Christine is only fifteen, and she’s caught in the middle of a war-torn city. Huddled in the cold, dark cellar of their bombed-out apartment building, Christine and her family listen in fear as the battle rages over their heads. They must get out of the city–but where will they go and how will they escape? Christine is learning some hard lessons about life–and death–as she struggles to stay alive amidst the horrors of war.
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Anastasia’s Secret
“Will I never see you again either?” I asked, feeling as though I was about to jump off a high mountain peak and hope to land without hurting myself. That’s how impossible everything seemed at that moment, no matter what I did. “Perhaps we will meet again,” Sasha said, softening his voice. “But you must see that it does not matter. You have so much ahead of you. It’s your choice now. Choose the future! Choose life!” For Anastasia Romanov, life as the privileged daughter of Russia’s last tsar is about to be torn apart by the bloodshed of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control of the government, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia. But even while the rebels debate the family’s future with agonizing slowness and the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blooms between Anastasia and Sasha, a sympathetic young guard she has known since childhood. But will the strength of their love be enough to save Anastasia from a violent death? Inspired by the mysteries that have long surrounded the last days of the Romanov family, Susanne Dunlap’s new novel is a haunting vision of the life—and love story—of Russia’s last princess.
And Twelve Chinese Acrobats
Tired of his mischievous antics, the unpredictable, impetuous Lou is sent off to military school to learn some discipline, and after many years, he returns, not as a soldier, but rather as the manager of a troupe of Chinese acrobats.
The Chernobyl Disaster
Provides comprehensive information on the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the differing perspectives accompanying it.
Everyone Needs A Friend
Jack the wolf doesn’t mind living alone, but he does get lonely on long winter nights. Then one day Walter the dormouse comes for a visit. Walter is fun to be around, but he certainly does have some annoying habits! Can Jack get over them, or will this be the end of their friendship?
The Frog Princess
Forced to marry an ugly frog, the youngest son of the Tsar is astounded to learn that the frog is really the beautiful princess Vasilisa the Wise.
Firebird
“In the shadow of King Vaslav’s Palace was a marvelous garden, and in the middle of that garden stood a tree that grew apples of solid gold, each one as dazzling as the sun.”Someone is stealing the king’s famous golden apples, and the culprit must be found. The palace gardener spots the luminous Firebird snatching the apples in the night. The king’s two oldest sons are sent to capture it but fail. So Ivan, the youngest son, must go on the dangerous quest, befriending a gray wolf, winning both the Firebird and the heart of the beautiful Princess Helen. Saviour Pirotta’s powerful retelling of this classic folktale plumbs the heart of human fears, courage, and love.
The Little Humpbacked Horse: A Russian Tale
A young peasant, with the help of his faithful horse, captures magical beasts, marries the woman he loves, and becomes Tsar of Russia.
Babushka’s Mother Goose
Presents a collection of traditional rhymes, rewritten to feature Russian characters and scenes.
The Spider’s Gift: A Ukrainian Christmas Story
Katrusya is devastated that her family cannot afford Christmas presents this year, but it simply wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree. She soon finds the perfect one in the deepest part of the forest and decorates it with homemade ornaments. But the next day the tree is crawling with spiders! Luckily, Katrusya convinces her mother not to throw the tree away. When the family returns from church that evening, they discover that the spiders have left a dazzling Christmas miracle.