Needing to cross the dark woods to return to his family back home, Little Mouse cautiously passes numerous bright-eyed animals.
Fantasy
Fantasy genre
Ice
When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.That is the beginning of Cassie’s own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.
Odd And The Frost Giants
An unlucky twelve-year-old Norwegian boy named Odd leads the Norse gods Loki, Thor, and Odin in an attempt to outwit evil Frost Giants who have taken over Asgard.
Seven Tales by H.C. Andersen
Stories deal with a lonely fir tree, the search for a genuine princess, a proud family of snails, a young bird who’s made fun of for his differences, a haughty needle, and a brave toy.
The Changeling
A tale about the power of a mother’s love tells how a Swedish mother’s cherished baby is returned to her after she nurtures the ugly troll child that took its place.
Uncle Fedya, His Dog, And His Cat
What would you do if you found a talking cat and your parents wouldn’t let you keep it? Why, run away, of course! In this funny, imaginative novel by Russia’s most popular children’s book writer, a small boy runs away from home and sets up housekeeping with two talking animals. Black-and-white illustrations.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
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
Nat the Cat’s Sunny Smile
Nat the Cat packs a picnic to share with her friends Billy Goat and Hugo Hare. But Billy feels grumpy and Hugo feels sad, then Nat starts to lose the smile she had. This is the tale of a smile gone astray and how it came back to save the day!
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.
Pip and Posy: The Bedtime Frog
When Posy goes to stay at Pip’s house, they have lots of fun together before bedtime. But just as they switch out the light, disaster strikes: Posy realizes that she has forgotten her favorite frog toy. Desperate to help his distraught friend, Pip offers Posy a range of different toys to substitute for her frog, but none of them will do. It is only when Pip gives Posy his very favorite pig toy that Posy is comforted and the friends can get a good night’s sleep at last.