Books with author elizabeth Claire

Finn has always been different, and in the tiny fishing village of Stromhead he sticks out like a sore thumb. Always told to keep away from the water, he's felt that something was missing until one day he dives in and finds that, swimming with the dolphins, he feels completely at home. But his new friends are in danger of being injured by the rubbish that floats out into the water - and now a supermarket is going to release thousands of balloons that could drift out to sea and cause even more damage. Desperate to help the dolphins, Finn goes to the Lighthouse Crew, a group of kids who have always left Finn out. Will they be able to set aside their differences to save the dolphins? And what will Finn discover about his past along the way?A moving adventure about the impact of plastic pollution on our seas, and the campaigning power of friendship from the award-winning Elizabeth Laird, illustrated by Peter Bailey.'Song of the Dolphin Boy is such a beautiful, important, heartfelt book. I loved every page' Lauren St John'A lively and inspiring tale of village life and the dangers to wildlife of releasing balloons' The Sunday Times

Welcome to Nowhere is a powerful and beautifully written story about the life of one family caught up in civil war by the award-winning author Elizabeth Laird, shortlisted for the Scottish Teen Book Award and winner of the UKLA Book Award.Twelve-year-old Omar and his brothers and sisters were born and raised in the beautiful and bustling city of Bosra, Syria. Omar doesn't care about politics - all he wants is to grow up to become a successful businessman who will take the world by storm. But when his clever older brother, Musa, gets mixed up with some young political activists, everything changes . . . Before long, bombs are falling, people are dying, and Omar and his family have no choice but to flee their home with only what they can carry. Yet no matter how far they run, the shadow of war follows them - until they have no other choice than to attempt the dangerous journey to escape their homeland altogether. But where do you go when you can't go home?'[Sings] with truth' - The Times'A muscular, moving, thought-provoking book' - Guardian'Humane and empathetic . . . an effective call to action' - The Sunday Times'Powerful, heart-breaking and compelling' - Scotsman

Crusade is a richly detailed historical adventure, from Carnegie shortlisted author, Elizabeth Laird.Two boys. Two faiths. One unholy war . . .When Adam's mother dies unconfessed, he pledges to save her soul with dust from the Holy Land. Employed as a dog-boy for the local knight, Adam grabs the chance to join the Crusade to reclaim Jerusalem. He burns with determination to strike down the infidel enemy . . .Salim, a merchant's son, is leading an uneventful life in the port of Acre - until news arrives that a Crusader attack is imminent. To keep Salim safe, his father buys him an apprenticeship with an esteemed, travelling doctor. But Salim's employment leads him to the heart of Sultan Saladin's camp - and into battle against the barbaric and unholy invaders . . .

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.

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.

Teen counselor Elizabeth Clark created this book for teens as a tool for initiating discussions on sensitive topics. In her research with teens and their world, she became aware of how things have changed for teens in the last 10 years. Internet access to porn, with its emotional disconnection in sexual encounters and distorted depictions of sexuality, has lead to a whole range of disturbing consequences. Elizabeth has devised a unique approach that speaks frankly to the reader without condescension or judgement. A 19-year-old girl is the book’s narrator. She warns and educates in a style teens will read more readily than conventional self-help books. Her narrator discusses privately and openly what she has learned about attraction, feeling sexual, setting limits, abusive situations, respecting yourself, and much more.

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.

Surveys of teens say they wish their parents would talk to them moreabout sex. Really! With all their access to everything sexual, why wouldthey care what you had to say? Because most of the stuff they areseeing on movies, TV and porn are fantasies being sold to them astruths. And when they try and emulate these fantasies in real life, theyare terribly disappointed and often injured by the experience.Written from the very-easy-to-read perspective of 19-year-old Hannah,Love, Sex and No Regrets For Today’s Teens investigates how sex reallyis for teens. It outlines how both girls and boys can understand andbegin to enjoy engaging with each other, rather than feeling pressuredto plunge headlong into unsatisfying and often harmful sexualrelationships. Love, Sex and No Regrets for Today’s Teens offers cleardirections in which girls can protect themselves, learn to speak up andfind out what it is they actually want or not want to do. It also offersinsights into boys’ expectations and feelings about sex.Love, Sex and No Regrets For Today’s Teens can be used as aninformation book for parents, and as a way to start discussions aboutsex with their teens. Additionally it can also be given to teens to readwhen parents feel they are ready.

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.

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?

Twelve-year-old Anna is looking forward to the birth of her baby brother. Ben arrives, but is disabled and will never be like other children. Anna loves him with her whole heart, but she finds herself unable to admit the truth of Ben's condition to her school friends. Eventually the truth gets out and leads not to the ridicule Anna expected, but to sympathy and understanding.An emotional and wonderfully written story by Elizabeth Laird, Red Sky in the Morning was Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal.