Iain Lawrence

A young boy gradually comes to understand the difference between his toy soldiers and the bloodshed of the First World War in this poignant story. Ten-year-old Johnny loves the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. Johnny eagerly plays at war, demolishing imaginary foes. But in 1914, war with Germany looms, and all too soon Johnny's father is swept up in the war to end all wars as he proudly enlists to fight at the front in France. Johnny believes his father will be back in a few months, in time to celebrate Christmas with him and his mum. But the war is nothing like any soldier or person at home expected. It is brutal and horrific. The letters that arrive from Johnny's dad reveal the ugly realities of combat -- and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars. Still, Johnny adds these soldiers to his armies of Huns, Tommies, and Frenchmen, engaging them in furious battle out in the muddy garden. His war games bind him to the father he longs to see again. But when these games seem to foretell his dad's real battles, Johnny thinks he possesses godlike powers over his wooden men.He fears he controls his father's fate, the lives of all the soldiers in no-man's-land, and the outcome of the war itself. In this haunting and poignant tale, Iain Lawrence explores the irrationality of war and its effect on lives that are all too fragile.

Caníbales que guisan vivos a los marineros o piratas sanguinarios ávidos de tesoros. Abordo del "Dragón", John Spencer teme encontrarse con grandes peligros. Inexpertos marineros, llenos de supersticiones y con pasados oscuros, acompañan al joven comerciante por el mar Caribe. A pesar de su inexperienciaJohn va a tener que tomar arriesgadas decisiones y enfrentarse al mas temible barco pirata.

Harold se siente discriminado por el color de su piel: es demasiado blanco y todos se meten con él porque parece un fantasma. Un día decide unirse al circo que pasa por su pueblo, ya que cree que entre gente de aspecto "raro" puede llegar a encajar. Alli descubrira que siempre hay gente que señala y margina a los que son diferentes; y que los verdaderos monstruos lo son por dentro, bajo un aspecto normal e incluso atractivo.

"Guardaros de ese barco, os arrastrará a la muerte. Es el sino de un navío bautizado con sangre". Éste es el siniestro comentario que se hace sobre la goleta en la cual John Spencer está a punto de embarcar. Antaño fue un barco contrabandista; y ahora que "el Dragon" pertenece a los Spencer, se dedicara al comercio legal de mercancias. Pero, ¿acaso puede una nave habituada al contrabando resignarse a ser destinada a otros fines?