THE FORTY-ACRE SWINDLE, Introducing George Washington Carver -- To fourteen-year-old Jesse Turner, being "free" in Alabama in 1898 doesn't seem much better than slavery. The Turners' forty-acre farm-given to them by the government following the Civil War-is exhausted from growing cotton, they face overwhelming debt, and trouble from prejudiced neighbors makes life difficult and frightening. It seems the only solution is to sell the land and begin sharecropping. But they find new hope in the teachings of George Washington Carver, a Christian agriculturist who travels the South helping fellow...

CAUGHT IN THE REBEL CAMP, Introducing Frederick Douglass -- The Civil War has just begun, and the controversy between the North and the South continues to heat up. Everybody seems to be getting into the action-except for Danny Sims. Danny wants nothing more than to fight with the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, Frederick Douglass's newly formed black regiment. But his young age and a lame foot keep Danny from enlisting. The boy feels good for nothing until Frederick Douglass recommends Danny as the caretaker of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw's horses. Danny knows the importance of this task,...

RISKING THE FORBIDDEN GAME, Introducing Maude Cary -- For Jamal and Hameem, The Game starts out as a fun and daring contest between the two young boys to see who can collect more items belonging to the "enemy"--the French soldiers who are keeping Morocco from gaining its independence. For a Muslim to be seen with anything belonging to the infidels is among the most punishable of sins, but the excitement of The Game calls to the adventurous boys, who even risk swiping belongings right off of the French soldiers. The Game becomes more risky when Jamal begins collecting pictures from the...

BLINDED BY THE SHINING PATH, Introducing Romulo Saune -- Bandits are a regular threat to the small Peruvian village Alfredo Garcia lives in. Government protection is scarce and the police never enforce the law. So the village men take it upon themselves to defend their village, but return unsuccessful when Alfredo's father is killed. Rico, Alfredo's brother, joins the Communist Shining Path guerrillas hoping to avenge their father's death. But the terrorists prove to be more dangerous than the bandits they promised to protect the villaters from, and it's not long before they begin killing...

EXILED TO THE RED RIVER, Introducing Chief Spokane Garry -- A great sickness has swept through the Indian nations, killing several of the Spokane tribe and many others from neighboring tribes. The faith of the Spokane is nearly broken when they realize the smallpox epidemic has killed those who believe in the Creator of All as well as those who don't believe in Him. How can evil men live while good men die? Why should they continue to obey the Creator's laws if He takes away innocent lives? But when white-skinned men arrive with the Leaves of Life-a book telling how to get to heaven-the...