In a fairy tale twist, Hansel and Gretel ransack Willow the good witch’s gingerbread cottage and play havoc with her spells, driving the poor witch to her wit’s end.
Hansel and Gretel
Europe
Materials from Europe
Hide And Seek
When their dog goes missing, Cy and Poppy play hide-and-seek in the woods to distract themselves from feeling sad. Poppy counts to ten and looks for Cy, but she can’t find him anywhere. She keeps thinking she’s found him, but it’s never him. Then there’s a rustling in the woods. Is it Cy. . .or something else? A reassuring tale of sibling love with surrealist artwork by author-illustrator Anthony Browne.
Mortal Heart
Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, patiently waiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.
The Wolf Who Learned Self-Control
Wolf can’t tell which emotion he is feeling sometimes; happy, sad, excited, jealous, there are far too many. When his moods begin to change without warning, Wolf’s friends begin to worry, and aren’t sure how to handle the confused whirlwind of their companion’s feelings. Finally, Wolf decides that enough is enough, and sets out to tame his ever-changing emotions, a feat more easily said than done. How exactly does he intend to manage his moods?
The Polar Bear Wish
While dogsledding to a Christmas party, Anja and her cousin Erik are rescued from a blizzard by several wild animals, and help a lost polar bear cub find its mother.
Snow Lion
Caro is too shy to make friends in her new neighborhood until she meets a mysterious Snow Lion, who plays with her and encourages her to meet other children.
Shelter
As a blizzard approaches, two strangers emerge from the fog enveloping the forest. From the windows of their houses, the neighbors wonder: Who is outside? What do they want? Desperate for shelter, the strangers turn to the locals, hopeful someone will take them in. “The wind is cold. In exchange for some tea, could we warm ourselves by your fire?” Will anyone help?
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 4.
Grave Mercy
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?
Dark Triumph
Sybella’s duty as Death’s assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this thrilling sequel to Grave Mercy. Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
Douglas, You’re A Genius!
Nancy and Douglas, determined to learn what is on the other side of a fence, try Nancy’s plans to launch, vault, and fly Douglas over, then succeed with Douglas’s simple idea.