Gemma, a young girl living in the mountains of northern Italy, asks the blackbirds to sing to her ailing father, Duca Gennaro, and only one blackbird decides to remain when the weather becomes cooler. The story of the origins of the Days of the Blackbird.
Picture Book
Arion and the Dolphins
A retelling of the ancient Greek legend of a young Corinthian musician who, having won a gold prize for his singing, is thrown overboard by greedy sailors and befriends a dolphin who becomes his rescuer and protector.
Leaf Trouble
When he wakes up one morning to find that his home tree is changing, the little squirrel is scared! Why are all the leaves falling off? Quickly he corrals his sister and they gather up the leaves in colorful pawfuls. But try as they may to stick them back on the branches, it’s hopeless: Yellow, orange, red, and brown, all the leaves keep falling down! It’s only when their wise mama explains what happens in autumn that the two little squirrels understand the seasons are changing. Green leaves will sprout anew in spring!
Caterina: The Clever Farm Girl
In this Tuscan folktale, a poor farmer’s daughter becomes queen by charming the king with her wit and ingenuity.
Hansel and Gretel
A retelling of the well-known tale in which two children lost in the woods find their way home despite an encounter with a wicked witch. Whether portraying the fear and anguish of children abandoned by their parents, the delicious sumptuousness of a candy house, or the joy of being reunited with one’s family, Paul O. Zelinsky captures both physical and emotional nuance.
The Seven Ravens
A little girl walks to the end of the world to find her seven brothers and free them from enchantment.
The Gingerbread Man
The author of Nanny Goat and the Seven Little Kids offers a new version of the classic folktale about a runaway gingerbread man.
Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun
Like many before him, Tom, a traveling minstrel, has fallen in love at first sight with the beautiful princess Kathleen. But Kathleen has vowed only to marry the man who can win a leprechaun’s pot of gold. Tom sets out with a clever plan to fool a leprechaun into giving up his fortune. Upon meeting one of the fair folk, Tom charms him with songs and stories. As it turns out, however, Tom’s tales hold more truth than trick.
The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm
A dejected soldier makes a pact with the devil in this haunting, ultimately hopeful fairy tale. When a person gives up hope, is he still human? Such is the story of a soldier who has lost everything to war: his childhood home, his family and friends, his youth, and his innocence. Enter that sly opportunist, the devil, who wraps the soldier in the armor of a dead bear’s skin, fills its pockets with gold, and makes a dangerous and horrible wager.
The Fisherman and His Wife
A kind and gentle fisherman catches a talking dolphin. The wondrous beast begs to be freed, and the fisherman gladly complies. Aghast that her husband has asked for nothing in return from the dolphin, the fisherman’s wife insists that he find the creature and ask that it grant them a wish. Given one wish, the wife desires more and more, until she asks for the unthinkable.