On a hot day in a sleepy village in Spain, Tapicero Tap Tap tells his nieces and nephews about how his dreams of travel were robbed by war, but he has found solace among the family and friends of the village, and joy in living a productive life.
Europe
Materials from Europe
The Opposite
Nate wakes up one morning to find The Opposite standing on his bedroom ceiling, and it causes him trouble at home and at school, changing what Nate wants to do into its opposite, until Nate finds a way to outwit it.
Prince Silencio
When his son is born amid the clamor of a loud celebration, the King, who cannot tolerate noise, roars, ‘Silence’–which becomes the prince’s name.
Counting With Apollo
Apollo is a flexible dog who can change his shape to look like the numbers one to ten and who sometimes eats too many bones.
Julia Wants a Pet
Julia has always wanted a pet. She takes her baby carriage out every day to look for one. She considers a crow, a pony, a worm, a rat, flies, dogs, a hedgehog, and even a frog. Then one day she spots a small boy
The Apprentice
Working as an artist’s apprentice in Renaissance Florence, thirteen-year-old Arduino makes a discovery which may cost him the chance to become a painter.
Smiling For Strangers
During the war, fourteen-year-old Nina flees from her village in Yugoslavia, armed only with some letters and a photograph, to search for an old friend of her mother’s in England.
Once Upon A Tide
A boy and a girl build a boat and sail off in their imaginations to find Captain Bart’s buried treasure.
The Wishing Of Biddy Malone
In Ireland, a young girl who cannot sing, dance, or control her temper stumbles across a faerie village, where a beautiful boy asks her to name her three wishes–but does not promise to grant them for her.
Lost and Found
While trying his best to help a penguin that has shown up at his door, a boy journeys all the way to the South Pole, only to realize that the penguin was never lost.