The Boy on the Porch, Sharon Creech.This is an adorable book about John and Marta finding a young, sleeping boy on their porch one morning. The boy, Jacob, does not speak and cannot provide any background information. All they have is a note saying that Jacob is a good boy and they will be back soon. Days, weeks, months pass and no one in town knows anything and no one comes to claim him. The three form an unlikely family and the little boy fills the heart of John and Marta with joy and smiles. Indeed, one day, his father does come to claim him. The rest I'll leave for you to read. Is it sad? Yes, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Every Day After, Laura Golden. Lizzie's father, after losing his job, is gone. Ben's father is dead. The two become fast friends at the height of the Great Depression. For Lizzie, her world shattered when her dad left, leaving only a note and a locket to replace him. Her mother, living within her own silence, is unable to help. Things go from bad to worse when her enemy, Erin Sawyer, envious because of Lizzie's top grades and friendship with Ben, sets out to destroy everything for her: pushing into her, stealing Ben's friendship, faking an apology so that Lizzie will not enter the writing contest, letting Dr. Heimler know that her mother is "not in her right mind," hoping that Lizzie will be put into an orphanage. When a letter is handed to Lizzie, delivering the news that they are now defunct on several mortgage payments, she begins to lose hope. With Ben and his mother moving away for the same reason, she wonders if it will ever stop raining despair on her life. Making some tough decisions, she learns to let go of what she needs to let go of and hang on to what she needs to hang on to.