Age

Catalog sorted by age group

Elephants And Golden Thrones: Inside China’s Forbidden City

A rare look inside one of the wonders of the world, published in time for the 2008 Olympics in ChinaFor five hundred years, the Forbidden City was the seat of power of China’s emperors. Given rare access to this vast and beautiful complex, Trish Marx and Ellen B. Senisi explore its secrets in full-color photographs and lively, meticulously researched stories. From a grand procession of elephants to the golden nail guards that protected the emperor’s three-inch nails, details large and small bring this fortress to life for young armchair travelers. With contributions from the Palace Museum (the official museum of the Forbidden City), this is a definitive guide and the only book on the subject available for young readers.

I Was A Rat!: Or, The Scarlet Slippers

“I was a rat!”

So insists a scruffy boy named Roger. Maybe it’s true. But what is he now? A terrifying monster running wild in the sewers? The Daily Scourge newspaper is sure of it. A lucrative fairground freak? He is to Mr. Tapscrew. A championship wriggler and a budding thief? That’s the hope of Billy and his gang. A victim of “Rodent Delusion”? So says the hospital doctor.

Or just an ordinary small boy, though a little ratty in his habits? Only three people believe this version of the story. And it may take a royal intervention–and a bit of magic–to convince the rest of the world. . . .

Mangoes & Bananas

Mangoes and Bananas tells the tale of Kanchil the mouse deer and Monyet the monkey — two friends who plant a garden together. But when the trees bear fruit, Monyet begins to eat everything himself. Kanchil has to act fast if he is to get anything at all. Combining folk art with folk tale, this book reflects the warmth and richness of both traditions.

 

Hello, America

The year is 1951 and eighteen-year-old Elli and her mother arrive in New York City. Finally they can leave behind bitter Holocaust memories and become real Americans! From office filing all day, to the challenge of night school, to interpreting the intentions of Alex, a handsome and persistent doctor, Elli soon finds learning English is only half as hard as “making it” in this new world. Against a backdrop of soda shops, skyscrapers, and subways, acclaimed author Livia Bitton-Jackson fuses old-world tradition and modern dreams, in this vivid kaleidoscope of immigrant America.

The Book of Lies

The newest boy at Mrs. Timmins’s Home for Orphans and Foundlings awakes at first light with no name and no memory. But a strange girl who hides among the shadows of the orphanage tells him that a mysterious wizard’s creation, the Book of Lies, holds the answers, and then gives him one clue: “Your name is Marcel.” With that knowledge, and the help of three new friends, Marcel begins a quest to find the truth about his real identity—a truth that is hidden in the Book of Lies. As Marcel learns more about his past, he realizes that truth can change at any moment and can be manipulated by anyone, and he begins to wonder if the old book’s so-called magical truth might be the greatest lie of all.

We Share One World

Children are never too young to begin exploring the many different cultures that make up our beautiful world. Whether we awaken to the wind blowing from the desert, the spray from an ocean wave, or snowflakes dusting the trees, we all share this truly magnificent planet. Through a young boy’s eyes, we visit children from far away places fly kites in Japan, swing through the jungles of Costa Rica, play the didgeridoo in Australia… Marty Husted’s watercolors flow with Jane Hoffelt’s thoughtful poem, helping us feel the depth of our global connections.

Where Jamaica Go?

Jamaica has fun and sees many colorful sights as she goes downtown, goes to the beach, and rides home with Daddy.

Mama Rocks, Papa Sings

A little Haitian girl describes how her parents’ house fills up with babies as relatives drop off their children on their way to work.

Chaska and the Golden Doll

Chaska wishes that she could learn to read and write, but the schoolhouse in her little village in the Andes Mountains is too small, and only the boys and older girls can attend. So she spends her days with Grandfather, who tells her stories about the proud Incas and their gold. Many years ago, the Incas lived in the same valley as Chaska’s village and made golden objects in honor of the Sun God, Papa Inti. A few still lie buried among the rocks and stones. One day, as Chaska is thinking about these stories, she finds a golden doll–real Inca idol.