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Showing 1 - 20 of 83 items
The diary of Ma Yan: the struggles and hopes of a Chinese schoolgirl
By Lisa Appignanesi, Ma Yan, Pierre Haski. 2005
Ma Yan is a teenager from Ningxia, China, a drought-stricken rural area. Education can be the difference between a life…
of crushing poverty and a better future, but money is scarce. Ma Yan's diary chronicles her struggle to escape hardship and bring prosperity to her family, through her persistent, sometimes desperate, attempts to continue her schooling. Grades 4-7 and older readers. 2002, 2004. Uniform title: Journal de Ma Yan.The burn journals
By Brent Runyon. 2008
Fearing expulsion and parental disapproval after lighting a shirt on fire at his school, Brent goes home, soaks his bathrobe…
with gasoline, steps into his shower, and strikes a match. Suffering horrific burns, Brent faces a long, painful recovery - both mentally and physically. Junior and Senior High. 2008.The bite of the mango
By Mariatu Kamara, Susan McClelland. 2008
Sierra Leone. At the age of 12, Mariatu Kamara was raped by a family friend, then captured by rebels who…
cut off her hands. Despite her wounds, Kamara walked out of the bush and sought help, ending up in an amputee camp, where she gave birth to a son who died of malnutrition. When foreign journalists interviewed Kamara in the camp, her story garnered international interest and assistance, which eventually brought her to Toronto. Her autobiography testifies to Kamara's horrific trauma, but with the aim of fostering hope and reconciliation. Winner of the 2011 Red Maple Non-Fiction Award. For junior high and older readers. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.The 57 bus: a true story of two teenagers and the crime that changed their lives
By Dashka Slater. 2017
One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If…
it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight. For junior and senior high readers. 2017.Royal murder: the deadly intrigue of ten sovereigns
By Elizabeth MacLeod, Barbara Pulling, Heather Sangster. 2008
What would you do for absolute power? Step into the world of palatial intrigue, where holding the throne means evading…
death... or causing it. While Cleopatra of Egypt once rolled herself into a rug and was carried out past her enemies' noses, other royals were brutal when dealing with foes. Read the stories of ten sovereigns, including Vlad the Impaler, "Bloody Mary", and The Romanovs of Russia. Descriptions of violence. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 2009 Red Maple Non-fiction Award. 2008.Rethinking normal: a memoir in transition
By Ariel Schrag, Katie Rain Hill. 2014
Katie never felt comfortable in her own skin. She realized very young that a serious mistake had been made; she…
was a girl who had been born in the body of a boy. Suffocating under her peers’ bullying and the mounting pressure to be “normal,” Katie tried to take her life at the age of eight years old. After several other failed attempts, she finally understood that “Katie” - the girl trapped within her - was determined to live. She reflects on her pain-filled childhood and the events leading up to the life-changing decision to undergo gender reassignment as a teenager. She reveals the unique challenges she faced while unlearning how to be a boy and shares what it was like to navigate the dating world and experience heartbreak. For senior high readers and older. 2014.Real justice: sentenced to life at seventeen : the story of David Milgaard (Real justice)
By Cynthia J Faryon. 2009
David Milgaard was a kid who got into lots of trouble. Unfortunately, that made it easy for the Saskatoon police…
to brand him as a murderer. At seventeen, David was arrested, jailed, and convicted for the rape and murder of a young nursing assistant, Gail Miller. Throughout his twenty-three years in prison, David maintained that he was innocent and refused to admit to the crime, even though it meant he was never granted parole. Finally, through the incredible determination of his mother and new lawyers who believed in him, David was released and proven not guilty. This is the true story of how bad decisions, tunnel vision, poor representation, and outright lying and coercion by those within the justice system caused a tragic miscarriage of justice. For junior high and older readers. 2009.Piece by piece: stories about fitting into Canada
By Teresa Toten. 2010
This anthology features stories by some Canadian authors who were born in another country, and who went through the experience…
of trying to "fit in." Explores their emotions, from the shock of first impressions to the author's first stirrings of "becoming Canadian" and what that meant to them. Contributors include Linda Granfield (U.S), Marina Nemat (Iran), and Eva Wiseman (Hungary). For junior high readers. Some strong language. c2010.Paroles d'enfants dans la guerre: journaux intimes d'enfants et de jeunes gens, 1914-2004
By Zlata Filipovic, Melanie Challenger. 2006
Tous les jours, nous voyons les ravages de la guerre à la télévision. Nous voyons, mais nous ne voulons pas…
vraiment savoir. Ces enfants, eux, ont vécu la guerre. Leurs journaux sont bouleversants. Ces "Paroles d'enfants dans la guerre" constituent un témoignage exceptionnel. De l'Allemagne de 1914 à l'Irak de 2004, la douleur et la force qui émanent des journaux sont les mêmes. Dans la violence de la guerre, les enfants sont égaux. Et notre impuissance à empêcher leur souffrance devient, devant ces voix d'enfants qui s'élèvent, un renoncement insupportable. Quelques descriptions de violence. Pour les lecteurs d'école secondaire et plus. 2006.Duped!: true stories of the world's best swindlers (It actually happened series ; #1)
By Andreas Schroeder. 2011
Schroeder uncovers the facts behind eight of the most outrageous scams of all time. Read about a Stone Age tribe…
discovered in the jungles of the Philippines, lost documents written by Shakespeare, and a 1938 radio broadcast that reported that something strange has crashed into a field in New Jersey – and that hostile Martians then started attacking! Grades 4-7. c2011. (It actually happened series ; 1)A thousand years of pirates
By William Gilkerson. 2009
Introduces the major characters and incidents that connect the scattered history of seagoing bandits, including England's "Sea Dog" Francis Drake,…
the "pirate queen of Ireland" Granuaile, and Scotland's Captain Kidd. Describes their high-seas adventure and skullduggery, sea chases and bloody battles, dangerous coastal lairs and buried treasure. Grades 5-8. Some descriptions of violence. 2009.Ten well-planned major robberies reveal the ingenuity of the criminal mind, from Dan Cooper, who parachuted from a Boeing 727…
with $200,000, to the small band of Italians who stole the world-famous Mona Lisa. There are seven extra stories in the opening chapter, including that of the Parisian actor and civil servant who destroyed the files against his friends during the French Revolution - by eating them! Grades 5-8. Winner of the 2007 Red Maple Award. 2005.Ten true tales of outrageous trickery. Includes how a group of Germans perpetrated one of the biggest, most sophisticated banknote…
counterfeiting schemes ever seen; how the world was fooled for nearly a decade when a "lost tribe" was discovered in the Philippines; and how Donald Crowhurst almost won the first round-the-world yacht race without ever leaving the Atlantic Ocean. For junior and senior high school readers. Winner of the 2005 Red Maple Award. 2004.The Sacco-Vanzetti trial (Be the judge/be the jury.)
By Doreen Rappaport. 1992
On April 15, 1920, two men shoot and kill a factory paymaster and his guard in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Two…
Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, are arrested and charged with murder. Using edited transcripts of the testimony given in the case, the author recreates the trial and invites the reader to serve as judge and jury. Grades 5-8 and older. 1992.The Cross and the switchblade
By David Wilkerson, John Sherrill, Elizabeth Sherrill. 1962
David was a country parson until the night he saw the face of a young killer in a magazine. Then…
he knew that his mission was to go to New York. There, later, he founded "Teen Challenge", a fast-growing movement to help lost teenagers to find a new life in the Holy Spirit. Senior High. 1962.Ten true tales of outrageous trickery. Includes how a group of Germans perpetrated one of the biggest, most sophisticated banknote…
counterfeiting schemes ever seen; how the world was fooled for nearly a decade when a "lost tribe" was discovered in the Philippines; and how Donald Crowhurst almost won the first round-the-world yacht race without ever leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Some descriptions of violence. For junior and senior high school readers. Winner of the 2005 Red Maple Award. 2004.Rascal: a memoir of a better era
By Sterling North, John Schoenherr. 1963
Hate crimes
By Hal Marcovitz. 2018
Details crimes committed against people because of their race, ethnicity, disability, religion, gender, or gender identity--crimes that have become common…
in the US and other countries. Highlights the impact hate crimes have on the community and the challenges of bringing perpetrators to justice. For senior high and older readers. 2018The Borden murders: Lizzie Borden & the trial of the century
By Sarah Elizabeth Miller. 2016
Recounts the events and the trial of Lizzie Borden (1860-1927), after she was accused of brutally murdering her father and…
stepmother with an axe in Massachusetts in 1892. Some violence. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2016Racial profiling and discrimination: your legal rights (Know Your Rights)
By Corinne Grinapol. 2016
Guide to how to protect and fight for your human rights in a broken criminal-justice system. Provides examples and statistics…
on students who have been unjustly stopped by police and expelled from schools because of racial profiling and discrimination. For junior and senior high readers. 2015