Oranges in No Man's Land

by Elizabeth Laird

Young children are the innocent victims of war and Ayesha is no exception. With her father abroad looking for work and her mother killed in a rocket attack, Ayesha and her young brothers find themselves refugees in a bombed out flat in Beirut with only an elderly grandmother to care for them.

When their Grandmother becomes seriously ill, Ayesha quickly realises that no-one else will take responsibility and she undertakes a perilous journey across no man's land to enemy-held territory in search of a doctor and vital medicines.

Drawing on personal experience, Elizabeth Laird looks at how daily life continues in the midst of violent conflict and paints a vivid and disturbing picture of a city devastated by civil war and the effects on just some of those caught up in it.

Publisher: Macmillan Children's books

Elizabeth Laird

Elizabeth Laird is the award-winning author of many highly acclaimed novels. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand, but is of Scottish descent and was educated at Croydon High School. She spent a year teaching in Malaysia, before studying languages at Bristol and Edinburgh universities. Elizabeth has spent much of her life living and working abroad, including long spells in Lebanon, Ethiopia and India. She now lives in Richmond and Edinburgh with her husband.

Elizabeth has written over 30 books for children on a broad range of subjects, from historical adventures to real life stories, picture books to retelling of folk tales. She has won many awards, including the Children's Book Award for Kiss the Dust, the Smarties Young Judges Award, and the Lancashire Book Award. Elizabeth has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal five times as well as every other major children’s book award.

http://www.elizabethlaird.co.uk/

Photo: Macmillan