Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein

For forty-two days in 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil and his family struggle to survive as Basra, Iraq, is bombed by the United States and its allies.

"What strikes are the mundane aspects of the brief war: going out to play and explore a familiar but ruined neighborhood, the boredom and fear of awaiting scheduled airstrikes, living with uncertainty about loved ones returning home. Still, there’s room for optimism and humor despite Fadhil’s harrowing experience."—Booklist "Roy (Jars of Hope) and Fadhil, an interpreter during Hussein’s trial, offer a window into what Ali calls “the true Iraq” and a disturbing but accessible portrait of a civilian child’s perspective on war."-Publishers Weekly "This blending of biography, historical fiction, and realistic fiction paints a vivid portrait of daily family life in Iraq and the trials many faced."--School Library Journal —

“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.” Nujood Ali's childhood came to an abrupt end in 2008 when her father arranged for her to be married to a man three times her age. With harrowing directness, Nujood tells of abuse at her husband's hands and of her daring escape. With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom—an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. Nujood's courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has inspired other young girls in the Middle East to challenge their marriages. Hers is an unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage.

In 1939, the Germans invaded the town of Lodz, Poland, and moved the Jewish population into a small part of the city called a ghetto. As the war progressed, 270,000 people were forced to settle in the ghetto under impossible conditions. At the end of the war, there were 800 survivors. Of those who survived, only twelve were children. This is the story of Sylvia Perlmutter, one of the twelve.

Gecko doesn't want to go back to Juvenile Detention, but trouble somehow always finds him... Graham "Gecko" Fosse drove the getaway car for a robbery he didn't even know was going down. But that doesn't keep him out of Juvie — the worst place he has ever been. It's a place where its inmates, some convicted teenage killers, could easily write an encyclopedia on how to inflict pain. Thankfully, do-gooder Douglas Healy shows up, giving Gecko a chance to swap the slammer for a halfway house lived in by two other young criminals. There are just three crucial conditions — the three boys must stay in school and out of trouble, all while staying on Social Services' good side. Or else it's back to Juvie for all of them. But Terence seems bent on getting himself into trouble — the boys catch him sneaking down the fire escape, off to pull another heist. If only their fight hadn't gotten physical and Healy hadn't wound up in the hospital with amnesia. If only Gecko wasn't falling for a girl whose dad's best friend was the Deputy Police chief. And that's just the beginning of their problems. One thing's for certain: if the boys are found out, their second chance will be their last...

Reinforces both pattern identification and reading skills, stimulates critical thinking, and provides students with an understanding of math in the real world.

Saddam Hussein From his humble beginnings as a farmhand working on tribal Iraqi land to becoming the president of Iraq for more than two decades, Saddam Hussein

A boy with Asperger's Syndrome proves he's a genius.