A collection of Jakaltek Mayan folktales, first told to the author by his mother and the elders of his Guatemalan village. They deal with the themes of creation, nature, mutual respect, and ethnic relations and conflicts. Told for the first time in English and illustrated with Mayan images, these stories and fables speak eloquently of an ancient culture, at once preserving its history and recreating its tradition.
Pretty, carefree Aurelia Gamser (known today as Ruth Gruener) had an idyllic life in 1930s Poland — until violent acts of anti-Semitism and the deportation of Jewish families to concentration camps changed everything in her world. Hiding out with a gentile family, her very life at risk every day, Ruth struggled to remain strong and sane. And though she was destined to live, her struggle continued after the war, when she began a new life in America, as a teenager who had been through horrors. This memoir will inspire countless readers and bestow important lessons about life, hope, and memory.
Until things begin to go wrong, thirteen-year-old Eleanor Blande had hoped that this would be her best year ever. First her father finds himself without work. Then Levon du Plessy-Minsk, the Creature Catcher, threatens to expose Eleanor’s secret to the world. To make matters worse, Eleanor’s mother has developed a fear of flying, and her little brother, Solly, has decided to hang up his Googoo-man superhero outfit forever.When Kaspar Snit finds his way back into Eleanor’s life, does the notorious evil genius really want her to help him reform and become a regular person? Or is he the one committing such mean and despicable acts as raiding a birthday party and stealing all the bicycle bells in town? And when a collection of priceless jewels from the country of Verulia goes on exhibit, could anyone other than Kaspar Snit be planning to steal it?Cary Fagan’s enchanting sequel to The Fortress of Kaspar Snit and Directed by Kaspar Snit will have kids laughing out loud as they root for Eleanor and the rest of her flying family.
Oranges in No Man’s Land tells the riveting story of ten-year-old Ayesha’s terrifying journey across no man’s land to reach a doctor in hostile territory in search of medicine for her dying grandmother.Set in Lebanon during the civil war, this story is told by award-winning author Elizabeth Laird and is based on personal, real-life events. Elizabeth stayed on the green line in Beirut in 1977 in a war-damaged flat with her husband and six-month-old son. Memories of her son sleeping in a suitcase on the floor, taking his first steps on the bullet-riddled balcony, playing with the soldiers on the checkpoint, and her husband racing through no man’s land in the buildup to a battle have all inspired this gripping and moving story.Elizabeth Laird says, “When I wrote Oranges in No Man’s Land, I didn’t know that Lebanon would be plunged back so soon into a nightmare. Caught up in that nightmare are children like Ayesha and Samar, whose lives political leaders so easily throw away.”Elizabeth Laird has been nominated four times for the Carnegie Medal and has won both the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Children’s Book Award (UK). Her numerous books, including A Little Piece of Ground (Haymarket Books, 2006), have been published around the world.
It’s been two years since fifteen-year-old Roberto was kidnapped and forced to work in a German labor camp. After finally escaping, he’s made his way back to Italy. Roberto is desperate to return to the safety of his family, but how can he turn his back on the war while so many people are suffering? Roberto joins the resistance movement, and smuggles guns and secret information to rebel fighters. Every mission takes him closer to home, but every mission is even more dangerous than the last. Will Roberto survive and make his way home?
The Adderhead–his immortality bound in a book by Meggie’s father, Mo–has ordered his henchmen to plunder the villages. The peasants’ only defense is a band of outlaws led by the Bluejay–Mo’s fictitious double, whose identity he has reluctantly adopted. But the Book of Immortality is unraveling, and the Adderhead again fears the White Women of Death. To bring the renegade Bluejay back to repair the book, the Adderhead kidnaps all the children in the kingdom, dooming them to slavery in his silver mines unless Mo surrends. First Dustfinger, now Mo: Can anyone save this cursed story?
Twelve-year-old Adam Story is challenged by the deposed ruler of Babababad and his mongoose companion to become the first youngster to travel around the world in forty days without an adult.
One family’s story of survival in postwar Hungary, 1948. In Budapest after the war, when Kata’s family first returns from hiding, they are glad to be alive and hopeful that life will improve. But the secret police is questioning everyone about their loyalty to the Hungarian Workers Party, and conditions seem to be worsening. The eleven-year-old doesn’t understand why her brother Bela is acting so differently or why he hasn’t come home from his recent excursion. Her father used to own the factory, but now, as an employee, his wages continue to fall. She helps her mother sew the bears they will sell on the black market, but when Kata learns that Bela has escaped the country, she grows angry and sad. In time, she hopes that Bela will make it to America and will send for his family.
Samurai Seikei and Judge Ooka, his foster-father, seek seven men who have seven maps on their backs in order to locate a cache of dangerous weapons before they fall into the wrong hands.
Sir Francis Walsingham, England’s spymaster general, has eyes and ears all over the world. His secret service protects Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth—and ensures the might of all of England. Now he has a new recruit. Fourteen-year-old Nathan Fox is an actor in the same company as young Will Shakespeare. His life in the theater has taught him a thing or two about disguises and deception. But nothing can prepare Nathan for the shadowy world he’s about to enter now. Nathan is trained in swordplay and street fighting, code breaking and escapes. Then he’s paired with fearless spy John Pearce for his first mission: a journey to Venice to forge an alliance against the powerful King of Spain. Posing as master and servant, Nathan and Pearce move smoothly through Venetian society… until they cross paths with the great General Othello. Soon they become entangled in his tragic love affair with a young noblewoman, Desdemona. Nathan’s new life holds more action and more drama than he ever saw on a stage. But will he ever survive to tell Will Shakespeare this tale?