When their house mysteriously explodes and they are sent to live with an unknown relative named Grandma X, twelve-year-old twins Jaide and Jack Shield learn that they are troubletwisters, young Wardens just coming into their powers, who must protect humanity from The Evil trying to break into Earth’s dimension.
Mimi lives with her parents above her father’s herbalist shop. She hates being Chinese and being teased at school. More than anything she loves to draw, so when her art teacher gives her a box of pastels Mimi is thrilled. These are no ordinary pastels for the inscription on the box warns that they are “A treasure for some, a curse for others”. Mimi is able to draw amazing scenes on the footpath outside her father’s shop and the pastels breathe life into the pictures for those able to see it. When Gemma, her tormentor at school, steals the pastels, Mimi knows she must get them back – not only to keep them safe and their magic intact, but to save Gemma from the pastel’s curse.
A lonely Japanese magician gains friends through the paper crane that he brings to life but then must set free.
A retelling of a Russian fairy tale in which an archer assigned many dangerous quests by the greedy, cruel czar wins a crown and the woman of his dreams.
Little Rooster is happy to find a diamond button-it’s a perfect present for his mistress. Then along comes the King, who snatches the button for his treasure chamber! And when Little Rooster demands the button back, the King is so furious he has Little Rooster thrown into a well. One thing the King doesn’t know: Little Rooster has a magic stomach. Water? Fire? Bees? No problem! Children will cheer for the spunky hero of Margaret Read MacDonald’s sparkling retold tale, which she has been sharing with children since 1965. Will Terry’s vibrant and funny paintings complete the delight. The author lives in Washington State; the illustrator lives in California.
Forced to marry an ugly frog, the youngest son of the Tsar is astounded to learn that the frog is really the beautiful princess Vasilisa the Wise.
A young peasant, with the help of his faithful horse, captures magical beasts, marries the woman he loves, and becomes Tsar of Russia.
Katrusya is devastated that her family cannot afford Christmas presents this year, but it simply wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree. She soon finds the perfect one in the deepest part of the forest and decorates it with homemade ornaments. But the next day the tree is crawling with spiders! Luckily, Katrusya convinces her mother not to throw the tree away. When the family returns from church that evening, they discover that the spiders have left a dazzling Christmas miracle.
Betrayed by her jealous sisters, a Tsarina and her infant son are marooned on a barren island until a magical swan helps them regain their rightful heritage.
A little girl made from the magical first snow lives with a lonely man and his wife through the winter, and when she disappears in the spring, the couple set out in search of her.