Houses with a Story brings more than 30 imaginative houses together, along with the people who make them into homes. Taking readers to unexpected worlds to explore, we are introduced to inhabitants such as as the mischievous bridge-tower keeper, a witch who grows a garden and a postal worker who must tame his delivery dragons. We also discover the contents of the rooms and closets, the rooftops and where shadowy hallways lead. Featuring lush full-color illustrations and sectional drawing, combined with detailed descriptions of each character and house, artist Seiji Yoshida’s award-winning art book opens doors to wonder and endless possibilities.
Asia
Materials from Asia
Angel In Beijing
In busy Beijing, New Year’s Eve firecrackers scare a stray white cat into the courtyard of a young girl. The two become fast friends, riding the girl’s bike through the city and seeing all kinds of people and things. Trrrring-trrrring! the girl chimes with her bicycle bell. Niaow-niaow! answers Kitty. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the girl and the cat watch the kites soaring above crowded, chaotic Tiananmen Square. Kitty is enthralled by the enormous, colorful dragon kite, and she leaps to catch it as it sails up into the sky – taking Kitty with it and carrying her out of sight! The girl searches the city, visiting all their favorite spots and ringing her bell along the way, but Kitty is nowhere to be found. Will the two ever be reunited? Or could another unexpected friendship be in store – for both of them?
Amil And The After
At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family are trying to make a home in India, now independent of British rule. Both Muslim and Hindu, twelve year old Amil is not sure what home means anymore. The memory of the long and difficult journey from their hometown in what is now Pakistan lives with him. And despite having an apartment in Bombay to live in and a school to attend, life in India feels uncertain. Nisha, his twin sister, suggests that Amil begin to tell his story through drawings meant for their mother, who died when they were just babies. Through Amil, readers witness the unwavering spirit of a young boy trying to make sense of a chaotic world, and find hope for himself and a newly reborn nation.
Amil and the After is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for June 2024.
Night Market Rescue
Stray dog GoGo stumbles upon the gift of friendship and the promise of home while wandering the delight-filled night market in Taipei.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 2.
Enlightened
A fictionalized biography of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, the progenitor of Buddhism.
At The End Of The World
With the world about to end, seventeen year old Aisha and her mother set out on a road trip to find her estranged sister.
100 Chapatis
A boy makes one hundred chapatis with his grandfather while they wait for news of his new baby sibling’s arrival.
The Cricket War
A gripping story of a boy’s escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author’s own experience. It’s 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.
This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.
Fox Snare
When Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun are sent on a goodwill mission to prevent war from breaking out, they end up getting stranded on a death planet behind enemy lines.
Waiting For Tomorrow
Appa is coming home tomorrow after a long time away, and sisters Haejin and Hanna want to make something very special to greet his return. They spend the day preparing their favorite treat hotteok, a brown sugar filled Korean pancake. But when their batter is ruined, how will they make something special for tomorrow?