Materials from Germany
This book documents the work of a young girl, Maria Merian, who lived during the Middle Ages and disproved the theory of spontaneous generation by observing caterpillars as they spun cocoons and emerged as butterflies and moths in the spring.
Maxie, who is only 2 inches tall, realizes his dream of becoming a circus performer.
A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Includes a note on the origins of the story.
A young boy, searching vainly for his mother in post-war Vienna, is befriended by a man on crutches and together they find hope for the future.
Sixteen-year-old Tomas Wanninger persuades his mother to let him leave Germany to volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, where he experiences a violent political attack and finds answers about his own past.
Seven well-known German tales: The Frog Prince, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Rapunzel, The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, and The Bremen Town Musicians.
In Berlin, thirteen-year-old Nelly Sue Edelmeister–a self-described nerd and aspiring astronomer–gains a greater understanding of herself and those around her as she develops her first crush, considers whether to go through with her bat mitzvah, and tries out for the basketball team.
Princess Igraine dreams of becoming a famous knight just like her great grandfather, but the truth is, life at the family castle is rather boring. Until the nephew of the baroness-next-door shows up. He’s got a dastardly plan to capture the castle and claim as his own the wonderful singing spell books that belong to Igraine’s magician parents. To make matters worse, at the very moment of the siege, her mom and dad botch a spell, turning themselves into pigs! Aided by a Gentle Giant and a Sorrowful Knight, it’s up to Igraine to be brave and save the day–and the books!
This book provides young readers with a new twist on a classic tale as Hansel and Gretel accidentally come across Glut Annie Stout and realize they must find a way to escape from her dangerous home in order to return to their father and his health food store.
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.