For David Copperfield, orphaned and with a cruel stepfather, the future looks bleak. But a new start beckons with the magnificent Mr. Micawber, then with his eccentric aunt, Betsey Trotwood.

Born with a clubfoot and orphaned at an early age, Philip Carey has long felt set apart from others. In the care of his doting aunt and dismissive uncle, he finds solace and escape in reading. But when he is sent to boarding school, he finds himself once again alone in heart and spirit. It is these cold beginnings that set him on a search for true happiness. Philip's quest will take him around the world: from Germany, where he finds cheer in the...

Kidsnatched from her orphanage by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant), who spends his life blowing happy dreams to children, Sophie concocts with him a plan to save the world from nine other man-gobbling cannybull giants.

After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

"With more children on their way from England who need caring homes, Lillian and Grace Walsh must use every ounce of gumption to keep their mission alive. But when startling information about the past surfaces and a new arrival comes via suspicious circumstances, they'll have to decided what is worth fighting for and what is better left in God's hands"--Provided by publisher.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

In this tour de force of psychological unease, now a major motion picture starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sinead Cusack, McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most adults have spent a lifetime forgetting or denying. "Possesses the suspense and chilling impact of Lord of the Flies."--Washington Post Book World.

Lamed and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

"A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret. Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel...