Secret in the Tower: Time Spies, Book 1
Three siblings find a magic way to travel through time and have adventures. A nice bled of history of fun.
 | author: Candice Ransom rating:  asin: 0786940271 binding: Paperback list price: $4.99 USD amazon price: $4.99 USD |
First in an exciting all-new series for children, complete with time travel, adventure, and American history!
In this brand-new series by acclaimed author Candice Ransom, three children meet unsung heroes who shaped America’s history. Follow the children as they hop in and out of various eras, learning important life lessons along the way. Children will enjoy the fun, easy-to-read style, and librarians, educators and parents will appreciate the learning their young readers pick up along the way. Each book ends with a fun, do-it-yourself craft project that encourages readers to delve deeper into the subject of the story.
Best Witches
Last time this year I checked out Best Witches by Jane Yolen and our girls loved hearing the silly poems, and they each picked out one to commit to memory. We got it again this year and it's still a book they love to hear from to get into the Halloween spirit.
 | author: Jane Yolen rating: asin: 0399215395 binding: Hardcover list price: $14.95 USD amazon price: $14.95 |
The author presents her own poetry on witches, ghosts, magic, and other aspects of Halloween.
A Witch Got On At Paddington Station
I love books about witches and this is one of the best for small children. A *very* friendly witch gets on the bus and begins to sing... We read this one over and over and over.
 | author: Dyan Sheldon rating:  asin: 0091725887 binding: Hardcover |
Gobbolino the Witch's Cat (Young Puffin Modern Classics)
Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is the 2nd chapter book in a series by Ursula Moray Williams, published in 1942. The first, The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse is a family favorite. This tale of a kitten trying to find a home is very interesting, a great book for young children to hear.
 | author: Ursula Moray Williams rating:  asin: 0141323264 binding: Paperback |
Half Magic
This book is timeless and hilarious. One of the most wonderful parts of my life is laughing out loud with my children and we did that many, many times throughout this book. Four children find a magic charm that will grant wishes, and how they handle it and the lessons they learn is fascinating. The imagination in this book is inspiring.
 | author: Edward Eager rating: asin: 0152020683 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
Edward Eager has been delighting young readers for more than 40 years with stories that mix magic and reality. Half Magic, the most popular of his tales about four children who encounter magical coins, time-travel herb gardens, and other unlikely devices, is a warm, funny, original adventure. The title refers to a coin that the children find. Through a comical series of coincidences, they discover that the coin is magic. Well, it's not totally magic--it's only (you guessed it) half magic. That means there's a certain logic to the wishes one must make to generate a desired outcome.
Six Swans: A Folktale
This is a gorgeously illustrated book, a kinder version of the tale.
 | author: Christine San Jose Jacob Grimm Wilhelm Grimm rating: asin: 1590780566 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.95 USD amazon price: $13.22 USD |
The Hollyhock Wall
 | author: Martin Waddell rating:  asin: 0744577322 binding: Paperback list price: $10.35 USD amazon price: $10.35 |
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
 | author: Julie Andrews Edwards rating: asin: 0060218053 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $16.99 USD |
The Whangdoodle was once the wisest, the kindest, and the most extraordinary creature in the world.Then he disappeared and created a wonderful land for himself and all the other remarkable animals -- the ten-legged Sidewinders, the little furry Flukes, the friendly Whiffle Bird, and the treacherous, "oily" Prock. It was an almost perfect place where the last of the really great Whangdoodles could rule his kingdom with "peace, love and a sense of fun"-- apart from and forgotten by people.
But not completely forgotten. Professor Savant believed in the Whangdoodle. And when he told the three Potter children of his search for the spectacular creature, Lindy, Tom, and Ben were eager to reach Whangdoodleland.
With the Professor's help, they discovered the secret way. But waiting for them was the scheming Prock, who would use almost any means to keep them away from his beloved king.
Russian Fairy Tales (Everyman's Library Children's Classics)
This collection of classic Russian fairy tales is fascinating. Expect this book to be as violent as other classic fairy tales, complete with witches that threaten to eat you if you don't do her chores, heros that get cut up in pieces but somehow come back to life, evil step mothers and step sisters are burnt to ashes from a glowing skull, and so on. There aren't too many pictures, but the ones they do have are exquisite. This was a favorite of our (then) 5 year old, who was particularly fond of the tale "Vassilissa the Beautiful and the Witch Baba Yaga", which I think I've read over a dozen times.
 | author: Gillian Avery Ivan Bilibin rating: asin: 0679436413 binding: Hardcover list price: $14.95 USD amazon price: $14.95 USD |
Notable for their magnificent, jewel-like color illustrations by Bilibin, these traditional tales include "The Frog Princess," "Vassilissa the Beautiful," and "The White Duck." Though Russian Fairy Tales in the Pantheon Folklore Library is a book for adults, it has sold over 30,000 copies.
Mrs. Biddlebox (Golden Kite Awards (Awards))
 | author: Linda Smith rating: asin: 0060286903 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.99 USD amazon price: $15.99 |
On a knotty little hill,In a dreary little funk,Mrs. Biddlebox rolled overOn the wrong sideof her bunk.Mrs. Biddlebox is having a really bad day. The birds are screeching, her belly is grumbling, and even her crumpets are stale. What is she to do? Then, suddenly, Mrs. Biddlebox has the most bewitching idea!With a pinch of magic and just the right amount of humor, Linda Smith and Marla Frazee have whipped up an enchantingly original tale that will charm anyone who's ever woken up on the wrong side of the bunk.
