<p>The setting is Munich, Germany, November 8-9, 1923, Hitler's failed putsch. Fourteen-year-old Klaus is celebrating the occasion of his birthday quietly with his father in their simple apartment. His father had been a captain in the German Army during World War I and his heartfelt gift to his son is the pocket watch that had saved his own life in battle. Now Germany is in a time of economic disaster and political turmoil, a time when a loaf of bread costs billions of marks and revolution is more probable than not. Although adolescent Klaus is aware of the political instability and feels danger for his father who works for the head of the Social Democratic Party, which is hated by the members of the Nazi Party, he naively hopes that his father's past military service and record, his affirmation of nationalism, might be a buffer to danger. For young Klaus, Germany's problems are still external. His good friend, Fritz, knows everything, especially about cars, and has a sister, Anna. Klaus is learning English from watching Tom Mix movies and wants to go to America to become an actor. Wondrously, he has just watched a stage rehearsal of Hedda Gabler. But on the way home from the rehearsal his life changes abruptly. Klaus is caught in a wild crossfire and wounded during Hitler's attempted putsch. Later, Hitler's brown-shirted Storm Troopers break into the apartment looking for his father. With his own life threatened, he knows that he must lie to save his father, but he is afraid to open his mouth for fear of bungling the job. Innocence was left behind in yesterday's youth. Michael Hagen writes with a fluidity and beauty that makes Klaus an unforgettable story for teenagers.</p>

Klaus

Children's Books

Hagen, Michael

Literature & Fiction

Royal Fireworks Pr

Teen & Young Adult

Queen Anne of England has declared war on France because the grandson of King Louis XIV has become the king of Spain. Louis the XIV aims to combine the power of the Spanish and the French against the English and the Dutch to dominate the world's trade. 1702, New York Colony. When Jack Slate, the famous pirate, arrives at Jemmy's father's farm to ask him to join the crew of his ship the Annalise as mate, thirteen-year-old Jemmy is part of his father's driven bargain. The men have sailed together before, and now Slate is a commissioned privateer sailing under the English flag to plunder French and Spanish ships for a prize. Jemmy's father has the sea in his blood, but does not want to leave his son on the farm alone. Jemmy, about the same height as his father, looks to be 16 or 17, wants to be a sailor, speaks and writes both English and Dutch and is excellent with arithmetic. Through Jemmy's eyes we see the larger details of the ship and unique crew, and the smaller details important to young adult readers. The decks, the rigging and maneuvering at sea, the weaponry, the food, and all the things that were a matter of course during a day at sea were new to Jemmy, and important. So was the whole concept of privateering and the Articles of Contract including payment percentages which were the rules of the voyage. The chase and capture of a French ship gave him his first knowledge of the real consequences of battle. The action-filled novel is capped by the capture of The Butcher, a Spanish pirate who has been harassing English shipping in the Windward Islands. And there is a surprise revelation that Captain Slate is really from a British noble family and must now succeed his demised father as earl.

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See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hagen, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hagen, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hagen, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Klaus

Klaus

Sail to Caribee