Materials from Europe
A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such as these have inspired stories that go to the heart of the human experience of World War I.
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 2.
The story of Robert and Margarete and their children Johannes and Dorothea, who emigrate from Germany to the United States in 1850. After landing in New Orleans and joining a wagon train headed west to Nebraska, the family establishes a farm outside Omaha. The book ends with a switch to modern day with descendants of Robert and Margarete living on the same farm. They make the decision to investigate their roots and visit Germany, reversing the trip their ancestors made.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 8, Issue 2
Small children take great delight in rides—whether by bicycle, car, boat, or plane. But best of all is taking the bus, because the bus is for everyone!
When the Big Blue Thing, a camper van to us humans, arrives on Howling Hill, the local wildlife all agree it has to go. First the wolves try to scare it away, then the bears, boars, and foxes have a turn. Finally the wise owls suggest sending the smallest critters — the insects — to do the job. A cloud of bees, flies, and dragonflies make sure that the Big Blue Thing runs away at top speed!
It is late 1903, and Rachel and her family are leaving Russia to escape the murderous riots against Jews. They travel cross country on the Trans-Siberian Railway to the coast and board a ship for Shanghai. China offers refuge, but life for them there is difficult and strange. Rachel is determined to ensure her family’s survival, but does not want to give up her dreams for her future. The opportunity to write for a Jewish newspaper in Shanghai may be the solution she’s been hoping for. The story that began in the novel Rachel’s Secret continues in Rachel’s Promise and Rachel’s Hope.
Join the discussion of Rachel’s Promise as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.
Twelve-year-old Bluebell Gadsby’s written and video diary chronicles life in a rowdy London family, and how Zoran, the new au pair, and Joss, the troublemaking boy next door, help to pull her out of her shell and cope with the loss of her twin three years before.
Deep in the forest lives the biggest, hairiest, scariest yeti anyone has ever seen. And he is also the loneliest yeti around. Then one day…THUNK! Someone lands on Yeti’s head. And that someone isn’t scared of Yeti at all. Could that someone be a friend?
From a young age, Michael was both fascinated by and afraid of his grandfather. Grandpa’s ship was torpedoed during the Second World War, leaving him with terrible burns. Every time he came to stay, Michael was warned by his mother that he must not stare, he must not make too much noise, he must not ask Grandpa any questions about his past. As he grows older, Michael stays with his grandfather during the summer holidays and learns the story behind Grandpa’s injuries, finally getting to know the real man behind the solemn figure from his childhood. Michael can see beyond the burns, and this gives him the power to begin healing scars that have divided his family for so long.
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 1.
A small insect learns that even though she can walk on the ceiling and fly superfast, there are dangers lurking everywhere.
An illustrated collection of fourteen short stories featuring “dragons and wizards, councilors and mayors, an adventurous tortoise and a monster in a lake, along with plenty of pointy hats and a few magic spells” written when the author was a teenaged newspaper reporter.