Two children visit the Museum of Military History in Johannesburg and are intrigued by a painting of a black serviceman at the top of the stairs. . .

There were 354,000 South Africans who volunteered to serve in South Africa's defence force and nursing services in World War II. This book tells of one of these men, Job Maseko, whose heroic deed was almost forgotten for 50 years.

"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.

THEY DEPENDED ON THE SARGE. AND THE WORLD DEPENDED ON THEM. British Sergeant Jim Masters, a veteran of WW1, has to protect and lead his inexperienced platoon during the Second World War. From Dunkirk to North Africa, the might of the German Army face the ultimate adversaries when Masters and his boys spring into action - Nothing can substitute experience!

Japanese legend holds that if a person who is ill makes a 1,000 paper cranes, the gods will grant that person's wish to be well again. Beautiful illustrations by Caldecott-medalist Ed Young enhance the story of Sadako, a young girl dying of leukemia as a result of the atom bombing of Hiroshima.

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!

Michel Chikwanine was five years old when he was abducted from his school-yard soccer game in the Democratic Republic of Congo and forced to become a soldier for a brutal rebel militia. Against the odds, Michel managed to escape and find his way back to his family, but he was never the same again. After immigrating to Canada, Michel was encouraged by a teacher to share what happened to him in order to raise awareness about child soldiers around the world, and this book is part of that effort. Told in the first person and presented in a graphic novel format, the gripping story of Michel's experience is moving and unsettling. But the humanity he exhibits in the telling, along with Claudia Davila's illustrations, which evoke rather than depict the violent elements of the story, makes the book accessible for this age group and, ultimately, reassuring and hopeful. The back matter contains further information, as well as suggestions for ways children can help. This is a perfect resource for engaging youngsters in social studies lessons on global awareness and social justice issues, and would easily spark classroom discussions about conflict, children's rights and even bullying. Michel's actions took enormous courage, but he makes clear that he was and still is an ordinary person, no different from his readers. He believes everyone can do something to make the world a better place, and so he shares what his father told him: "If you ever think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito."

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.

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.

Special Forces looks at commandoes around the world.

The Story of the Second World War for Children shows the impact of the war on the lives of the people who lived through it, from children evacuated to the countryside, to bombed-out cities and civilians working in munitions' factories, and the soldiers fighting on land, sea and air. This book also looks at how the war led to major advances in technology, medicine and weaponry. Feature boxes throughout highlight subjects of particular interest to children, such as life inside a U-boat and tips for a jungle fighter. Maps and cross-section artworks of the insides of famous tanks, aircraft, U-boats, aircraft carriers add extra detail and fascination for children.

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.