A great black cube glides just above the tenuous upper atmosphere of a planet blessed with green lands surrounded by blue oceans. This cube is blacker than black. It resembles a moving hole. But it is not empty. Within this wonderful vessel is a visitor from a distant star, Lord Bright-wing, explorer of many worlds and representative of the People, a civilization hundreds of thousands of years old. Bright-wing controls the awesome power of his craft through his servant, an artificial intelligence of vast intellect. But advanced and powerful as creature and machine might be, Bright-wing will shortly face a challenge none of the People had ever faced and indeed had taken every precaution to avoid. But the unintended consequences of Lord Bright-wing’s actions trickle down through millennia to bring into existence an evil organization calling itself Wings between the Worlds. This group of cold-hearted men and women seeks to use the almost unlimited power that has fallen into its hands to dominate the world. But just as the leadership of Wings between the Worlds is on the verge of executing their well-laid plans, one of their own orphan slaves, a young girl, meets Adam Jones, a boy from a well-respected spacefaring family. And together they accept a lonely mission to free the remaining orphans and travel the solar system to destroy the power of Wings. And it must be done in secret; not even Adam’s parents can know. If these two young people fail, they will simply disappear, never to be seen or heard from again, their love and sacrifice wasted and unappreciated.

From international bestselling author Mario Escobar comes a story of escape, sacrifice, and hope amid the perils of the Second World War. August 1942. Jacob and Moses Stein, two young Jewish brothers, are staying with their aunt in Paris amid the Nazi occupation. The boys’ parents, well-known German playwrights, have left the brothers in their aunt’s care until they can find safe harbor for their family. But before the Steins can reunite, a great and terrifying roundup occurs. The French gendarmes, under Nazi order, arrest the boys and take them to the Vélodrome d’Hiver—a massive, bleak structure in Paris where thousands of France’s Jews are being forcibly detained. Jacob and Moses know they must flee in order to survive, but they only have a set of letters sent from the South of France to guide them to their parents. Danger lurks around every corner as the boys, with nothing but each other, trek across the occupied country. Along their remarkable journey, they meet strangers and brave souls who put themselves at risk to protect the children—some of whom pay the ultimate price for helping these young refugees of war. This inspiring novel, now available for the first time in English, demonstrates the power of family and the endurance of the human spirit—even through the darkest moments of human history. World War II historical fiction inspired by true events Book length: 94,000 words Includes discussion questions for reading groups, a historical timeline, and notes from the author “A poignant telling of the tragedies of war and the sacrificing kindness of others seen through the innocent eyes of children.” —J’nell Ciesielski, bestselling author of The Socialite and Beauty Among Ruins

'There are a few rare occasions in life, when events seem to conspire in a profound and extraordinary way. In those moments God pulls back the curtain on his plans and you get to see a glimpse of what he has in store in you. In the end you are clearer on your life's purpose and destiny. This was one of those moments.' AS MANY AS THE STARS tells the story of how one man moved with his wife and six young children from the UK to China to follow God's call. Robert Glover was a social worker in the East of England who went on to radically transform Chinese government's policy on care welfare. In conversations with the Chinese government Robert fought to show that family-based fostering and adoption was a better alternative to the system of state-sponsored orphanages. In 1998, Robert pioneered the first small pilot project in Shanghai. In the same year Care for Children was founded as a charity as the first joint venture social welfare project between the British and Chinese governments. The goal was to provide skills and knowledge to local staff that could eventually impact many thousands of orphans in China. Robert had a big vision but continued to trust God in his plans. Now Robert's charity Care for Children has reached their goal of getting ONE MILLION children fostered or adopted, which is 85% of the children in the state-run institutions and they have since expanded into Thailand and Vietnam. Told with humour & simplicity AS MANY AS THE STARS gives a deeper understanding of the importance of families in God's plan; God's deep concern for the plight of the orphan and the poor; how to live with greater compassion, generosity and courage to share the love of Christ with a needy world.

Hugh had been taught that, according to the ancient sacred writings, the Ship was on a voyage to faraway Centaurus. But he also understood this was actually allegory for a voyage to spiritual perfection. Indeed, how could the Ship move, since its miles and miles of metal corridors were all there was of creation? Science knew that the Ship was all the Universe, and as long as the sacred Convertor was fed, the lights would continue to glow and the air would flow, and the Creator's Plan would be fulfilled.Of course, there were the muties, grotesquely deformed parodies of humans, who lurked in the upper reaches of the Ship where gravity was weaker. Were they evil incarnate, or merely a divine check on the population, keeping humanity from expanding past the capacity of the Ship to support? Then Hugh was captured by the muties and met their leader (or leaders), Joe-Jim, with two heads on one body. And he learned the true nature of the Ship and its mission between the stars. But could he make his people believe him before it was to late? Could he make them believe that he must be allowed to fly the ship?

When Robert Penn Warren wrote of his times. "In this century, and moment, of mania,/Tell me a story," doing so in a long poem about the painter. John James Audubon, he might also have been thinking of the poems and characters of Wilmer Mills, who grew up just minutes from where Audubon painted. The two middle sections of this book consist of personal narratives in the voice of a young man coming to terms with his decision not to be a farmer like his father and grandfather. These poems are symbolic of our nation, arguing quietly that, in a way, we are all orphans of the family farm. On either side of his personal account are bookend sections of narrative poems that tell about people from various walks of life. Using the word "orphan" in a broader sense to indicate people who have been marginalized or set apart, either by force or by choice, Mills' poems assert that alienation from a source of meaning in life creates orphans of all ages. Book jacket.

The thrilling second novel in the category-defying Silvers trilogy—melding X-Men and the novels of Blake Crouch—about six extraordinary people who become unwitting refugees on an unfamiliar Earth, and their epic quest to find out why. The end of the world was just the beginning for Hannah and Amanda Given. Saved from apocalypse by three mysterious beings, the sisters, along with four other refugees from their world, were each marked with a silver bracelet and transported to an entirely different Earth: a place where restaurants move through the air like flying saucers and the fabric of time is manipulated by common household appliances, as well as by their very own hands—and a place where terrifying new adversaries seem to be around every corner. Now, after six months in this alt-America and a tumultuous cross-country journey that landed them in New York City, the Silvers find themselves in more trouble than ever. Their new world is dying, and a clan of powerful time benders believes that killing them is the only way to stop it. To make matters worse, the U.S. government has sent its most ruthless covert spy agency to track and capture them. But the biggest threat of all comes from the three god-like beings who first saved them. They had a reason for bringing the Givens and their friends to this world. And when the Silvers learn the awful truth, nothing will ever be the same.

"The Orphans of Shao" consists of case studies that exemplify more than 35-year long-lasting policy in China, the One-Child Policy. Due to the effect that the National Law has created, Mr. Pang exposed the corrupted adoption system in China. The farmers in many villages are forced to fines that they cannot afford to pay so the officials take their children away. The officials then sell the children for a low price to government orphanages. The orphanages then put these children up for international adoptions and collect the high-priced fees for these adoptions. The international adoptions are usually in Europe and in the United States. These families that adopted these children truly believe that the children are orphans. After their children were kidnapped by the officials, the parents embarked on a long and draining odyssey to recover them. After searching fruitlessly for many years, the heartbroken and desperate parents were on the verge of losing all hope. At that time an investigative reporter discovered new leads for them. The reporter published an exclusive report exposing the kidnapping of their children by the Family Planning officials. Women's Rights in China (NGO organization) is very fortunate to gain Mr. Pang's copyrights to publish his book in the United States in English. Mr. Pang has suffered many murderous threats due to his work on this book. It is our hope that we can bring one journalist's hard work to fruition as well as the whole truth behind how the government implements the One-Child Policy in China. The product of this book is the result of many volunteers' hard work. Publish Date: 10/22/2014 Also you can order the book in the below link on WRIC's website, Crchina.org. http://crchina.org/?page_id=6858.