The Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name

When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts a new school, he decides to shrink his name to the shorter, simpler Zim, but when his new friend Elly sees him for who he truly is, Zimdalamashkermishkada finds the confidence to step proudly into his long name.

The Isles Of The Gods

Selly’s plans to follow her father to the north seas are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician’s marks on his arm boards her ship and presents her with a dangerous mission–to sail to the Isles of the Gods so he can complete a mysterious ritual.

Wombat, The Reluctant Hero

When a very hot, dry summer causes dangerous fires in their neighborhood, a group of animals are desperate to find water and shelter. It will take the quiet heroism of a neighbor to provide resources and a cozy, cool, and safe burrow—a reluctant wombat who demonstrates the inspiring power of community.

The Small Girl Who Lives Next Door = te kōtiro nohinohi e noho pātata ana

From two aunties playing cards to an old soldier eating an ice-cream…from two birds building their nest to a great mountain looking down…follow Jack as he travels deeper into the heart of te reo Māori where he discovers a new way of looking at a world he once thought he knew.

The Callers

In Elipsom the ability to call, or summon objects, is a coveted skill, and Quintus Octavius is from a family of powerful Callers, but Quin does not have the gift, and he is mortified when his mother and sister cheat for him at his test; but in a moment of frustration Quin makes something disappear and discovers that the all the objects that Callers summon are not conjured out of air, but come from a place called Evantra, which his people have been pillaging for years–and pulled into Evantra, he meets Allie who is determined to retrieve everything that has been stolen.

Room For More

When afire sweeps through the Australian bush, wombats Dig and Scratch are glad to have a cool, damp burrow to keep them safe. But Dig notices that other animals are not so lucky. When Dig invites a wallaby mother and her joey to shelter with them, Scratch grumbles. When Dig beckons to a koala, Scratch complains. And when Dig welcomes in a tiger snake, Scratch is fit to be tied—but Dig is sure there’s always room for more. And when the rains come to douse the fire and bring a new threat of flooding, a crowd of creatures may turn out to be just what the wombats need.

Holding On

A young girl spends song-filled summers with her music-loving grandmother in the Philippines, but when her beloved Lola starts slipping into silence and stillness, the girl helps her grandmother hold on with music and the joyful memories the songs bring.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XV, Issue 2.

Annette Feels Free

Meet “The Original Mermaid,” Annette Kellerman! All her life, Annette wanted one thing: to feel free. As a girl she found freedom in the water, where she could swim without the leg braces she needed on land. As she grew up, Annette swam in Australia and England and America and beyond, performing synchronized swimming-which she invented!-and competing in swim races and diving exhibitions. But always she was bogged down by her heavy swim clothes. Clothes that only women had to wear, not men. So Annette designed her own swim costume. And then, she fought for the right to wear it-and for the right for all women to feel free.