About this item
In the tradition of The War That Saved My Life and Stella By Starlight, this poignant novel in verse based on true events tells the story of a boy's harrowing experience on a lifeboat after surviving a torpedo attack during World War II.With Nazis bombing London every night, it's time for thirteen-year-old Ken to escape. He suspects his stepmother is glad to see him go, but his dad says he's one of the lucky ones - one of ninety boys and girls to ship out aboard the SS City of Benares to safety in Canada. Life aboard the luxury ship is grand - nine-course meals, new friends, and a life far from the bombs, rations, and his stepmum's glare. And after five days at sea, the ship's officers announce that they're out of danger. They're wrong. Late that night, an explosion hurls Ken from his bunk. They've been hit. Torpedoed! The Benares is sinking fast. Terrified, Ken scrambles aboard Lifeboat 12 with five other boys. Will they get away? Will they survive? Award-winning author Susan Hood brings this little-known World War II story to life in a riveting novel of courage, hope, and compassion. Based on true events and real people, Lifeboat 12 is about believing in one another, knowing that only by banding together will we have any chance to survive.
About the Author
Brand-new for 2017 is DOUBLE TAKE: A NEW LOOK AT OPPOSITES, illustrated by Jay Fleck and published by Candlewick. This topsy-turvy rhyming concept book explodes the notion of simple opposites by introducing relative terms and perspective, showing kids how point of view can affect what you see. "A powerful and timely message," says School Library Journal. "Highly recommended."
2016 was a busy year with four new picture books, starting with LEAPS AND BOUNCE, illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Hyperion) . Kirkus Reviews said, "The life cycle of a frog becomes a joyful, energetic celebration of growing up." Named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year.
Susan's first nonfiction picture book - ADA'S VIOLIN: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay - won the Bank Street Flora Steiglitz Straus Award for distinguished nonfiction; received the Christopher Medal; and was named an E.B. White Picture Book Award honoree. Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport, this is the extraordinary true tale of children living on a garbage dump in one of the poorest slums in South America and the man who saved them by creating musical instruments from the trash. Profiled on 60 Minutes, the children formed an orchestra and are now performing around the world! In a starred review, School Library Journal called the book "a virtuoso piece of nonfiction, gloriously told and illustrated." Available from Simon and Schuster in both English and Spanish editions.
MISSION: BACK TO SCHOOL, illustrated in adorable watercolors by Mary Lundquist and
published by Random House, received a starred review in Kirkus and was named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year.
THE FIX-IT MAN with illustrations from Arree Chung of NINJA fame (HarperCollins) is perfect for young builders, tinkerers and inventors and fans of MakerSpaces.
Looking ahead, January, 2018 brings a new nonfiction picture book from HarperCollins and in the fall, Susan's first middle grade novel to be published by Simon and Schuster. For more information, check Susan's website:
susanhoodbooks.com.
