Award Winning and Notable Children's Books PreK - 8

For fans of Studio Ghibli, artist Seiji Yoshida's fantastical art book is a perfect gift that transports readers to imaginary houses, each with their own story to tell.

In this award-winning memoir translated from Italian to English, a Jewish girl grows up during a difficult time of racial discrimination and war, and discovers light in unexpected places.

Temple Alley Summer is a fantastical and mysterious adventure filled with the living dead, a magical pearl, and a suspiciously nosy black cat named Kiriko.

Every night, at nine o'clock, wherever he is, Mr. Bianchi, an accountant who often has to travel for work, calls his daughter and tells her a bedtime story. But since it's still the 20th century world of pay phones, each story has to be told in the time that a single coin will buy.

Rusty new to the neighborhood and pretty glum, gets an idea...Dressed in brown pants, a black-and-brown striped shirt, a brown mask and cape, and his mother's brown belt, the superhero BROWN is born! Guided by his grandfather's ghost, two cans of paint, and a little help from his friends, Brown can do anything! Just as long as nobody's parents find out.

A beautiful slice-of-life story that is This One Summer meets Ursula K. Le Guin's Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, told in flashbacks.

From the author and translator of the Batchelder Award-winning novel Temple Alley Summer comes the moving story of three generations of women adapting to their new home, and its mythical inhabitants, in the tragic aftermath of the 2011 Thoku earthquake disaster.

A playful, humorous look at being small but dreaming big. As a child and her mother walk up to the swimming pool, she dreams about everything she'll do when she's older.

A resonant, captivating book about a brother and sister caught in a dark chapter of world history. Between 1936 and 1939, a civil war raged across Spain.

From acclaimed Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, comes a compelling family saga spanning fifty years and three generations.

An intricate and exquisite tale of how bedtime fears can be transformed into wondrous dreams and magical adventures, by Hans Christian Andersen award-winning Roger Mello.

A beautiful, candid picture book for children to understand what happens when a loved one begins suffering from dementia, and how best to care for them.

In the Meadow of Fantasies is one girl's luminous escapade into a land of seven mysterious horses.

While the rest of the world is sleeping, Vera is out running, flying to the lake at the top of the hill. She needs to meet her little brother again, and so, she turns to Syl. Syl, the magical creature who rises from the lake. Syl, who helps reframe grief and pain into healing and acceptance. Syl, who tells the story Vera most wants to hear: the story that brings Vera's brother back to life.

In this surreal collection of short vignettes, we are transported to the world of Sato the Rabbit: a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity, in which ordinary objects and everyday routines become magical encounters.

A collection of stories from nations and cultures across our two continents--the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it--from the Andes all the way up to Alaska. Fifteen thousand years before Europeans stepped foot in the Americas, people had already spread from tip to tip and coast to coast. Like all humans, these Native Americans sought to understand their place in the universe, the nature of their relationship with the divine, and the origin of the world into which their ancestors had emerged. The answers lay in their sacred stories.

At the Sèvres Children's Home outside Paris, Rachel Cohen has discovered her passion--photography. Although she hasn't heard from her parents in months, she loves the people at her school, adores capturing what she sees in pictures, and tries not to worry too much about Hitler's war. But as France buckles under the Nazi regime, danger closes in, and Rachel must change her name and go into hiding. As Catherine Colin, Rachel Cohen is faced with leaving the Sèvres Home--and the friends she made there--behind. But with her beautiful camera, Catherine possesses an object with the power to remember. For the rest of the war, Catherine bears witness to her own journey, and to the countless heroes whose courage and generosity saved the lives of many, including her own.

Erin's family cares for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom's army. When some of the beasts mysteriously die, Elin's mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath she manages to send her daughter to safety. Alone, far from home, Elin discovers that she can talk to both the terrifying water serpents and the majestic flying beasts that guard her queen. This skill involves her in deadly plots that could cost her life. Can she save herself and prevent her beloved beasts from being used as tools of war?

There are a lot of things ten-year-old Mafalda cares a lot about. Like, counting the stars in the night sky, playing soccer, and climbing the cherry tree outside her school. Mafalda even goes so far as to keep a list of all these things, because soon she won't be able to do them anymore--because she's going blind.

Sick since even before Jette can remember, her brother Emil now has died. The feelings that losing him evoke in her are huge and confusing. Most simply, it feels as though a dark raincloud has descended over her family. And then there's the ridiculous fact that nobody seems to know what happens after you die, and yet adults often talk as if they do. Told in the first-person voice of a wry, observant 10-year-old girl.

Korea's demilitarized zone has become an amazing accidental nature preserve that gives hope for a brighter future for a divided land. This unique picture book invites young readers into the natural beauty of the DMZ, where salmon, spotted seals, and mountain goats freely follow the seasons and raise their families in this 2.5-mile-wide, 150-mile-long corridor where no human may tread. But the vivid seasonal flora and fauna are framed by ever-present rusty razor wire, warning signs, and locked gates--and regularly interrupted by military exercises that continue decades after a 1953 ceasefire in the Korean War established the DMZ.

Sally Jones is not only a loyal friend, she's an extraordinary individual. In overalls or in a maharaja's turban, this unique gorilla moves among humans without speaking but understanding everything. She and the Chief are devoted comrades who operate a cargo boat. A job they are offered pays big bucks, but the deal ends badly, and the Chief is falsely convicted of murder. For Sally Jones this is the start of a harrowing quest for survival and to clear the Chief's name. Powerful forces are working against her, and they will do anything to protect their secrets.

Aware their grandmother is gravely ill, four siblings make a pact to keep death from taking her away. But Death does arrive all the same, as it must. He comes gently, naturally. And he comes with enough time to share a story with the children that helps them to realize the value of loss to life and the importance of being able to say goodbye.

Eddie is five and a half, and thinks she is the only one in her family who isn't really good at something. So when she hears her little sister say "birthday--Mommy--fluffy--little--squishy," it's extra important for her to find this amazing present before anyone else does. So, gregarious, charming, clever little Eddie goes all around the neighborhood to all her fabulous friends--the florist, the chic boutique owner, the antiques dealer, and even the intimidating butcher--to find one. It's a magical adventure that draws on Eddie's special gifts, ones that she herself learns to appreciate.

One day, Mikis's grandfather has a surprise for him: a new donkey waiting! Mikis falls in love with the creature, but his grandparents tell him that the donkey is a working animal, not a pet. However, they still let Mikis choose her name -- Tsaki -- and allow the two of them to spend their Sundays together. Mikis and Tsaki soon become fast friends, and together the two have some grand adventures. Eventually, both Mikis and his grandfather learn a bit more about what exactly it means to care for another creature.

The year: 1943. The place: Manhattan. Linus Muller works at the family grocery store in the east 70s. When his oldest brother, Albie, leaves to fight in World War II, Linus takes over the grocery deliveries. One of his customers is an artist from somewhere in Europe who arranges to have a crate of oranges delivered every other week. Over the course of these deliveries, an intimacy develops between Linus and the man, whom he knows only by the name he gives him, Mister Orange. In the peacefulness of Mister Orange's spare kitchen, they discuss the war, the future, freedom and imagination. Through these conversations, Linus begins to grow up as he wrestles with the realities of war and the place of comic books, superheroes and the imagination in human life.

Escaping Nazi Germany on the kindertransport changes one girl's life forever At the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England. Taken in by strangers who soon become more like family than her real parents, Frances (as she is now known) courageously pieces together a new life for herself because she doesn't know when or if she'll see her true family again. Against the backdrop of war-torn London, Frances struggles with questions of identity, family, and love, and these experiences shape her into a dauntless, charming young woman.

Based on a real series of events that happened during World War II, Soldier Bear tells the story of an orphaned bear cub adopted by a group of Polish soldiers in Iran. The soldiers raise the bear and eventually enlist him as a soldier to ensure that he stays with the company. He travels with them from Iran to Italy, and then on to Scotland. Voytek's mischief gets him into trouble along with way, but he also provides some unexpected encouragement for the soldiers amidst the reality of war: Voytek learns to carry bombs for the company, saves the camp from a spy, and keeps them constantly entertained with his antics.

Blaise Fortune, also known as Koumaïl, loves hearing the story of how he came to live with Gloria in the Republic of Georgia: Gloria was picking peaches in her father's orchard when she heard a train derail. After running to the site of the accident, she found an injured woman who asked Gloria to take her baby. The woman, Gloria claims, was French, and the baby was Blaise.   When Blaise turns seven years old, the Soviet Union collapses and Gloria decides that she and Blaise must flee the political troubles and civil unrest in Georgia. The two make their way westward on foot, heading toward France, where Gloria says they will find safe haven. But what exactly is the truth about Blaise's past?

Torn from their homeland, two Jewish sisters find refuge in Sweden. It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna--12-year-old Stephie Steiner and 8-year-old Nellie--are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden. Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings. She's happy with her foster family and soon favors the Swedish language over her native German. Not so for Stephie, who finds it hard to adapt; she feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who's as cold and unforgiving as the island itself. Her main worry, though, is her parents--and whether she will ever see them again.

Malala Yousafzai stood up to the Taliban and fought for the right for all girls to receive an education. When she was just fifteen-years old, the Taliban attempted to kill Malala, but even this did not stop her activism. At age eighteen Malala became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to ensure the education of all children around the world. Malala's courage and conviction will inspire young readers in this beautifully illustrated biography.

Edmond Bigsnout, lone wolf that he is, loves his solitary cabin in the woods. But lately he's been craving urban rabbit for dinner, so he travels into the city to catch one. Unfortunately, the rabbit has a lot of neighbors--who mistake Edmond for a kind and helpful resident Perhaps Edmond can become a good neighbor, despite his bad intentions.

The White Rose is guarded closely by the gardener, who once caught a cold walking barefoot trying to find his shoes, which had been hidden by a cat, which was a gift from his younger brother, who was married to Dalva, who had inherited the cat from her uncle, who died of a broken heart awaiting a love letter that never arrived... Eventually, we see how one tiny action can have marvellous consequences, and the story turns like a Ferris wheel.

Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention - and the importance we place on things - is beautifully expressed in Jos#65533; Sanabria's visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across time from luxury and exclusivity, industry and abandonment, to stewardship and inclusion as we see the evolving functions of the ship and the changing faces of the people who cherish it most of all.

Bart is an eternal optimist. At thirteen years old, he's had a hard life. But Bart knows that things won't get any better if you have a negative attitude. His mother has pushed him into boxing lessons so that Bart can protect himself, but Bart already has defense mechanisms: he is relentlessly positive...and he loves opera. Listening to--and singing--opera is Bart's greatest escape, but he's too shy to share this with anyone. Then popular Ada befriends him and encourages him to perform at the school talent show. Ada can't keep a secret to save her life, but Bart bonds with her anyway, and her openness helps him realize that his troubles are not burdens that he must bear alone.

Adam and Thomas is the story of two 9-year-old Jewish boys who survive World War II by banding together in the forest. They must learn to survive - and they do. They forage and build a small tree house, although it's more like a bird's nest. Echoes of the war are felt in the forest. The boys meet fugitives fleeing for their lives and try to help them. They learn to disappear in moments of danger. And they barely survive winter's harshest weather, but when things seem to be at their worst, a miracle happens.

Xiao Le's grandmother lives in a faraway village. A visit with Grandma is always a special event, but this time she is frail. With encouragement from his mom, Xiao Le plays with and helps Grandma. When Grandma dies shortly thereafter, Xiao Le comforts his mom--reminding her that when it rains, Grandma is washing her clothes in the sky . . . and that although the Perfume Village in heaven cannot be reached by train, it can be accessed by the heart.

Reading books is fun . . . but what about making them? Armed with new colored pencils, Henrietta's ready to try. Peek over her shoulder as she draws the story of a brave young girl, a three-headed monster, and an impossibly wide world of adventure.

In this gentle, poetic young graphic novel, Dounia, a grandmother, tells her granddaughter the story even her son has never heard: how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis by a series of neighbors and friends who risked their lives to keep her alive when her parents had been taken to concentration camps. Hidden ends on a tender note, with Dounia and her mother rediscovering each other as World War II ends . . . and a young girl in present-day France becoming closer to her grandmother, who can finally, after all those years, tell her story.

The Boon family story and their indefatigable gallows humor are Benny Lindelauf's literary memorial to those persecuted by history. A ghost story, a fantasy, a historical novel, and literary fiction all wrapped into one, this highly awarded novel for young readers begins with the Boon family's move to an isolated, dilapidated house. Is it the site of a haunting tragedy, as one of the daughters believes, or an end to all their worries, as their father hopes?

It's quieter than it's ever been. Unable to sleep, a young boy climbs into his father's arms. Feeling the warmth and closeness of his father, he begins to ask questions about the birds, the foxes, and whether his mom will ever wake up. They go outside under the starry sky. Loss and love are as present as the white spruces, while the father's clear answers and assurances calm his worried son.

It's World War II, and Misha's family, like the rest of the Jews living in Warsaw, has been moved by the Nazis into a single crowded ghetto. Conditions are appalling: every day more people die from disease, starvation, and deportations. Misha does his best to help his family survive, even crawling through the sewers to smuggle food. When conditions worsen, Misha joins a handful of other Jews who decide to make a final, desperate stand against the Nazis.

When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so it's just a normal part of life for her and her parents and little brother. The city of Beirut is cut in two, separated by bricks and sandbags and threatened by snipers and shelling. East Beirut is for Christians, and West Beirut is for Muslims. When Zeina's parents don't return one afternoon from a visit to the other half of the city and the bombing grows ever closer, the neighbors in her apartment house create a world indoors for Zeina and her brother where it's comfy and safe, where they can share cooking lessons and games and gossip. Together they try to make it through a dramatic day in the one place they hoped they would always be safe--home.

I was crazy. Crazy mad. That's how I felt when I turned in my AK-47 rifle. The commanding officer's growl still haunts me: "This gun is your god. You listen to the voice of your god and go where your gun tells you." This powerful and gripping story describes the journey of a brother and sister, eight-year-old Lucky and ten-year- old Nopi, who are kidnapped from school and forced to become child soldiers in Liberia's fourteen-year- long civil war. Lucky and Nopi manage to escape, but must continue fleeing. Even after they are reunited with their parents, they both know the pieces of their lives will never fit together like they used to. When will the war really be over, and when will they get to have the childhood they still dream about?

The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden. A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again--under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer. Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments.

When Pierre-Anthon realizes there is no meaning to life, the seventh-grader leaves his classroom, climbs a tree, and stays there. His classmates cannot make him come down, not even by pelting him with rocks. So to prove to Pierre-Anthon that life has meaning, the children decide to give up things of importance. The pile starts with the superficial--a fishing rod, a new pair of shoes. But as the sacrifices become more extreme, the students grow increasingly desperate to get Pierre-Anthon down, to justify their belief in meaning.

Some years have passed since the Crow-Girl set off on a journey, met Eidi and her mother, Foula, along with a few others, and persuaded them to come live near the little cove where a brook runs out to the sea. But when Foula has another baby, Eidi feels there's no longer room for her in the settlement. So she leaves Crow Cove to make her own way in the world, hoping to help her old friend Rossan with his wool out on the heath. Fate, however, brings her to a harbor town where she must find work, and she takes a position as a weaver in the household of a wealthy merchant. In town, Eidi faces disturbing reminders of her past. She also meets a neglected boy named Tink and soon makes a decision that changes the course of both of their futures. 2010 Honor book

Big Wolf lives alone under a tree at the top of a hill. He is alone, but happy. One day, another wolf arrives: a little wolf. Without a word, Little Wolf sits down next to Big Wolf. He stays all night and all the next day. At first, Big Wolf is suspicious and worried that Little Wolf will grow bigger and become a rival. After a while, however, he starts to feel fond of his small companion. That night, he decides to let Little Wolf share his blanket. The next day, he shares some of his lunch. Just as Big Wolf is starting to get used to his new friend, Little Wolf disappears. Big Wolf is too proud to cry, but the reader cannot miss the great emotion that overwhelms him. Big Wolf loses his appetite and cannot sleep. He spends his time staring at the horizon, waiting for Little Wolf to return, but without the slightest reason to hope that he will. Will Little Wolf return? If he does, Big Wolf's heart might just burst with joy. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?2010 Honor book

Young Wataru Mitani's life is a mess. His father has abandoned him and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life--a way to alter his fate.   To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. And to complicate matters, he must outwit a merciless rival from the real world.   Wataru's ultimate destination is the Tower of Destiny where a goddess of fate awaits. Only when he has finished his journey and collected five elusive gemstones will he possess the Demon's Bane--the key that will unlock his future.   Charity, bravery, faith, grace and the power of darkness and light: these are the provinces of each gemstone. Brought together, they have the immeasurable power to bring Wataru's family back together again.

On a stormy night, little Yann Doutreleau wakes up his six older brothers, all twins. He lets them know that they must flee their home--or risk being killed by their violent father. Without question, the siblings follow Yann into the wet darkness. And so begins their remarkable odyssey toward the ocean--as well as an unforgettable story of brotherhood. The social worker investigating the Doutreleau family, the truck driver who gives the boys a lift, the police officer who believes they've run away, the baker who gives them bread--each of the many people the seven boys encounter gives a stirring account of what he or she witnesses. The twins themselves add their voices, as do the Doutreleau parents; but not until the end of the journey does little Yann express his reasons for his galvanizing actions. From the Hardcover edition.

A naive country boy grapples with life in the army during Napoleon's disastrous campaign against Russia. Adam is a farmhand conscripted by Napoleon's army, which is gathering strength for its campaign against Russia. Sergeant Krauter makes Adam the victim of his most sadistic urges. But when an aristocratic young lieutenant spots Adam and requisitions him as his personal valet, Adam's life seems to take a turn for the better. As Adam and Lieutenant Konrad Klara draw closer to Moscow, they encounter a panoply of wartime horrors.

IN THE LIBYAN CITY of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. She too yearns to travel to distant cities, and longs to learn to read like her younger brother. But nearly 12 years old, and soon to be of marriagable age, Malika knows that—like all Muslim women—she must be content with a more secluded, more limited life. Then one night a stranger enters her home . . . someone who disrupts the traditional order of things—and who affects Malika in unexpected ways. “

Run, Boy, Run is the extraordinary account of one boy’s survival of the Holocaust. Srulik is only eight years old when he finds himself all alone in the Warsaw ghetto. He escapes into the countryside where he spends the ensuing years hiding in the forest, dependent on the sympathies and generosity of the poor farmers in the surrounding area. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, several chases, captures, attempted executions, and even the loss of his arm, Srulik miraculously survives.

An exciting, magical adventure set among the crumbling canals and ancient ruins of Venice, Italy. Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle. The brothers decide to hide out in Venice, where they meet a mysterious character who calls himself the "Thief Lord." Brilliant and charismatic, the Thief Lord leads a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes. Prosper and Bo relish being part of this colorful new family. But the Thief Lord has secrets of his own. And soon the boys are thrust into circumstances that will lead them, and readers, to a fantastic, spellbinding conclusion.

In 1902 in a small German town a traveler turns up spouting catchy songs about adventures in America. To the townspeople, the land sounds like paradise, and ten-year-old Johann Bonfert is excited when his own family begins planning a life overseas. His father and brother leave early to find jobs in the steel mills of Ohio, and the rest of the family follows later in a long, miserable sea journey. Johann soon discovers, however, that it's not easy to start life from scratch. America's not paradise, and assimilation can be difficult, especially for grown-ups.

Nothing could be more frightening to Samir, a Palestinian boy, than to be where he is now: an Israeli hospital ward, trapped among the very people he blames for his brother's death. Amid this explosive atmosphere, Samir begins to learn about the Israeli kids around him. He discovers their hurts and conflicts - and hesitantly begins to share his own. This is a story of violence and healing - the story of a boy facing the enemy he has been taught to fear.

Morengaru, a strong young hunter, has been cast out by both his mother's people, the Kikuyu, and his father's people, the Masai. Every day he misses human companionship, and soon he feels as though he's becoming more like the animals around him. When Morengaru has the chance to belong again, he seizes the opportunity. Then he faces the greatest challenge of his life: living among the baboons, still clinging to his humanity, hoping someday to return to his people.

Every day, eight-year-old Christine's walk to school takes her past a talking alley cat. Christine stops and feels its warm head beneath her hand, and the cat's insights invariably give her something to ponder. One day her teacher asks her why she's always late for school. Frightened, she reveals her secret. Her punishment: she must write 200 lines stating repeatedly, "There are no talking cats, and from now on I will arrive at school on time." However, the cat is real, no matter how many lines Christine writes.. . .and she might just as well leave out the "no" -- the headmaster won't even notice, says the clever cat. That's what the cat always says -- that life is all about being clever and looking out for yourself, first and foremost. Christine isn't so sure, and she is a little scared of the cat, too. There must be more to life than self-interest, surely?

On the afternoon when Angel Allegria arrives at the Poloverdos’ farmhouse, he kills the farmer and his wife. But he spares their child, Paolo a young boy who will claim this as the day on which he was born. Together the killer and the boy begin a new life on this remote and rugged stretch of land in Chile. Then Luis Secunda, a well-to-do and educated fellow from the city descends upon them. Paolo is caught in the paternal rivalry between the two men. But life resumes its course . . . until circumstances force the three to leave the farm. In doing so, Angel and Luis confront their pasts as well as their inevitable destinies, destinies that profoundly shape Paolo own future.

When the last dragon and the last elf break the circle, the past and the future will meet, and the sun of a new summer will shine in the sky. In a world shrouded in darkness and continually lashed by rain, a young elf named Yorsh struggles to survive. His village has been destroyed by the torrential waters, leaving Yorsh suddenly orphaned and alone, the earth's last elf. But soon Yorsh discovers he is part of a powerful prophecy to save the world from the Dark Age that has begun. First, however, the young elf will have to find another orphaned creature the world's last dragon.

Nicholas is the first in a series of five books, that bring to life the day-to-day adventures of a young school boy - amusing, endearing and always in trouble. An only child, Nicholas appears older at school than he does at home; his touchingly naive reactions to different situations cut through the preconceptions of adults to result in a formidable sequence of escapades.

When I was a Soldier by Valérie Zenatti, is an autobiographical account of her two years in the Israeli National Defense Service. At the age of eighteen, all the students are required to enlist for two years at the Israeli National Defense Service.

A timeless novel about the kindness of strangers Near a little cove where a brook runs out to the sea live a girl and her grandmother. All alone with no neighbors at all, the two lead a peaceful existence. They have a house, dine on sea kale and mussels and sand snails, and build fires from driftwood. But the grandmother is very old. When the time comes that the girl must bury the woman, she makes up a funeral song about the birds she is watching: Two crows never fly alone, and death is never, ever past.

At the dawn of Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933 and a period of the most brutal, aggressive anti-Semitism the world has ever seen, two boys swear eternal brotherhood by slitting their wrists and mingling their blood. Having experienced so much together, even a night in jail after painting a swastika on a wall in the hated Communist section of Hamburg, Daniel and Armin had become the best of friends.

Do you know the story of Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut who went all the way to the moon but never walked on its surface? Instead, he orbited the moon 14 times, surrounded by 701 power switches and 20 pounds of checklists.

Henrietta has big dreams for a little chicken: learning to sing, to swim, to fly, and, most important of all, to lay golden eggs. Even when her three thousand, three hundred thirty-three fellow inmates in the old hen house laugh at her ambitions, Henrietta holds fast, practicing day and night.

The last thing the class expects when they go back to school is for their new teacher to be old! And then he gives them a goofy present-a book of coupons: one coupon for skipping school for a day; one coupon for not listening in class; one coupon for singing at the top of your lungs whenever you like. The list goes on! What is this wrinkly old teacher trying to do, get everyone in trouble?

When Eric, Charles and Andreas stumble across a remarkable computer war game called The Ultimate Experience they soon realise the game has a life of its own...

A solitary boy is drawn to his mysterious new neighbor, an artist named Max. He spends hours in Max's studio, but Max is secretive and does not show the boy his pictures -- until he departs on a journey and leaves behind a surprise exhibition for his young friend. Max's pictures are strange and beautiful.

Vendela has long been fascinated by Venice, where the streets are canals, the cars are boats, and the houses are palaces. Finally her father takes her on a special spring trip to the city, which turns out to be every bit as fairy-tale-like as he has promised.

A raw, poignant story of a band of Brazilian street kids who survive -- if they can -- by their wits alone.