Historical Survival Stories

Orphaned in Poland at the age of 13, Tadeusz "Tad" Haska survived World War II on the run, narrowly evading the Nazis every step of the way. After the war, he daringly escaped jail from the Soviet Secret Police, fled to Sweden, and launched an elaborate plan to smuggle his wife in a coffin on an all-male naval ship. Discover how Tad's knowledge of nine languages helped him survive in the face of unspeakable adversity.

A moving story, wrapped in humor, about love, loss, and hope in one of history’s darkest hours. 1933. Hitler’s rise to power in Germany marks the beginning of the end for the Jews of Europe. For little newborn Yaakov, this is only the beginning. Hungary, 1944. 11-year-old Yaakov and his parents and younger sister are forced out of their home into the unknown. They find themselves in the ghetto, living under impossible conditions, until they are banished by the Nazis to Bergen Belsen concentration camp through Austria, what might be their final destination.

One bright spring morning in the woods of France, a soldier, blinded by the war, is found by a little girl named Coco, and her older sister Marcelle. In return for their kindness, the soldier tells the sisters marvelous tales, each story connected to the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a perfect, tiny, silver donkey.

Master storyteller Tom Palmer returns with a deeply moving and beautifully told novel of friendship and belonging, inspired by the incredible true story of the Windermere Boys.

"The best children’s fiction book I’ve yet read about the Holocaust" – Tim Robertson...

The Castaways finds Tom Tin and four other convicts drifting on the ocean when they come upon an empty ship. Shortly after, they also encounter two men who appear to be refugees from the abandoned vessel. But these two are not what they seem, and they become an obstacle for Tom as he travels home.

After 13-year-old Hertz endures World War II, he must now survive Berlin’s devastation. With only Father’s violin as comfort, Hertz scrounges for food with his older sister Elsa, best friend Jakub from Poland, and fellow Berliners. Meanwhile, Soviet soldiers police the streets and blockade people from traveling to the American-controlled areas of Berlin.

War has forced Omar and his mother to leave their home in Afghanistan and venture across the sea to Europe. When their boat sinks, and Omar finds himself alone, with no hope of rescue, it seems as if his story has come to an end. But it is only just beginning. Because in the end, a little hope makes a big difference....

When one of their friends is captured and sold into slavery in the land of the Rus, the children of the old chieftain and their comrades decide to risk everything to rescue him. Little do they know what awaits them when they embark on the Viking ship, the Eagle. In addition to the dangers of the sea voyage, they must face the villainy of a traitor, marauding pirates, and robbers, before they end up in a seemingly hopeless situation as slaves in a quarry.

Demetrio è stato incarcerato con la gravissima accusa di far parte di una congiura contro l'Imperatore Nerone, ma per proteggere la sua amica Clelia ha deciso di rinunciare alla propria difesa. La ragazza, infatti, nasconde un segreto che mette in pericolo non solo la sua vita, ma anche quella di molte altre persone.

En este bellísimo relato se narran las aventuras que vive Ulises navegando por el mar Mediterráneo. Enormes tempestades azotan su nave porque el dios del mar, Poseidón, no le quiere nada. Sin embargo, le protege la diosa de la sabiduría, Atenea. Mientras tanto, en su tierra, la isla Ítaca, le están esperando su fiel esposa, Penélope, y su hijo Telémaco, que irá en busca de noticias suyas.

Hojae Jin is a senior at Tenafly High School in New Jersey. Kevin Kang is a senior at a high school in Rockland County, New York. David Yun is a senior at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey. This book is crucial for understanding the experiences of Korean-American youth. Listeners will share in joys and sorrows of the Korean immigration experience.

Bloodied and barely conscious, a teenage boy wakes up at the side of a railway track in the middle of nowhere. It’s night and the dead of winter–bone-chillingly cold. Where he is and how he got there, he doesn’t remember. Nor does he remember anything else for that matter–not even his own name. The only clue left behind is a backpack covered in a foot of snow lying next to him. The one thing he knows for sure is that if he doesn’t get up and start moving, he’s going to freeze to death.

Cook, an 18th-century explorer, lived during a time when humankind was yet naive and inexperienced in terms of understanding their environment. His legacy is quite astounding, given the fact that mankind had only begun to develop instrumentation. The people from Europe had never before seen Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, nor crossed the Antarctic circle.

Green Leaf's cousins are all older than he and they don't like to play fair. He longs for a friend his own age he can play with, explore and fish with. When he meets a Luxembourger boy, Henri, Green Leaf is sure they could become friends, but Henri's words are strange to Green Leaf. How can they play and explore together?