs in Johannesburg; in exile, at a rally beside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and before the United Nations. Set defiantly in the present tense, this biography offers readers an intimate view of Makeba’s fight for equality. Charly Palmer’s bold illustrations come together in a raw, riveting duet of protest song and praise poem. A testament to how a single voice helped to shake up the world―and can continue to do so.

Kathryn Erskine, 2014

Adrian is small for his age, even for an almost thirteen-year-old. It doesn't help that he has albinism, which makes those he meets wonder if he's an angel or a devil. His father is a bowyer, and all Adrian wants to do is become apprenticed and go off to war as an archer. But since Adrian can write, his father wants him to be a scribe. When the Scots invade England and Adrian's best friend Hugh runs off to find his father and fight, Adrian soon follows, intent on finding Hugh and joining him in glorious warfare against the pagans invading England from the north. Adrian finds his friend caring for a wounded Scotsman and is horrified that Hugh would aid an enemy. But soon he begins to question what he's been taught about the enemy and the nature of war.

Kathryn Erskine, 2013

After his beloved father dies, Red tries everything to stop his mother from selling their home and business, even getting in trouble with the sheriff -- and worse. At odds with his mother and little brother, he misses his friends even more. Rosie won't tell him what's going on in her family and Thomas, two years older and African American, has outgrown Red's naivete. Beau and Miss Georgia, and maybe Red's teacher, are the only ones who seem to understand, yet it's 1972 in a small southern town and they, too, are victims of the prejudice that surrounds them all. It's up to Red to try to right the wrongs of the past and present and make his stand demanding change for the future.

Kathryn Erskine, 2011

Mike tries hard to please his father, but the only language Dad seems to speak is calculus. For a boy with a math learning disability, nothing could be more difficult. When Dad sends him to live with distant relatives in rural Pennsylvania for the summer to work on an engineering project, Mike figures this is his chance to buckle down and prove himself. But when he gets there, nothing is what he thought it would be -- not the project, not the relatives, not even the town. Mike may not learn anything about engineering, but what he does learn is far more valuable.

Kathryn Erskine, 2018

In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white. Anything in between is confusing. That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, always explained. But now Devon’s dead, and her father cries a lot. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how. When she reads the definition of “closure” in the dictionary, she realizes that is what she and her father need. In her search for Closure, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white--the world is full of colors--messy and beautiful, and she embarks on a road to both healing and closure. Mockingbird won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Kathryn Erskine, 2007

Goth girl Matt lives her life by simple rules: Stay under the radar, never go by Matilda (only Matt), and don't let anyone get too close. But everything changes when she moves in with a peaceful Quaker family in Pennsylvania. As the country fights a war in the Middle East, Matt fights her own personal war, battling bullies of her past and present and fighting to stand up for her belief in peace. Then violence erupts in town, and Matt finds that she will need to fight even harder to save the family she is starting to love.