World History Biographies: Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told The World Her Story (Ng World History Biographies)

Anne Frank takes young readers back to the dark days of World War II through the story of the famous young diarist. Like teenagers everywhere, Anne wrote about friends, family, movies, her greatest joys, and her deepest fears. Through her vivid, tender entries we experience Anne’s changing world, as persecution, hiding, and betrayal, become part of daily life in Nazi Europe. Ann Kramer’s superbly illustrated book also celebrates the enduring legacy of Anne Frank. Her story, now known to millions, is an inspiration for young readers, and writers, everywhere.

The Three Snow Bears

Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. That’s because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby Bear’s bed. Jan traveled to the far North to meet the Inuit people and see the amazing land where they live. Dramatic illustrations capture the shimmering ice, snow and deep blue seas of the Arctic, and when Jan adds a raven-haired Inuit girl and her appealing huskies, an endearing family of polar bears, and playful Arctic animals in the borders, the result is one of her most beautiful picture books. The decorative Inuit patterns and clothing Jan uses throughout are sure to attract adult fans and collectors while children will want to listen to and look at this exciting version of a well-loved story over and over again.

The Disappeared

A riveting tale about love and sacrifice by a National Book Award winner. The Disappeared. Los desaparecidos. This is the name given to those who opposed Argentina’s dictatorial government and were kidnapped to ensure their silence. With her hometown of Buenos Aires ensconsced in the political nightmare, Silvia devises a plan to save her missing brother. She’ll make Norberto, son of the general who arrests dissenters, fall in love with her–and he’ll have his father set Eduardo free. Told in alternating chapters, this powerful and poetic story follows Silvia as she spirals into Norberto’s world, and Eduardo as he struggles to endure physical and emotional torture. Will Silvia’s scheme reunite her family? Or will the pursuit of freedom cost these devoted siblings their lives?

Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box

The Prince Regent is no ordinary hotel—powered entirely by steam, run by an eccentric inventor who doesn’t believe in sleep, it’s a place full of shadowy characters and dangerous secrets. Mariah has just started working there as a magician’s assistant, and when he and his coworker Sacha unwittingly learn more than they were meant to know, they suddenly find themselves pawns in an evil plot so full of twists and turns that even the labyrinth of hidden tunnels and caverns beneath the hotel can’t contain it. As they struggle to unravel the mystery and stay alive in the process, encountering secret rooms, enchanted objects and vicious mythical creatures, they question whom to trust. All the adults—even the ones offering help—seem to be hiding something. After all, Mariah only got his job because his predecessor vanished one night—and, as Mariah is fast realizing, not all magic tricks are illusions.

The Magician’s Apprentice

It’s summertime 1874 and Jago Stonecipher is tired of being pushed around. The penniless apprentice of a mean-spirited magican, Jago dreams of a better life. It seems his wish is granted when he finds a mysterious message in a watch, which unexpectedly sets off a dangerous chain of events.

Escape to the Forest: Based on a True Story of the Holocaust

When the Nazis invade Poland, nothing is safe anymore. Ten-year-old Sarah and her family must leave their home and live in a Jewish ghetto surrounded by barbed wire. There, life is a nightmare of cold and hunger where Nazi soldiers kill Jews at will. But Sarah still hears stories that give her hope–stories about a man who lives in the nearby forest, fighting the Nazis and sheltering the Jews. Sarah’s brother thinks they should try to escape to the forest. Her parents think they will be safer where they are. Sarah doesn’t know who is right. But as life in the ghetto grows worse and worse, the forest may be their only hope. Based on a true story of life during the Holocaust, this is a heartrending novel of one family’s struggle to survive.

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes

One day, Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr decided to buy their mother the perfect birthday present–a pair of red shoes. So they set out to earn some money. Things did not go exactly as planned, but in the end, Mother was very surprised!

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

A young boy unites with thousands of other orphaned boys to walk to safety in a refugee camp in another country, after war destroys their villages in southern Sudan. Based on true events.

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books

Hachiko Waits

Hachi, an Akita pup, reveres his master and likes nothing more than accompanying Japanese professor Eizaburo Ueno to his morning train and then meeting him in the afternoon. One day the professor dies while at work, yet the faithful Hachi awaits his return at the station every day until his own death some 10 years later. Newman’s fictionalized account of this true story adds a young boy, Yasuo, who befriends the dog and the professor and later cares for Hachi during his steadfast vigil at the Shibuya train station in Japan.