~ An Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice Award Winner ~ A Storytelling World Honor Book Once, when young Nasruddin was acting up in class by distracting his friends with endless antics, jests, and stories, his irate teacher uttered a curse: “Whatever you do or say, people will only laugh at you.” Now, eight centuries later, children, adults, and wise fools everywhere are still laughing at Nasruddin (Nasreddin Hoca), one of the world’s most beloved folk characters. This entertaining and insightful retelling of more than a year’s worth of daily Mullah stories brings the famed Persian legend into the Twenty-First Century. Storytellers, folklorists, Sufis, comedians, wisdom seekers, and everyone who loves to laugh will be enriched and enlightened by the timeless wit, inscrutable wisdom, and uncommon sense of humor of Mullah Nasruddin. “Suresha identifies the real strength of Nasruddin’s stories in context to world literature and story performance, that is, its power to build bridges between cultures. … The point of these stories is to speak to the audience in the language and metaphors that are familiar.” — Storytelling, Self, Society “A contemporary reworking of the tales (the stories fit for a general audience, at least) … to Suresha’s credit he has maintained the direct, unadorned style that is a hallmark of folk tales. … a delightful break from the everyday world for an hour or two.” — Green Man Review “A fine pick and very highly recommended.” — Midwest Book Review “These hilarious, and at times, ribald folk tales of the Turkish wise fool take the reader to another time and place, and share the spiritual lessons of Nasruddin. … The teaching stories included in this volume help to build bridges between cultures by exemplifying Arabic wisdom and universal human humor.” — from the Preface by Ann Shapiro, Executive Director, Connecticut Storytelling Center

Retells in pictures how a pair of every manner of creature climbed on board Noah's ark and thereby survived the Flood.

Accustomed to a carefree existence, fifteen-year-old Parker Baer meets the girl next door and finds his life taking a menacing turn as he begins to absorb some of her terrible powers.

Wondrously weird tales guaranteed to grab young readers. Contents: Neal Shusterman's Darkness Creeping II: More Tales to Trouble Your Sleep (1995) - interior artwork by Barbara Kiwak Riding the Raptor (1995) Trash Day (1995) An Ear for Music (1995) Soul Survivor (1995) Security Blanket (1995) Growing Pains (1995) Connecting Flight (1995) Crystalloid (1995)

The classic collection of Indian fairy tales, compiled by famed translator and scholar, Joseph Jacobs. This book contains a treasure trove of fairy tales from India, including: The Lion and the Crane, How the Raja's Son won the Princess Labam., The Lambikin, Punchkin, The Broken Pot, The Magic Fiddle, The Cruel Crane Outwitted, Loving Laili, The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal, The Soothsayer's Son, Harisarman, The Charmed Ring, The Talkative Tortoise, A Lac of Rupees for a Bit of Advice, The Gold-giving Serpent, The Son of Seven Queens, A Lesson for Kings, Pride goeth before a Fall, Raja Rasalu., The Ass in the Lion's Skin, The Farmer and the Money-lender, The Boy who had a Moon on his Forehead and a Star on his Chin, The Prince and the Fakir, Why the Fish Laughed., The Demon with the Matted Hair, The Ivory City and its Fairy Princess, How Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to Dinner, How the Wicked Sons were Duped., and The Pigeon and the Crow.

Describes in verse such unusual birds as the shuttercluck, the milkbottle midge, the waterglass goose, and the highbutton bobolink.

Retells, in verse, thirteen fables from the Greek slave, Aesop, including "The Hare and the Tortoise," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and "The Fox and the Stork."

In a society where lies are law, a simple act of honesty can become the ultimate rebellion. When does silent compliance with an oppressive regime become unbearable? For Charlie Simpkins, the manager of a small vegetable shop in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, part of the West Coast People's Democratic Republic, the breaking point comes when he is asked to display a meaningless propaganda poster in his shop window. It is a seemingly insignificant act in a lifetime of obedience. But Charlie just can't bring himself to doing it. This minor act of defiance, however, show too much independent thinking on Charlie's part, setting off a chain of escalating consequences for Charlie and his wife and two children. Powerless is a haunting dystopian tale of how even the smallest act of defiance can spiral into disaster in a society that demands total conformity. It serves as a chilling reminder of how easily standing up for one's principles can lead to crushing consequences, erringly echoing the challenges we face today for speaking our truth, even in societies that claim to uphold freedom. While the novel draws original inspiration from Alexander Dubček's 1968 vision of "socialism with a human face" in Czechoslovakia (the reformist movement sought to humanize authoritarian rule), it will resonate with many who fear that individual freedoms are under attack in many parts of the world. In Powerless, Charlie Simpkins' growing disillusionment mirrors the psychological toll experienced by many today as political stress and uncertainty become ever more pervasive. As Charlie seeks out others who share his dissatisfaction, his increasingly deliberate and risky actions symbolize the quiet acts of defiance that offer hope and resistance in a society where the powerful suppress dissent. Powerless serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences that can arise when standing up for one's principles in an environment that demands conformity.​

When Dr. Bud Payne of Mobile, Alabama, donates two weeks of his time to a Kenyan village hospital, it is the beginning of an astonishing adventure for him and his family.Bud offers to fly a young Maasai girl back to America for life-saving heart surgery. She comes - but not her entire tribe is with her, Maasai warriors carrying spears, mothers in tribal dress carrying babies, even a mysterious medicine man alight from the airplane.The girl goes to the hospital, but the tribe goes to the Paynes' backyard. Gone are Gail Payne's prized rose beds, gone is the lawn. In their place are the mud huts of the Maasai.As the suburban neighbors mingle with the tribesmen and the medicine man mingles with the surgeons, hilarious, harrowing, and even enlightening adventures result. The warriors rustle the nearest redneck's prime dairy cow for slaughter, and the Paynes' children swap their school clothes for war paint. Gail nearly loses her mind and Bud nearly loses his medical license.However, it all leads to a classic happy ending, heightened by a cultural exchange beyond anyone's original dreams.

"There is no privacy more inviolable than that of the prisoner. To visualize that cell in which he is thinking, to reach what he alone knows; that is a blank in the dark." Privileged whites in post-apartheid South Africa, Harald and Claudia Lindgard have managed to live the better part of 50 years without ever confronting the deepest shadows in their culture or in their own souls. Though they conceive of themselves as liberal-minded, neither has ever taken any active political stand; neither has ever been in any black person's home. Harald sits on the board of an insurance company; Claudia is a compassionate doctor. Neither of them has ever been inside a courtroom before; neither has ever been inside a prison. When their architect-son, Duncan, is arrested for murder, both know that the charge is preposterous. But Duncan himself fails to deny his guilt, and his parents are brought by a harsh and ungainly process to accept the possibility that he has committed an unthinkable crime. Nadine Gordimer's The House Gun is a gravely sustained exploration of their long-delayed but necessary descent into an intimate acquaintance with the culture of violence that surrounds them and that is "the common hell of all who are associated with it." The novel is a mystery, but not in the usual sense of the whodunit. Here the question of who quickly gives way to why and thence to other, still deeper quandaries of culpability, both immediate and ultimate. The enigmatic Duncan becomes a dark mirror in which his stunned parents must desperately grope for a new vision of themselves and their world--a vision that will not shatter, as their old one has, under a single blow from reality. Gordimer's prose is mannered and severe; humor is rare, or absent. "As the couple emerge into the foyer of the courts, vast and lofty cathedral echoing with the susurration of its different kind of supplicants gathered there, Claudia suddenly breaks away, disappearing towards the sign indicating toilets. Harald waits for her among these people patient in trouble, no choice to be otherwise, for them, he is one of them, the wives, husbands, fathers, lovers, children of forgers, thieves and murderers." This difficult exposition is the reader's own dark mirror, where we as spectators fumble from one dubious explanation to the next--a twisted reflection always reminding us that, underlying this social tragedy, there is a mystery play in the old sense, and an unanswerable question: What is a human being? Paragraph after paragraph, the reader is led into deeper and deeper perceptions of the sensibilities and the dilemmas of these characters--into a quiet intimacy with their trouble that is sometimes acutely uncomfortable, but which pays off richly in an ending that reconciles our sense of the horror of violence with our desire to believe in the value of each life. --Daniel Hintzsche

A mother explains to her son that in nature an end is also a beginning as day gives way to night, winter ends and spring begins, and, after it stops falling, rain makes clouds for other storms.

A lively collection of stories that gives voices and names to women from biblical and ancient times whom we seldom remember. This lively collection of four stories is a modern reclaiming of the Bible, a celebration of courageous and wise women from ancient tradition. These stories invite children of all ages and all faiths to remember, and to bring their own faith to life. With vivid prose and lush, full-color illustrations, this storybook introduces: Lillith, the first woman in the Garden of Eden, according to an ancient legend, shows her determination to have men and women treat each other as equals.Serach the musician, who, with her song, reveals to her grandfather Jacob that his son Joseph is still alive, and whose courage to speak out heals the wrongs of another generation.Bityah, who draws the baby Moses from the Nile and with a mother's bravery encourages him to become who he will be, proving that taking a risk to do what's right can change the world.Daughters of Z, who struggle against discrimination with great daring and extraordinary results. "

"Nicolas Fiorilla and his gang of children - his paranza - control the squares of Forcella after their rapid rise to power. But it isn't easy being at the top. Now that the Piranhas have power in the city, Nicolas must undermine the old families of the Camorra and remain united among themselves. Every paranzino has his own vendettas and dreams to pursue--dreams that might go beyond the laws of the gang. A new war may be about to break out in this city of cutthroat bargaining, ruthless betrayal, and brutal revenge. Saviano continues the story of the disillusioned boys of Forcella, the paranzini ready to give and receive kisses that leave a taste of blood."--Provided by publisher.

Albertine has finally escaped her ‘imprisonment’ from Marcel’s Paris apartment… Not only is Marcel quite unprepared for the effect her flight has on him, but also soon he is devastated by news of an even more irreversible loss.

Seven-year-old Martha learns a lesson about responsibility when Daddy gives her a playful new pet.

Hilary learns an important lesson in safety: never accept a ride from a stranger.

Thomas Wiggins' sweet new dog McGrowl is changed forever by the creepy Dr. Minderbinder, who transforms McGrowl into a dog with superpowers, and now Thomas and his pal must find a way to thwart the veterinarian's evil plot.