• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

A young Canadian soldier’s account of the battle of Ortona, Italy!

Seventeen-year-old Paul Baldassara lies about his age to enlist in the Canadian Army. He joins the Loyal Edmonton regiment, which is tasked with taking Italy’s port town of Ortona. Little does he know the horrors of the battle that lie ahead . . .

Paul soon finds himself in the midst of the fierce fighting that earned Ortona the name “the Italian Stalingrad,” because of the massive casualties and deaths. He and his fellow Canadian soldiers resort to tactics such as “mouse-holing” — blasting their way through the walls of houses which German snipers have made the streets and courtyards.

Will Paul prevail and help the Canadians save Ortona, no matter what the risk?

JONATHAN WEBB has been a journalist, novelist and an editor with twenty-five years’ experience in Canadian publishing. His novel, Pluck, was co-winner of the Seal First Novel Award, and he is the author of three books for young readers: What’s a Zoo Do?, Journey to Mars, and Canada’s Wars: An Illustrated History, a Hackmatack and OLA White Pine Award nominee. Jonathan lives in Guelph, Ontario. Visit him online at www.Jwebbbooks.com.

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• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre

Praise for the I Am Canada series:

“. . . the chief characters are eminently likeable and quietly heroic, and their tales utterly engrossing.” —The Globe and Mail

“. . . makes history come alive through an expert mix of fact and fiction.” —Quill & Quire, starred review.

“. . . its lively writing style will maintain reader interest throughout.” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials