Afternoon Of The Elves

In “this enchanting story about friendship,” two fourth grade girls discover a magical world hidden in one’s backyard (Publishers Weekly). No fourth grader trusts Sara-Kate Connolly. Her boots are dirty, her clothes are weird, and she’s so maladjusted that the school had to hold her back a grade. But Hillary is her next-door neighbor, and can’t say no when the unusual loner invites her over to play. In Sara-Kate’s overgrown backyard, Hillary will find proof of a world of magic—the kind that can only blossom between true friends. Among the rusted car parts and wild plants, a miniature village has sprung up. It has tiny houses made from string, sticks, and maple leaves; a well with a bottlecap for a bucket; and even a little playground with a Popsicle-stick Ferris wheel. But there’s absolutely no sign of who built this miniature world. To Sara-Kate, the answer is clear—only elves could be responsible for something so enchanted. As she and Hillary watch for their elusive new friends, they learn that friendship, like magic, springs up where you least expect it. This ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection.

Icelandic folklore is rife with tales of elves and hidden people that inhabited hills and rocks in the landscape. But what do those elf stories really tell us about the Iceland of old and the people who lived there? In this book, author Alda Sigmundsdóttir presents twenty translated elf stories from Icelandic folklore, along with fascinating notes on the context from which they sprung. The international media has had a particular infatuation with the Icelanders’ elf belief, generally using it to propagate some kind of “kooky Icelanders” myth. Yet Iceland’s elf folklore, at its core, reflects the plight of a nation living in abject poverty on the edge of the inhabitable world, and its people’s heroic efforts to survive, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That is what the stories of the elves, or hidden people, are really about. In a country that was, at times, virtually uninhabitable, where poverty was endemic and death and grief a part of daily life, the Icelanders nurtured a belief in a world that existed parallel to their own. This was the world of the hidden people, which more often than not was a projection of the most fervent dreams and desires of the human population. The hidden people lived inside hillocks, cliffs, or boulders, very close to the abodes of the humans. Their homes were furnished with fine, sumptuous objects. Their clothes were luxurious, their adornments beautiful. Their livestock was better and fatter, their sheep yielded more wool than regular sheep, their crops were more bounteous. They even had supernatural powers: they could make themselves visible or invisible at will, and they could see the future. To the Icelanders, stories of elves and hidden people are an integral part of the cultural and psychological fabric of their nation. They are a part of their identity, a reflection of the struggles, hopes, resilience, and endurance of their people. What you will read about in The Little Book of the Hidden People: • The fascination in the international media: why are they so obsessed with elves? • The meaning of elf: what do hidden people stories tell us about the psyche of the Icelanders of old? • The elves' badassery—they could make or break your fortune so you’d better be nice! • The ljúflingar ... hidden men who became the lovers of mortal women • Glamorous and regal: why were the elves so damn good-looking? • The grim realities: what do scholars believe about all those children abducted by elves? ... and so much more!

DIVDIVTwo grieving sisters resolve to break a spell cast by evil fairies/divDIV After the death of their mother, Olivia and Nellie are shipped off to their great-aunt’s house for the summer. Nine-year-old Olivia is not excited about the trip—she has to keep one eye on kind but eccentric Aunt Minty and the other on her younger sister, Nellie, who’s been behaving oddly. But the summer takes an interesting turn when Olivia discovers an old fairy tale: the story of a group of children who, at a garden tea party, are turned into flowers. The garden sounds an awful lot like the one at Aunt Minty’s house—could the flower children be real? If Olivia and Nellie can only locate the old tea set from the story, they might be able to break the spell./divDIV/div/div

Marvin McGee is the smallest elf at the North Pole. Although he is eager to help, his tiny stature prevents him from doing all the important things that elves need to do to get ready for Christmas. Despite his petite size, Marvin has immense courage and a huge heart, traits that he will soon need. One day, trouble comes to the North Pole. With everyone so busy preparing for Christmas, Marvin is the only one around who can save the day. And now his small size is paying off, as he finds the strength to rescue everyone else at the North Pole. In the end, Marvin realizes that even though he is small, he can still do great and wonderful things. Author Erin Snedeker lives in Florida, where she recently graduated high school. She teaches piano lessons, is a lifeguard and plans to attend college. Snedeker wrote The Littlest Elf as a Christmas present for her seven-year-old brother. Her next book, Strudell McDoogal and his Fabulous Flugal, is about a boy who learns that it is okay to be yourself and stand up for what you believe in. Publisher's website: http: //www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheLittlestElf.html

Another action-packed adventure from the new master of fantasy. The Raven travel to a new continent in search of mages to help the ruined college of Julatsa rebuild and find themselves in the midst of an ancient curse—a curse that has unleashed a plague that threatens to wipe out the elven race. Barclay excels with another tale that pitches The Raven against the clock and unseen foes. Full of desperate fights and secret betrayals, the story also fills in more of Balaia’s history and delves deeper into the ancient emnities between the colleges. Barclay has created a wonderfully appealing group of heroes, and with every book their history grows and the land they live in becomes wider and richer. This is landmark fantasy in the making.

Twelve-year-old Jessie spends the summer with her family on Quicksand Pond, a New England vacation spot, where she develops a star-crossed friendship with independent Terri, and meets a reclusive old lady whose connection to a murder that took place decades ago still informs her present and affects Terri in ways that Jessie gradually comes to understand the more time they spend together.

DIVWar is coming, and it will take two very unusual friends to avert a showdown in the town of Forest /divDIV Upper Forest is the kingdom of an ancient clan of squirrels. For years they have lived and died in the trees, building an elaborate civilization high above the earth. Since man came to Forest, the trees have been thinned, but there are still enough thick groves where the squirrels can run from branch to branch, going days without touching the ground. To avoid people, their natural enemies, the squirrels make their homes higher than any human can climb—or so they think. But they haven’t met Amber Padgett./divDIV /divDIVSwift, bright, and fearless, Amber has never fit in among humans. When she pokes her head into Upper Forest, she begins an unlikely friendship with a squirrel named Woodbine. As this mismatched pair grows close, the worlds of Upper and Lower Forest collide. But Amber’s father, and other people in town, think the squirrels are pests and try to get rid of them. Which will triumph: friendship or war?/divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection. /div

When three kittens are carelessly thrown off the back of a truck, none of the highway cats know what to make of them. They seem to have some sort of appeal?an energy, even?that Khalia Koo, Jolly Roger and the rest of the mangy, feral cats don?t understand. But there are bigger issues to figure out when the bulldozers start coming, threatening to demolish the cats? homes as well as other historical landmarks. Can three little kittens be the answer to save the town? Illustrated with striking silhouettes, here is a spirited and original environmental story from Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle about finding help?and hope?in the smallest, most unlikely of places.

It is spring 1929, and Prohibition is in full swing. So when Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body washed up on the shore of their small coastal Rhode Island town, they are sure it has something to do with smuggling liquor. Soon the boys, along with Jeddy’s strongwilled sister, Marina, are drawn in, suspected by rival bootlegging gangs of taking something crucial off the dead man. Then Ruben meets the daring captain of the Black Duck, the most elusive smuggling craft of them all, and it isn’t long before he’s caught in a war between two of the most dangerous prohibition gangs. "Riveting mystery and nonstop adventure." --School Library Journal