"The astounding story of one girl's journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative."

As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry.

But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands.

Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown.

In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

On September 12, 1942, the RMS Laconia was attacked by a German submarine five hundred miles off the coast of western Africa. What the Germans didn't know was that they had just attacked their allies: locked below decks on the British ship were nearly 1,800 Italian prisoners of war. When the Germans realized their mistake, they made the unprecedented decision to rescue all survivors regardless of their nationality, attempting to declare the waters a neutral zone. But when an American bomber flew over the humanitarian effort, he was ordered to drop bombs, contributing to the deaths of many Italian POWs and British civilians in the process. Some of those who remained alive endured weeks adrift at sea, fighting for survival with little water or food, and in shark infested oceans. Suspenseful and informative, this incredible true account, which includes historic photographs, is a testament to the idea that compassion can rule over conflict-even at the cruel heights of war.

A single spy can save thousands upon thousands of lives . . . From Harry Ree, teacher turned saboteur, to Margery Booth, the spy who sang for Hitler, to Scotch Lass, Britain's smallest ever agent, discover twenty-seven of the most courageous and daring spies . . . For as long as there have been secrets to keep, there have been spies, the world over, trying to uncover this classified information. Spying goes on all the time, and everywhere, but some of the most astonishing exploits occur during wartime. The stories in this beautiful collection unpick some of the most astonishing missions undertaken during World War Two - actions that helped to save many lives. Amazingly, many of these tales had to remain a deadly secret at the time and are little known even to this day. Discover twenty-seven of the most courageous and daring, including: Giliana Gerson, Britain's first female spy, Harry Ree, teacher turned saboteur, Margery Booth, the spy who sang for Hitler, Roald Dahl, the spy who became a bestselling author, Noor Inayat Khan, the first woman wireless operator, Scotch Lass, Britain's smallest ever agent, 'Major Martin' the man who never was and many more!

A young soldier's honest portrayal, told through letters home and a frank journal, of his enthusiasm for the 1914 recruitment campaign, and joining up - followed by the disillusionment and degradation of soldiering in the trenches of World War I. Sixteen-year-old Sydney is overwhelmed by the excitement of the 1914 recruitment campaigns and the bravado of men leaving for the Great War. Bursting with enthusiasm, he runs away to join up, but soon finds himself a long way from home in a frontline trench where reality - and the rats - begin to bite. Told through Sydney's optimistic letters home and his journal, this is his honest portrayal of the disillusionment and degradation of life and death in the trenches of World War I. 'Find room for this indictment of the First World War' - Bookseller

X-Books are for kids who love facts-especially in bite-sized portions and about fascinating, true subjects. As plentiful images and graphical representations stimulate visual perception, readers will be drawn into learning how to use informational texts. Each title is framed by a signature Top 5 countdown feature that not only serves as an example of sequential order but also narrates a brief story within the main topic: in X-Books: Fighters, these sidebars summarize the extraordinary true tales of famous warriors throughout history. Count down the world's most extreme fighters, and launch a lifetime of reading without limits!

Flame throwers, spy trees, bird bombs, and Hell Fighters were all a part of World War I, but you won't learn that in your history books! Uncover long-lost secrets of spies like Howard Burnham, "The One-Legged Wonder," and nurse-turned-spy, Edith Cavell. Peek into secret files to learn the truth about the Red Baron and the mysterious Mata Hari. Then learn how to build your own Zeppelin balloon and mix up some invisible ink. It's all part of the true stories from the Top Secret Files: World War I. Take a look if you dare, but be careful! Some secrets are meant to stay hidden . . . Ages 9-12

THE BOOK BEHIND THE BBC SERIES 'HIS DARK MATERIALS' The third volume in Philip Pullman's groundbreaking HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, now a thrilling, critically acclaimed BBC/HBO television series starring Ruth Wilson, Dafne Keen and James McAvoy. "We're going to the land of the dead and we're going to come back." Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated. But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been - and a journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned... The first series was the most-watched new British show in five years - and peaked at 7.2 million viewers. It received a 5-star review from Lucy Mangan in The Guardian: "a riveting realisation of Philip Pullman's magic". HIS DARK MATERIALS is one of the most popular and successful children's series of all time.

Learn how this heroic group of American Indian men created a secret, unbreakable code and helped the US win major battles during World War II in this new addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling series. By the time the United States joined the Second World War in 1941, the fight against Nazi and Axis powers had already been under way for two years. In order to win the war and protect its soldiers, the US Marines recruited twenty-nine Navajo men to create a secret code that could be used to send military messages quickly and safely across battlefields. In this new book within the #1 New York Times bestelling series, author James Buckley Jr. explains how these brave and intelligent men developed their amazing code, recounts some of their riskiest missions, and discusses how the country treated them before, during, and after the war.

Build 11 of the biggest, fiercest, most powerful dragons from the land of Ravenhold in this exciting activity book. Fantasy lovers will have hours of fun adding stickers of claws, teeth and armour to dragons including Stalagar the ice dragon and Magaloki the three-headed dragon, and comparing each dragon's powers.

A stunning full-colour illustrated gift hardback of the third book in Philip Pullman's world-famous and beloved His Dark Materials trilogy. The perfect gift for every fan, of any age. "Every atom of me and every atom of you..." Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated. But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been - and a journey to a dark place from which no-one has ever returned...... Now a major HBO/BBC TV series starring Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, Dafne Keen, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Beautifully illustrated by acclaimed artist Chris Wormell, the creator of the covers for The Book of Dust: la Belle Sauvage and The Secret Commonwealth.The perfect companion to the illustrated gift hardback editions of Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife

With exclusive access to previously hidden diaries, family and camp survivor accounts, and recently declassified files, critically acclaimed and award-winning journalist Jack Fairweather brilliantly portrays the remarkable man who volunteered to face the unknown in the name of truth and country. This extraordinary and eye-opening account of the Holocaust invites us all to bear witness. Occupied Warsaw, Summer 1940: Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative, accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands interned at a new concentration camp, report on Nazi crimes, raise a secret army, and stage an uprising. The name of the camp -- Auschwitz. Over the next two and half years, and under the cruellest of conditions, Pilecki's underground sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi officers, and gathered evidence of terrifying abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying Nazi plans to exterminate Europe's Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible -- but first he would have to escape from Auschwitz itself...

From internationally acclaimed YA author M. T. Anderson comes the true story of a city under siege, thrillingly told and impeccably researched. In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history. After three years of bombardment and starvation, culminating in the bitterly cold winter of 1943-44, more than a million citizens lost their lives. In order to survive, many residents burned books, furniture and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and, eventually, each other. In the midst of this bloodshed, Dimitri Shostakovich composed the Leningrad Symphony, a piece that both rallied and eulogized his fellow citizens ... and which would come to play a surprising part in the Allies' eventual victory.

No Better Friend tells the remarkable story of Royal Air Force technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, who met in an internment camp during WWII. Judy was a fiercely loyal animal who sensed danger and instinctively mistrusted anyone in enemy uniform. Their relationship deepened throughout their imprisonment. The prisoners suffered severe beatings which Judy would interrupt with her barking. The dog became a beacon for the men, who saw in her survival a flicker of hope for their own. Judy was the war's only canine POW, and when she passed away in 1950, she was buried in her Air Force jacket. Williams would never own another dog. Their story--of an unbreakable bond forged in the worst circumstances--is one of the great undiscovered sagas of World War II.

Against the fascinating tapestry of Frances history during the Hundred Years' War, Diane Stanley unfolds the story of the simple thirteen-year-old village girl who in Just a few years would lead France to independence from English rule, and thus become a symbol of France's national pride. It is a story of vision and bravery, fierce determination, and tragic martyrdom. Diane Stanley's extraordinary gift to present historical information in an accessible and child-friendly format has never been more impressive, nor her skillful, beautifully realized illustrations (here imitating medieval illuminated manuscripts) more exquisite.