The only first-hand account of the Blitz to be written as it was happening.

In this engaging autobiographical account, veteran journalist and broadcaster Bob Trevor recalls his childhood experiences in war-torn London during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz and as an evacuee, first in rural Southern England and later in Liverpool. The result is as powerful an evocation of civilian life in wartime Britain as you are ever likely to read. This is a compelling and at times deeply moving portrayal of family life, childhood, friendship and collective fortitude in the face of adversity. Just five years old when war is declared in 1939, Bob and his gang of childhood friends are soon watching in awe as the dogfights of Battle of Britain take place in the skies above their local streets in suburban Thornton Heath, although their initial excitement gives way to trepidation as the nightly bombing raids of the Blitz begin. With London under siege, Bob, his mother and baby sister are evacuated to Pangbourne in rural Berkshire, where for the next two years they will share a single room in a dilapidated old Rectory, struggling to survive on their meagre wartime rations. To add to his hardships, Bob is sent to the local village school, where he and a few fellow evacuees face relentless bullying by local children who resent intruders on their turf. The daily playground battles of this plucky band of uprooted city kids mirrors the hostilities taking place in the wider world, where Allied forces face a similarly intractable enemy. Just as all seems lost, a unit of the Royal Canadian Engineers is stationed nearby and Bob is befriended by a trio of native Canadian soldiers. Far from home and victims of prejudice themselves, these 'Red Indian' servicemen empathise with the displaced city kids and tutor them in the art of self-defence. It is a valuable education that will help our young hero overcome the challenges that lie in store for him in Liverpool and back home in London before VE Day finally heralds a longed-for return to normal life.

The astonishing #1 bestselling story of a boy who survived the war by hiding in the Polish forest Maxwell Smart was eleven years old when his entire family was killed before his eyes. He might have died along with them, but his mother selflessly ordered him to save himself. Alone in the forest, he dug a hole in the ground for shelter and foraged for food in farmers’ fields. His clothes in rags and close to starvation, he repeatedly escaped death at the hands of Nazis. After months alone, Maxwell encountered a boy wandering in the forest looking for food. Janek was also alone; like Maxwell he had just become an orphan, and the two quickly became friends. They built a bunker in the ground to survive through the winter. One day, after a massacre took place nearby, the boys discovered a baby girl, still alive, lying in the arms of her dead mother. Maxwell and Janek rescued the baby, but this act came at a great cost. Max’s epic tale of heroism will inspire with its proof of the enduring human spirit. From the brutality of war emerges a man who would become a celebrated artist, offering the world, in contrast to the horrors of his suffering, beautiful works of art. The Boy in the Woods is a remarkable historical document about a time that should never be forgotten.

Michael Foreman woke up when an incendiary bomb dropped through the roof of his Lowestoft home. Luckily, it missed his bed by inches, bounced off the floor and exploded up the chimney. So begins Michael's fascinating, brilliantly illustrated tale of growing up on the Suffolk frontline during World War II. He tells how he and his friends and family coped with bombing raids and deadly doodlebugs, how gas masks were great for making rude noises, and how nothing could beat rabbit pie! ' ... vivid, humorous and touching' Guardian.

From the dangers of London streets during the Blitz to working on the high seas during the Atlantic Convoy, children were on the frontline of battle during the Second World War. In Sean Longden's retelling of the conflict, he explores how the war impacted upon a whole generation who lost their innocence at home and abroad.

The stories in the World War II Flashbacks series draw the reader into the experiences and emotions of a young person's life, caught against a period backdrop of historical upheaval. The child reader can also absorb important historical details that might otherwise be taught only as dry facts.

Emmie let out a huge sob - "It's not a film set", she cried. She held onto Jack for a moment, then took a step back, closed her eyes and shouted - "WHERE AM I?" When Jack and Emmie suddenly find themselves transported back to London in 1940, they find a world both familiar, yet very different. As they dodge falling bombs and over-zealous policemen, they befriend Jan - a lonely Polish refugee. Together, they must work out if the shadowy figure they keep seeing is a spy and unlock the secret of getting home again...