Magic In The City

Brothers Jake and Simon Grubb are not happy they have to leave their home in Canada to move in with their cousin Hannah and her family in England. But things get interesting for the boys when, on the way there, they encounter a retiring magician at a highway rest stop who presents them with three gifts he claims have magical properties: a carpet, a camera and a stopwatch. Unfortunately, the magician doesn’t provide them with any instructions. So when the boys and Hannah find themselves being swept away on a wild adventure fueled by the magic in these curious objects, they have to learn as they go. But who cares when it’s this exciting! Flying over London, traveling through time, meeting the queen — what could possibly top this? Little do they know, there’s something soon to come that will!

Frog Brings Rain

As fire creeps toward the village of the First People, First Man and First Woman must find a way to quench the flames. First Woman asks the Bird People, the River People, and the Water People for assistance, but everyone she speaks to has an excuse. “Not me,” said Mockingbird. “The smoke would hurt my voice and I would never sing again.” “Not me,” said Snail. “I carry my house with me and I am slow.” “No,” said Beaver. “We’d like to help, but our river home would become a desert if we changed the flow of water.” At last, First Woman asks the mysterious Frog for help. Will he be able to stop the flames before they reach the village? Author Patricia Hruby Powell’s retelling of this Navajo folktale is as graceful as it is compelling, and as magical as the mythical time it describes.

The Emperor’s Riddle

Mia Chen is on what her mother calls a Grand Adventure. She’s not sure what to make of this family trip to China, and didn’t want to leave her friends for the summer, but she’s excited about the prospect of exploring with her Aunt Lin, the only adult who truly understands her. Then Aunt Lin disappears, right after her old nemesis, a man named Ying, comes to visit. Mia knows that years ago, when Aunt Lin and Ying were sent to the Fuzhou countryside to work as laborers, the two searched for an ancient treasure together—one that still hasn’t been found. She’s suspicious that their shared history might be linked to Aunt Lin’s disappearance. When Mia discovers an old map filled with riddles in Aunt Lin’s room, she quickly pieces together her mission: find the treasure, find her aunt. Now, Mia, along with her big brother, Jake, must solve the clues to rescue the person she knows best in the world—and maybe unearth a treasure greater than her wildest dreams.

Where Is Grandma?

Henry is visiting his grandmother in the hospital. When his nanny has to take a call, he decides to go on alone. He knows Grandma well, after all. But the hospital is bigger than he thought, and his visit becomes an adventure: up and down elevators, in and out of rooms. Now Henry isn’t sure he will find Grandma after all.

I Am Gandhi

As a young man in India, Gandhi saw firsthand how people were treated unfairly. Refusing to accept injustice, he came up with a brilliant way to fight back through quiet, peaceful protest. He took his methods with him from South Africa back to India, where he led a nonviolent revolution that freed his country from British rule. Through his calm, steady heroism, Gandhi changed everything for India and inspired civil rights movements all over the world, proving that the smallest of us can be the most powerful.

Willy And The Cloud

One warm, sunny day, Willy the Chimp decides to go to the park. There’s not a cloud in the sky — well, except for just a little tiny one. It doesn’t bother Willy too much at first. But as the cloud follows him, it grows bigger and bigger and becomes harder and harder to ignore. Pretty soon the cloud is all Willy can think about, and he has no idea how to make it go away.