When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they’ll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family’s house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man’s home with a feast in tow! With spirited text and lively illustrations, this story reminds readers about the importance of generosity.
Fantasy
Fantasy genre
Lady Hahn and Her Seven Friends
Lady Hahn is a seamstress, and her seven friends are the tools she uses to sew- Mrs. Ruler, Newlywed Scissors, Young Bride Needle, Young Bride Red Thread, Old Lady Thimble, Young Lady Flatiron, and Little Miss Iron.
When Lady Hahn’s friends start boasting “I’m the most important,” Lady Hahn turns her back on them. But it doesn’t take long for her to realize how much she needs her friends as every one of their contributes in a special way.
The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind
Sonia’s entire village believes she has a gift, but it’s only in leaving home that she finds out who she truly is. A compelling tale from a rich new voice in young adult fiction.Sixteen-year-old Sonia Ocampo was born on the night of the worst storm Tres Montes had ever seen. And when the winds mercifully stopped, an unshakable belief in the girl’s protective powers began. All her life, Sonia has been asked to pray for sick mothers or missing sons, as worried parents and friends press silver milagros in her hands. Sonia knows she has no special powers, but how can she disappoint those who look to her for solace? Still, her conscience is heavy, so when she gets a chance to travel to the city and work in the home of a wealthy woman, she seizes it. At first, Sonia feels freedom in being treated like all the other girls. But when news arrives that her beloved brother has disappeared while looking for work, she learns to her sorrow that she can never truly leave the past or her family behind. With deeply realized characters, a keen sense of place, a hint of magical realism, and a flush of young romance, Meg Medina tells the tale of a strongwilled, warmhearted girl who dares to face life’s harsh truths as she finds her real power.
There Is No Dog
When the beautiful Lucy prays to fall in love, God, an irresponsible youth named Bob, chooses to answer her prayer personally, to the dismay of this assistant, Mr. B who must try to clean up the resulting catastrophes.
Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission
On his eleventh birthday, Magnus Fin found out that he was half selkie―part human and part seal. Although he looks like a boy and lives on land, he can breathe underwater.
When Magnus Fin discovers his initials scratched into the rocks by the shore and finds dead seals washed up on the beach, he knows his selkie family needs his help, and he dives down beneath the waves to find out more.
This is the sequel to Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest.
Storm Singing and Other Tangled Tasks
Helen and her fabled-beast friends help Rona the selkie in a Storm Singer competition. Rona wins by singing up an incredible storm, but part of the prize is to represent the selkies in a much bigger contest. Rona must compete in three gruelling challenges against a mermaid and a blue loon, and carry an important message between the deep sea powers, which will stop them going to war. She desperately needs the help of Helen and her friends. But a giant jellyfish and a terrifying conger eel are among those who will do anything to stop the message of peace getting through. Fans of Helen’s first two adventures will be eagerly awaiting this third thrilling instalment. Set in the north of Scotland, this story introduces yet more fabled beasts inspired by Scottish sea creatures and folklore.
Dragon Seeker
In his boundless quest for power, Lord Jezail has unearthed the terrible sword, Dragonslayer, from the depths of Edinburgh Castle, where it has lain buried for centuries. But the sword has its own agenda and, ensnared by its magic, Jezail becomes obsessed with the idea of killing Arthur, the MacArthurs’ wonderful dragon, and attacking the fabled Valley of the Dragons.
His actions so enrage the Lords of the North that they set off after him, as the World of Magic finds itself on the brink of war. Can friends and foes unite to save the world they know and love? What is Count Vassili’s secret? How did Arthur end up with the MacArthurs in the first place?
Witches, wolf people, MacArthurs and magicians join forces with Neil and Clara MacLean in this final dragon-filled adventure.
Mister Creecher
Billy is a street urchin, a pickpocket, and a petty thief. Mister Creecher is a giant of a man whose appearance terrifies everyone he meets. Their relationship begins as a matter of convenience. But before long, a bond develops between these two misfits as they embark on a bloody journey that will take them from London ever northwards on the trail of their target . . . Doctor Victor Frankenstein. It seems the good doctor had promised Mister Creecher a bride, and Mister Creecher will stop at nothing to get what he’s been promised. Nothing. Perfect for fans of horror novels, this frightening new book from Chris Priestley reinvents a classic literary monster for a new generation of readers.
Beswitched
Twelve-year-old Flora Fox would do anything not to go to Penrice Hall, the boarding school her parents are shipper her off to because of a family emergency. Penrice has horses and an Olympic-size swimming pool, but flashy facilities won’t change how Flora feels about being sent away and having to make new friends. On the train ride to Penrise, Flora awakens from a nap to find herself transported into the past–1935, to be exact. And instead of a posh prep school, she arrives at St. Winifred’s where she has to speak French at breakfast, wear hideous baggy bloomers, and sleep in a freezing dormitory. Life is bearable only because of Flora’s wonderful roommates Pete, Dulcie, and Pogo, who cast the spell that brought her to St. Winifred’s. They’ve pledged to help Flora get back to her own time–but only after she completes the task she was summoned for. In the meantime, as she rises to the challenges of her strange new life, Flora finds that the joys and complications of growing up are the same no matter what the year. And that when you need them, family will always be there.
The Whisper
Listen — can you hear it? The explosive sequel to THE ROAR! From a whisper…to a scream! Telepathic twins Mika and Ellie at last are reunited. But if they’re ever to free the brainwashed, microchipped child soldiers, they must pretend to play along with the tyrant Mal Gorman’s maniacal plan, even as they mind-read his every evil thought. Members of an elite squadron of mutants, the brother and sister have specialized skills that will enable them to steal the top-secret formula for an age-reversing drug developed by rebel scientists on the wild side of The Wall. Juiced by these potent pills, the cadaver-like Gorman foresees a future in which he’ll be forever young – released from the machinery that now supports him. Unless, that is, Ellie and Mika have a master plan of their own: to bring the all-powerful Gorman to his knees, and face-to-face with his greatest fear.