In 1945 Okinawa, a seven year old girl is wandering about carrying a white flag.

New York Newsday called this memoir of a warhood childhood in Japan "one of the saddest and yet most uplifting books about childhood you will ever encounter." Separated from her family in the confusion and horror of World War II, seven-year-old Tomiko Higa struggles to survive on the battlefield of Okinawa, Japan. There, as some of the fiercest fighting of the war rages around her, she must live alone, with nothing to fall back on but her own wits and daring. Fleeing from encroaching enemy forces, searching desperately for her lost sisters, taking scraps of food from the knapsacks of dead soldiers, risking death at every turn, Tomiko somehow finds the strength and courage to survive. Many years later she decided to tell this story. Originally intended for juvenile readers, it is sure to move adults as well, because it is such a vivid portrait of the unintended civilian casualties of any war.

FOREWORD BY GENERAL SIR MIKE JACKSON After the pain of Iraq and Afghanistan, it is hard to imagine the UK being drawn into another war. Defence chiefs warn that there is a real prospect of future conflict, but they have struggled to persuade most politicians to take them seriously. Our leaders have concluded there are no votes in defence, and have progressively run down the armed forces. Today, the army is at its smallest since the Napoleonic Wars; the RAF is less than half its size twenty five years ago, and the Royal Navy will struggle to muster the ships and weapons required to protect our new aircraft carriers. Is there really a risk of war? Is our military less capable and, if so, what could that mean for our future? White Flag? explains what has happened to our armed forces in recent years and asks whether their decline endangers our safety and prosperity.

Latifa was born into an educated middle-class Afghan family in Kabul in 1980. She dreamed of one day of becoming a journalist, she was interested in fashion, movies and friends. Her father was in the import/export business and her mother was a doctor. Then in September 1996, Taliban soldiers seized power in Kabul. From that moment, Latifa, just 16 years old became a prisoner in her own home. Her school was closed. Her mother was banned from working. The simplest and most basic freedoms - walking down the street, looking out a window - were no longer hers. She was now forced to wear a chadri. My Forbidden Face provides a poignant and highly personal account of life under the Taliban regime. With painful honesty and clarity Latifa describes the way she watched her world falling apart, in the name of a fanatical interpretation of a faith that she could not comprehend. Her voice captures a lost innocence, but also echoes her determination to live in freedom and hope. Earlier this year, Latifa and her parents escaped Afghanistan with the help of a French-based Afghan resistance group.

Rip, rip, stitch. Piece by piece, Betsy Ross creates the first American flag. This Level E book is perfect for early readers. Simple, rhythmic text describes the creation of the flag--thirteen stripes and thirteen five-pointed stars. Easy enough for the earliest readers, this is a fun look at a beloved story. With clever rhymes and charming art, Betsy Ross is a celebration of American history and craft work. Illustrator Megan Lloyd followed Betsy's example--ripping and dyeing and stitching to create cozy fabric scenes portraying the creation of this historic symbol. Hand-dyed fabric and careful embroidery makes this unique take on Old Glory stand out. The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own! Level E stories feature a distinct beginning, middle, and end, with kid-friendly illustrations offering clues for more challenging sentences. Varied punctuation and simple contractions may be included. Level E books are suitable for early first graders. When Level E is mastered, follow up with Level F.

Monique would do anything to live Running for her life from the Nazis, Monique, a seventeen-year-old Jewish girl, escapes through the streets of Paris, searching for a place to hide. In a dark basement deep within the city, Philip, a man of the Resistance, offers her a deal in order to save her life by changing her identity. In return, she needs to provide information about the Germans by becoming acquainted with them. Torn between her feelings for Philip and her fear of Herr Ernest, a German officer who shows special interest in her, Monique steps deeper and deeper into the jaws of the Nazi beast. But with every day that passes, she knows that it is only a matter of time before she makes a mistake and becomes discovered by the Germans - the price for that being her life. Through her own eyes, Monique tells of her efforts to survive within occupied Paris, torn between the cafés bustling with people and the poor citizens endlessly waiting in lines, food-ration stubs in hand. But above all, this is a story about a girl who has to fight for her freedom during those dark and dreadful days, fervently refusing to give up, while the German soldiers march through the streets of Paris, stomping the ground with their hobnailed boots.