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Showing 1 - 8 of 8 items
The end of the line
By Sharon E McKay. 2014
Five-year-old Beatrix looks on in horror as a soldier forces her mother off the tram. It is 1942 in Amsterdam,…
and everyone knows what happens to Jews who are taken away by the Nazis. The soldier turns his attention to Beatrix, when suddenly, the ticket-taker, Lars Gorter, blurts out that she is his niece. With his brother Hans, the tram conductor, they manage to rescue the child from the same fate as her mother. The two elderly brothers realize that they are now in charge of the little girl. They are at a loss -- after all, neither one has ever married, let alone has children. They know that harbouring a Jew could cost them their lives, but in desperation, they turn to a neighbour, Mrs. Vos, for help. Grades 3-6. Winner of the 2015-16 Hackmatack Award for fiction. Winner of the 2016 Silver Birch Express Award. 2014.The breadwinner (Breadwinner Ser. #1)
By Deborah Ellis. 2000
A story about loyalty, survival, families and friendship, set against the backdrop of an intolerable existence in war-torn Afghanistan. Eleven-year-old…
Parvana lives in Taliban-controlled Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. Masquerading as a boy, Parvana goes to work in the streets so that her family can eat. Parvana becomes the breadwinner. Grades 5-8. 2000.Stepping stones: a refugee family's journey
By Margriet Ruurs, Nizar Ali Badr. 2016
A young girl and her family are forced to flee their village to escape the civil war that has engulfed…
Syria, and make their way toward freedom in Europe. Grades K-3 and older readers. 2016.Highway of Heroes
By Kathy Stinson. 2010
The Highway of Heroes is a stretch of the 401 Highway in Ontario where fallen soldiers, being brought home for…
burial, pass by. In 2002, ordinary citizens started standing on bridges over the road, showing their respect for the Canadians killed in wars and peacekeeping missions, a practice that has continued to this day. This is a fictional account of one family's journey along that highway, and a section describing the true story behind it. Grades K-3 and older readers. 2010.The secret of the village fool
By Rebecca Upjohn. 2012
Based on a true story. Milek and his brother, Munio, live in a sleepy village in Poland. Anton, an odd…
neighbour, speaks to animals, feeds the flies, and only eats vegetables, so most people call him the village fool. When the war brings Nazi soldiers to town rounding up Jewish boys like Milek and Munio, Anton worries about them and comes up with a plan to hide the whole family in his own home, putting his own life at risk. The back of the book outlines what happened to Anton and the others after the war. Winner of the 2014 Silver Birch Express Award and the 2014 Golden Oak Award. Grades 3-6. 2012.When the cherry blossoms fell (A cherry Blossom Book Ser. #1)
By Jennifer Maruno. 2009
Nine-year-old Michiko Minagawa bids her father good-bye before her birthday celebration. She doesn't know the government has ordered all Japanese-born…
men out of the province, or that ten days later, her family would join hundreds of Japanese-Canadians on a train to the interior of British Columbia. There are no paved roads, no streetlights and no streetcars, and their house is dirty and drafty. Michiko must face local prejudice, the worst winter in forty years, and her first Christmas without her father. Grades 2-4. 2009.Broken Strings
By Eric Walters, Kathy Kacer. 2019
A violin and a middle-school musical unleash a dark family secret in this moving story by an award-winning author duo.…
For fans of The Devil's Arithmetic and Hana's Suitcase.It's 2002. In the aftermath of the twin towers -- and the death of her beloved grandmother -- Shirli Berman is intent on moving forward. The best singer in her junior high, she auditions for the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof, but is crushed to learn that she's been given the part of the old Jewish mother in the musical rather than the coveted part of the sister. But there is an upside: her "husband" is none other than Ben Morgan, the cutest and most popular boy in the school. Deciding to throw herself into the role, she rummages in her grandfather's attic for some props. There, she discovers an old violin in the corner -- strange, since her Zayde has never seemed to like music, never even going to any of her recitals. Showing it to her grandfather unleashes an anger in him she has never seen before, and while she is frightened of what it might mean, Shirli keeps trying to connect with her Zayde and discover the awful reason behind his anger. A long-kept family secret spills out, and Shirli learns the true power of music, both terrible and wonderful.The warning: a short story
By Sophie Hannah. 2015
Single mom Chloe leaves her nine-year-old daughter's audition music in the car. They are rescued when a bicyclist offers to…
retrieve it. After Chloe brings him a thank-you gift at his work, she receives an odd warning from the receptionist about how dangerous he is. Strong language. 2015