There is an old saying that good things come in small packages. In this story from Italy, storytellers Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss show us that good things also come in furry packages. When a merchant finds himself in a land that is overrun by rats, he realizes that he has the most priceless gift in this country, namely his ship’s cats.
Tilly is just like a real ballerina. The only thing that could make her day even more thrilling? The chance to shine on stage! This charming story captures the delight and anticipation of attending an actual ballet, and makes a perfect gift for every aspiring ballerina.
Readers are invited to join Tilly for her special birthday treat as she discovers the bustle and excitement behind the scenes at a real ballet performance. From backstage warm-ups, to a trip to the dressing room, to an unexpected wardrobe change—
Will’s uncle has sent him a mysterious and gigantic package! All Will’s friends help him to carry it home, and stay to find out what’s inside.
Las Navidades are coming. The house smells of cinnamon and coconut, crepe paper festoons the yard, and best of all, the Three Magi will soon bring presents to all the children. Esmeralda hopes they will bring her a baby doll. But instead, she receives something far more precious: she experiences firsthand the magic of giving and the power of her family’s love for her.
After their olive crop fails, Maria fears that her family will have to abandon their farm on the new island colony. Then, one night she dreams of a mysterious beautiful lady shrouded by trees with branches hung with hundreds of little suns. They are oranges like the ones Maria’s parents once ate in their homeland, Valencia, Spain. That very day Maria and her family plant the seeds that soon yield a magnificent orange grove and save the farm. But who was the mysterious lady who appeared in her dream and will Maria ever find her again?
Manuela wants a new dress for her birthday, but times are hard and she is disappointed when she receives a hand-me-down instead.
Receiving the yearly birthday gift from his grandmother has become David’s living nightmare. The “surprise” she always has for him never varies. How can he stop this never-ending flow of stiff, white, scratchy shirts — “perfect gentlemen” shirts that make him squirm and pull and shift and twitch? David closes his eyes and imagines a long line of shirts — one for every year of his life — stretching on forever. Then suddenly, without really intending to, he has done the unthinkable. “DAVID!” his mother screams. And when David opens his eyes, there are his mother, his father, and his bubbie staring at him. The shirt is no longer in his hands. He has thrown it out the window! Now it is out on the street, in the jaws of his dog, and the very merry chase is on. Bitingly funny and keenly observed, My New Shirt is graphically presented as a photo album commemorating David’s desperate act of liberation from a family tradition badly in need of a change.
Morris, the youngest child, is spurned on Christmas morning by his brothers and sisters. He is not having much fun until he discovers a present he had overlooked–a disappearing bag that makes people invisible.
Silvia can’t wait to try on her present from Tia Rosita: new shoes as red as the inside of a watermelon. The shoes are too big for Silvia to wear, and she waits for her feet to grow. The excitement of the new shoes and the formidable task of waiting to grow into them are both conveyed beautifully through the story and the art.
Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr were three little boys who lived in Sweden.They had blue eyes and yellow hair, and they looked very much alike. One time, while their mother was visiting a friend, Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr had a wonderful idea. They would buy a new chair for Mother! They found a man who would make a frame for the chair, and someone who would upholster it. And Nanny said if they bought the fabric, she would sew a cover. There was only one problem. How could they pay for all this? With a lot of hard work, the three little boys came up with the perfect solution.