Imagination

Most Beloved Sister

Barbara has a secret friend who lives in the garden. It’s her twin sister, Lalla-Lee, and Barbara doesn’t have to share her with her papa or mama or brother. What’s even better is that Lalla-Lee calls Barbara her “Most Beloved Sister.” Together, the girls bravely ride their horses through the Great Horrible Forest, where the nasty Frights live, to visit the Kind Ones in the meadow. The Kind Ones always give them cookies and caramels. And best of all, Barbara and Lalla-Lee go to the Most Beautiful Valley in the World, where the trees and the flowers sing. At the end of this particular adventure, Barbara knows that she must say goodbye to Lalla-Lee for the final time. But when she arrives home, there is a wonderful surprise waiting for her.

Hunwick’s Egg

When a mysterious egg appears outside Hunwick’s burrow after a terrible storm, no one knows what to do with it. And when it doesn’t hatch right away, everyone is even more bewildered. Everyone, that is, but Hunwick. For Hunwick understands the egg. It is his friend. And he is the only one who knows its secret. From the author and illustrator of the modern classic Koala Lou, here is a moving tale of loneliness, friendship, and most of all, the power the imagination has to change the way we see the world.

Rain

Sam wants to go out, but it’s pouring rain, so Granddad says they need to stay inside until the rain stops. Sam drinks hot chocolate and reads his books and dreams of adventures while Granddad does some paperwork. When Granddad needs to mail his letter, it’s time to go out despite the rain and floods and Sam and Granddad have a magical adventure. The follow up to the acclaimed Snow, this is the second title in a four-book series based on the weather from creator Sam Usher.

Samira and the Skeletons

A humorous story, wonderfully delivered through text and images. Samira is shaken when she learns at school that everyone has a skeleton inside them. She begins to see everyone as walking bones and even asks her mom to help her escape her own skeleton.

Featured in WOW Review Volume IX, Issue 3.

Walk with Me

A deceptively simple, imaginative story depicting the complex emotional reality of a girl whose father no longer lives at home. The girl conjures up an imaginary companion, a lion, who will come with her on the long walk home from school. He will help her to pick up her baby brother from daycare and shop at the store (which has cut off the family’s credit), and he’ll keep her company all along the way until she is safe at home.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XI, Issue 2.

Grumpy Feet (Lily and Bear)

Lily loves to draw, but today something feels different. Things feel a little frumpy and bumpy, just not so and not quite right. Her pencils are too pointy. Her paints are too sloshy. And her crayons are too stubby. Even her friend Bear can’t help, until they realize that Lily has Grumpy Feet! It takes a special friend like Bear to turn Lily’s day around!

Lionheart

Richard hears something in his room before bedtime. Is it a monster? He doesn’t wait to find out and sets off running through the streets, over the hills, through the forest, and into the fields until he finds himself in a magical jungle. With the help of his stuffed lion Lionheart, Richard finds the courage he needs to face his fears.

The 52-Story Treehouse

Andy and Terry live in a 52-Story treehouse. (It used to be a 39-story treehouse, but they keep expanding.) It has a chainsaw-juggling level, a make-your-own-pizza parlor, a rocket-powered carrot-launcher, a life-size snakes and ladders game, a remembering booth, a Ninja Snail Training Academy and a high-tech detective agency, with all the latest high-tech detective technology, including the Disguise-o-Matic 5000!