Books with author Deborah Ellis

Fourteen-year-old Shauzia dreams of seeing the ocean and eventually making a new life in France, but it is hard to reconcile that dream with the terrible conditions of the Afghan refugee camp where she lives. Making things worse is the camp’s leader, Mrs. Weera, whose demands on Shauzia make her need to escape all the more urgent. Her decision to leave necessitates Shauzia dress like a boy, as her friend Parvana did, to earn money to buy passage out. But her journey becomes a struggle to survive as she's forced to beg and pick through garbage, eventually landing in jail. An apparent rescue by a well-meaning American family gives her hope again, but will it last? And where will she end up? Mud City is the final book in the acclaimed trilogy that includes The Breadwinner (a best-seller) and Parvana's Journey. It paints a devastating portrait of life in refugee camps, where so many children around the world are trapped, some for their whole lives. But it also tells movingly of these kids' resourcefulness and strength, which help them survive these unimaginable circumstances.

Deborah Ellis has been widely praised for her books about children in war-torn countries. Now, she turns her attention closer to home, to American and Canadian children whose parents are soldiers fighting — or who have fought — in Afghanistan and Iraq. In frank and illuminating interviews, they talk about how this experience has marked and shaped their lives. Twelve-year-old Darby finds comfort in sending everyday items like Twizzlers and wet wipes to a dad whose life doesn’t include simple pleasures or a daily bath. Now that 10-year-old Mary’s father is home, he sits alone in his bedroom with his computer instead of hanging out with the family like he used to do. Interviewed on military bases, in the streets, in their homes, and over the phone, the children speak with remarkable candor about how war has touched their daily lives, reminding readers that although they may be living safely in North America, children always suffer when nations go to war.

Smart and independent, 11-year-old Khyber lives with her mom, Tammy, a former stripper, and her autistic twin brothers in a poor Toronto neighborhood. Though she doesn’t have a lot in common with her classmates, Khyber does have wonderfully eccentric friends: Valerie, Toronto’s meanest waitress, and X, a homeless woman in hiding from “the secret police.” Despite having to deal with pompous social workers who make her mother cry and ignorant kids who make remarks about her brothers, Khyber manages to enjoy herself, poring over atlases, planning exotic journeys, and taking peanut butter sandwiches to X. But when Tammy decides to move her sons to a group home for proper care, Khyber’s world starts to crumble. She fights with her mom and then gets expelled from school. To make matters worse, X suddenly disappears. Khyber sets out to find her in a wild all-night odyssey of self-discovery.

In Parvana’s Journey, the Taliban still control Afghanistan, but Kabul is in ruins. Parvana’s father has just died, and her mother, sister, and brother could be anywhere in the country. Parvana knows she must find them. Despite her youth, Parvana sets out alone, masquerading as a boy. She soon meets other children who are victims of war — an infant boy in a bombed-out village, a nine-year-old girl who thinks she has magic powers over landmines, and a boy with one leg. The children travel together, forging a kind of family out of sheer need. The strength of their bond makes it possible to survive the most desperate conditions. Royalties from this book will go toward an education fund for Afghan girls in Pakistani refugee camps.

When Casey is arrested for murder, her best friend Jess is certain the police have made a terrible mistake. And she should know; after all, she and Casey were camp counselors together and both responsible for the little girl who disappeared. But even though the police have interrogated Jess more than once, they aren't satisfied with her story. Even Casey's lawyer won't leave her alone. And at school, everyone is suddenly hanging on her every word. Does she continue to insist that Casey is innocent in the face of almost universal condemnation? Jess has to wait for the middle of the night before she can find some peace, riding her bike through the darkened streets of their small town...planning a move that will shock them all. In a fresh departure from her novels set in developing countries, award-winning author Deborah Ellis brilliantly recreates the inner world of an emotionally confused teen who struggles to find the moral courage to remain loyal to a friend in need.

Stories of survival. Songs of hope. Children you'll never forget. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are more than 11.5 million orphans. The AIDS pandemic has claimed their parents, their aunts, and their uncles. What is life like for these children? Who do they care for, and who cares for them? Come and meet them. They might surprise you. Royalties from this book will be donated to UNICEF Awards and Nominations: Winner, Book Link Best Book for the Classroom, 2005 Winner, School Library Journal Best Book of 2005 Finalist, 2006 Information Book Award Runner-up, National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award for 2005 2006 Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award short list 2006 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction finalist Red Maple Award for Non-fiction shortlist, 2007 Garden State Teen Book Awards nominee 2008

Orphaned and plagued with the grief of losing everyone he loves, 15-year-old Abdul has made a long, fraught journey from his war-torn home in Baghdad, only to end up in The Jungle — a squalid, makeshift migrant community in Calais. Desperate to escape, he takes a spot in a small, overloaded England-bound boat that’s full of other illegal migrants — and a secret stash of heroin. A sudden skirmish leaves the boat stalled in the middle of the Channel, the pilot dead, and four young people remaining — Abdul; Rosalia, a Romani girl who has escaped from the white slave trade; Cheslav, gone AWOL from a Russian military school; and Jonah, the boat pilot’s ten-year-old nephew. As they attempt to complete the frantic and hazardous Channel crossing their individual stories are revealed and their futures become increasingly uncertain. No Safe Place is a novel of high adventure and heart-stopping suspense by a writer at the height of her powers.

Through her association with a community anti-bullying campaign launched in Haldimand, Norfolk, and neighboring communities in Southern Ontario, children's author Deborah Ellis asked students from the ages of nine to nineteen to talk about their experiences with bullying. The results are thoughtful, candid, and often harrowing accounts of "business as usual" in and around today's schools. The kids in this book raise questions about the way parents, teachers and school administrators cope with bullies. They talk about which methods have helped and which ones, with the best of intentions, have failed to protect them. And some kids reveal how they have been able to overcome their fear and anger to become strong advocates for the rights of others. This is a book for reading and sharing. Each interview is followed by questions that will encourage open discussion about the nature of bullying and the ways in which individuals and schools could deal more effectively with bullies and their victims. And additional comments from international students reveal how much kids the world over have in common in the way they experience and deal with bullies.