The Forbidden Library

The Forbidden Library kicks off an action-packed fantasy series with classic appeal, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes--perfect for fans of Story Thieves, Coraline, Inkheart, and Harry Potter Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairy When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within. It seems her uncle is more than he says he is. But then so is Alice.

The dark and thrilling sequel to the book Kirkus called, "Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, and Inkheart all rolled into one" Alice has her first adventure outside Geryon's library after he volunteers her to work with five other apprentice Readers, including Isaac, to capture a rogue apprentice who murdered his master. But none of them realize that the library of the late rival Reader is still a working deadly labyrinth, or that the vicious guardian is still protecting it. As they face the fight of their lives, Alice learns much more about Isaac, Geryon (her own master), and the fate of her father. "Wexler is an able builder of magical worlds and creatures, with labyrinths, an enchanted library, and a feisty, swashbuckling heroine at the center. A story rich in action and allegory—fantasy fans will want to hang on for what comes next."—Kirkus Reviews

An action-packed middle-grade fantasy with classic writing, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes—for fans of Story Thieves, Inkheart, Coraline, and Harry Potter. For Alice, danger threatens from inside the library as well as out. Having figured out the role her master and uncle, Geryon, played in her father's disappearance, Alice turns to Ending—the mysterious, magical giant feline and guardian of Geryon's library—for a spell to incapacitate Geryon. But, like all cats, Ending is adept at keeping secrets and Alice doesn't know the whole story. Once she traps Geryon with Ending's spell, there's no one to stop the other Readers from sending their apprentices to pillage Geryon's library. As Alice prepares to face an impending attack from the combined might of the Readers, she gathers what forces she can—the apprentices she once thought might be her friends, the magical creatures imprisoned in Geryon's library—not knowing who, if anyone, she can trust.

In this thrilling conclusion to Alice's adventures in The Forbidden Library she must lead her band of friends, magical beings, and creatures against the collected might of the Old Readers—perfect for fans of Story Thieves, Inkheart, Coraline, and Harry Potter. When Alice defeated her uncle Geryon and declared war on the totalitarian ways of the Old Readers, she knew she would have a hard fight ahead. What she didn't anticipate was the ruthlessness of the Old Reader—who can control magic and enter worlds through books. All the creatures she promised to liberate and protect are being threatened, and slowly all of Alice's defenses are being worn away. So when Ending (the giant cat-like creature who guards the magical labyrinth in Geryon's library) hints at a dangerous final solution, Alice jumps at the chance, no matter the cost to her life. She and her friends—a fire sprite, Ashes the cat, and the other apprentice Readers she met during her previous adventures—go on a quest to free the one creature possibly strong enough to overturn the Old Readers once and for all. But before it’s all over, Alice will be betrayed, her true identity will be revealed, and she’ll have to be willing to give up the person she loves the most. This is beautifully written, classic, bold historical fantasy—brave, bloody, action-packed and adventurous—with a girl at the center.

"Lush, romantic, and exquisitely written . . . a rare, glittering jewel of a novel."—Sarah J. Maas, author of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series "This is Aladdin like you've never imagined."—Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world. . . . When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart? As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

A little pig is ready for a big day of swimming—she's packed a huge bag stuffed with toys, books, towels, hats, food, and more. But friends keep stopping the little pig on the way to the water. A dog borrows her flotation ring, a cat needs her sunhat, and a crocodile demands the little pig's sunglasses. A badger even gobbles up all the cookies—and the little pig just can't say no! But when she falls into mud and all the animals laugh at her, the little pig is fed up. She loses her temper and finally shouts NO. Will the friends she helped now help the little pig? And will she ever get to go swimming? The Story of the Little Pig Who Couldn't Say No is perfect for children who find it difficult to stand up to their own friends. Young readers and their parents will giggle at Sabine Wilharm's bright, energetic illustrations and will love Sabine Ludwig's sweet writing, translated by Connie Stradling Morby. This is the perfect book to share with children during lazy summer days or right before bed.

Turesobei may have saved the world, but has he doomed everyone he loves? Trapped in a strange and dangerous land, Turesobei must find a way to get his sister and his friends home. But Awasa, his aristocratic fiancé, has been twisted into a mad and monstrous creature by dark magic. Now she leads an army of demons, but she still only wants one thing — him. Aided by the bear-like goronku, Turesobei and his companions race across a landscape where the smallest mistake can kill you. One place might hold the knowledge they seek, only there's a reason it's forbidden.

Art. Asian & Asian American Studies. Filipino American Studies. Co-authored by Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel, and Helen Toribio. THE FORBIDDEN BOOK uses over 200 political cartoons from 1898 to 1906 to chronicle a little known war between the United States and the Philippines. The war saw the deployment of 126,000 U.S. troops, lasted more than 15 years and killed hundreds of thousands of Filipinos beginning in February 1899. The book's title comes from a 1900 Chicago Chronicle cartoon of the same name showing then-President William McKinley putting a lock on a book titled "True History of the War in the Philippines." Today, very few Americans know about the brutal suppression of Philippine independence or the anti-war movement led at that time by the likes of writer Mark Twain, peace activist Jane Addams, journalist Joseph Pulitzer, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, labor leader Samuel Gompers, and Moorfield Storey, first president of the NAACP. The book reveals how the public was misled in the days leading to the war, shows illustrations of U.S. soldiers using the infamous "water cure" torture (today referred to as "waterboarding"), and describes a highly publicized court martial of soldiers who had killed prisoners of war. The election of 1900 pitted a pro-war Republican president against an anti-war Democratic candidate. In 1902, the Republican president declared a premature "mission accomplished" as the war was beginning to expand to the southern Philippines. The book shows political cartoons glorifying manifest destiny, demonizing the leader of the Filipino resistance President Emilio Aguinaldo, and portraying Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Hawaiians, Chamorros, and other colonials as dark-skinned savages in need of civilization. These images were used to justify a war at a time when three African Americans on average were lynched every week across the south and when the Supreme Court approved the "separate but equal" doctrine. More than a century later, the U.S.- Philippine War remains hidden from the vast majority of Americans. The late historian Howard Zinn noted, "THE FORBIDDEN BOOK brings that shameful episode in our history out in the open... The book deserves wide circulation."

As Lifin, a young elf, the reader makes decisions controlling his search through the five Forbidden Towers for the herb that will cure his people of the eleven plague.