Iain Lawrence

A young boy gradually comes to understand the difference between his toy soldiers and the bloodshed of the First World War in this poignant story. Ten-year-old Johnny loves the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. Johnny eagerly plays at war, demolishing imaginary foes. But in 1914, war with Germany looms, and all too soon Johnny's father is swept up in the war to end all wars as he proudly enlists to fight at the front in France. Johnny believes his father will be back in a few months, in time to celebrate Christmas with him and his mum. But the war is nothing like any soldier or person at home expected. It is brutal and horrific. The letters that arrive from Johnny's dad reveal the ugly realities of combat -- and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars. Still, Johnny adds these soldiers to his armies of Huns, Tommies, and Frenchmen, engaging them in furious battle out in the muddy garden. His war games bind him to the father he longs to see again. But when these games seem to foretell his dad's real battles, Johnny thinks he possesses godlike powers over his wooden men.He fears he controls his father's fate, the lives of all the soldiers in no-man's-land, and the outcome of the war itself. In this haunting and poignant tale, Iain Lawrence explores the irrationality of war and its effect on lives that are all too fragile.

Caníbales que guisan vivos a los marineros o piratas sanguinarios ávidos de tesoros. Abordo del "Dragón", John Spencer teme encontrarse con grandes peligros. Inexpertos marineros, llenos de supersticiones y con pasados oscuros, acompañan al joven comerciante por el mar Caribe. A pesar de su inexperienciaJohn va a tener que tomar arriesgadas decisiones y enfrentarse al mas temible barco pirata.

Readers will relish this companion to the highly acclaimed adventure, The Wreckers:Young John is charmed by the Dragon, the schooner he is planning to sail to London and use for the honest wool trade. But a mysterious gentleman delivers an ominous warning to "steer clear of that ship," because the ship was "christened with blood." The ship looks clever and quick, and the crew seems to know how to man it, but with such a warning John is left to wonder how well he really knows what lies ahead. Will he heed the advice given by the mysterious man? Or will he brave the unknown on his own?

Harold Kline is an albino--an outcast. Folks stare and taunt, calling him Ghost Boy. Its been that way all of his 14 years. So when the circus comes to town, Harold runs off to join it.Full of colorful performers, the circus seems like the answer to Harolds loneliness. Hes eager to meet the Cannibal King, a sideshow attraction whos an albino too. Hes touched that Princess Minikin and the Fossil Man, two other sideshow curiosities, embrace him like a son. Hes in love with Flip, the beguiling horse trainer, and awed by the all-knowing Gypsy Magda. Most of all, Harold is proud of training the elephants, and of earning respect and a sense of normality. Even at the circus, though, two groups exist--the freaks, and everyone else.Harold straddles both groups. But fitting in with those who are "normal" comes at a price, and sometimes its recognizing the truth beneath whats apparent that ultimately leads to happiness . . . and turns a boy into a man.

"Theres pirates in the West Indies. Cannibals. They cook you alive," says Mr. Spencer to his son. These words will come to haunt 17-year-old John as he embarks on his first voyage to foreign lands. Carrying cargo destined for Jamaica, John and his crew of the Dragon set off for waters few of them have sailed before. So when they come upon a lifeboat adrift at sea, some are wary of the sailor aboard. Something about his story doesnt quite make sense. Still, John respects the strangers awe-inspiring seamanship. With Horn on deck, he feels the Dragon is in the best of hands.But is Horn to be trusted? The answer becomes muddled as the Dragon encounters a very real and very dangerous pirate ship. Now John starts to believe his fathers warnings, especially after he becomes stranded on an island reputed to have buried treasure. A place teeming with buccaneers!

In the forests of Siberia, in the first years of the 20th century, a white pony runs free with his herd. But his life changes forever when hes captured by men. Years of hard work and cruelty wear him out. When hes chosen to be one of 20 ponies to accompany the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott on his quest to become the first to reach the South Pole, he doesnt know what to expect. But the men of Scotts expedition show him kindness, something hes never known before. They also give him a nameJames Pigg. As Scotts team hunkers down in Antarctica, James Pigg finds himself caught up in one of the greatest races of all time. The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen has suddenly announced that he too means to be first to the Pole. But only one team can triumph, and not everyone can survivenot even the animals.

A modern-day adventure and classic in the making, in the vein of The Call of the Wild,Hatchet, and The Cay, by award-winning author Iain Lawrence. A Junior Library Guild Selection Less than forty-eight hours after twelve-year-old Chris sets off on a sailing trip down the Alaskan coast with his uncle, their boat sinks. The only survivors are Chris and a boy named Frank, who hates Chris immediately. Chris and Frank have no radio, no flares, no food. Suddenly, theyve got to forage, fish, and scavenge the shore for supplies. Chris likes the company of a curious, friendly raven more than he likes the prickly Frank. But the boys have to get along if they want to survive. Because as the days get colder and the salmon migration ends, survival will take more than sheer force of will. Eventually, in the wilderness of Alaska, the boys discover an improbable bondand the compassion that might truly be the path to rescue.

"Guardaros de ese barco, os arrastrará a la muerte. Es el sino de un navío bautizado con sangre". Éste es el siniestro comentario que se hace sobre la goleta en la cual John Spencer está a punto de embarcar. Antaño fue un barco contrabandista; y ahora que "el Dragon" pertenece a los Spencer, se dedicara al comercio legal de mercancias. Pero, ¿acaso puede una nave habituada al contrabando resignarse a ser destinada a otros fines?

Harold se siente discriminado por el color de su piel: es demasiado blanco y todos se meten con él porque parece un fantasma. Un día decide unirse al circo que pasa por su pueblo, ya que cree que entre gente de aspecto "raro" puede llegar a encajar. Alli descubrira que siempre hay gente que señala y margina a los que son diferentes; y que los verdaderos monstruos lo son por dentro, bajo un aspecto normal e incluso atractivo.

A girls imagination transports polio-afflicted kids into a fantastic world.The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentines gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital. There she meets Carolyn and Chip, two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines. Lauries first impulse is to flee, but Dickie begs her to tell them a story. And so Laurie begins her tale of Collosso, a rampaging giant, and Jimmy, a tiny boy whose destiny is to become a slayer of giants.As Laurie embellishes her tale with gnomes, unicorns, gryphons, and other fanciful creatures, Dickie comes to believe that he is a character in her story. Little by little Carolyn, Chip, and other kids who come to listen, recognize counterparts as well. Lauries tale is so powerful that when shes prevented from continuing it, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip take turns as narrators. Each helps bring the story of Collosso and Jimmy to an endchanging the lives of those in the polio ward in startling ways.

There was once a village bred by evil. On the barren coast of Cornwall, England, lived a community who prayed for shipwrecks, a community who lured storm-tossed ships to crash upon the sharp rocks of their shore. They fed and clothed themselves with the loot salvaged from the wreckage; dead sailors tools and trinkets became decorations for their homes. Most never questioned their murderous way of life.Then, upon that pirates shore crashed the ship The Isle of Skye. And the youngest of its crew members, 14-year-old John Spencer, survived the wreck. But would he escape the wreckers? This is his harrowing tale.