A young Englishman embarks on history’s most daring naval assault Thomas Spyre wields his rapier like an expert, but his blade has never drawn blood. A surgeon’s apprentice in Elizabethan London, young Thomas spends his days learning the most modern medical techniques—from amputation to bloodletting—and by night he tries to keep his master from gambling away their earnings at bear fights. When a bad bet leaves their purse emptier than ever before, Thomas fears they are destined for the poorhouse. But a strange stroke of luck is about to whisk them away from England toward one of the greatest adventures of all time. Thomas and his master are called upon by Sir Francis Drake, the legendary swashbuckler, to accompany him on a daring raid of the Spanish port of Cadiz. As a surgeon aboard the ship, Thomas will have to learn the nature of manhood, medicine, battle, and espionage—all while the cannons fire.

Book Three in the critically acclaimed The Fire Sermon trilogy—The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in this richly imagined post-apocalyptic series by award-winning poet Francesca Haig. The apocalypse has come and gone, and now every person is born a twin: one a strong Alpha, one a mutated Omega. The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts. The only thing that keeps the Alphas at bay is the fact that whenever one twin dies, so does the other. In this thrilling conclusion to The Fire Sermon trilogy, Cass, Piper, and Zoe have discovered that Elsewhere exists, and it’s more real and more complicated than any of them could have imagined. Now, they must race to prevent the Alphas from destroying what might be the only salvation for the Omegas. The end to their lifelong discrimination is in sight, but before she can be free, Cass must overcome her loyalty to her Alpha twin, Zach, her most dangerous enemy. But if they’re not careful, both will die in the struggle for power.

Thirteen-year-old Dan Dobson and his family have just immigrated to Upper Canada from the American States when the War of 1812 flares up. Their neighbours in the town of York -- today's Toronto -- suspect them of spying for the Americans, but the Dobsons are loyal to Britain and determined to remain in York. Dan's dream is to sail with the British frigate Sir Isaac Brock which he and his father are helping to build. He sees war as an exciting adventure -- that is until he gets his first taste of battle on the day the American forces invade York. Fire Ship is a fast-moving historical novel for young people that brings the War of 1812 to life in a way that only Marianne Brandis can. The attention to detail and acute historical sensibility that so distinguished Brandis's `Emma' trilogy are in full evidence once again. From the opening scene of Fire Ship in which Dan paddles across the silent bay towards Toronto Island to the graphic scenes of cannon fire and rough military doctoring in Fort York, Brandis invites us to experience Toronto exactly as it was in 1813. She also introduces us to a strong new character in Dan who grapples with issues of loyalty and nationality and the brutality of war. `The story must work as a story; it must not be a sugar-coated history lesson,' Brandis says of her approach to historical fiction. `My goal is to give fiction the verisimilitude of fact, and to touch fact with the colour and vivacity of fiction.'

The true story of one of the greatest tragedies in New York history On June 15, 1904, the steamship General Slocum was heading from Manhattan to Long Island Sound when a fire erupted in one of the storage rooms. Faced with an untrained crew, crumbling life jackets, and inaccessible lifeboats, hundreds of terrified passengers--few of which were experienced swimmers--fled into the water. By the time the captain found a safe shore for landing, more than 1000 people had perished. It was New York’s deadliest tragedy prior to September 11, 2001. The only book available on this compelling chapter in the city’s history, Ship Ablaze draws on firsthand accounts to examine why the death toll was so high, how the city responded, and why this event failed to achieve the infamy of the Titanic’s 1912 demise or the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Masterfully capturing both the horror of the event and heroism of men, women, and children aboard the ship as the inferno spread, historian Edward T. O’Donnell brings to life a bygone community while honoring the victims of that forgotten day.

From prehistory to the present-day conservation movement, Pyne explores the efforts of successive American cultures to master wildfire and to use it to shape the landscape.

* “A hundred years from now, when people want to know what we told our children about 9/11, Kalman's book should be among the first answers.”—Booklist, starred review * “Intelligently conveys those unfathomable events in a way that a picture book audience can comprehend. . . . With this inspiring book, Kalman sensitively handles a difficult subject in an age-appropriate manner.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review * “Fireboat does many things. It sets forth an adventure, helps commemorate an anniversary, offers an interesting bit of history, celebrates the underdog, and honors the fire-fighting profession. Children and adults will respond to it in as many ways.”—School Library Journal, starred review * “Exciting, uplifting, and child-sensitive. . . . Revisits the tragedy without the terror and conveys pride without preachiness."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review * “Quintessential New York artist Kalman gives us an idiosyncratic but informative look at a Big Apple institution. . . . Kalman’s use of the events of September 11 is honest and honorable, and rarely is she as straightforward as she is here.”—The Horn Book, starred review This is the inspiring true story of the John J. Harvey—a retired New York City fireboat reinstated on September 11, 2001. Originally launched in 1931, the Harvey was the most powerful fireboat of her time. After the September 11 attacks, with fire hydrants at Ground Zero inoperable and the Hudson River's water supply critical to fighting the blaze, the fire department called on the Harvey for help. There were adjustments—forcing water into hoses by jamming soda bottles and wood into nozzles with a sledgehammer—and then the fireboat's volunteer crew pumped much-needed water to the disaster site. The John J. Harvey proved she was still one of New York's Bravest! Maira Kalman brings a New York City icon to life, celebrating the energy, vitality and hope of a place and its people.