Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas

One day Otto, an elfin adventurer, finds a postcard on the seashore showing pictures of beautiful sparkling lights in the night sky with the words, ‘The light of Christmas!’ If this ‘Christmas’ can brighten even the gloomiest Finnish winter, Otto decides he must find it.

Ballad Of A Broken Nose

Bart is an eternal optimist. At thirteen years old, he’s had a hard life. But Bart knows that things won’t get any better if you have a negative attitude. His mother has pushed him into boxing lessons so that Bart can protect himself, but Bart already has defense mechanisms: he is relentlessly positive…and he loves opera.

Blue Penguin

Far away, near the South Pole, a blue penguin is born. It is not something you see every day. “I feel like a penguin,” says Blue Penguin. “But you’re not like us,” the others tell him. Blue Penguin can’t jump or dive very well, so the others wander off and leave him behind. In his loneliness, Blue Penguin begins to dream, and he starts to sing.

Turn on the Night

A little girl falls asleep and in her dream becomes a huge gray wolf, like the one in her bedtime story. Out the window she leaps, and a marvelous nighttime adventure unfolds. She visits the rooster in his coop, and invites him to hop upon her back and together they run through the night. A reindeer joins in the fun, until the three are suddenly stopped in their tracks by a giant dazzling star.

When I Am Happiest

A standalone follow-up to My Happy Life and My Heart is Laughing. Dani is very happy it is the last day of school, and summer is about to start. But then there’s a knock on the classroom door, and Dani is told her father has been in an accident. He’s in the hospital! How can she possibly be happy now? A warm and heartfelt story about Dani’s love for her dad and her ongoing friendship with Ella. It’s a story about sorrow and joy and how life really is.

Why Dogs Have Wet Noses

Comprised of fun and playfully surprising contemporary illustrations and a satisfying tall tale, Why Dogs Have Wet Noses is a refreshing and memorable take on an old story. Told with dry humor, this is a secular story of how, not long after the world began, it started to rain, and it was the kind of rain that pounds down and never stops. Wise as he was, a man named Noah decided to build a lifeboat, and he set about gathering as many kinds of creatures as he could think of. And he had the good sense to invite slugs, spiders, and the other slimy, creepy-crawly creatures that most people try to get rid of by spraying or stepping on. He also let a funny looking dog with a big soft nose trudge on board all by himself. Had he not done so, the Ark, as you may not know, would definitely have sunk.