Theme: loss of family

The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fey

By Book Importer | Published: September 19, 2011

Britain, 480 AD. Saxon barbarians are invading, pushing the civilized British out of their own island. Morgan is the daughter of the governor of Cornwall. But when her father is murdered and her mother taken as the Uther Pendragon’s new wife, she has to flee to Ireland to avoid being murdered herself.
But Ireland is no [...]

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

Red Midnight

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago’s village, they shoot at everyone in their path. Dos Vías is on fire, and the night glows red. “Take the cayuco and sail to the United States of America. Now go!” Santiago’s uncle Ramos tells him, and Santiago, twelve, and his four-year-old sister, Angelina, flee.
With a map, a machete, and [...]

Descriptors: Guatemala, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Safe Return

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

After struggling with the death of her mother and father, Ursula worries about her beloved Aunt Dana who boarded a ship during very rough seas weeks ago and has not returned home, and finds herself faithfully waiting with fear and hope.

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

The Cuckoo’s Child

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

Eleven-year-old Mia refuses to believe that her parents are not coming back after they are reported lost at sea. In 1962, Mia’s parents suddenly disappear while sailing off the coast of Greece. Mia and her two sisters are returned to the United States to the custody of her aunt they barely know. Mia wishes for [...]

Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Lebanon, United States of America, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Cage

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

A teenage girl recounts the suffering and persecution of her family under the Nazis–in a Polish ghetto, through deportation, and in concentration camps.

Descriptors: Biography, Germany, Poland, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Ahmek

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

This is the story of Ahmek, a young beaver, going about the business of living in his natural habitat. Through his eyes, we see a man, an artist painting the wilderness. Slowly, cautiously, Ahmek and the man establish a rapport, only to have it shattered when poachers destroy the beaver dam and threaten Ahmek’s life. [...]

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

The Mats

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

Marcelina’s father comes home from a trip to Manila with beautiful hand-made sleeping mats for each member of his large family, including the three daughters who died when they were very young.
The Mats first appeared as a short story in Philippine Magazine in 1938.

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

Under the Persimmon Tree

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means “star,” suddenly finds herself alone when her father and older brother are conscripted by the Taliban and her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid. An American woman, Elaine, whose Islamic name is Nusrat, is also on her own. She waits out the war [...]

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

Hitler’s Canary

By Rebecca Ballenger | Published: October 29, 2008

Ten-year-old Bamse and his Jewish friend Anton participate in the Danish Resistance during World War II.

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