Young Samurai: The Way Of The Warrior

Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by a legendary master swordsman and brought under his wing, Jack begins the grueling physical and psychological training needed to become a samurai. Life at Samurai school is fraught with difficulty for Jack who is bullied and treated as an outcast. With his friend the remarkable, beautiful Akiko at his side and all the courage he can muster, Jack has to prove himself. Will he be able to face deadly rivals and challenges that will test him to his very limits?

The War Within

Holly Springs, Mississippi, 1862: The Green family owns a general store in this small Southern town where they have lived for many years. But ever since the Union army occupied her beloved town, Hannah Green has been furious. Her sister, Joanna, has fallen in love with Captain Mazer of the Union — the same Union that has been fighting against her brothers in the Confederate army to destroy the Southern way of life. Now General Grant has issued General Order #11, which commands all Jews to evacuate the territory under his command. The Greens are forced to follow the Union army to Memphis. For the first time Hannah and her family face discrimination simply because of their religion. She begins to realize that not everyone believes the basic truths she has always accepted. While the battles rage around her, Hannah begins to fight another war — the war within — which could destroy everything she has ever believed. With the historical accuracy for which she is known, best-selling author Carol Matas turns her attention to an unexamined chapter of the Civil War and creates a thought-provoking and heart-racing masterpiece.

Zarafa: The Giraffe Who Walked to the King

Zarafa is a beautiful and gentle giraffe. The ruler of Egypt offers her as a gift to the king of France. She sails up the Nile by felucca, crosses the sea by brigantine and walks the last five hundred miles to Paris. People love it. And they love her, meeting and greeting her along the way, cheering her on. Afterward, the grateful French king places Zarafa in his own royal garden, where all of Paris comes to visit and love her.

Shizuko’s Daughter

After her mother’s suicide when she is twelve years old, Yuki spends years living with her distant father and his resentful new wife, cut off from her mother’s family, and relying on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy.

 

 

The Darkest Evening

Jake’s life is turned upside down when his father gets caught up in the Socialist fervor washing over their Finnish mining community in Minnesota. His father decides to move their family to a new, Finnish state inside the Soviet Union, a change that fills Jake with dread. Where his father dreams of creating a worker’s paradise, Jake and his family find disappointment and hardship. The story culminates with a thrilling escape–on skis–from Russia to Finland.