Books with author Elizabeth Lim

Oranges in No Man’s Land tells the riveting story of ten-year-old Ayesha’s terrifying journey across no man’s land to reach a doctor in hostile territory in search of medicine for her dying grandmother.Set in Lebanon during the civil war, this story is told by award-winning author Elizabeth Laird and is based on personal, real-life events. Elizabeth stayed on the green line in Beirut in 1977 in a war-damaged flat with her husband and six-month-old son. Memories of her son sleeping in a suitcase on the floor, taking his first steps on the bullet-riddled balcony, playing with the soldiers on the checkpoint, and her husband racing through no man’s land in the buildup to a battle have all inspired this gripping and moving story.Elizabeth Laird says, “When I wrote Oranges in No Man’s Land, I didn’t know that Lebanon would be plunged back so soon into a nightmare. Caught up in that nightmare are children like Ayesha and Samar, whose lives political leaders so easily throw away.”Elizabeth Laird has been nominated four times for the Carnegie Medal and has won both the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Children’s Book Award (UK). Her numerous books, including A Little Piece of Ground (Haymarket Books, 2006), have been published around the world.

Felix is back in the real world after his extraordinary adventure in The Divide. But so too is Snakeweed, the villainous japegrin, who's followed him home - and he needs the enchanted formula hidden in Felix's notebook. Snakeweed's visit brings disaster. He turns Felix's parents to stone and, worse than that, his wicked spell seems to be spreading like a sinister virus which could threaten the whole of life on earth. To find a countercharm, Felix must return to the magical palce he discovered the previous year. But when he gets there he finds it much changed, and his unusual friends in a horrible fix.

Oranges in No Man's Land brings Elizabeth Laird's emotional and gripping adventure to her next generation of fans. Since her father left Lebanon to find work and her mother tragically died in a shell attack, ten-year-old Ayesha has been living in the bomb-ravaged city of Beirut with her granny and her two younger brothers. The city has been torn in half by civil war and a desolate, dangerous no man's land divides the two sides. Only militiamen and tanks dare enter this deadly zone, but when Granny falls desperately ill, Ayesha sets off on a terrifying journey to reach a doctor living in enemy territory.

Inspired by the true story of an African childhood lived on the edge of destitution, award-winning Elizabeth Laird's The Garbage King takes readers on an unforgettable emotional journey.When Mamo's mother dies, he is abandoned in the shanties of Addis Ababa. Stolen by a child-trafficker and sold to a farmer, he is cruelly treated. Escaping back to the city, he meets another, very different runaway. Dani is rich, educated - and fleeing his tyrannical father. Together they join a gang of homeless street boys who survive only by mutual bonds of trust and total dependence on each other.

For millennia, Somalia has been crossed and recrossed by camel caravans of merchants, bringing with them stories such as "The Good Prince," in which a kindhearted prince conquers the evil magic of a beautiful sorceress, and "The Ogress and the Snake," a Somali Hansel and Gretel story about five little girls, abandoned in the desert, who take refuge in the house of a man-eating ogress. Elizabeth Laird heard many of these tales in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia's Somali region. She gathers together the finest of them in The Ogress and the Snake and Other Stories from Somalia. The stories abound with colorful characters — Deya Ali, the greedy trickster fox; Kabaalaf the shopkeeper, crooked as a jug-handle, who meets his match in the slippery Hirsi; and the miraculous (and bodyless) Head, whose magic powers conjure up a talking camel and bring him a princess. These and the other magical tales in this delightful collection are the perfect introduction to a fascinating and little-known country.

The thrilling sequel to the fantastical novel THE DIVIDE, which PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called "inviting...with a nicely constructed cliff-hanger [that leaves readers]...hungry for the next."After his adventures in THE DIVIDE, Felix lives quietly at home with his parents. But Snakeweed, the arch villain, is still at large. Having failed to sell bad magic to the real world, he wants to go back home. All he needs to get there is the spell hidden in Felix's notebook. So Snakeweed pays a visit to Felix--and freezes his parents with a horrible curse that begins to spread like a magical disease. Soon the curse is effecting everything--and the Earth itself may be in danger. Felix must return to The Divide to find the counter-charm that can cure his parents...and save the world!

The thrilling conclusion to the smart, funny, fantastical DIVIDE trilogy, which has sold more than 400,000 copies across all channels!Felix is back at school, but things aren't back to normal! Rhino, the class bully, snatches the mysterious Brandee lamp he had kept from his last adventure in BACK TO THE DIVIDE, and next thing you know, a djinn has taken Rhino hostage and is demanding that Felix return him home to the mystical, back-to-front world. But no sooner is the djinn's wish granted than Rhino escapes into the villanous protection of Skullcap, new chief nasty of the Japegrins. It's up to Felix and Bettony to once again use their wits to save both worlds from the ultimate explosive threat of mixed-up science and magic.

A unique and humorous fantasy that weaves a cast of eccentric and charming characters into an incredible adventure story.When Felix's parents take him to "The Divide"--a spot in Costa Rica where the waters that run down to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans separate--Felix finds himself in a bizarre parallel world where mythical creatures and magic are a reality.There, he meets Betony, a tangle child and herbalist who becomes his friend in this strange land. As Felix explores this new world he soon discovers that its mythical beasts and fairy folk think Felix is a legendary creature who uses practical science instead of magic! Will Felix ever find his way back home...and will he want to?

When Mamo's mother dies, he is abandoned in the shanties of Addis Ababa. Stolen by a child-trafficker and sold to a farmer, he is cruelly treated. Escaping back to the city, he meets another, very different runaway. Dani is rich, educated—and fleeing his tyrannical father. Together they join a gang of homeless street boys who survive only by mutual bonds of trust and total dependence on each other.

Naomi needs to see a sick relative, and Cheryl is more than happy to drive her. Along the way, Cheryl buys a unique quilt from an estate sale. However, there appears to be a mystery behind this quilt; various attempts to steal it from her have been made, inspiring her to begin investigating its secrets. With people's reputations and lives on the line, Cheryl must decide whether or not revealing the past is worth hurting those in the present.

Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird is an unforgettable, award-winning novel of conflict, persecution and the hardships faced by refugees.Tara is an ordinary teenager. Although her country, Kurdistan, is caught up in a war, the fighting seems far away. It hasn't really touched her. Until now.The secret police are closing in. Tara and her family must flee to the mountains with only the few things they can carry. It is a hard and dangerous journey - but their struggles have only just begun. Will anywhere feel like home again?