Climbing Rosa

Outside the King’s palace grows an enormous tree, its top hidden in the clouds. It’s so tall that no one has ever climbed to the top or collected any of its seeds. Rosa’s stepmother and stepsister Irma always call her a monkey because she can climb anything from drainpipes to trees. So when the King proclaims that whoever brings down seeds from the tree will marry his son, strong and sprightly Rosa decides to make her stepfamily regret their words. Shelley Fowles’s enchanting, faux-naïf illustrations highlight this gloriously funny adaptation of a traditional Hungarian folktale.

Samurai Kids #1: White Crane

Even though he has only one leg, Niya Moto is studying to be a samurai, and his five fellow-students are similarly burdened, but sensei Ki-Yaga, an ancient but legendary warrior, teaches them not only physical skills but mental and spiritual ones as well, so that they are well-equipped to face their most formidable opponents at the annual Samurai Games.

See the review at WOW Review Volume 5, Issue 4

The Castle of the Cats

When a farmer sends his sons on three quests to determine who will inherit the farm, Ivan, who is small and simple, finds good luck and wonderful treasures in a castle filled only with cats in fancy costumes and wigs.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter joins the Weasleys at the Quidditch World Cup, then enters his fourth year at Hogwarts Academy where he is mysteriously entered in an unusual contest that challenges his wizarding skills, friendships and character, amid signs that an old enemy is growing stronger.

The Best Beak In Boonaroo Bay

The birds of Australia’s Boonaroo Bay hold a contest to determine which of them has the best beak.

Squash It!

After the king of Spain is bitten by a louse, he proclaims that it cannot be killed as it now has royal blood, and when the louse dies, he has it made it into a guitar and has a contest, making others guess what his unique guitar is made of.