Frances was nine when she first saw the fairies. They were tiny men, dressed all in green. Nobody but Frances saw them, so her cousin Elsie painted paper fairies and took photographs of them “dancing” around Frances to make the grown-ups stop teasing. The girls promised each other they would never, ever tell that the photos weren’t real. But how were Frances and Elsie supposed to know that their photographs would fall into the hands of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? And who would have dreamed that the man who created the famous detective Sherlock Holmes believed ardently in fairies
Europe
Materials from Europe
Horton Halfpott
Tom Angleberger’s latest, loopiest middle-grade novel begins when M’Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it’s never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of “the Loosening,” the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can’t tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this silly romp of a mystery.
Breaking Stalin’s Nose
In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, 10-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values and beliefs.
Martha, No!
Martha Felicity Molly-Anne May has a habit of losing her nannies. She’s so naughty that even Mary Poppins wouldn’t know what to do!
Can the newest nanny, Miss Harrington-Chive, keep track of the little angel during their day out on the town? Or will Martha’s behavior have the nanny screaming “Martha, no!” until her voice goes hoarse?
And if Martha loses this nanny, what’s her mommy to do?
Pop-Up London
Puffling Patrol
Ted and Betsy Lewin detail the annual rescue of baby puffins by the children of Heimaey, the largest island in the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland. Includes additional information about puffins and the Westman Islands, glossary, and further reading.
Authors Ted and Betsy Lewin discuss Puffling Patrol.
My Family for the War
Before the start of World War II, ten-year-old Ziska Mangold, who has Jewish ancestors but has been raised as a Protestant, is taken out of Nazi Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains, to live in London with a Jewish family, where she learns about Judaism and endures the hardships of war while attempting to keep in touch with her parents, who are trying to survive in Holland.
Featured in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.
The Deserter
To save the members of his tribe from being devoured by the beasts that share their primitive world, Stopmouth must make his way to the mysterious, futuristic world above, even though a virus is destroying the Upstairs and driving millions of refugees to seek shelter below.
David
An eighteen-year-old stonecutter who is caught in the middle of political conflict in Florence, Italy, in the early 1500s, must flee for his life in disguise because his has become the best-known face and figure in Florence.
Dear Cinderella
Cinderella and Snow White share their fairy-tale lives through magical and funny letters!Cinderella and Snow White share their fairy-tale lives through a magical and funny series of letters. With wicked stepmothers, poisoned apples, handsome princes, and sparkly glass slippers, DEAR CINDERELLA will show princesses of all ages what happens to these beloved fairy-tale characters.After their adventures both Cinderella and Snow White escape their wicked stepmothers and marry their princes.