The first book to fully recognise and tell the tale of the efforts of the Lumberjills - the Women's Timber Corps - during the Second World War

A true story of the female lumberjacks who helped save Great Britain's war effort. In World War II, Great Britain needed lumber to make planes, ships, and even newspapers—but there weren't enough men to cut down the trees. Enter the fearless Lumber Jills! These young women may not have had much woodcutting experience, but they each had two hands willing to work and one stout heart, and they came together to do their part. Discover this lyrical story of home front heroism and female friendship.

When war was declared in 1939, Britain was almost completely dependent on imported timber – but only had seven months of it stockpiled. Timber was critical to the war effort: it was needed for everything from aircraft and shipbuilding to communications and coal mining. The British timber trade was in trouble. Enter the Lumberjills. Lacking in both men and timber, the government made a choice. Reluctantly, they opened lumber work for women to apply – and apply they did. The Women's Timber Corps had thousands of members who would prove themselves as strong and as smart as any man: they felled and crosscut trees by hand, operated sawmills, and ran whole forestry sites. They may not have been on the front line, but they fought their own battles on the home front for respect and equality. And in the midst of heavy labour and wartime, they lived a life, making firm friends and even finding soulmates. In Lumberjills, researcher Joanna Foat tells their story for the first time, and gives them the recognition they so truly deserve.

“A glowing story of friendship, growth, and a steadfast first love, as teenage Maisie negotiates the forests of the heart and of World War II Scotland with equal determination.” —Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Code Name Verity A romantic historical YA novel featuring strong female characters from the acclaimed author of Wait for Me. It’s 1942, and as the war rages in Europe, Maisie McCall is in the Scottish Highlands swinging an axe for the Women’s Timber Corps. Maisie relishes her newfound independence working alongside other lumberjacks—including the mysterious John Lindsay. As Maisie and John work side by side felling trees together, Maisie can’t help but feel that their friendship has the spark of something more to it. And yet every time she gets close to him, John pulls away. It’s not until Maisie rescues John from a terrible logging accident that he begins to open up to her about the truth of his past, and the pain he’s been hiding. Suddenly everything is more complicated than Maisie expected. And as she helps John untangle his shattered history, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart to help heal his. But in a world devastated by war, love might be the only thing left that can begin to heal what’s broken.

2024 Garden State Children's Book Award Nominee 2023 Finalist AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Tu Youyou's malaria treatment saved millions of lives, and she became the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize. Tu Youyou had been interested in science and medicine since she was a child, so when malaria started infecting people all over the world in 1969, she went to work finding a treatment. Trained as a medical researcher in college and healed by traditional medicine techniques when she was young, Tu Youyou started experimenting with natural Chinese remedies. The treatment she discovered through years of research and experimentation is still used all over the world today.

Perfect for fans of Code Name Verity and The Girl in the Blue Coat, Wait for Me, from debut author Caroline Leech, brings a fresh new voice, and a perfect blend of sweet romance and historical fiction, to a much-loved genre. It’s 1945, and Lorna Anderson’s life on her father’s farm in Scotland consists of endless chores and rationing, knitting Red Cross scarves, and praying for an Allied victory. So when Paul Vogel, a German prisoner of war, is assigned as the new farmhand, Lorna is appalled. How can she possibly work alongside the enemy when her own brothers are risking their lives for their country? But as Lorna reluctantly spends time with Paul, she feels herself changing. The more she learns about him—from his time fighting a war he doesn’t believe in, to his life back home in Germany—the more she sees the boy behind the soldier. Soon Lorna is battling her own warring heart. Loving Paul could mean losing her family and the life she’s always known. With tensions rising all around them, Lorna must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice before the end of the war determines their fate.

It has, most definitely, been A Beauuutiful Life for Bill Grigsby, a Kansas City icon and Grand Master of Ceremony. No one can paint a more illustrious image of Midwestern sports and its famous and not-so-famous participants than the man affectionately known as Grigs. From humble beginnings during the Depression through his war years as a code breaker to his development as a colorful broadcaster in Major League Baseball and the National Football League, Bill Grigsby is the supreme storyteller who crosses the generational timeline. He was there when Mickey Mantle took his first professional swing, when a brash entrepreneur by the name of Charlie Finley bought the A's, and when a reserved dreamer named Lamar Hunt came to Kansas City. Along the way his path has crossed with a virtual Who's Who of several Halls of Fame: George Brett, Lenny Dawson, Tom Watson, Whitey Herzog, Joe Montana, Dan Devine, Dick the Brusier, Phog Allen, Marcus Allen, George Toma, Roy Williams, Hank Stram, and even Baby Doe, the women's world champion midget wrestler from South Africa. Even Grigs himself is in two Halls--he Missouri Sports hall of Fame and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Grigs has had not one single full-time job during his life, but more than 40, from fertilizer salesman to federal deputy to big-league broadcaster. His loyalty and longevity, through, are legend. He was there for the beginning of the Kansas City Sportshow, now more than a half-century old, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who came to town in the 1960s. To this day he remains a vital part of both organizations. No one, in fact, has longer tenure as an NFL broadcaster than Grigs, who first began to imagine himself asa sportscaster during the 1930s in Lawrence, Kansas. Bill Grigsby grew up in a desperate time, but it forged a man who, along with Fran, his wife of more than 50 years, created a beautiful family and A Beauuutiful Life.

The first novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Jan Karon’s beloved series set in America’s favorite small town: Mitford. It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy about ordinary people and their ordinary lives.

Historical fiction inspired by the War Office response to the Nazi obsession with the occult Step forward Daphne Devine - you are about to change the course of the war ‘A breathtaking historical thriller.’ Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key 'Vivid and thoroughly entertaining... More, please.' Guardian, best crime and thrillers June 1940. As World War Two rages, Daphne Devine remains in London, performing each night as assistant to stage magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka the Grand Mystique. Then the secret service call. For, aware of Hitler’s belief in the occult, the war office has set up a hidden cohort to exploit this quirk in the enemy’s chain of command. Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison. Here, they join secret ranks of occultists, surrealists, and other eccentrics co-opted to the war effort. There is one goal: to avert invasion on British shores. Soon Daphne realises she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country 'Quirky, clever and compelling.' Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl 'A rattling good read.' Barbara Nadel, author of Belshazzar's Daughter

The first in a heartwarming saga series set during the Second World War. Perfect for fans of Pam Howes and Elaine Everest. 1942 Working in the greengrocers and playing the piano in the pub a couple of nights a week isn't fulfilling nineteen-year-old Trixie Smith's idea of helping Britain win the war. One day she sees a poster advertising the Women's Timber Corps and decides to sign up - soon she is on her way to Scotland for four weeks of training to become a Lumberjill. On her journey north she meets Cy, an American soldier on leave. Their attraction is instant and they both feel that fate has brought them together. Although their time with one another is brief, they promise that they'll be together as soon as the war is over. But training to become a Lumberjill is hard; working in all weathers, felling trees and hauling timber is dangerous and exhausting. Luckily Trixie quickly makes friends with three of her fellow Lumberjills. Each of them has different reasons for signing up and travelling far from home, but running away from your problems doesn't make them disappear.