Books

Item Description

When I Was Your Age, by Amy Ehrlich:
"Tell me a story of when you were little" is something children love to ask. Twenty award-winning authors respond in these two extraordinary volumes, now combined in one book. The writers of these stories make it clear that despite the difference between one childhood and another, all children share a complex humanity and a deep capacity for joy.

WinterFrost, by Michelle Houts: 

An ordinary Danish Christmas turns extraordinary when a family overlooks an important folkloric tradition.

Christmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost over the countryside. But twelve-year-old Bettina’s parents have been called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia. In all the confusion, Bettina’s family neglects to set out the traditional bowl of Christmas rice pudding for the tiny nisse who are rumored to look after the family and their livestock. No one besides her grandfather ever believed the nisse were real, so what harm could there be in forgetting this silly custom? But when baby Pia disappears during a nap, the magic of the nisse makes itself known. To find her sister and set things right, Bettina must venture into the miniature world of these usually helpful, but sometimes mischievous folk. A delightful winter adventure for lovers of the legendary and miraculous.

The Worst Witch to the Rescue, by Jill Murphy:

Mildred Hubble, the worst student at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, returns in a new escapade for young magic lovers.Lovable but accident-prone Mildred Hubble is possibly the worst witch ever to go to Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. She always tries her best, but her spells never seem to go right. In her latest adventure, Mildred is set up for disaster by her arch-nemesis, Ethel Hallow. Ethel steals Mildred’s summer project and her enchanted tortoise, Einstein, and Mildred must brave a broomstick flight through a violent thunderstorm to rescue him. But will she ever get back into Miss Hardbroom’s good graces? Since 1974, millions of readers have enjoyed Mildred’s exploits, and now she’s back to cast her spell on a new generation of readers.

Zap, by Paul Fleischman:

imed at a generation of short attention spans and a taste for razor-sharp comedy, the rapid-fire ZAP is a smart, farcical new play for high-school students that's ready to bring the house down.

When they're not dusting off the old classics — over and over — high-school drama departments are constantly in search of new material. But what play could possibly suit the point-and-click attention spans of kids born with remote controls in their cribs? Cue the lights for ZAP, a nonstop farce that juxtaposes seven different plays — performed simultaneously — with a comic genius reminiscent of masters from Monty Python to the Marx Brothers. Combining spot-on parodies of Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie, Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett, Neil Simon and performance art and throwing in scenes from RICHARD III for good measure, ZAP flicks rapidly back and forth from play to play, with hilarious results. As characters from one play end up on the set of another, their befuddlement, exasperation, and brave attempts at improvisation are truly priceless. A hoot to read, ZAP is a dream to perform — as high schools in California, New York, and Florida have already discovered.