A new wartime classic from two legends of children's literature! Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman have teamed up with the British Legion to tell a new story inspired by the history of the poppy. When John McCrae wrote his famous poem "In Flanders Field" among the trenches of war-torn Belgium, neither he nor a local village girl who saves a discarded draft of it could know what enormous power that poem would have on generations to come.
A restless wife. A handsome suitor. Will she say yes? When her husband, Phil, decided to become a missionary in Guatemala, his decision turns Katherine’s comfortable life in Indiana upside down. Trying to be a supportive spouse, she organizes the move and packs up the kids. Now, the family must adjust to life in colorful Guatemala, a land of coffee plantations, peasant farmers, and archeological sites, but also a land of narco-trafficking and armed men. Katherine soon finds herself living in a rundown rural house with cold showers and a primitive kitchen. Summoning an inner resilience, she shifts her attention to homeschooling two unhappy children. With her husband absent for days at a time, she accepts help from their wealthy Latino neighbor. Suave and debonair, he educates her about Guatemala’s history and social problems and even offers financial assistance. With romance on the horizon, she and the children move into his mansion. But beneath his politeness and charm, she glimpses a darker past. Her husband is oblivious, and her suitor won’t wait forever. As the net closes around her, Katherine must find a way to free them all from this dangerous entanglement. If you like fast-paced, character-driven fiction with a dash of romance, crime, and family drama, then you’ll love Caroline Kellems’ novel about a mother caught between being faithful to her husband and faithful to her own desires. Buy The Poppy Field and tremble with the heat of rising passion and the chill of impending disaster.
Poppy is young, beautiful and clever – and working as a parlourmaid in the de Vere family's country house. Society, it seems, has already carved out her destiny. But Poppy's life is about to be thrown dramatically off course. The first reason is love – with someone forbidden, who could never, ever marry a girl like her. The second reason is war. As the lists of the dead and wounded grow longer, Poppy must do whatever she can to help the injured soldiers, knowing all the while that her own soldier may never return home . . .
A murder reveals a secret that throws two families into chaos in this riveting thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of A Thousand Lies. First the hospital calls to tell Poppy Sadler that her mother’s battle with cancer is finally over. Then the police appear on her doorstep, informing her that her father’s murdered body has just been pulled from the river. In five minutes, both of Poppy’s parents are dead and her whole world spins out of control . . . Across the river, Justin Caulfield has a crisis of his own. A deadly disease is stealing his daughter’s life and not even his vast fortune can save her. Then a person he’s always trusted names a price he never knew he owed. Betrayed and running out of time, Justin learns that twenty years of lies may have just cost him his soul . . . A gripping story of long-buried sins and secrets, A Field of Poppies reveals a new dimension to New York Times–bestselling author Sharon Sala’s considerable talents. “Sala’s characters are well realized and vivid.” —Publishers Weekly “A memorable and nostalgic story of deceit and lies surrounding a young woman.” —Fresh Fiction
For Hollywood influencer Poppy Fields, life is almost perfect. She wakes to sip coffee at her beachside bungalo, lunches with pretty people, and her name is on the list at all the right night clubs. Also, she shops. Like, a lot. When Poppy travels to Mexico, with six bulging suitcases in tow, she's ready for anything-sunbathing by breath-taking infinity pools, gourmet meals at five-star restaurants, glittering parties on patios overlooking the Pacific. Too bad she didn't pack for a deadly adventure. But then again, what does one wear for murder? Or kidnapping? Or meeting a Chihuahua with the heart of a lion? Turns out Poppy is more than just a Hollywood golden girl. But with death lurking around every corner, she'll need smarts, acting skills, and a lot of luck to make it back to Rodeo Drive.
The first in an epic trilogy, Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies is "a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas, but moments also of Tolstoyan penetration--and a drop or two of Dickensian sentiment" (The Observer [London]). At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton. With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, Sea of Poppies is "a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott" (Vogue).
Keen to escape the pressures of city life, Marsali Swift and her husband William are drawn to Listowel, a glorious historic mansion in the seemingly tranquil small town of Muckleton. There is time to read, garden, decorate, play chess and befriend the locals. Yet one night Listowel is robbed, and soon after a neighbour is murdered. The violent history of the couple’s adopted Goldfields town is revealed, and plans for a new goldmine emerge. Subtle and sinister details unnerve : the novels that are studied at book club echo disappearances and colonial transgressions, a treasured copy painting painting of Monet‘s Field of Poppies recalls loves and dreams but also times of war. Atmospheric and beguiling this is a novel the seduces the reader with mysteries and beauties but also speaks of something much larger. The planet is in trouble, but is the human race up to the challenge? Are Marsali and William walking blindfold into a hostile world? ‘It celebrates the human catastrophe with grace and charm. It takes years of experience for a writer to be able to pull off this kind of sorcery.’ — Michael McGirr ‘Carmel Bird has a gift for distilling the essence of her characters and locations and bringing them together in wonderfully unexpected ways. Her distinctive voice and lightness of touch shine in this penetrating and evocative novel.’ — Michael Sala
Here is the inspiring story behind the Veterans Day red poppy, a symbol that honors the service and sacrifices of our veterans. When American soldiers entered World War I, Moina Belle Michael, a schoolteacher from Georgia, knew she had to act. Some of the soldiers were her students and friends. Almost single-handedly, Moina worked to establish the red poppy as the symbol to honor and remember soldiers. And she devoted the rest of her life to making sure the symbol would last forever. Thanks to her hard work, that symbol remains strong today. Author Barbara Elizabeth Walsh and artist Layne Johnson worked with experts, primary documents, and Moina's great-nieces to better understand Moina's determination to honor the war veterans. A portion of the book's proceeds will support the National Military Family Association's Operation Purple®, which benefits children of the US Military.
