Theme: Death

Moon Pie

By Book Importer | Published: December 12, 2011

Someone has to keep their head, as Mum used to say, and 11-year-old Martha is used to being that someone in her family. Her little brother, Tug, is too small. Her dad has been acting too strange. And Mum’s not here anymore. So when Dad falls off the roof, it’s Martha who ices his knee [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

The Scar

By Book Importer | Published: November 21, 2011

When his mother dies, a little boy is angry at his loss but does everything he can to hold onto the memory of her scent, her voice, and the special things she did for him, even as he tries to help his father and grandmother cope.

Descriptors: Europe, France, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Hangman in the Mirror

By Book Importer | Published: September 26, 2011

Françoise Laurent has never had an easy life. The only surviving child of a destitute washerwoman and wayward soldier, she must rely only on herself to get by. When her parents die suddenly from the smallpox ravishing New France, Françoise sees it as a chance to escape the life she thought she was trapped in.
Seizing [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Pearl Verses the World

By Book Importer | Published: September 26, 2011

Pearl feels like an island in school, isolated and alone, but at home she feels loved and secure until her grandmother’s illness changes the way Pearl views her world.

Descriptors: Australia, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Poetry » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

A Rose for the Anzac Boys

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

The story starts in 1915. Midge Macpherson is at school in England, having been sent there from New Zealand after her father’s death. Her brothers are both serving in the war; her younger brother was last heard of at the Gallipoli campaign earlier that year. Her cousins are serving in the British army. Keen to [...]

Descriptors: Australia, Historical Fiction, New Zealand, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Sisters . . . No Way!

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

Cindy, a savvy yet cynical teenager, still traumatized by her mother’s recent death, is appalled when her father falls in love with one of her teachers, a woman with two teenage daughters of her own. She cannot imagine a worse fate than having her teacher as her stepmother, and as for the two prissy girls, [...]

Descriptors: Intermediate (ages 9-14), Ireland, Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , » Leave a comment

Long Story Short

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

From Ireland’s first laureate for children’s literature comes a story of abuse and neglect told with sincerity, heart, and a healthy dose of humor.  Jono has always been able to cope with his mother’s drinking, but when she hits his little sister Julie, he decides it’s time for them to run away. Told in Jono’s [...]

Descriptors: Europe, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Ireland, Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

White Crow

By Book Importer | Published: August 24, 2011

Some secrets are better left buried; some secrets are so frightening they might make angels weep and the devil crow. Thought provoking as well as intensely scary, White Crow unfolds in three voices. There’s Rebecca, who has come to a small, seaside village to spend the summer, and there’s Ferelith, who offers to show Rebecca the [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Orani: My Father’s Village

By Book Importer | Published: August 15, 2011

As a child, Claire Nivola loved summers in Orani, the village where her father grew up and where her many aunts, uncles, and 50 cousins still lived. She ran freely through the town’s cobbled streets with packs of cousins, who quizzed her about America while she took in all the simple joys and pleasures of [...]

Descriptors: Europe, Fiction, Italy, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Desperate Measures

By Book Importer | Published: May 31, 2011

Vicky has always felt responsible for her mentally disabled twin sister, Rhianna, and their feisty little brother, Jamie. So when the foster care system threatens to split them up, they all run away together, heading for a distant relativeÕs home. After a difficult journey, they arriveÑonly to find strangers living there. With nowhere else to [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , , , » 1 Comment