The Spy with the Red Balloon


Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Ilse and her older brother Wolf must hone their magical skills to sabotage Hitler's attempt to build an atom bomb and uncover a spy using dark magic to thwart them.




The Girl with the Red Balloon


Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum time-travels to 1988 East Berlin, where she meets members of an underground guild who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the wall, and learns that someone is using dark magic to change history.




This Rebel Heart


Book Description

A tumultuous tale of the student-led 1956 Hungarian revolution set in a colorless post-WWII Budapest—where the magical Danube river has plans of its own—from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke. “A haunting, beautiful read that centers queer Jewish characters.” —BuzzFeed In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most--safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father's legacy that she wishes she could forget. Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground. With queer representation, fabulist elements, and a pivotal but little-known historical moment, This Rebel Heart is Katherine Locke's tour de force.




Spy in the Sky


Book Description

When Northerner Thaddeus Lowe lands his huge balloon in South Carolina at the beginning of the Civil War, ten-year-old orphan Ridley Jones joins up with him and the two set out to find a way to use Lowe's balloon to help the North.




Balloon Trees


Book Description

Rhyming text and illustrations outline the process by which latex is extracted from trees to make balloons.




Under the Ashes


Book Description

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth "Littlebeth" Morgan is staying with her aunt in San Francisco when the Great Quake strikes. In a city that's broken and burning, she must find a way to survive. Eleven-year-old Elizabeth "Littlebeth" Morgan would rather race the boys, chase skunks, and read about bandits than act like a lady. So her parents send her to her maiden aunt in San Francisco to be tamed and refined. But when an earthquake hits and she's separated from her aunt, Littlebeth must use her fearless nature and quick-thinking to survive in a city that's broken and burning.




The Spy with the Red Balloon


Book Description

Magic meets the Manhattan Project in this prequel to the award-winning novel, The Girl with the Red Balloon.




What Are Your Words?


Book Description

Ari knows a lot of words for neighbors, including the pronouns each prefers, and with help from Uncle Lior, who always asks "What are your words," figures out which pronouns--and other words--fit best today.




The Red Balloon


Book Description

Based on the Academy Award-winning film, The Red Balloon is the moving story of a boy and his best friend—a bright red balloon. Told through captivating photographs taken during filming, and set against the unmistakable beauty of the streets of Paris, Albert Lamorisse's beloved story is a moving tribute to childhood that continues to inspire readers of every generation. A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year.




Play at Work


Book Description

"A fascinating look at how games can help us learn, create, and innovate Once thought to be nothing more than diversions for children and nerds, games have become an integral part of everyday life. Educators are trying to make learning more fun by introducing games into the classroom while cutting-edge managers are doing the same in the workplace. Doctors, scientists, and entrepreneurs are deploying games to help solve some of the world's most pressing problems. But according to Adam Penenberg, it's not the games themselves that improve our lives, but rather smart game design and its impact on the brain that can lead us to become immersed in a task we find enjoyable. The individuals and institutions that have used games to achieve this effect are often rewarded with astounding results. Drawing on the latest brain science on attention and engagement plus his own firsthand reporting, Penenberg shows how organizations like Google, Microsoft, hospitals, and the military have used game design in bold new ways"--