Materials from Europe
When a young boy accidentally misplaces his father, he gets help at the Bureau of Misplaced Dads. Every day at least 20 or 30 dads wander in. They are usually in fairly good condition, and if they are lucky, their kids come to fetch them the same day. The Bureau has seen all sorts of dads over the years.
A small boy is so bored at a dinner with the executives from his father’s company, he thinks he might just die of boredom! So he’s happy to help when his father asks him to bring in the salads from the kitchen. However, when the boy looks at the beautifully prepared shrimp salads laid out to be served to the guests, he gets a strange idea.
The finches live in a big flock that makes such a racket nobody can hear themselves think. But one day a small bird wakes up in quiet darkness and has a thought, and he hears it: I am Henry Finch. I could be great. The next day, the Beast comes, and Henry sees his chance—but then a mouth opens wide, and the path to greatness turns out to have some unexpected twists. da
In this exuberant compilation, Michael Rosen invites children to joyfully celebrate sounds and the infinite possibilities of language. Nonsense verses with the feel of classic nursery rhymes tickle the ear and set feet tapping while expressive illustrations by Chris Riddell illuminate the larger-than-life characters. With subject matter that runs the gamut of a child’s emotional range from hungry and angry to wiggly and giggly, these thirty-six clever poems will delight little listeners.
Award-winning YA author Philip Murdstone is in trouble. His star has waned. The world is leaving him behind. His agent, the ruthless Minerva Cinch, convinces him that his only hope is to write a sword-and-sorcery blockbuster. Unfortunately, Philip—allergic to the faintest trace of Tolkien—is utterly unsuited to the task. In a dark hour, a dwarfish stranger comes to his rescue. But the deal he makes with Pocket Wellfair turns out to have Faustian consequences.
Bear becomes frustrated during a fishing trip with his friend Hare, who organizes a picnic while Bear catches a hat, a roller skate, and everything except an actual fish.
Adam feels alone in the strange new city. He misses his old friends and the colors of his faraway home. It’s fun to build snow animals with children in his new neighborhood, but Adam’s concrete surroundings still make him wish for something more.
Every day when Oliver goes out, Troll tries to eat him. But catching Oliver is very tricky—he’s fast, sneaky, and just too clever! It is only when it looks like Troll has given up and Oliver celebrates victory that—CHOMP!—he gets eaten, and it turns out that Olivers don’t taste very nice after all.
Working in a big house owned by two refined ladies to support her mother and brothers, a young scullery maid in early-twentieth-century England borrows books and dreams of a better life before saving her employers from a kitchen fire.
A big sister explains all there is to know about little sisters, divided into such categories as Fun and Games, Style, and Sharing.