The Last Train is the harrowing true story about young brothers Paul and Oscar Arato and their mother, Lenke, surviving the Nazi occupation during the final years of World War II.Living in the town of Karcag, Hungary, the Aratos felt insulated from the war — even as it raged all around them. Hungary is allied with Germany to protect its citizens from invasion, but in 1944 Hitler breaks his promise to keep the Nazis out of Hungary.The Nazi occupation forces the fami...

Ruth Gruber didn't want to live an ordinary life, and she wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Born to a Jewish American family in 1911, she grew up to become a renowned journalist and activist. Her career spanned seven decades and led her to places that other reporters wouldn't or couldn't go, from Nazi Germany to the remote Arctic regions of the Soviet Union. At a time when women were expected to stay at home and raise families, Ruth told the stories of people in need and fought for their r...

Josiah Hensons life is an epic tale of one mans battle against evil and ignorance. By the time he was six, Josiah had been sold three times. When he was nine, his familys owner beat him for trying to learn to read. In spite of his physical pain and emotional heartache, he never lost the sense of morality that was his bedrock. After his escape, Josiah became an advocate for those still in bondage. As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, he led 118 slaves to safety in Canada. Working for...

Treat yourself to a visit to the wackiest restaurant ever!Ten-year-old Shoshi and her eight-year-old brother, Moshe, arrive in New York in 1898 from Russia with their mother and Snigger, the baby dragon that saved them from an attack by Cossack soldiers. Five years earlier, their father had also come to New York to make his fortune, but no one has heard from him since. Through a series of adventures and misadventures, Shoshi and Moshe use their wits to navigate through New York Cit...

CLA Children's Book of the Year Award 2008 longlistCCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens, 2008 Children's Crown Award 2009 FinalistIce creamàYou scream!Sammy has learned to live by his wits on the voyage from Poland to the Jewish immigrant community that is to be his new home in New York City. It is here he discovers that the vibrant, noisy streets of New York are alive with challenge - even more of a challenge than his new school. Will it be Sammy's wits, or his beautiful singing voice that ...

Rachel Landesman is eleven years old when she, her mother and sister are crammed on board the Exodus, a dilapidated vessel smuggling 4500 Jewish refugees risking their lives to reach Palestine, their biblical homeland. Despite all they had suffered during the Holocaust, Jewish refugees are still not wanted in many countries. Even a Canadian immigration officer famously said at the time “None is too many” when asked how many refugees Canada would take in. Nonetheless, Rachel and the other r...