Zarafa: The Giraffe Who Walked to the King

Zarafa is a beautiful and gentle giraffe. The ruler of Egypt offers her as a gift to the king of France. She sails up the Nile by felucca, crosses the sea by brigantine and walks the last five hundred miles to Paris. People love it. And they love her, meeting and greeting her along the way, cheering her on. Afterward, the grateful French king places Zarafa in his own royal garden, where all of Paris comes to visit and love her.

Built by Angels

As legend tells it, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague was built by angels, and later was home to a golem who remains locked away in the building to this day. In lyrical prose, Mark Podwal shares the story of the world’s oldest active synagogue, which was completed in 1270. Throughout the years, this sacred place of prayer and celebration has endured plagues, wars, and the Nazi regime. Its story is part legend, part history, and one that stands as a testament to the perseverance of the Jewish people.

Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawai’i

The mischievous, shape-shifting Pig-Boy gets in trouble with both the King and Pele, the goddess of fire, but always manages to slip away as his grandmother has told him to do.

The Ugly Duckling

Set in the wilds of Africa, Caldecott Honor winner Rachel Isadora’s stunning interpretation of the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale portrays African animals and landscapes with beautiful detail. As the ugly duckling searches for a place where he can fit in, Isadora’s vibrant collages capture the beauty in everything from glistening feathers to shimmering sunsets.

Pharaoh’s Boat

The author tells the story of how one of the greatest boats of ancient Egypt came to be built—and built again. In the shadow of the Great Pyramid at Giza, the most skilled shipwrights in all of Egypt are building an enormous vessel that will transport Cheops, the mighty pharaoh, across the winding waterway and into a new world.

There the ships lie until they are discovered by accident in 1954, carefully unearthed, and reconstructed under the direction of the chief of the Restoration Department of Egyptian Antiquities with the help of Nile boat builders.

Boy Dumplings

As night falls, one hungry ghost is looking for his dinner. Yum! He spots a plump, delicious-looking boy just right for boy dumplings. Even better, the boy knows the perfect recipe. He sends the ghost all over China for stinky garlic, wormy cabbage, and moldy dumpling wrappers. There’s always one more ingredient the boy tells the ghost to find, but the hungry ghost knows the boy dumplings will be worth it. But when dawn arrives, will this crafty youngster escape — or will the plan he’s cooked up lead him to the cooking pot?