Kimberly Willis Holt

“When I was a boy, my pa dowsed to earn extra money when we had a lean year. And when he put the branch in my hands for the first time, I felt a burning inside me because I had the gift, too. Just be thankful I didn’t hand that gift down to you.” Amos figured it was probably best not to...

Nothing ever happens in Toby's small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that's full of big changes. It's tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to become a country singer. And Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal's older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. But now their...

Tiger Ann Parker is smart in school and good at baseball, but she's forever teased about her family by the girls in class. Tiger Ann knows her folks are different from others in their small town of Saitter, Louisiana. They are mentally slow, and Tiger Ann keeps her pain and embarrassment hidden...

A coming-of-age middle grade novel about three best friends born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina who must confront storms of their own 12 years later, from a National Book Award winning author. Born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Greer, Joya Mia, and Kiki are seventh graders and the best of...

It’s not easy being the middle child, especially when your dad is a Navy Chief. Meet Piper Reed, a spunky nine-year-old who has moved more times than she can count on one hand. From Texas to Guam, wherever Piper goes, adventure follows, inspired by her active imagination, free-wheeling spirit...

Piper Reed and her fellow Gypsy Club members are in need of a clubhouse. Raising money to buy one proves to be a challenge. Piper, being the resourceful fifth-grader that she is, launches her own party planning business and gets her first job throwing young Brady’s birthday celebration. But...

Piper’s dad–a Navy Chief–might be gone again, but Piper’s got plenty to keep her busy at home: new neighbors, a spaceship beach house, a trip to New Orleans, and, most important, the upcoming Gypsy Club pet show. Piper is determined to win, but teaching tricks to her dog seems nearly...

Kimberly Willis Holt's The Ambassador of Nowhere, Texas is a stunning post-9/11 companion to the National Book Award-winner When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. Decades after the Vietnam War and Toby’s life-changing summer with Zachary Beaver, Toby’s daughter, Rylee, is at a crossroads - her...

“In a series of exquisitely presented snapshots, a young teen struggles to cope with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. . . . Stunningly beautiful.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred “Readers are drawn into Isabel’s world and her determination to keep on going in the face of her...

Whenever her feelings get the best of her, Jaynell Lambert climbs into an old junker in Clifton Bailey’s Automobile Salvage and Parts and pretends to drive away. It’s the summer of 1968, and within a year the dirt road in front of her house will be paved, Grandpap will move in, and men will...

The journey begins in 1939 with Rose, who moves with her mother and siblings from rural Texas to live with their estranged grandfather on the Louisiana bayou. Rose connects with this flavorful community by driving a bookmobile. Two decades later, Merle Henry, Rose’s son, is more passionate...