I Was There... is a perfect introduction for younger readers into stories from the past, allowing children to imagine that they were really there. I Was There... Ira Aldridge tells the exciting story of the African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, who rose to fame on the London stage. Brilliantly imagined, readers aged 7+ will love this first-hand account of a child's experience of nineteenth-century London and the vibrant life of the theatre. Amazing black-and-white illustrations throughout bring the story to life! Perfect stories for children who are struggling with their reading

'Hilarious and a timely look at women and our bodies' Juno Dawson

'Honest, rebellious and completely refreshing' Fearne Cotton

Charli Howard grew up thinking that she wasn't good enough. She wasn't pretty enough. She wasn't rich enough. She wasn't thin enough. Fitting in wasn't exactly easy. Looking at the smiling girls in magazines, she came to the obvious conclusion: to be accepted, she has to be 'perfect'. She had to be a model.

But what magazines don't tell you is that you can't Photoshop your problems away, and they can Photoshop a lot. So, when you're the thinnest you've ever been, your agency fires you, and you're battling anxiety and an eating disorder to boot, how do you get through it? You get angry, go viral and discover that, after all that, you're not alone. At least that's what Charli did.

'At the age of six I began to fear for the future. ... By the age of nine I was on the run for my life. ... By the time I was ten I had seen all there was to see.' An accessible and honest account of the Holocaust that reminds us of the dangers of racism and intolerance, providing lessons that are relevant today. A true story of heroism during this painful horrific time in history. Tomi Reichental grew up in a small village, with friendly neighbours and a big, happy family. But things began to change, and Tomi was told he couldn't play with some of the local children any more. Then the police started to take away friends and family. Life changed completely when he was sent a thousand kilometres away, with all the other local Jews, to the terrifying Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The Nazis killed millions of people, simply because of their race or religion. Tomi tells his story so that such a horrific thing won't happen again.

Growing up in communist Romania in the 1980s to atheist parents, Balazs never even heard Christianity spoken about. However, this was not the end of his story. Qualified for Heaven tracks his journey to Christ from meeting some Christian girls in school to wrestling with his need for cleansing and forgiveness. Written for youths, but encouraging to all!

The true story of a young German girl, Mercedes Simon, and of the American pilot, Gail Halvorsen, who shared hope and joy with the children of West Berlin by dropping candy-filled parachutes during the Airlift.

Maggie has witnessed impossible things. But no one believes her, and now her family has taken her away to spend the winter upstate in a remote, freezing farmhouse.

Bored and angry, Maggie and her younger sister Kate start to play tricks: rapping on the floorboards above their parents’ bedroom, cracking their toes under the table, and telling tales about noises in the night. Then the house starts to make sounds of its own. Neither Maggie nor Kate can explain it, but it seems as though someone – or something – is trying to speak to them . . .

Inspired by the incredible true tale of the Fox Sisters, the girls who made their fortune in nineteenth-century America by speaking to ghosts.

Well educated and with a gift for writing, Hannah More was set to become one of the leading lights in the literary and artistic circles of the 1700s. Gradually, however, she realised that only Jesus Christ could bring her fulfilment. Hannah More is best known today for her penmanship but also for her defence of women's rights and her anti-slavery stance. Her life of would-be-fame was changed to a life of faith.

As an army private, Johnson Beharry served in Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Iraq. In Iraq in 2004, his actions in rescuing his wounded comrades while under heavy fire led to him becoming the youngest person ever to receive the Victoria Cross. Since then, Johnson has made hundreds of public appearances, speaking about his experiences with children and young people in schools, youth offenders' centres and prisons. He is currently working on setting up a charity - the JBVC Foundation - to help prevent young people becoming involved in crime and gang culture. He has even appeared in a series of Dancing on Ice (2011 series) reaching the semi-final stage.

This is the story of Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition and the memorable characters, who with a band of shaggy ponies and savage dogs, followed a man they trusted into the unknown. Battling storms at sea, impenetrable pack ice, man-eating whales, crevasses, blizzards, bad food, extreme temperatures, and equal measures of hunger, agony and snow blindness, the team pushes on against all odds. But will the weather hold? Will their rations be adequate? How will they know when they get there? And who invited the Norwegians? Into the White will leave you on the edge of your seat, hoping against hope that Scott and his men just might survive their Antarctic ordeal and live to tell the tale.

How did a little girl who loved horses become the longest reigning monarch in England? Find out in this addition to the #1 New York Times best-selling Who Was? series! In 1936, the life of ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York changed forever. Although she was a member of the British Royal Family, she never expected to become queen. But when her uncle Edward gave up the throne, suddenly her father was the new king, which meant young Elizabeth was next in line! Queen Elizabeth reigned for seventy years, and while there were palaces galore, the crown jewels, and trips around the world, her life was one of strict discipline and duty. This riveting chronicle follows the life of a woman who was both a public figure and an intensely private person and explores how she kept the monarchy together through good times and bad.

This book includes riddles, jokes and humorous poems about animals, school, sports, and brothers and sisters.

Raised in a desperately poor village during the height of China's Cultural Revolution, Li Cunxin's childhood revolved around the commune, his family and Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Until, that is, Madame Mao's cultural delegates came in search of young peasants to study ballet at the academy in Beijing and he was thrust into a completely unfamiliar world. When a trip to Texas as part of a rare cultural exchange opened his eyes to life and love beyond China's borders, he defected to the United States in an extraordinary and dramatic tale of Cold War intrigue. Told in his own distinctive voice, this is Li's inspirational story of how he came to be Mao's last dancer, and one of the world's greatest ballet dancers.

As a little girl, Frances (Fanny) loved to climb trees, enjoy the countryside and to run about with her spaniel. The mountains of Switzerland inspired her and she loved hiking on the steep slopes. She became a hymn writer and singer, longing to share the love of her Saviour. Books flowed from her pen at a later stage, often beginning as bedtime stories for her nephews and nieces.

In this charmingly illustrated book, the celebrated storyteller Wendy Maartens compiled 21 stories of unsung South African heroes.

How did an ordinary little girl come to live such an extraordinary life? This picture book biography tells the incredible story of Anne Frank for a younger audience. Anne Frank's diary telling the story of her years in hiding from the Nazis has affected millions of people. But what was she like as a small girl, at home with her family and friends; at play and at school? In the first half of the book we meet Anne as a small child growing up with her family in Germany. Then we follow her flight to Holland to escape the Nazis; the German invasion and the gradual isolation, then outright persecution, of the Jewish population which forces the family into hiding; the years in the Secret Annex; and her last heart-breaking journey. Told with haunting, meticulously researched illustrations, this is the ideal introduction to Anne Frank's story.

Ten-year-old Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her family and friends close by. But when the Vietnam War reaches the gates of her home, Hà and her family are forced to flee. The journey onboard a refugee ship bound for America is hard - but nothing can prepare Hà for the strangeness of the country that greets them on the other side. The language is impossible, the food is strange - and not all the locals are friendly. But amongst her struggles, Hà finds joy, friendship - and most of all, the power of hope, love and family.

Leon "Locksmith" Rolle is one-quarter of the phenomenally successful band Rudimental. In this book, he shares his aspirational story. With chapters on mindset, self-belief and confidence, Leon encourages you to find balance and happiness, no matter what life throws at you. Leon grew up in Hackney, where he played semi-professional football and went on to form Rudimental with three childhood friends. He says: "Things weren't always easy for me growing up, and I made a lot of mistakes. But I don't regret any of it, because everything that's happened has made me Locksmith, and that makes me proud. I want you to be proud of yourself too. You have the power to be great, and successes, mistakes and failures are all just a part of life. It's the journey that counts, because that's what makes you who you are." Let Leon's story inspire you to embrace life and fulfil your incredible potential.

Stories oor die pyn en vreugdes van verlief wees. Stories oor die waagmoed, twyfel en uitdagings van jonk wees. Stories wat jou sal laat glimlag of ’n traan laat wegvee. Stories wat wéét hoe dit voel om sestien te wees.

Bekende skrywers soos Christine Barkhuizen le Roux, Christo Davids, Carina Diedericks-Hugo, Nelia Engelbrecht, Jaco Fouché, HemelBesem, Jaco Jacobs, Eldridge Jason, Anzil Kulsen, Christien Neser, Nathan Trantraal, Jan van Tonder, Jan Vermeulen, Elizabeth Wasserman en Fanie Viljoen span saam met ’n klompie opwindende nuwe stemme in hierdie fantastiese nuwe bloemlesing wat op ouer tieners gemik is.

Marieta Nel en Adinda Vermaak het as samestellers reeds twee topverkoper-kortverhaalbundels die lig laat sien: Sweef (2009) en Skreeu (2010). Albei bloemlesings het wyd lof ingeoes en is landwyd deur skole voorgeskryf. Hul nuutste bloemlesing bevat 28 splinternuwe stories deur van die mees gerekende skrywers in Afrikaans. Dit is gemik op lesers in graad 10 en 11 en is net so vars, vernuwend en toeganklik soos sy voorgangers.

A powerful retelling of the extraordinary life of orphaned African princess, Sarah Forbes Bonetta. "You are not an aristocrat. An aristocrat is born to a noble family. You were born into royalty. You are a princess." Set in 1860, this is the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the intelligent, multilingual Yoruba princess from West Africa who became the protege of the British Queen Victoria. On the evening of her seventeenth birthday, she is told that her old name, her real name is Aina. Oma'ba Aina from the fallen Oyo Empire. Equipped with this knowledge, Sarah attempts to navigate life as a foster daughter, a protege and a young black girl in Victorian England. But can one really feel like royalty when the freedom of autonomy is something so far out of reach for a person of her gender and race? Victoria Princewill reimagines Sarah's life in England, telling the story of a girl living between two cultures, trying to create, and assert, her own identity. The first of two titles from Victoria that will focus on real Black women born into royalty A very exciting new voice in YA fiction Victoria aims to to shed light on women's stories that have been forgotten by history From the author of In the Palace of the Flowers.

Do you know how it feels to run for 1,900 miles? Or to look down at the earth from a space station? Or to swim alongside a hungry shark? Fantastic Female Adventurers by Lily Dyu is a collection of fourteen exciting and inspirational stories about the women that do. Follow them on their incredible journeys around the globe. Ski to the North Pole with Ann Daniels while watching out for polar bears and lethal cracks in the ice. Feel the air beneath your feet as you climb high on a cliff face with Gwen Moffat. Experience the thrill of racing down rocky Himalayan trails with champion runner Mira Rai. Sail the oceans with Ellen MacArthur, the girl who saved up her lunch money to buy her first boat. You'll even fly into space with Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman. And join Lily on other awesome adventures with Anna McNuff, Sarah Outen, Misba Khan and more - taking you from Everest to the South Pole and all the places in between. Beautifully illustrated by artist and adventurer Chellie Carroll, Fantastic Female Adventurers will leave you thinking: I can do that, too!

A revealing portrait of a young Black man asking questions about self-discovery and belonging - long before he became one of the most important voices in America. The son of a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Obama was born in Hawaii, where he lived until he was six years old, when he moved with his mother and stepfather to Indonesia. At twelve, he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Obama brings readers along while facing the challenges of high school and college, living in New York, becoming a community organiser in Chicago, and travelling to Kenya. Through these experiences, he forms an enduring commitment to leadership and justice. Via the lens of his relationships with his family - the mother and grandparents who raised him, the father he knows more as a myth than as a man, and the extended family in Kenya he meets for the first time - Obama examines the complicated truth of his father's life and legacy and comes to embrace his own divided heritage. On his journey to adulthood from a humble background, he forges his own path by trial and error while staying connected to his roots. Barack Obama is determined to lead a life of purpose, service and authenticity. This powerful memoir will inspire readers to reflect on both where they come from and where they are capable of going.