Without Warning: Ellen’s Story, 1914-1918

After World War I calls her brother to the front lines, a young woman sets out to make a difference in this powerful historical novel.”I don’t know much about wars except soldiers and sailors get killed and Jack might get killed with them. But grown-up people say . . . they’re a chance for young men to go off to foreign parts and be brave and come home heroes.”England, 1914. The piercing tone of the bugle changes a sleepy British village and Ellen Wilkins forever. It is the call to enlist — a chance Ellen’s brother, Jack, won’t miss. The call also spurs Ellen to leave the safety of home and begin a journey of self-discovery, one that takes her close to the front lines to pursue her calling as a nurse. In this gritty and insightful novel, Dennis Hamley deftly portrays the everyday realities of life in wartime, along with harrowing accounts of war’s lifelong effects on the young people caught in its path.

What The Birds See

/”Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale.\” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)Nine-year-old Adrian watches his world closely, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighborhood children might set out to buy ice cream one summer’s day and never be seen again. . . . In a suburb that is no longer safe and innocent, in a broken family of self-absorbed souls, Sonya Hartnett sets the story of a lone little boy — unwanted, unloved, and intensely curious — a story as achingly beautiful as it is shattering.

Town Boy

Malaysian teenager Mat makes a life-changing move from the quiet kampung where he was born to Ipoh, the rapidly industrializing nearby town.  Living far from his rural roots at a boarding school, he discovers bustling streets, modern music, heady literature, budding romance, and through it all his growing passion for art. The companion novel to the critically acclaimed Kampung Boy, Town Boy offers more of Lat’s delicious storytelling and enchanting pen-and-ink artwork.  At once exotic and familiar, his cartoon world builds a bridge for readers into another world, another culture, and another time. 

The Diary of Pelly D

When Toni V, a construction worker on a futuristic colony, finds the diary of a teenage girl whose life has been turned upside-down by Holocaust-like events, he begins to question his own beliefs.

 

 

And What Comes after a Thousand?

Otto and Lisa are special friends. Otto may be old, but he can still spit cherry pits, make slingshots and grow delicious raspberries. He and Lisa share a fascination with numbers, tell stories, and gaze at the stars. But when Otto gets ill and dies, Lisa struggles to understand. Her rage, confusion and mourning are reflected in the heartwarming illustrations, as she slowly comes to understand that while people die, memories last forever.

Priceless Gifts

There is an old saying that good things come in small packages. In this story from Italy, storytellers Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss show us that good things also come in furry packages. When a merchant finds himself in a land that is overrun by rats, he realizes that he has the most priceless gift in this country, namely his ship’s cats.

Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars

One day in 1914 when Soichiro Honda was seven years old, an astonishing, moving dust cloud appeared in his small Japanese town. The cause was a leaky, noisy automobile–the first the boy had ever seen. At that moment Honda fell in love with cars, and a dream took hold. He would one day make them himself. It took Honda many years to reach his goal. Along the way he became an expert mechanic and manufacturer of car parts. After World War II he developed a motorized bicycle, the forerunner of his innovative motorcycles. Eventually Honda began manufacturing cars, first race cars and then consumer cars. Constantly seeking ways to make his products better than his competitors, Honda grew into a global industry leader. Soichiro Honda had an inventive mind and a passion for new ideas, and he never gave up on his dream. A legendary figure in the world of manufacturing, Honda is a dynamic symbol of lifelong determination, creativity, and the power of a dream.

Her Mother’s Face

When Siobhan was just three years old, her mother died, leaving Siobhan and her father alone in their house in Dublin. They never talk about her, and now, at ten years old, Siobhan no longer remembers her mother’s face. One day, Siobhan meets a mysterious woman in the park who tells her that to remember her mother, she just needs to look in a mirror. As Siobhan grows older, she sees more and more of her mother’s face in her own reflection. With time, she and her father and her own daughter are able to remember Siobhan’s mother with joy and laughter instead of tears.