DANGER ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE: Introducing D.L. Moody -- Fourteen-year-old Casey Watkins wants nothing more than to escape his family's dreary, bare-bones life in the Philadelphia of 1893. When he learns of an opening in Adam Forepaugh's Circus, it seems like the perfect escape, and he convinces his mother and sister to join with him. Then "The Flying Eugenes," a family of trapeze artists, offer Casey a role in their death-defying act, and he is elated. Flying on the trapeze is more exciting than he ever dreamed The pressure is on-Casey has only a few weeks to learn the act before the circus...

THE RUNAWAY'S REVENGE, Introducing John Newton -- Thirteen-year-old slave Hamilton Jones seizes his freedom when his cruel master dies on a trip to England in 1775. Driven by a desire for revenge after years of mistreatment, the boy hunts down former slave trader John Newton-the man responsible for bringing Hamilton's mother to the United States. Hamilton wants only one thing: to make the man pay with his life for his evil crime But the John Newton that Hamilton meets is nothing like the horrible person he imagined. Instead of reacting with fear when threatened with death, the little man...

THE THIEVES OF TYBURN SQUARE, Introducing Elizabeth Fry -- Betsey and Loren Maxwell are on their own in early nineteenth-century England after their mother is deported to New South Wales for stealing two silver candlesticks. Faced with few options, the young Maxwells are forced to live and work in a gloomy London workhouse. Betsey and her brother have a terrible time enduring the harsh treatment and strict rules of the workhouse overseers. Then Loren sees an opportunity to escape, and the pair soon find themselves back on the dangerous streets of London-with only a stolen pouch of money to...

THE MAYFLOWER SECRET, Introducing Governor William Bradford -- Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Tilley and her family have been waiting for this day for months-the day the Mayflower sets sail from England. The late start means uncertain weather and a long, hard journey for everyone. But the trip seems especially rough for Dorothy Bradford, the frail young wife of William Bradford. One night, Elizabeth discovers Dorothy alone on deck. Thinking the woman wants to be alone, Elizabeth returns to bed. But the next morning, she awakes to the news that Dorothy has disappeared Afraid that William...

ASSASSINS IN THE CATHEDRAL, Introducing Festo Kivengere -- With the help of Uganda's famous evangelist Festo Kivengere, Yacobo Kabaza and his family move to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where Yacobo's father will be the new driver for Archbishop Luwum. As part of the cathedral's upcoming Centennial celebration, the archbishop asks Yacobo, an aspiring author, to write a play about the legendary three boys who became Uganda's first Christian martyrs. The young teenager is thrilled. However, the growing reign of terror of General Idi Amin and his "Special Forces," who falsely suspect the church...

QUEST FOR THE LOST PRINCE, Introducing Samuel Morris -- When the dying Kru king offers a ransom for his missing son, fourteen-year-old Jova determines to find Prince Kaboo, no matter what the danger. Without a prince to take the old king's place, his people will almost surely be defeated by their long-time enemies, the Grebos And as a former captive of the cruel Grebos, there is nothing Jova fears more. But Jova has a secret advantage over the other young warriors who set out on the dangerous quest-he knows where to look for the missing prince Only Jova followed Prince Kaboo when he...

THE WARRIOR'S CHALLENGE, Introducing David Zeisberber -- When white settlers force a group of Moravian Indians to abandon their thriving Pennsylvania town in 1772, thirteen-year-old Joseph Shabosh and his crippled friend David Heckstein leave with them. As unalike as the two boys are, both long for their lives to be different: Joseph dreams of a warrior's life of adventure, and David of being less of a burden on his mother. But the peaceful Moravians are not alone as they make their way west. Shadowy figures are spotted slipping among the trees along the trail-Mohegan warriors A meeting with...

MASK OF THE WOLF BOY, Introducing Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth -- In the Chinese city of Changte, Chou Fu-lin is known simply as "Wolf Boy." Plagued by recurring nightmares of a childhood accident, Fu-lin hides more than his face behind his carefully tied bandana. Still, he enjoys his job as a house servant for Canadian missionaries Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth, and has recently become a Christian himself, joining their growing church. The Wolf Boy's faith is soon put to the test with the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The Goforths are forced to flee the country, and Fu-lin gladly...