Adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, Ben falls captive to a band of slave traders and their leader Al Misurata. With his faithful dog Ned at his side, Ben must plot escape as the ship of scoundrels sails up the Libyan coastline toward Italy, where a trap awaits. Ruthless enemies and hard times appear around every bend, but Ben and Ned have quick wits to rely on and, just as important, one another.
Italy
Materials from Italy
The Mozart Question
Like any young boy, Paolo becomes obsessed with what he can’t have — in his case, a violin. Hidden away in his parents’ room, it beckons the boy to release the music inside it. The music leads Paolo to a family secret, a story of World War II that changed the course of his parents’ lives. But once the truth is told, the family is reunited in a way no one had thought possible.
Little Tad Grows Up
Little Tadpole is going through some big changes in his early life. For one thing, he’s sad when he learns he is losing his tail. Instead, he’s growing four strange, long legs that he doesn’t know what to do with. The older frogs tell him to be patient, but it’s hard when everything’s changing around you. Then one day he finds himself face-to-face with a water snake’s big fangs, and he learns just how useful his new legs can be. In the process, he discovers a beautiful new world outside the water. This is a funny, endearing look at what it means to grow up.
Garage Band
When Giuliano’s father loans him the family garage, he and three of his friends form a band. Playing their battered secondhand instruments, the four teenagers find something they love to do, and they find in their friendship and music a refuge from difficult and turbulent home lives. But when their only amp blows a fuse, a desperate search for some new equipment lands them in more trouble than they ever saw coming. Graphic novels with stunning watercolors by the renowned Italian artist Gipi.
The Flying Bed
An original fairy tale about a poor baker who finds a beautiful bed for his wife in a strange new shop–for free! Perhaps his bad luck has turned? But there are more wonders in store, for the bed has magical powers. That night, the couple flies across the heavens to meet a master baker who gives them some magic yeast that will make them the best–and richest–bakery in town! But the yeast comes with a promise that will test the baker’s integrity, and will eventually teach the baker and his wife about the true riches of love and loyalty.
The Sirens of Surrentum
It’s June A.D. 80. Everyone is thinking about love at the lavish Villa Limona, where friends Flavia, Jonathan, Lupus, and Nubia have come to visit for the summer. But their host suspects that there’s a poisoner among the houseguests, and the friends are asked to investigate.
The Falconer’s Knot : A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play
Silvano and Chiara, teens sent to live in a friary and a nunnery in Renaissance Italy, are drawn to one another and dream of a future together, but when murders are committed in the friary, they must discover who is behind the crimes before they can realize their love.
Gabriella’s Song
A young girl finds music all around her as she walks about the city of Venice, Italy, and she shares her song with everyone she meets.
A Very Full Morning
When Little Tooth goes to her first day of school, she learns that she is not the only rabbit who is anxious.
Hand Games
A collection of photos, in which hands look like athletics in different types of the sports competitions.