Poignant YA historical romance between a teen who runs away to fight in World War One, and his sweetheart back at home. Harry Wainwright is 17, not quite 18, but he can't wait to enlist for the Great War - so instead of going back to boarding school he runs away to war. He does this with the help of his sweetheart, Jessica. They are a wholesome Edwardian couple, steeped in all the respectable morality of their age. Both are in love with romance. Their letters begin idealistically and enthusiastically but gradually both young people learn of the horror of war and its associated cynicism. Rather than a depressing read, this is an interesting chronicle of the times and a charming portrayal of innocent love. Finalist in the Senior fiction category of the NZ Post Children's Book Awards 2003.

An exciting young adult historical novel based on the true story of Captain Bligh leading his sailors to safety after the mutiny on the Bounty. Sixteen-year-old John Hallet was on board the ill-fated Bounty when Fletcher Christian and others of the crew staged the mutiny against Captain Bligh. Cast adrift in a small boat in wild and dangerous seas, Hallet tells the remarkable story of how Bligh led the sailors who were loyal to him to safety. This story is interspersed with a fictionalised account of the events that led up to the mutiny on the Bounty. Historically accurate and well-researched, Sea of Mutiny is a revisionist look at Bligh. He has gone down in history as sadistic and cruel. But award-wining writer Ken Catran portrays Bligh as a victim of the British class system and his own flawed decison making. At the same time as being a fascinating historical read, this is an exciting plot-driven novel about massive sea voyages in treacherous conditions in overcrowded, overladen ships. It's classic Ken Catran fare - ideal for male readers.

This collection seeks to move noncombatant perspectives to center stage, acknowledging their importance, destabilizing the primacy of the combatant, and explaining or undermining the staging of warfare as a singular and acontextual production.

HELP FOR YOUNG READERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING AND FOR THOSE WITH ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. It is believed that twenty or more percent of New Zealand children and many from other countries, particularly boys, are leaving formal education sadly deficient in the literary skills essential for normal living: without being able to read road directions or the instructions on a bottle of medicine. PART ONE of this book and the accompanying practice pages in "KEYS TO READING" has proved, with regular use, to be of great assistance to many young readers who are struggling to overcome a setback in their progress and has enabled them to become confident and fluent readers. For parents who are seeking desperately for clear guidance as to how they may help their children this program will provide a simple and effective plan to follow. PART TWO provides a simple outline of English grammar both for students who need some help in an easily understood form and for those with English as a second language. There is also help with written expression, spelling, and vocabulary. An extensive list of idioms should prove especially useful to those with English as a second language. Brian Elder is a graduate of Otago University, with a BA degree, majoring in English and trained as a teacher at Dunedin Teachers' College. He has taught all primary school grades, with most teaching at the Intermediate level, and was for many years a deputy principal at an Intermediate School. Apart from teaching his main interest has been organizing and leading Christian holiday camps for pre-teens, spending thirty years, during school vacations, as Camp Director of Christian youth camps Brian has always had a real concern for disadvantaged children and the Keys to Reading program has arisen from a perceived need to provide some practical help for boys and girls who have been struggling in this area.

Boys and Girls in No Man's Land examines how the First World War entered the lives and imaginations of Canadian children. Drawing on educational materials, textbooks, adventure tales, plays, and Sunday-school papers, this study explores the role of children in the nation's war effort. Susan R. Fisher also considers how the representation of the war has changed in Canadian children's literature. During the war, the conflict was invariably presented as noble and thrilling, but recent Canadian children's books paint a very different picture. What once was regarded a morally uplifting struggle, rich in lessons of service and sacrifice, is now presented as pointless slaughter. This shift in tone and content reveals profound changes in Canadian attitudes not only towards the First World War but also towards patriotism, duty, and the shaping of the moral citizen.

A poignant young adult novel set in the goldfields of Otago during the 1860s goldrush. The story by an award-wining YA writer follows the lives of two young people, both very different, drawn to the goldfields for the same reason - they all hope to strike it rich. One of the main characters is a young Chinese girl, and the other a European boy. As well as being a plot-driven story, this book examines the cultural differences between these two. This provides interesting discussion points for New Zealand society today, where we still grapple with many of these same cultural problems. It shows how people are shaped by struggle and adversity and how the goldfields shaped our society in the nineteenth century, changing people who then went on to change their world.

A thrilling young adult historical adventure novel about a boy on a ship forced to survive the elements as well as the ruthless crew. Set in the 1840s, Seal Boy tells the story of Emmet Tyler, a 14-year-old from the US port of Boston whose privileged upbringing has brought him a life of education and fine manners. So imagine his surprise and horror when he is attacked by thugs while on a visit to the wharves with his grandfather, and wakes up on board a whaling vessel bound for the South Pacific – on a voyage that could last three years! Emmet’s journey of discovery begins as he learns the ways of the whaling ship and earns the respect of the crew. Upon arrival in Kororareka (Russell) in the Bay of Islands, he is ready to transfer to a home-bound ship, but the sacking of the town by local Maori forces him to make a hasty escape – into yet deeper trouble. He finds himself aboard a disreputable sealing ship, headed for the deep south. When its crew discover Emmet’s identity and the reward offered for his return home – dead or alive – he finds himself among the hunted, stranded on a desolate island with only a family of seals for company. He must not only survive the winter but also outwit the ruthless men who think nothing of killing for money.