Our Books

Accompanied by her magnificent illustrations, Ms. Lu paints a compelling yet tragic tale of a young girl and her beloved marionette in Puppets. Each day, the young girl cheerfully manipulates the strings of her marionette as they happily play together. They dream of the day when they will get to perform on the large stage in town square. Then one day, the marionette discovers that the girl's attention has become diverted away from him and their hopes when a mysterious package arrives.

A picture book for young children, the story challenges the boundaries between reality and fantasy by the marionette's animated abilities, and the young girl's dissolution and descent into self-absorption. Find out who really is pulling the strings behind the scenes in Puppets.

Ashley Bae and Victor Hsieh’s book, The Painted Tea Set, tells the story of a man in search of meaning in his life who finds it only when he travels back in time through a teleporting refrigerator.

Seymour, a struggling painter, departs from his family after feeling failure and disappointment and seeks shelter in an abandoned glass factory. His solitary journey, however, will nonetheless bring him to an astonishing realization when a bewildering path of broken glass leads him to his destiny.  Tea Set states:

“Seymour turned toward a door thinking, this will be the last room for today, but as the hinges of the door opened wide, a flood of sunlight blinded him.  He once again saw something shimmering behind the factory, looming in the distance.  More spectacular though was the gleaming, mesmerizing path of broken glass, which seemed to lead straight to the mysterious object as the yellow brick road leads to Oz.  He desperately wanted to follow the glass path, but he could not will his weary feet to move.  He would follow it tomorrow.  Tomorrow.”

Two middle school students, Ashley and Victor spent months working on their children’s story. Although the story is intended for a YA audience, the book will surprise readers of all ages. The tale of time travel contains issues that deal with family, financial struggle, personal strength, and most importantly, self-discovery.

We're hesitant to say that How to Cook with a Pencil has "something for everyone," but sometimes the cliche hits the target. "Treasure Space" by Ms. Mayberry is the story of a space pirate that, with the help of his friends Billy Bombard and Franky Foul, steals a spaceship to find a hidden treasure deep in the cosmos. "Kioto-Kyoto" is Ms. Hurley's fascinating story of a young girl who uses the magical powers she inherited from her grandmother to battle a warship that threatens her family and land. "Clean Slate" by Mr. Mollinedo is a creative take on the doppelganger story: a boy named Zephyr uses a magic pencil to create an bizarre new world, complete with a Zephyr 2 to be his best friend. Mr. Lii's "The Attack on Hidden Island" is an old-fashioned adventure story involving a sailor, a mysterious island, and a war of epic proportions. Ms. Zahabizadeh's "The Discarded Peaches of Pecheville" finishes off this collection with a touch of whimsy: an old spinster (and village outcast) becomes the only hope for an earthquake-ravaged village on the brink of starvation.

Written in confident, often beautiful prose, these stories are sure to delight any and all who read them.

When Watute Wants Some Water is a bright, colorful children's book about a young girl who takes a stand for change in her small African village. All Watute wants to do is go to school and learn, but every morning she has to tromp past a scary cave and some dangerous woods to get a little water for her family. Fed up with drinking polluted water and passing the scary cave, Watute mounts an international campaign to have a well built in her village.

Told in quick, witty rhymes by Ms. Sarja, and beautifully illustrated by Mr. Phan, Ms. Low, and Mr. Row, When Watute Wants Some Water is an ideal gift for kids of all ages. With its depictions of poverty in Watute's village and the positive image of change through local activism, the book can also serve as a primer for kindergarten-aged children on the problems facing the world outside their doors and what they, as kids, can do to fix them.