Europe

Materials from Europe

The Cabinet of Wonders

Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Petra’s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them.

Petra doesn’t know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father’s eyes back. Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father’s clock has powers capable of destroying their world.

Forever Rose

Rose knows that nothing stays the same forever.Still, it’s hard to watch her sisters and brother growing up and moving so far ahead of her. Caddy is back, but she’s not living at home. And worse — she’s broken up with Darling Michael. Saffy and Indigo are so busy, they are seldom home. With her father in London and her mother painting in the shed, Rose is often alone in the house.Maybe that’s why she agrees to her new friend Molly’s crazy scheme. At least it seems crazy when Rose finds herself locked in the zoo at night with a roaring tiger. Maybe she should have been paying more attention to what Molly was saying. But on that spooky night, Rose finds out a secret that just might change everything — and help bring her family and friends together and new life to their old house.Hilary McKay infuses her charming characters with much love and laughter in this final visit with the delightfully daffy Casson family.

Yellow Star

From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland’s Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 1

Damned Strong Love

Based on a true story of forbidden wartime romance, Damned Strong Love is framed by a letter to the reader from the real Stefan, who cooperated with Lutz van Dijk in creating the book. Together they have crafted a book that shows how love can fight against hate; a book that reminds readers of the importance of tolerance and passion today.

Framed!

Luke Harding is excited to become the youngest person ever to qualify as a forensice invstigator.  He barely has time to celebrate his final exams when Malc, his Mobile Aid to Law and Crime, calls him to their first case. A fellow student has been mysteriously shot dead with an arrow. Two more grisly on-campus murders follow, and all the evidence points to Luke himself. The stakes are high as Luke sets out to prove his innocence and show that he has the talent to crack any crime.

Darkside (Book 1) (Darkside)

Jonathan Starling’s home has been attacked, his dad is in an asylum, he’s running for his life, and there’s nowhere to hide. Jonathan has stumbled upon London’s greatest secret: Darkside. Incredibly dangerous and unimaginably exciting, Darkside is the creepiest place Jonathan has ever seen. It’s a world of nightmares and secrets, where fear and evil rule, and Jonathan has to find a way out…. Since Tom Becker learned to hold a pen, he wanted to become a writer. In fact, when he was five years old, he wrote in a notebook that it was his dream was to be an author. Tom studied History at Oxford University and was inspired by the otherworldly atmosphere of this academic institution. He used to spend long days studying and reading in the University library, but now he spends long days writing.

When We Lived in Uncle’s Hat

There is always a story in moving house and this family has several to tell. From Uncle’s hat to Aunty’s violin, follow our family as they embark on an incredible adventure to find that elusive place called home.

The Lady with the Hat

Yulek, a seventeen-year-old Holocaust survivor, finds himself tragically alone at war’s end. Hoping to begin again, he makes his way to Palestine, where he meets a sad and beautiful Jewish girl named Theresa. Saved from the Nazis by Catholic nuns, Theresa, like Yulek, is uncertain about her place in the postwar world. Together they struggle to rediscover the joy of living. Meanwhile, a mysterious English woman sets out on her own search for the long-lost nephew that she has spotted in a newspaper photo of Jewish refugees. Perhaps by finding him, she will also find some long-hidden part of herself.

The Robe of Skulls

The sorceress Lady Lamorna wants a skull-studded gown of deep black velvet, but her treasure chest is empty of gold. That doesn’t stop her, however — from kidnapping, blackmailing, and using more than a little magic to get what she needs. Will her plans be foiled by the heroic Gracie Gillypot, two chatty bats, a gallant (if scruffy) prince, the wickedest stepsister ever, a troll with a grudge, and some very ancient crones?

Oliver Who Would Not Sleep

Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep COULDN’T and DIDN’T and WOULD NOT SLEEP! And why should he? As soon as his parents shut his door, Oliver’s off on all kinds of explorations: painting and reading, drawing and racing — and a little trip to Mars for good measure. But his explorations end where all explorations should: safe at home, in a warm bed . . . asleep. For every parent with an Oliver (or Olivia) in their lives, and every child seeking a little fun before shut-eye, OLIVER WHO WOULD NOT SLEEP is the perfect bedtime adventure.