"The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was the worst environmental disaster in American history, a time when 'black blizzards' of dust, some hundreds of miles wide, swept across the southern plains. Hundreds of people were killed. Thousands of farms were buried. Millions of refugees fled starvation and sickness in the plains only to face hatred and prejudice in California. ... The thrilling story of an eleven-year-old boy who risks his life to save his family and friends during the worst dust storm of all, an event that would become known as 'Black Sunday.' Includes a section of nonfiction back matter with more facts and photos about the real-life event." -- Provided by publisher.

In the third Devlin Quick adventure from internationally bestselling author Linda Fairstein, Dev goes to Martha's Vineyard for rest, relaxation...and a hidden pirate treasure! It's the end of summer, and Devlin Quick is invited to join her best friend Booker's family on vacation at their summer home in Martha's Vineyard. Devlin has a science project for school- to take a daily bucket of water from the Vineyard Sound and submit a sample to an oceanographic DNA lab. From that, they can actually tell you what species of fish have been in those waters- striped bass, blues...and sharks! But Devlin comes up with something else in her bucket from the days when pirates hid treasures along the New England coastline. With access to the crime DNA lab back in NYC (courtesy of her mother), Dev is going to solve the mystery of this treasure...and figure out all of the secrets Martha's Vineyard is hiding.

And then it rained... And what a long time since it has rained! A whole apartment building full of overjoyed neighbors revel in the raininess. It's the perfect day to read a book on dinosaurs, to stay home and bake bread, or even to go out for a splishy-splashy adventure to a café with your father for a bowl of hot soup. But when it keeps raining day after day after day, baking bread becomes dull, and splishy-splashy walks become plain old wet ones and not at all adventuresome. You begin to long for the kind of weather where you'd want to eat ice cream, not soup. Naturally everyone starts grumbling....Everyone, that is, except for the wise father of one grouchy little boy because... The sun comes out! And what a long time since it has come! A whole apartment building full of overjoyed neighbors celebrate the sunniness. For it's the perfect day to go roller skating, visit the bakery, or put on your shiny cool sunglasses and stroll out for a sunny day adventure, including a ringside seat at an outdoor café with your father for a dish of ice cream. But when the sun gets hotter and hotter, day after day after day, roller skating gets exhausting, and a walk becomes less and less of an adventure and more and more uncomfortable. You begin to long for the kind of weather where you'd want to eat soup, not ice cream. Naturally everyone starts grumbling....Everyone, that is, except for the wise father of one grouchy little boy because...