Onward

In this powerful collection of short stories, children around the world turn eleven and take a step into their futures. Each one is changed in ways both big and small. Annoyed at having to walk his sister's dog on his birthday, Connor heads into an undeveloped subdivision, where he comes across chilling evidence of a stranger's unhappiness. A girl sneaks away from her class camping trip to a local conservation area and experiences, for the first time, the terror and joy of fending for herself for the first time. Dom's brother gives him a special crystal to boost his confidence, and the gift conjures up a child laborer from the impoverished area of Madagascar where the stones were mined. Mysterious voices at the local county fair prompt Aislynn to think twice after her older sister dumps her for her high-school buddies. While volunteering at his local soup kitchen, Len discovers that there are bigger shames than having the class bully seeing you in a hairnet. And on an historic bridge in Budapest, Lazlo's dream of the perfect father-son birthday outing becomes a nightmare when his father introduces him to his Neo-Nazi friends.

The seated child. With a single powerful image, Deborah Ellis draws our attention to nine children and the situations they find themselves in, often through no fault of their own. In each story, a child makes a decision and takes action, be that a tiny gesture or a life-altering choice. Afar is a child laborer in a chair factory and longs to go to school. Sue sits on a swing as she and her brother wait to have a supervised visit with their father at the children's aid society. Gretchen considers the lives of concentration camp victims during a school tour of Auschwitz. Mike survives seventy-two days of solitary as a young offender. Barry squirms on a food court chair as his parents tell him that they are separating. Macie sits on a too-small time-out chair while her mother receives visitors for tea. Noosala crouches in a fetid, crowded apartment in Uzbekistan, waiting for an unscrupulous refugee smuggler to decide her fate. These children find the courage to face their situations in ways large and small, in this eloquent collection from a master storyteller.

From Deborah Ellis, the bestselling author of Sit and Step, comes a new short story collection about the moments when the adult world disappoints, and it's time to pick up … and Go. Brodie's parents and brother expect him to step up for Team Family, even when Team Family has no intention of returning the favor. Joanie is left to take a city bus for the first time with her impossibly cranky grandmother and learns to stand up for what she wants. Alone in a foreign country, without money, shelter or papers, Liberi steals an expensive purse from a tourist and then figures out what to do with his feelings of guilt. Bastien, the foster kid no one wants, discovers his own inner strength when a wildfire ravages the town. And Kelsey and his brother find themselves robbing graves in the middle of the night, but for the best possible reason. When the grownups turn their backs, the kids in these stories find a way to go forward. Sometimes it takes a little magical thinking. Sometimes a small act of bravery. Sometimes extending a hand to someone else. But always a realization that there is somewhere to go, if you pay attention, take action and refuse to give into the dark. Key Text Features biographical information epigraph short stories "I want to tell you a secret," his little sister said. She pulled on his arm until he bent down. "I'm practicing running," she whispered, and she put a finger to her lips. "When Daddy's not home. And you know what?" "What?" "Mommy practices with me." Simon straightened up and looked at his mother. Her head was still down but it was angled toward him, away from Boyfriend. It could have been a trick of the light, but Simon could swear he saw his mother wink. A run is about preparation, he remembered from the book. Get yourself ready and you'll be ready to go. His mom was getting herself ready. On your mark, get set ... From Deborah Ellis, the bestselling author of Sit and Step, comes a new short story collection about realizing when it's time to pick up … and Go. • STEP, SIT, GO: Go is a long-awaited companion volume to Deborah Ellis's previous short story collections, Sit (Groundwood; 2017) and Step (Groundwood; 2022), which were hailed as "beautifully wrought" by Booklist, "thought-provoking" by Publishers Weekly and "poignant and evocative" by the School Library Journal. Go is a thought-provoking addition to this critically acclaimed series. • FOR KIDS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES: Each story in Go is ultimately focused on a child's agency and empowerment through a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. The children in Go have faced violence, foster care, the criminal youth justice system and intergenerational conflict, but these circumstances are secondary to their own autonomy and decision-making. • HOW DO YOU TELL YOUR STORY?: The short stories in Go introduce readers to a wide range of narrative approaches. From ghost stories, to interwoven narratives, young readers will enjoy and identify different narrative styles - a key component of many primary language arts curriculums. Biographical information;epigraph;short stories