The Bloomswell Diaries

Benjamin Bloomswell is pleased to be staying with his uncle in America while his parents are off on another business trip. Its like a vacation. But when a series of newspaper articles, telephone calls and mysterious disappearances result in his being sent to and having to escape from a sinister orphanage and the criminals who run it, he knows he’s somehow got to find a way back to Europe. He has to get to his sisters boarding school before anyone else does. And somehow, he has to find his parents, who are also in trouble. But how…

Sapphique

After his escape from the sentient prison, Incarceron, Finn finds that the Realm is not at all what he expected, and he does not know whether he is to be its king, how to free his imprisoned friends, or how to stop Incarceron’s quest to be free of its own.

Dog

Rescued from certain death by a kindly dog at the city dump, an abandoned puppy grows up fending for himself until he finds a home with a willful little girl. Could she be the mistress of his dreams?

King of Ithaka

Telemachos has a comfortable life on his small island of Ithaka, where his mother Penelopeia keeps the peace even though the land has been without its king, his father Odysseus, since the Trojan War began many years ago. But now the people are demanding a new king, unless Telemachos can find Odysseus and bring him home. With only a mysterious prophecy to guide him, Telemachos sets off over sea and desert in search of the father he has never known.

The Faeman Quest

Stubborn and feisty Mella, the half-faeire half-human daughter of Lord Henry and Queen Holly Blue, has the power to determine the fate of both the faerie and “analogue world” when she travels to the country of Haleklind and discovers rebel forces preparing for war.

Eye of the Wolf

Daniel Pennac’s fable of a boy and a wolf who dare to meet each other’s gaze unfolds with humor, poignancy, and philosophical resonance. They were born worlds apart, the wolf from the Far North and the boy from Yellow Africa. Now all that separates them is a cage at the zoo. The wolf has lost much on his journey, including an eye and his beloved pack. But when he finally consents to trust the strange, still little boy who has been watching him, to meet his eye, their lives intersect with unforgettable results. Master storyteller Daniel Pennac weaves the events of two lives into a mythic tapestry that ultimately and magnificently reveals the fellowship of all creatures. Ten illustrations by Max Grafe enhance this fabulous translation from the French.

Tillie the Terrible Swede

When Tillie Anderson came to America, all she had was a needle. So she got herself a job in a tailor shop and waited for a dream to find her. One day, a man sped by on a bicycle. She was told “bicycles aren’t for ladies,” but from then on, Tillie dreamed of riding-—not graceful figure eights, but speedy, scorching, racy riding! And she knew that couldn’t be done in a fancy lady’s dress. With arduous training and her (shocking!) new clothes, Tillie became the women’s bicycle-riding champion of the world. Sue Stauffacher’s lively text and Sarah McMenemy’s charming illustrations capture the energy of America’s bicycle craze and tell the story of one woman who wouldn’t let society’s expectations stop her from achieving her dream.

Johnny, My Friend

Everything changes for Chris one August evening when red-haired, freckle-faced Johnny turns up on a bicycle, but who is Johnny and why do the police have his bicycle and other belongings?

The Night Journey

Thirteen-year-old Rachel ignores her parents’ wishes and persuades her great-grandmother Nana Sashie to relate the story of her escape from czarist Russia. An ALA Notable Book.

Saving Zasha

In 1945 Russia, those who own German shepherds are considered traitors, but thirteen-year-old Mikhail and his family are determined to keep the dog a dying man brought them, while his classmate Katia strives to learn his secret.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

Worlds of Words

International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature

Europe