War

**A Rose for the Anzac Boys**

It is 1915. War is being fought on a horrific scale in the trenches of France, but it might as well be a world away from sixteen–year–old New Zealander Midge Macpherson, at school in England learning to be a young lady. But the war is coming closer: Midge's brothers are in the army, and her twin, Tim, is listed as 'missing' in the devastating defeat of the Anzac forces at Gallipoli. Desperate to do their bit – and avoid the boredom of school and the restrictions of Society – Midge and her friends Ethel and Anne start a canteen in France, caring for the endless flow of wounded soldiers returning from the front. Midge, recruited by the over–stretched ambulance service, is thrust into carnage and scenes of courage she could never have imagined. And when the war is over, all three girls – and their Anzac boys as well – discover that even going 'home' can be both strange and wonderful.

Readings



**Once & Then** Morris Gleitzman

In //Once//, Felix escapes from an orphanage only to learn that Poland is a dangerous place for a Jewish boy on his own. He manages to look after himself and another young orphan, Zelda, until they are taken under the protection of a kind Polish dentist. But when the Nazis uncover their hiding place, Felix and Zelda must once again run for their lives... In //Then//, Felix and Zelda have escaped from the Nazis, but how long can they survive when there are so many people ready to hand them over for a reward? Thanks to the courage of a kind, brave woman they are able to live for a while in the open, but Felix knows it's only a matter of time before he's identified as a Jew, which would mean death for them all. Even though he promised Zelda he would never leave, he knows he has to, before it's too late... Readings

//**Talking books available for both 'Once' and 'Then'**//





**Battlefield** Alan Tucker

Barry Blacker is obsessed with being a soldier. He is desperate to join the army like his older brother Jack, who is in a Japanese POW camp. In the meantime he practises drills on the family farm in Cowra, and spies on the Japanese prisoners in the camp nearby. When some of the prisoners escape, Barry's attempt to be a hero has devastating consequences. A moving, thought-provoking and vividly told novel, based on a true story.

Good Reading Magazin e



**Hana's Suitcase** Karen Levine

An international bestseller and remarkable true story. When Hana's suitcase arrives from Germany at the small Holocaust education centre in Japan, all the children who visit want to know about Hana. When Fumiko Ishioka, the centre's curator, decides to find the answers, she embarks on a journey of discovery across Europe and North America, and seventy years of history.

Allen & Unwin



**Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes** Eleanor Coerr

Sadako Sasaki is an eleven-year-old girl who loves to run. She trains at running track in her spare time and is preparing for the school meet. One day, however, she feels slightly dizzy when she's running. She's heard stories about children being afflicted with a disease caused by the radiation from the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, but she refuses to believe that this is her problem, and she keeps her feelings quiet. Her illness proves unavoidable, though, when Sadako collapses one day while running.

She is diagnosed with leukemia. One day, she hears a legend from a friend that gives her hope of recovery. The legend says that if a person folds one thousand paper cranes out of paper, he or she may be healed. Though each day Sadako becomes weaker, she decides to fold one thousand origami cranes. Her brother helps her by hanging the cranes from the ceiling. Sadly, Sadako is unable to finish the project. She passes away having made only 648 cranes. Her friends from school, however, hear her story, and they fold the remaining cranes so that she is buried with one thousand paper cranes. All Readers

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