In 1735, five Maroon boys are ready to be initiated as warriors. They have prepared long and hard for this day, and must now pass a sequence of tests. How the boys approach this, the most important day of their lives, says much about how they will respond to the challenges ahead. When they encounter a Redcoat troop in the forest near their village, the defence of the village and surrounding Maroon communities will depend on these boys, their training, courage, and intelligence. On this occasion, their community depends on them for its survival, but their initiation as warriors also teaches them lifelong lessons about loyalty, responsibility, trustworthiness and friendship.

What makes a warrior? This gutsy collection of original short stories offers a variety of answers to the question with thoughtfulness, heart and the occasional wink. The characters in these stories range from archetypal 'take no prisoners' heroes to those who abhor violence. There are even a few who are utterly clueless at the outset and must discover what they are made of. The settings are as diverse as the warriors themselves: purely fantasy realms are represented, as well as medieval England, a mythical African plain, ancient Greece and Egypt, colonial India and folktale Russia, to name a few. Regardless of protagonist or locale, these stories will thrill and entertain readers. But most importantly, they will make a reader ask the warrior within: what would I fight for? Compiled by best-selling author Tamora Pierce and folklorist/author Josepha Sherman, 'Young Warriors' includes stories by some of today's most acclaimed and beloved fantasy and science-fiction authors for both adults and young adults.

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means “little”), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables , the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp’s boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards. In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where the author lived as a child. Yang’s older sister, seven-year-old Dawb, was one of the story’s warriors, and her brave adventure unfolds here with all the suspense and excitement that held her five-year-old sister spellbound many years later. Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors’ secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.

Marks revisits their lives at the beginning of the third millennium in a new democratic South Africa characterised by a radical decline in this social movement."--BOOK JACKET.

Kids can do amazing things with the right information. Understanding why anxiety feels the way it does and where the phsical symptoms come from is a powerful step in turning anxiety around.