More Than This

A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3

Troll Swap

Timothy Limpet feels out of place in his troll family. He likes things to be just so, and most trolls, frankly, don’t. Tabitha Lumpit likes things to be loud, loopy, and messy, and she feels like a fish out of water in her very neat family. Sometimes they wonder if their families really see them for who they are. So Timothy and Tabitha swap places . . . with hilarious and touching results.

Pirates Love Underpants

This Underpants adventure is full of pirates, sharks, and treasure.

Randolph Caldecott

Leonard S Marcus, a distinguished historian of children’s literature, presents a short biography of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), illustrated with a great collection of his work, including many previously unpublished drawings. From doodling in the margins of his schoolbooks to his tragically early death, the book traces the career of the ‘man who invented the modern picture book’ and whose dynamic visual storytelling was to influence later illustrators, notably Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak.

A Child’s Christmas In Wales

The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas recalls the celebration of Christmas with his family and the feelings it evoked in him as a child. Dylan Thomas’s prose poem is illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Chris Raschka.

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam are two hapless robber dogs who decide the perfect way to rob their neighbors would be to invite them over for a lovely tea party.

Billy The Goat’s Big Breakfast

Nat the Cat is making a delicious breakfast for her friends to share, but a bit of her homemade bread dough is missing! Billy the Goat was too hungry to wait and now his tummy has started to swell …Jez Alborough’s signature rhyme and humor make this gentle cautionary tale a tasty treat!

Maude: The Not-So-Noticeable Shrimpton

Being noticed is what all the members of the Shrimpton family lived for – all except, that is, for Maude. She prefers to blend into the background rather than stand out in a crowd.