Posts Tagged ‘war’

“It is 1947, and life is hard for 16-year-old Wilm and his family. The city of Leipzig, in southeast Germany, is controlled by the Soviets, who are brutal masters. The Germans are constantly hungry because the Soviets have significantly reduced their food rations. Even worse, the German police, Schupos, are puppets of the Soviets. Wilm […]

“Inspired by the true story of a teddy bear “that was sent to the front lines during World War I” this remarkable book will give children a sense of what it was like living on the home front. They will also find out what it was like to witness a war from the inside of […]

Last night Karen Bass launched her exciting YA novel Graffiti Knight at Audrey’s Books in   Edmonton, Alberta. The author read, signed, shared German baked goods, and even got tattooed for the occasion. Graffiti Knight tells the story of Wilm, a sixteen-year-old boy seeking freedom and self-expression in post-World War II East Germany. Watch the […]

Publishers Weekly recently published an article by Sally Lodge featuring books for children that “sort through the complexities of war.” One of these books is Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Lodge writes, “This true story examines one girl’s life in a Saigon orphanage, her dramatic rescue and relocation […]

In a recent article titled “Lost Childhood,” School Library Journal contributor Kathleen St. Isaacs highlighted books “about child refugee experiences and children who’ve found safe havens, but have haunting memories.” The selections are “emotionally rich narratives, often with a political subtext.” They include two books published by Pajama Press: A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton, illustrated […]

“Karen Bass‘ thorough research, as she describes in her Historical Notes at the back of the book, provides the authentic background for Graffiti Knight,challenging all that readers might think they know about Nazi Germany and its aftermath….By seeing Leipzig and other parts of Germany through the eyes of a young man of sixteen, who lives […]

The 200th anniversary of Laura Secord’s famous walk is June 22nd, 2013. With this date fast approaching, SmartGIRL WORKs interviewed author Connie Brummel Crook (Acts of Courage: Laura Secord and the War of 1812) to talk about this Canadian heroine and what it was like to writer her story. Here is a sneak preview: “When […]

“Last Airlift won the non-fiction Red Cedar Club Award this year. All the students at Dickens who have read it enjoyed it immensely. I even have a couple creating a book trailer for it. Because I hadn’t yet got around to reading it, last weekend I took it home. It is indeed a great and […]

A Bear in War was released in the United States this month in time for Memorial Day. This true story of young Aileen Rogers’ teddy bear, who watched World War I from the pocket of her father’s uniform, captured hearts across Canada when it was first published in 2008, but the book’s original publisher closed […]

Congratulations to Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, whose book Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War has just won the Red Cedar Information Book Award. More than 2,000 votes were cast by students across British Columbia for this year’s Red Cedar Awards. To learn more, visit the Red Cedar website. Last Airlift has also been nominated […]