Praised as "a timeless tale" by Booklist in a starred review, this Newbery Honor book by Margi Preus explores the cultural divide between the East and West circa 1841. When Manjiro, a Japanese teenager, is thrown from his fishing boat during a storm, he's rescued by an American whaling ship. Befriending the ship's captain, Manjiro decides to travel with the crew to Massachusetts. But years later, when Manjiro attempts to return to his homeland, he's imprisoned as an outsider.
"Preus mixes fact with fiction in a tale that is at once adventurous, heartwarming, sprawling, and nerve-racking ."-Publishers Weekly
Lily is a small but sturdy sailboat sharing a harbor with enormous cargo ships, speedy fishing vessels, and bossy tugboats that all have somewhere to go. And something to say—mostly, “Out of my way, Lily!” But Lily has somewhere to go, too. Out on the lake, the tall ships are coming! To leave the harbor, Lily has to wait for the lift bridge to rise. When the other ships blow their horns, “OOHHH-pen, OOHHH-pen,” the bridge lifts up for them. But not for Lily. When she finally scoots under the bridge, the grand old ships are silently sailing toward the lowered bridge. Silently! How will the bridge know to open? Can Lily save the day?
Shadow on the Mountain recounts the adventures of a 14-year-old Norwegian boy named Espen during World War II. After Nazi Germany invades and occupies Norway, Espen and his friends are swept up in the Norwegian resistance movement. Espen gets his start by delivering illegal newspapers, then graduates to the role of courier and finally becomes a spy, dodging the Gestapo along the way. During five years under the Nazi regime, he gains-and loses-friends, falls in love, and makes one small mistake that threatens to catch up with him as he sets out to escape on skis over the mountains to Sweden. Preus incorporates archival photographs, maps, and other images to tell this story based on the real-life adventures of Norwegian Erling Storrusten, whom Preus interviewed in Norway.
Set in 1853 in Japan, this novel follows Yoshi, a Japanese boy who dreams of someday becoming a samurai. Unfortunately, as part of the serving class, Yoshi can never become a warrior. He is taken up by Manjiro, the protagonist of Preus's Heart of a Samurai, and becomes his servant and secret watchdog.
Meanwhile, Commodore Matthew Perry and his USS Susquehanna squadron of steamships arrive in Edo Bay demanding "diplomatically" that Japan open its ports to foreign trade. Aboard the commodore's flagship is a cabin boy, Jack, who becomes separated from his American companions while on shore. When he and Yoshi cross paths, they set out on a grand adventure to get Jack back to his ship before he is discovered by the shogun's samurai.
Longing to fulfill his dream of becoming a voyageur, Jean Pierre Petite Le Rouge stows away in one of the
canoes traveling from Montreal to a faraway trading post. Hes so excited, he cant stay hidden long and soon
finds himself perched on the bow of the canoe, whiskers to the wind, singing his heart out.
The voyageurs are not amused to find a pesky red squirrel among their crew. He rides, but does not paddle!
He eats, but does not cook! On the portages, he doesnt carry anythingsometimes it is he who is carried! And
hes a terrible singer. What kind of voyageur is that? Fortunately, his kind crewmate Jean Gentille takes pity on
him and lets Le Rouge ride in his vest pocket.
But when they finally arrive at the trading post, Jean Pierre Petite Le Rouge is in for a terrible shockthe
voyageurs have traveled 1,200 miles to collect what? Furs! Skins! The pelts of his fellow fur-bearers! Heartsick,
he believes he will have to give up his dream of becoming a voyageur. Unless, of course, he can find a way to
change their minds.
Newbery Honor recipient Margi Preus tells the incredible true story of a group of French teenagers who helped save refugees in WWII Based on the true story of the French villagers in WWII who saved thousands of Jews, this novel tells how a group of young teenagers stood up for what is right. Among them is a young Jewish boy who learns to forge documents to save his mother and later goes on to save hundreds of lives with his forgery skills. There is also a girl who overcomes her fear to carry messages for the Resistance. And a boy who smuggles people into Switzerland. But there is always the threat that they will be caught: A policeman is sent to keep an eye on them, German soldiers reside in a local hotel, and eventually the Gestapo arrives, armed with guns and a list of names. As the knot tightens, the young people must race against time to bring their friends to safety.
In "West of the Moon," award-winning and "New York Times" bestselling author Margi Preus expertly weaves original fiction with myth and folktale to tell the story of Astri, a young Norwegian girl desperate to join her father in America.
After being separated from her sister and sold to a cruel goat farmer, Astri makes a daring escape. She quickly retrieves her little sister, and, armed with a troll treasure, a book of spells and curses, and a possibly magic hairbrush, they set off for America. With a mysterious companion in tow and the malevolent "goatman" in pursuit, the girls head over the Norwegian mountains, through field and forest, and in and out of folktales and dreams as they steadily make their way east of the sun and west of the moon.
In Tag’s world, children are disappearing. “Youngers” who venture Outside are windswept—vanishing in the swirling snow—Tag’s sisters among them. Many have tried to find the lost children; all have failed. And since the Other Times, the Powers That Be seem intent on keeping it that way.
Little remains from those times: snippets of songs, heaps of plastic trash, and a few banned texts—including a book of fairy tales.
An unlikely crew of Youngers joins forces: Boots, who can climb anything; Ant, who will eat anything; Ren, who will say anything; and Tag, who doesn’t appear to have any talent whatsoever. With their dubious skills, the fairy tales, a possibly magic ribbon, and an unwillingness to accept “that’s impossible,” they set off to
rescue their windswept siblings in this spellbinding fantasy from Margi Preus.
