At 15 Anna Wood went to a party and took an ecstasy tablet. Three days later she was dead. A life destroyed. A family devastated. She was just fifteen. She was leaving school to start the job of her dreams. She was beautiful, she had a loving family and countless friends. Yet on 21 October 1995, Anna Wood took an ecstasy tablet at a dance party and died three days later. A life destroyed, a family devastated, a community in shock. Bronwyn Donaghy interviewed friends, family members and numerous professionals in order to write the story of the circumstances surrounding Annaᱠdeath and of her family's decision to try and turn tragedy into a positive force for good. It is a story of our times, a story with powerful resonances for Anna's generation and their parents, for counsellors, doctors and teachers, for anyone who values the sanctity of life. 'As a teenager I have taken all kinds of drugs, not really knowing what they were and why I did it. then I found this book. I vowed never to take drugs again but itᱠjust a shame it took the life of a beautiful, talented girl to make me realise how dangerous it was.' BC, aged 17, New South Wales 'I have never tried illicit drugs and although I was curious to do so ... the information provided in this book has scared me away from that forever.' LO, aged 16, Western Australia 'I've had Mum and Dad give me lectures about not taking drugs and stuff but it didn't really affect me until I read Anna's Story and realised what they do to ordinary people just like me.' AE, aged 15, Queensland

Anna is a spunky 9-year-old girl who loves acting and drawing Anna has Noonan syndrome, a genetic condition that affects how her body grows. Join Anna, her mother and her dog Sammy as they go through a busy and adventure-filled week, ad see what living with Noonan syndrome means for Anna!

Six-year-old Anna Pellowski’s older siblings, Jacob, Franciszek, Barney, Mary and Pauline are exposed to English at school, but only Polish is spoken at home. The younger children—Anna, Julian, Anton barely know a word of their new country’s language, but then neither do many of their neighbors. When the family goes to town to celebrate the 100th birthday of the United States, the speaker gives his speech in a mix of German, Polish, Bohemian and Norwegian! Some years before, in the mid 1800’s, Anna’s mother, father and brother Baby Jacob had come from Poland to live in a tiny sod house in Western Wisconsin and establish the very first farm in the entire Latsch Valley. Now the growing family lives in a real house, with neighbors on every side, and the world for quietly curious Anna is filled with fascinating possibilities—as well as lots of hard work. Sometimes she dreams of going back to the Poland she is always hearing about, but increasingly she realizes that life in Latsch Valley, with its rich cultural rhythm of work, play and religious faith, holds everything she could possibly want.

It’s 1941, near the town of Southampton, Ontario, and five young sisters are reeling from an accident that killed their mother and severely injured their father. With help from their aunt, the sisters strive to keep the family farm operating as World War II rages on. But the Ross sisters are not just facing the challenges of caring for their father and managing financial pressures. As Anna, the eldest, begins to fall for a young English pilot training in Ontario, she faces unwanted advances from the jealous farmhand. Gossip, discrimination, and harassment brew around the young women as emotional and physical threats grow. Although each of the sisters is struggling with the hardships of wartime and grieving their mother, they try to support one another when confronted by rigid small-town mores and unforeseen perils. When women’s voices are not respected or believed, is the bond between sisters strong enough to withstand tragedy and war? Little Women meets #MeToo in this rich historical novel about adversity and resilience on the Canadian home front of World War II.

(Nonfiction/biog.) "The greatest story...for young and old" - Jeff Gallup, TV mogul. Young Anna arrives in 1880s America unable to speak English. She prays someone will understand her. On courage and faith. Kids 5 yrs+; 1,000 words; 30 pg.

Ana's life is a collection of bits and pieces of her past. Infected with HIV at birth, she's unaware of many details of her early childhood and barely remembers her mother. Living with her strict grandmother, she learns how to keep secrets – secrets about her infection and about the abuse she endures at home. But after Ana falls in love and becomes pregnant at seventeen, she begins a journey of hope – a journey of protecting herself and others. She is living with HIV, not dying from it. Jenna Bush tells of Ana's struggle to break free from the cycle of abuse, silence, and illness with passion and eloquence. But this is not just Ana's story. It is also the story of many children around the world who are marginalized, neglected, and mistreated.