Winner at the 2012 International Latino Book Awards. A superbly illustrated original story about the power of loving yourself and finding happiness. This is the story of Anastasia, a cockroach who dreamed of being accepted and becoming famous and important like her distant relatives the Egyptian beetles, sacred insects that everybody treated like royalty. Although it may seem impossible to believe, in another life Anastasia was a princess, transformed by a wave of the magic wand of Fairy Brunhilda, who was determined to sow good wherever she went. But being a princess is not an easy task... Soon Anastasia began to feel out of place. She didn’t like life in the palace too much, and after following exciting adventures, Anastasia came to understand that being a ordinary, everyday cockroach wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Especially when, moved by her great heart, she managed to save the lives of an entire family of humans, everything without getting a hair out of place! What prize did Fairy Brunhilda have in store for her as a reward for her generous actions? Read the first pages of Story of a cockroach here below:
The beautiful Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage, so when suitors come calling, what is she to do? Luckily, she has her Cuban family to help! While some of the Cucarachas offer Martina gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her some useful advice: spill coffee on his shoes to see how he handles anger. At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. After reading this award-winning retelling of the Cuban folktale, readers will never look at a cockroach the same way again. Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a delightfully inventive Cuban twist on the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café Cubano.
Snow White had her Prince Charming and Victoria had her Albert. Who really knows how "grand" the Duke of York was? P is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet gives an enchanting A to Z tour of the world of kings, queens, and the stories behind the thrones. Monarchs real (Princesses Diana and Grace) and make-believe (Aurora and Cinderella) are examined, along with their accompanying legends and histories. Topics include castles, crown jewels, ladies-in-waiting, and that most anticipated of all royal occasions - the grand ball! Sumptuous artwork perfectly complements the majestic subject matter, making P is for Princess a visual treat for royal watchers of all ages.Steven and Deborah Layne also wrote the popular T is for Teachers: A School Alphabet, which received a Learning magazine Teachers' Choice Award for Children's Books. Well-regarded educators and literacy consultants, the Laynes live with their young children in St. Charles, Illinois. Husband and wife Robert and Lisa Papp are each established artists in their own right. Rob's previous work for Sleeping Bear Press includes The Last Brother and The Scarlet Stockings Spy. Lisa illustrated the Pennsylvania number book, One for All, and Eve Bunting's My Mom's Wedding. Rob and Lisa live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
ÊI remember well the feelings roused in my mind at mention or sight of the name Lucifer during the earlier years of my life. It stood for me as the name of a being stupendous, dreadful in moral deformity, lurid, hideous, and mighty. I remember also the surprise with which when I had grown somewhat older and begun to study Latin, I came upon the name in Virgil, where it means the Light-bringer, or Morning-star,Ñthe herald of the sun. Many years after I had found the name in Virgil, I spent a night at the house of a friend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, right at the shore of Lake Michigan. The night was clear but without a moon,Ña night of stars, which is the most impressive of all nights, vast, brooding, majestic. At three oÕclock in the morning I woke, and being near an uncurtained window, rose and looked out. Rather low in the east was the Morning-star, shining like silver, with a bluish tinge of steel. I looked towards the west; the great infinity was filled with the hosts of heaven, ranged behind this Morning-star. I saw at once the origin of the myth which grew to have such tremendous moral meaning, because the Morning-star was not in this case the usher of the day but the chieftain of night, the Prince of Darkness, the mortal enemy of the Lord of Light. I returned to bed knowing that the battle in heaven would soon begin. I rose when the sun was high next morning. All the world was bright, shining and active, gladsome and fresh, from the rays of the sun; the kingdom of light was established; but the Prince of Darkness and all his confederates had vanished, cast down from the sky, and to the endless eternity of God their places will know them no more in that night again. They are lost beyond hope or redemption, beyond penance or prayer. I have in mind at this moment two Indian stories of the Morning-star,Ñone Modoc, the other Delaware. The Modoc story is very long, and contains much valuable matter; but the group of incidents that I wish to refer to here are the daily adventures and exploits of a personage who seems to be no other than the sky with the sun in it. This personage is destroyed every evening. He always gets into trouble, and is burned up; but in his back is a golden disk, which neither fire nor anything in the world can destroy. From this disk his body is reconstituted every morning; and all that is needed for the resurrection is the summons of the Morning-star, who calls out, ÒIt is time to rise, old man; you have slept long enough.Ó Then the old man springs new again from his ashes through virtue of the immortal disk and the compelling word of the star. Now, the Morning-star is the attendant spirit or ÒmedicineÓ of the personage with the disk, and cannot escape the performance of his office; he has to work at it forever. So the old man cannot fail to rise every morning. As the golden disk is no other than the sun, the Morning-star of the Modocs is the same character as the Lucifer of the Latins.
Princess Hyacinth is bored and unhappy sitting in her palace every day because, unless she is weighed down by specially-made clothes, she will float away, but her days are made brighter when kite-flying Boy stops to say hello.
When a sensitive prince searches far and wide for a bride but finds no princess as tender-hearted as he is, he can hardly bear the disappointment. Then a mysterious stranger comes to the door. Could she be the one the prince has been looking for? How will he know? Xanthe Gresham's lyrical prose brings rich detail and contemporary depth to this beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.
When a lonely Penguin Prince meets the Penguin Princess of his dreams, he asks for her fin in marriage. But can she pass the pea test and prove that she is a real princess? Janet Perlman, an award-winning animator, creates a colorful cartoon kingdom of penguin characters that are expressive and charming. This retelling of the classic tale is guaranteed to bring on the giggles! Children aged 4 - 8
