"I'm Linda Clay McGee and I don't belong here." Elsie McPhee and her brother, Tommy, are hiding a terrible secret. They've been kidnapped -- not by a stranger, but by their mother. It is lonely and scary always hiding, moving, and not being allowed to make friends or to talk to people. Elsie even remembers the kidnapping, but she's so scared of her mother, she can't say or do anything. Then Tommy gets sick, and Elsie needs to get help -- fast. But that means she has to leave the apartment. What if she gets caught? Does Elsie have the courage to help her brother even if it means breaking her mother's rules?

Clay

Children's Books

Rodowsky, Colby

Growing Up & Facts of Life

Harpercollins

Seventh grade has just ended, and Cassie's older sister is about to have her first baby, when Cassie sees her sister's husband with another woman at a party. Cassie has always adored her handsome brother-in-law, and when Mickey tells her she must have been mistaken, she wants badly to believe him. But over the course of the summer, her sister's marriage falls apart, and so does the security of her home, as Cassie's grandmother decides to sell the seaside bed-and-breakfast that has been the family's home since Cassie can remember. Bolstered by a fierce sense of justice, Cassie is determined to tight the changes. Will she be left behind as her family moves beyond these troubled times?

Spindrift

Elsie and her brother have been kidnapped -- by their mother Eleven-year-old Elsie McPhee and her younger, autistic brother, Tommy, live discreetly with their mother; they are home-schooled and constantly cautioned not to converse with strangers. It's a lonely existence for Elsie, and right when she's finally decided to skirt her mother's rules and make a friend, Mom whisks the kids off to another nondescript furnished apartment in a different state. This latest sudden move spurs Elsie to remember the events of four years ago, when her mother abducted her and Tommy, who were in the sole custody of their father. Then Tommy becomes ill and Mom won't consult a doctor. Elsie must weigh the meaning of past wrongs and use all her courage to make a decision that could change things forever. Colby Rodowsky has written a novel that will bring readers to the edge of their seats.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

A book for young readers about realizing one’s passion Jason Miller’s family is always on the go, and always for the same reason: ball games. Jason spends a lot of time on the sidelines, because he’s not much for playing sports. He sometimes watches the games, and sometimes stretches out on the bleachers to watch the clouds roll by. But whatever he does, Jason is always happiest when he accompanies it with the tap-tap-tap of a stick on a trash can, or the shake-shake-shake of a can of bottle caps. It’s Jason’s granddad who, during a weeklong visit, first notices Jason’s bent for all things rat-a-tat. One day Granddad comes home with a large package that’s the perfect thing for a boy who may be no ballplayer but is, instead, a talented musician in the making. Colby Rodowsky has created a winning character in Jason, and Beth Peck’s pictures are a gentle accompaniment.

Jason Rat-A-Tat

Literature & Fiction

"Annie is about to graduate from high school, an event that intensifies all her memories of another graduation two years before, when her sister was murdered...Present-day events intermingle with Annie's recollections of the past. The shock, denial, and numbing grief are all realistically and starkly portrayed...This is an unsettling novel about an emotionally charged subject. It never falters. It will make an outstanding addition to any YA collection."-Starred/School Library Journal

Remembering Mog

Ellie Martin fiercely resists her new dog's charms It isn't Ellie's fault, really. She's always wanted a puppy, and now that she's almost nine, finally old enough to get one, Preston is foisted on her. What's more, her parents say that this fully grown mutt that Great-aunt Margaret can no longer keep will have to do. They can't very well have a dog and a puppy. Although heartbroken and resentful, Ellie does see Preston's virtues. Still, she refuses to accept him as her dog. Then Ellie's resistance almost costs her Preston, and at last she embraces him. Colby Rodowsky's story about a child's change of heart has just enough tenderness -- and just enough bite -- to satisfy young dog lovers. Captivating drawings by Thomas F. Yezerski highlight the experience.

Not My Dog

Animals

A girl discovers she has a half brother Charlotte Flannigan (Tottie, for short) leads a conventional life in a conventional family. Her father is a well-respected pediatrician, her mother a popular newspaper columnist, and her younger brother a talkative but otherwise okay kid. But on an ordinary Saturday afternoon, Tottie’s comfortable life is threatened when the doorbell rings. She answers it to find a teenage boy, who looks eerily like her father, standing there. A stranger, but not quite a stranger. His name is Zachary Pearce, and he is her father's – and not her mother's - son. Told through the alternating perspectives of Tottie and Zach, Colby Rodowsky's novel explores the ramifications of a sudden change in the makeup of a family. Fear, resentment, desperation, and potential for love all surface in this honest and heartfelt story.

Not Quite a Stranger

Teen & Young Adult

Putting a fear to rest Sara Barker is afraid of dogs. Whenever she sees even a picture of one, she feels clammy and cold all over. So what's Sara to do when she learns that her new next-door neighbor owns two of them? Two young and big dogs, to be specific. Her neighbor turns out to be an ebullient older woman who befriends Sara and promises her dogs will keep their distance. But one day a situation arises in which Sara is forced to venture into the yard next door, even as the dogs there are desperately barking. Kids will relate to Sara, and dog-lovers will enjoy seeing her overcome her fears in this easy-to-read chapter book, with numerous cheerful pictures. The Next-Door Dogs is a 2006 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

The Next-Door Dogs

A girl resists growing up by hiding from some unpleasant truths At the beginning of summer, thirteen-year-old Cassie is witness to a disturbing sight. At a party she spots her sister's husband, Mickey, in the arms of another woman. Could it really be him? And with her sister about to give birth to their first child? When Cassie confronts Mickey, he claims it must have been his double. Though it's hard to believe him, Cassie struggles to do so with all her might - she has always adored Mickey and doesn't want to think he could do anything wrong. For distraction Cassie has the company of her good friends Megan and Tommy, along with the refuge of the Spindrift, the beautiful old seaside house where she lives with her mother and grandmother Emma. But even the security of home is threatened when Emma, who runs a bed-and-breakfast out of the Spindrift, decides she'd like to sell the house. Cassie will learn this summer that she can no longer cling to childhood to escape from the unpleasant things that sometimes happen in families.

Kiara Jones-Birkell knows a lot about the Birkell side of her family, and nothing about the Joneses. The one time she tried to ask about her mother’s relatives, her mom turned a spooky greenish-white color and refused to talk to anyone. So it comes as quite a shock when Kiara learns that the grandmother she never knew she had is expected to die at any moment. Suddenly Kiara finds herself on a train heading for Baltimore – and her mother’s secret past. There she meets Zenobia, the world’s most stubborn grandmother, who is as eruptive as Mount Vesuvius. Kiara can’t understand what Zenobia could possibly have against her – is it simply the fact that her skin is dark like mocha latte, while all her cousins are white? Or is there, as Kiara’s mother keeps hinting, much more to the story? Told from the point of view of a teenager with spot-on observations and hilarious insights, this is the story of three generations of stubborn – and charmingly funny – women.

That Fernhill Summer

Arts, Music & Photography

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rodowsky, Colby. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rodowsky, Colby

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rodowsky, Colby. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Clay

Spindrift

Clay

Jason Rat-A-Tat

Remembering Mog

Not My Dog

Not Quite a Stranger

The Next-Door Dogs

Spindrift

That Fernhill Summer