As World War I draws to a close in 1918, German citizens are starving and suffering under a repressive regime. Sixteen-year-old Moritz is torn. His father died in the war and his older brother still risks his life in the trenches, but his mother does not support the patriotic cause and attends subversive socialist meetings. While his mother participates in the revolution to sweep away the monarchy, Moritz falls in love with a Jewish girl who also is a socialist. When Moritz's brother returns home a bitter, maimed war veteran, ready to blame Germany's defeat on everything but the old order, Moritz must choose between his allegiance to his dangerously radicalized brother and those who usher in the new democracy.

Everything is about to change for John, a 13-year-old boy who goes to live and work on a Mennonite neighbor's farm during WWII. John's father is fighting in Europe, and John finds himself impatient with Sarah, a daughter of the family, who doesn't believe in war. To make matters worse, a group of German prisoners of war arrives to work on the farm. John always keeps a sketch pad handy for drawing whenever he has a spare moment. How can John remain loyal to his father and hold onto his anger at the enemy when a POW begins to encourage his art, noticing John's talent in a way no one ever has before? Unexpectedly, his drawings force him to make difficult decisions involving POWs, his father, and his dreams.

A riveting pirate tale set in the eighteenth century during the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean, perfect for fans of Emma Carroll and Jacqueline Wilson. It's 1718: pirate ships sail the oceans and brutal slave masters control the plantations. Eleven-year-old Abigail Buckler lives with her father in the Caribbean. Her clothes are made of finest muslin so she can't play in them, not that there's anyone to play with anyway. She isn't even allowed to go out alone. But when pirates attack Abigail's life will change forever. Suddenly her old certainties about right and wrong, good and bad start to unravel. Maybe Abigail doesn't have to be so ladylike after all... Packed with historical detail about the Atlantic slave trade, the ravages of empire and human cost of providing luxuries like sugar, cotton and tobacco to Europe, Blackbeard's Treasure is a page-turning, swashbuckling adventure which takes a look at the real pirates of the Caribbean.

An interactive middle grade book featuring YOU, the iconic Paris-based cabaret performer—Josephine Baker—in WWII exploits better suited to James Bond than a world-famous star.

Choose Your Own Adventure Spies: Josephine Baker by Deborah Lerme Goodman takes YOU to Paris, France during the Second World War. 9-12 year old readers will enact the life of an actual historic spy whose top secret espionage efforts were instrumental in helping the Allies defeat the Axis forces.

You are Josephine Baker, a famous American entertainer living in Paris. One day, an officer for the Allies approaches you, asking you to make the most critical decision of your life–are you willing to smuggle tactical information on sheet music, concealed among the musical notes in invisible ink?

Growing up during a war is hard enough with sudden shortages, battle noises and split loyalties. But having your father and brothers off fighting in the War make it even harder. At least it seems harder to eleven year old Elise Mc Kale, a young girl growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her father and brothers are fighting alongside the Patriots. But her best friend's family has sided with the Loyalists. Where should Elise's loyalties be? When news reaches Elise and her mother, that her father and two of her brothers have been captured and her other brother is dead. Elise makes a final decision to be a Patriot. How could she side with the people who have hurt her family? But now she must make an even harder decision. Should she wait at home where it's safe and hope for the best? Or should she put a plan into action that will reunite her family? Whatever she chooses she will need all the help she can get, from her enemies

What was the First World War really like? Step into the boots of 14-year-old soldier James Marchbank and find out. Inspired by the real-life diary of a Scottish boy soldier, each easy-to-read chapter mixes James's story with timelines, letters, diagrams and illustrations to create a fact-tastic account of the First World War, which is both fun and emotionally engaging for younger readers. Why was rat hunting a popular hobby in the trenches? How did parachuting pigeons help win the war? Why would a really good friend rub whale oil on your feet? What did it feel like to be a teenager at war? Take a journey through time and discover all the most important and incredible bits of the First World War. A Secret Diary of the First World War is the first in a new brilliant series, which blends together intriguing facts and fascinating fiction to bring the most exciting, gruesome and crucial moments of Scottish history alive for young readers.

The first book in Philip Pullman's classic Sally Lockhart quartet in a beautiful new edition. Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea, she receives an anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet. Determined to discover the truth about her father's death, Sally is plunged into a terrifying mystery in the dark heart of Victorian London, at the centre of which lies a deadly blood-soaked jewel. Philip Pullman's ever-popular, action-packed Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles Dickens in 2012. Don't miss Philip Pullman's incredible HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, now a thrilling, critically acclaimed BBC/HBO television series.

When Jerusalem is captured by the Muslims in A.D. 1187, Elfreda, a young Saxon orphan, is sent back to England to her mother's sister. Her proud aunt, Lady de Valery, is not at all pleased to see her, and her uncle, Sir Valence, fears that she may have brought the family curse back to England. This hundred-year-old curse is said to have been placed on an ancestor named Leofwine, and more than one family member has tried in vain to remove it. Meeting her cousin, Guy, for a few moments as he prepares to join King Richard's Crusade to free Jerusalem, Elfreda tells him of her father's battle cry, "Christ and His salvation." Something in this cry thrills Guy's heart even though he doesn't understand the meaning of the words. Soon after this, Lady de Valery sends Elfreda off to live with relatives in London. There Elfreda and Guy meet again and Guy promises Elfreda that he will win such honor as a crusader that he will be able to remove the curse from their family. Elfreda, too, tries to remove the curse through a life of religious devotion. Over the years that follow, however, severe trials befall the de Valery family, and Guy and Elfreda despair of ever being able to lift the curse, until at last they both learn of One who has power stronger than any curse.

An hilarious new illustrated chapter book series featuring the hapless adventures of Leif the Unlucky Viking wolf pup, from the creator of the hugely popular Julius Zebra books! Leif is not unlucky. Yes, he does split his trousers at least once a week. And yes, he's always tripping up and falling down a hole. But he’s determined to become a true Viking hero, just like his dad. Can he unravel the riddles of a witch to find a magical shard of rock that has fallen from a shooting star and wield its mystical powers? He will have to journey deep into the heart of polar bear country, outwitting all kinds of mythological creatures along the way. Thankfully, he has Olaf, the annoying duck, Toki, the nincompoop Puffin, and Flora, the incredibly smelly Muskox, for company. He's going to need all the luck he can get!

Join the original pioneer girl in this Little House chapter book, adapted for younger readers from Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved classics. Illustrated with beautiful new black-and-white artwork, this repackaged edition includes bonus material such as games, activities, and more! For Laura Ingalls, Christmas means good things to eat, visits from friends, and special gifts to give and receive. As Laura grows up, every Christmas is better than the one before.

Exciting, funny, moving - and featuring joyous and authentic disabled representation - Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star is the middle-grade debut of 2023. Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls - a school where any disabled children, or children deemed different, are sent, whether their families want it or not. It is there that she meets her friends - Pearl, Mary and Diya - and they start to practise mini heists involving the theft of cakes, biscuits and other sweet goodies. But when Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them, she and her friends plot the biggest heist of their life. Instead of fondant fancies, they're going to steal Fitzroy's prized tiara, containing the legendary Star Diamond of India! But, as they start preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing ever closer to discovering the one secret she's always wanted to know - the truth about her parents...

Bringing a dramatic moment of World War II to vivid life, author Stephen Krensky answers questions about the historic importance of the military action at Pearl Harbor. Written in simple yet clear language, the book teaches readers about the political scene before and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in December 1941, and how this event shaped our country's place in the world.

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the UKLA Book Award Winner of the Young Quills Historical Fiction Award Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, Diverse Book Award and Iris Award Longlisted for the YA Jhalak Prize Nobody free till everybody free. Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches . . . Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica, 1760.