A collection of nearly seventy short and surreal stories told by Signor Bianchi, a traveling salesman, to his daughter over the telephone nightly.
Telephone Tales
Europe
Materials from Europe
The Box
The Box is a gentle story about meeting others where they are. Kindness, patience, and a little creativity can help us find the most wonderful friends.
Wolfstongue
Silas is a young boy who is bullied at school because his words will not come. He wishes he could live in silence as animals do. Deep in the Forest, the foxes live in an underground city built by their wolf slaves. The foxes’ leader Reynard controls everything with his clever talk. One day, Silas helps an injured wolf. Then he enters the secret world of the Forest, where the last remaining wolves fight to survive. But even there, language is power. Can Silas find his voice in time to help his wolf friends can he become the Wolfstongue?
In the Neighborhood
A group of neighbors never talks to one another because they’ve all made assumptions about each other. Camila the chicken’s house is too noisy, Mr. Martínez the fox seems so straightlaced, Felipe the mouse is nervous, and Pepe the ogre well, you know about ogres. But one day, Mrs. Paquita’s internet connection goes out. That starts a domino effect of neighbors helping neighbors. And soon everything has changed.
Why?: A Timeless Story Told Without Words
Frog is enjoying a peaceful afternoon with a flower he’s picked, when a jealous mouse decides he’d like it for himself. Mouse takes it by force, but frog has reinforcements. Before long the confrontation escalates into a full-scale war. At the end of it will anyone remember why they fought so fiercely?
What Souls Are Made Of
Two lost souls cut off from their heritage find solace in each other in this remix of the gothic novel Wuthering Heights.
We Are Wolves
When the Russian army marches into East Prussia at the end of World War II, the Wolf family flees, but Liesl, Otto, and their baby sister, Mia, are separated from their mother, and they are forced to do dangerous things to survive.
The Most Important Thing
“The animals are holding a meeting to decide which is the most important thing. They each advocate for their particular trait, but in the end the owl helps them realize they are all different and each have something unique to contribute.”
The Blue Bird’s Palace
Natasha lives a simple life with her father, but when she is granted a wish and makes the selfish choice to live in a palace, the guardian of the Blue Forest transforms her into a blue bird and she learns to be grateful and share.
Imagine!
“From the unique voice of Bruno Tognolini, the most beloved children’s poet in Italy today, come these 24 “rhymes of hope to shout together”: a musical rhythmic chant that gives voice to the wishes and hopes of all children. From the biggest dreams of peace, solidarity between people, the protection of nature, to the smallest and most intimate dreams, which are no less heartfelt”–