In late 1944, a train rumbled out of Konigsberg, Germany laden with gold, artifacts and priceless paintings in an attempt to escape the advancing Soviet army. It was never seen again. Seventy-two years later, Will Stattin, a former MP and the son of a famous archaeologist, gets a call for help from a prestigious art collector in Italy. For Will.

From the publisher. Marion Schreiber's gripping book about the only Nazi death train in World War II to be ambushed draws on private documents, photographs, archive material, and police reports, as well as original research, including interviews with the surviving escapees. One day in April, 1943, resistance fighter Youra Livchitz, a young doctor, discovered the departure date of the next transport train and recruited two school friends to pull off one of the most daring rescues of the entire war. Equipped with only three pairs of pliers, a hurricane lamp covered in red paper, and a single pistol, the men ambushed the train, which was transporting 1,618 Jews to Auschwitz. These three lone men freed seventeen men and women before the German guards opened fire. Miraculously, by the time the convoy had reached the German border another 225 prisoners had managed to escape unharmed and found shelter with the locals. In a testament to the solidarity of the Belgians, no one was betrayed. No one, that is, except the three young rescuers, who were turned in by a double agent, imprisoned, and killed. Like Schindler's List, The Twentieth Train creates a vivid, moving portrait of heroism under impossible circumstances.

"Retta Barre's not the first 12-year-old girl to travel the Oregon Trail, and she won't be the last. But for something that's supposed to be the grandest adventure of her life, the days sure are dull! Thick dust, vindictive bugs, and picking up buffalo chips - not exactly the stuff of the action-packed penny novels she loves to read. When things change in Retta's life, though, they change fast! A simple trip into the prairie, along with Retta's enthusiasm and timing, brings adventure and trouble - all at the same time! Soon Retta is the talk of the wagon train, and her friends don't want to miss the next caper she's sure to stumble into. And Retta certainly won't let them down."--Back Cover.

A magical story about a boy's love for his dying father and his journey to the mythic Train of Lost Things, where beloved lost objects are rescued and protected until they can be returned. Perfect for fans of The Phantom Tollbooth, The Bridge to Terabithia, and Lost in the Sun. Marty cherishes the extra-special birthday present his dad gave him -- a jean jacket on which he's afixed numerous buttons -- because it's a tie to his father, who is sick and doesn't have much time left. So when his jacket goes missing, Marty is devastated. When his dad tells him the story of the Train of Lost Things, a magical train that flies through the air collecting objects lost by kids, Marty is sure that the train must be real, and that if he can just find the train and get his jacket back, he can make his dad better as well. It turns out that the train is real -- and it's gone out of control! Instead of just collecting things that have been accidentally lost, the train has been stealing things. Along with Dina and Star, the girls he meets aboard the train, Marty needs to figure out what's going on and help set it right. As he searches for his jacket, and for a way to fix the train, Marty begins to wonder whether he's looking for the right things after all. And he realizes that sometimes you need to escape reality in order to let it sink in. In this achingly beautiful adventure, it is the power of memories, and the love between a father and son, that ultimately save the day. Praise for The Train of Lost Things: "Paquette writes with compassion and a childlike sense of belief, and Marty's journey--both personal and fantastic--will speak to readers on many levels." --Booklist "Marty's inner dialogue will appeal to readers of Gordon Korman, Jeff Kinney, and Dav Pilkey." --School Library Journal "Marty's pain at the imminent loss of his father is keenly felt, and Paquette deftly balances the emotional weight of his fear and grief with his fantasy journey on a train flying through the universe." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Kids everywhere can relate to the sorrow of losing a cherished item, giving this narrated adventure story a wide appeal [and] readers will connect with the unconditional love and hope that exists between parent and child." --School Library Connection

The Young Adult Adaptation of the True Story of the Rescue of a Holocaust Death Train in World War IIAS A YOUNG TEEN living a comfortable life with family, what do you do when the Germans march into your town to persecute you, and your neighbors and your friends turn their backs? As life turns upside-down and you are now a young prisoner-fighting for survival in a concentration camp and FORCED TO BOARD A DEATH TRAIN to nowhere-how do you go on as people are dying all around you?AS A YOUNG AMERICAN SOLDIER in World War II, fighting brutal battles across Europe-having been shot at and shelled, having seen your friends killed, and no longer even able to remember what your own mother looks like-what is the plan when you STUMBLE ACROSS A HOLOCAUST TRAIN full of suffering families that shocks you to your core, even after you think you have seen it all? And what happens when the SOLDIERS AND SURVIVORS again MEET FACE TO FACE, seven decades later? "I survived because of many miracles. but for me to actually meet and cry together with my liberators-the 'angels of life' who literally gave me back my life-was just beyond imagination!" -Leslie Meisels, Holocaust survivor

Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family. But she can’t stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered. Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome. Praise for The Girl from the Train: “A riveting read with an endearing, courageous protagonist . . . takes us from war-torn Poland to the veldt of South Africa in a story rich in love, loss, and the survival of the human spirit.” —Anne Easter Smith, author of A Rose for the Crown Full-length World War II historical novel International bestseller Includes a glossary

Becker Drane's job as a Fixer in The Seems is in jeopardy. The Powers That Be have discovered his illegal relationship with Jennifer Kaley and he's about to be punished big time for all the rules he has broken. But just when it seems like Becker's fixing days are over for good, he is called in to assist on a job in the Middle of Nowhere. A Train of Thought headed for The World has disappeared, and the first group of Fixers sent to find it has vanished now too. As usual The Tide is the prime suspect. This latest mission takes Becker to the remotest places, and introduces him to the more powerful people in The Seems. Will he manage to find the Lost Train of Thought and finally discover, once and for all, who's running The Tide?