Adventure

Sindbad’s Secret

Sindbad the Sailor has escaped death many times and is planning to live the rest of his life on dry land. But the sea beckons, and he sets out for one final adventure. As he sails from a beautiful far-off land where people drink scented tea, a storm destroys the ship. Sindbad finds refuge on an island, but it holds little safety for him. Ivory traders make him their slave. It seems that he will live out his days in servitude. But the power of love, and his compassion for a baby elephant, give him the strength he needs for survival. His voyage offers him the answer to life’s greatest secret, and finally he can rest. Ludmila Zeman has retold these beloved adventures from the Thousand and One Nights in her gorgeous trilogy, Sindbad, Sindbad in the Land of the Giants, and Sindbad’s Secret, incorporating design details and maps that place the stories into their historical context.

Zoom Upstream

Zoom the cat follows a mysterious trail through a bookshelf to Egypt, where he joins his friend Maria in a search for his Uncle Roy.

Clever Ali

When seven-year-old Ali’s greedy pet steals cherries from the wicked Sultan for whom his father keeps carrier pigeons, Ali is given three days to find 600 new cherries or his father will be thrown into the deep, dark oubliette. Includes facts about carrier pigeons and the sultan on whom this story is based, as well as an excerpt from “In Praise of Books” by al-Jahiz.

Takeshita Demons

Miku Takeshita and her family have moved from Japan to live in the UK, but unfortunately the family’s enemy demons have followed them. Miku knows she’s in trouble when her new supply teacher turns out to be a Nukekubi – a bloodthirsty demon who can turn into a flying head and whose favourite snack is children. That night, in a raging snowstorm, Miku’s little brother Kazu is kidnapped by the demons, and then it’s up to Miku and her friend Cait to get him back. The girls break into their snow-locked school, confronting the dragon-like Woman of the Wet, and outwitting the faceless Nopera-bo. At last they come face to face with the Nukekubi itself – but will they be in time to save Kazu?

The Snow Dog’s Journey

Anna builds a dog of snow, which the Frost King admires and takes away with him, but when Anna’s love and faith eventually reunite her with Snow Dog, they each get their fondest wish.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

One of Hans Christian Andersen’s most romantic tales, The Steadfast Tin Soldier tells the story of a one-legged tin soldier who suffers a terrible fate all for the love of a beautiful paper dancer. Cursed by a jealous goblin, the toy solider is sent flying out the window to the street below, where a perilous adventure carries him ever further from his love. But throughout his ordeal, the soldier remains sturdy and staunch on his one leg, ever true to his beloved little dancer.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

After a series of adventures, a one-legged tin soldier returns home to his beloved ballerina in this story based on the Hans Christian Andersen’s original. The perilous adventures of a toy soldier who loves a paper dancing girl culminate in tragedy for both of them.