Books with author elizabeth Claire

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. No place is safe for Tara and her family. Twelve-year-old Tara Hawrami lives a normal life in Iraq—until the day she sees a boy, a Kurd like herself, get shot by soldiers in the street. But Tara still doesn’t realize just how dangerous life for the Kurds has become until the Iraqi secret police come for her father. Then her family must flee their home for the mountains of Kurdistan, but even there they are not safe. Iraqi bombs drive the Hawramis over the border into Iran, where they must live in a brutal refugee camp. Will they ever find a place they can truly call home again? * “Laird weaves compelling facts about the conflict between the Arabs and the Kurds into her gripping tale about one family’s escape to freedom.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “An exciting, behind-the-headlines story.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Eleven-year-old Solomon loves to run! The Ethiopian national team are his heroes and he dreams of being a gold-medal winner like themt. When his grandfather announces he's going to take Solomon to Addis Ababa, Solomon cannot believe his ears. His joy increases when he realizes that the Ethiopian running team will be in the city that day. But as Solomon follows his grandfather through the city, he learns something he cannot believe. The strict old man is a war hero who once risked his life to save a friend, and has been in hiding ever since. When grandfather collapses, Solomon must make a 20-mile run to home, his grandfather's life hanging in the balance. Can he do it?

The British Army is circling the stronghold of the King of Abyssinia. Its mission is to rescue the British Envoy, held prisoner. Watching with terror and awe is the king's young son, Alamayu. He knows that his father is as brave as a lion, but the fighting is cruel and efficient. By the time it is over, Alamayu is left without parents, throne or friends. In a misguided attempt to care for him, the British take Alamayu to England. There he is befriended by the Queen herself and enrolled at Rugby College to become a 'proper' English gentleman. What the English see as an honour is, to this lonely Ethiopian prince, terrifying and brutal.The Prince Who Walked With Lions is Alamayu's story, seen through his eyes: the battle, the journey to England and the trauma of an English public school as he tries to come to terms with the hand that fate has dealt him, skillfully told by Elizabeth Laird.

The lessons in This is Me workbook are a shining key to the child’s own world, identity, and needs. The variety of reinforcing activities explore questions about students’ native countries, families, feelings, food, and more. There’s even special cut-out alphabet cards and worksheets for a focus on alphabet recognition and formation. The flexible, sequenced materials do not depend on previous lessons and require no special training on behalf of the teacher.

This novel of unusual power for older boys and girls tells the gripping and dramatic story of homeless street children forced to do whatever they have to do in order to stay alive in the brutal slums of an Ethiopian city. The two main characters, Mamo and Dani, come from stable families but are hurled by circumstances beyond their control into the dangers and deprivations of street life. They find a makeshift way to survive when they are taken into a street gang led by a tough but likable boy named Million. The gang is composed of kids who have never known the security and happiness of family life. Children of our own culture, who take for granted the protections and comforts of home and family, will be shocked when they read this spellbinding story, but they will also learn about the deprivations, uncertainties, and sometimes the stark terror experienced today by too many Third World children. The story of Mamo and Dani, although alarming in its authenticity, is also an inspiring tale of courage and generosity in a world where danger and anxiety are the norm. (Ages 12 and older)

'It's good that I've found this secret place . . . No one can get to to me up there. It's totally safe.'In real life, Jake is never safe. He lives in constant fear of his mother's violent boyfriend. But in his imaginary tower he can dream up his own father - the stranger who gave him a cuddle and a fluffy duck the day he was born and went away for ever. Jake doesn't believe dreams ever come true. But sometimes they do - in strange and surprising ways.Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Jake's Tower by Elizabeth Laird is a powerful and moving novel that spotlights the issue of domestic abuse.

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 traveling doctor. But Salim’s employment leads him to the heart of Sultan Saladin’s camp—and into battle against the barbaric and unholy invaders.

A story of separation and the strength of family, Lost Riders is a powerful and thought-provoking novel from award-winning author Elizabeth Laird.Taken from their home in Pakistan to work in the Persian Gulf, eight-year-old Rashid and his little brother Shari cling to each other. Then they are separated and forced to become jockeys in the lucrative camel-racing business. Rashid is starved and worked to exhaustion by harsh supervisors - but he has a talent for racing and quickly becomes his stable's star jockey. Soon he begins to forget what life was like when he had a proper home. He almost begins to forget about Shari . . .