Hare, Hippopotamus, and Elephant all live together in the forest. But often, when Hippopotamus and Elephant have nothing better to do, they tease Hare and say horrid things to him. When Hare finally gets fed up with them, he conceives a plan: he will challenge each of the massive creatures to a tug-of-war competition. On either side of the trees, Elephant and Hippopotamus pull and tug all through the night, incredulous that Hare could be so strong!
Natasha isn’t really a bad girl. It’s just that she wants to play on the swing now, not after the wash has been hung up to dry. And she wants her soup now, not after the goats have been fed. Looking after Natasha keeps Babushka, Natasha’s grandmother, very busy.Then, after lunch, Natasha notices a doll sitting on Babushka’s shelf…a doll Babushka tells Natasha she played with just once when she was a little girl. When Natasha plays with the doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka’s doll…and finds out just how tiring it can be to take care of a child who wants everything now.
Vasya, a little Russian boy, watches and waits through the seasons for the flax to grow that will be spun and woven into material for his new shirt.
When his best friend is lost in a terrible storm, an intrepid young puffin teams up with a big blue whale to mount a rescue mission and discovers that while many other birds match his friend’s description, none are quite the same.
These are stories within stories: the narrator remembers herself as a young child hearing them from her grandmother, as they cooked, hung up laundry, prepared for the Sabbath, or cleaned house for Passover. This framing of the stories emphasizes their continuing pleasure across generations; and customs, idioms, traditions, even recipes that the Jews brought with them from Eastern Europe are an unobtrusive part of the telling.
Trouble abounds in Mamoko: artwork has been stolen, Vincent Brisk is late for his date, and Miss Chubb has lost a prized possession. Will everything be put right in time for the town carnival? Readers are prompted to follow the adventures of Mamoko’s quirky cast of characters, sharing their discoveries aloud and using their eyes to uncover the kaleidoscope of stories packed into every page!
King Lion is having a feast. All his animal subjects bring their favorite meal — saltwater lemonade from the fish, snail sausages from the hedgehog and thistle salad from the donkey. But which dish will King Lion like the best? From the author of The Story of the Root Children, this tale from the animal kingdom is told in lively rhyming verses, and beautifully illustrated in classic art nouveau style.
A little girl finds one end of a line, a simple but amazing line able to transform itself into any number of things, including a slide, a bubble, a jungle vine, swinging monkey and even a hungry monster! What could be at the other end?
Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson tells the story of how his grandfather taught him to turn darkness into light in this uniquely personal and vibrantly illustrated tale that carries a message of peace.
How could he—a Gandhi—be so easy to anger?
One thick, hot day, Arun Gandhi travels with his family to Grandfather Gandhi’s village.
Silence fills the air—but peace feels far away for young Arun. When an older boy pushes him on the soccer field, his anger fills him in a way that surely a true Gandhi could never imagine. Can Arun ever live up to the Mahatma? Will he ever make his grandfather proud?
An old man in India recalls how, when he was a young boy, he got his first taste of freedom as he and his brother joined the great Muhatma Gandhi on a march to the sea to make salt in defiance of British law.