Pigsticks and Harold and the Tuptown Thief

The Butterfly Ball is tomorrow, and all of Tuptown awaits an exciting day full of cake, games, and amazing butterflies. Everyone has a job to do—even Harold. He’s making the Spirit of Tuptown prize! But when the prize statue goes missing, a confident Pigsticks volunteers to solve the case (with the help of Harold’s careful note-taking, of course).

Unexpected Magic

A cat tells how the kindhearted wizard she owns is suddenly called upon to defeat a horrific Beast. When Anne has mumps, her drawings come to life, and she must protect her home from them.
Four children become involved in the intrigue surrounding an innocent prince, an evil count, and a brave outlaw. These fifteen stories and one novella will enchant, startle, and surprise.

Messenger

It is 1424. France and England have been fighting for more than a hundred years, and Jehanne D’Arc experiences her first saintly vision. Even her parents think she’s delirious—until her next vision allows them to save the village. From a small town to the besieged city of Orleans and on to the cathedral of Reims, Joan follows her faith and leads the French to victory after victory. But not everyone believes in the divine voices she hears. Some call her a heretic and want her burned at the stake.

Little Chanclas

Lily Lujan is known as Little Chanclas because she wears her chanclas, or flip flops, wherever she goes, especially to parties, so when the chanclas come apart while she is dancing at a family barbecue and Chewcho the bulldog eats one, Lily is inconsolable until Granny Lola arrives with a solution.

The Princess and the Giant

Princess Sophie is exhausted, and it’s all because that grumpy old giant up on the beanstalk can’t sleep. His stomps and stamps keep everyone awake. But as the resourceful Princess Sophie reads her favorite book of fairy tales, she wonders if she might just have the answer. She bravely climbs the beanstalk carrying a tasty bowl of porridge, a cuddly teddy bear, and cozy blanket to help soothe the giant.

Spit and Sticks

Succinct and factual text follows chimney swifts as they arrive on a Texas farm, build their nest, lay eggs, ready for fledglings to take flight, and eventually prepare to migrate back to South America. In a parallel, wordless story, a mom, dad, and young girl on the farm watch the chimney swifts throughout the summer and fall, even as they build a new crib and ready for the new baby they’re expecting.