Diane Stanley Books In Order

Time-Traveling Twins Books In Order

  1. Cleopatra (1994)
  2. Leonardo Da Vinci (1996)
  3. Roughing It On the Oregon Trail (2000)
  4. Joining the Boston Tea Party (2001)

Sweetness Books In Order

  1. Saving Sweetness (1996)
  2. Raising Sweetness (1999)

Silver Bowl Books In Order

  1. The Silver Bowl (2011)
  2. The Cup and the Crown (2012)
  3. The Princess of Cortova (2013)

Novels

  1. A Time Apart (1999)
  2. The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine (2001)
  3. Bella At Midnight (2006)
  4. The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy (2007)
  5. Saving Sky (2010)
  6. The Chosen Prince (2015)
  7. Joplin, Wishing (2017)
  8. Second Sleep (2021)

Plays

  1. Mozart (2009)

Picture Books

  1. Little Mouse Nibbling (1979)
  2. Petrosinella (1981)
  3. The Man Whose Name Was Not Thomas (1981)
  4. The Conversation Club (1983)
  5. Onions, Onions (1984)
  6. Birdsong Lullaby (1985)
  7. A Country Tale (1985)
  8. The Good-luck Pencil (1986)
  9. Peter the Great (1986)
  10. Captain Whiz-bang (1987)
  11. Shaka (1988)
  12. Fortune (1990)
  13. Good Queen Bess (1990)
  14. Siegfried (1991)
  15. Bard of Avon (1992)
  16. Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise (1992)
  17. The Gentleman and the Kitchen Maid (1994)
  18. Woe Is Moe (1995)
  19. The True Adventure of Daniel Hall (1995)
  20. Elena (1996)
  21. Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter (1997)
  22. Joan of Arc (1998)
  23. Michelangelo (2000)
  24. Saladin (2002)
  25. Goldie and the Three Bears (2003)
  26. The Giant and the Beanstalk (2004)
  27. Thanksgiving On Plymouth Plantation (2004)
  28. The Trouble with Wishes (2007)
  29. Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science (2016)

Anthologies edited

  1. Captured Moments (2002)

Non fiction

  1. Charles Dickens (1993)

Time-Traveling Twins Book Covers

Sweetness Book Covers

Silver Bowl Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Plays Book Covers

Picture Books Book Covers

Anthologies edited Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Diane Stanley Books Overview

Cleopatra

Cleopatra‘s name still glitters across history, evoking opulence, ambition, and tragedy. Raised in the shadow of the mighty Roman Empire, she dared to dream of a world united under Egyptian rule. She almost succeeded, and if she had, we would live in a far different world today. Cleopatra was not the renowned beauty of legend her strength lay in her intelligence, courage, and charm, and she would need all three in her short and perilous reign. She became Queen of Egypt at eighteen and by twenty had been driven from her throne. But she raised an army and won the support of the great Julius Caesar, who helped her return to rule. We will never know what these two brilliant and ambitious people might have accomplished together, for Caesar soon fell to Roman assassins. Instead, it was Mark Antony, another famous Roman, who risked everything with Cleopatra in pursuit Of world power. In this latest of their ‘distinguished storybook biographies’ New York Times, the authors’ meticulous text and Ms. Stanley’s majestic illustrations capture the brilliance of Cleopatra‘s life. From the enchantments of the royal court at Alexandria to luxurious cruises up the legendary Nile, from the intrigues of the Roman marketplace to a desperate sea battle with a shocking end, these award winning biographers tell the tragic story of one of the most fascinating women of all time.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Born in 1452 to a peasant woman and a country gentleman, Leonardo Da Vinci possessed one of the most astonishing minds the world has ever known. He was an inventor whose imagination reached centuries beyond his own time. He brought a sublime artistry to science and a dramatic realism to art, crowning the Renaissance with his glittering vision.

Denied a more noble profession by his illegitimate birth, as a boy Leonardo was apprenticed to a famous artist. He quickly surpassed his teacher, hut his passionate interests went far beyond art. Fascinated with the secrets of nature and the human body, he carried out his own dissections and experiments. He filled thousands of pages in his notebooks with plans and designs for inventions as varied as a submarine, an air cooling system, ‘glas*ses to see the moon large,’ and even a flying machine!

But while he was employed by princes, popes, and kings, Leonardo’s personal fortune was never great. He traveled all of Italy in search of patronage. He found a rival in Michelangelo and a friend in a wily young diplomat named Machiavelli. He served both the ruthless Cesare Borgia and the brilliant young king of France, who sheltered the aged Leonardo and desired only his conversation in return.

In this magnificent addition to a distinguished series, award winning author artist Diane Stanley blends lively and informative storytelling with exquisite illustrations to convey the wondrous purity of Leonardo’s genius.

‘Stanley produces her most stunning pictorial biography to date. Drawing from a range of sources, including her subject’s extensive notebooks, Stanley’s conversational narrative describes Leonardo Da Vinci‘s astoundingly far reaching and varied achievements. Young readers will come to appreciate both da Vinci’s universally renowned accomplishments as a painter and the breadth of his scientific experimentation and research…
.A virtuosic work.’ Publishers Weekly.

00 01 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist Gr. 3 6

Roughing It On the Oregon Trail

What if you could close your eyes and open them to find you were amongst hundreds of pioneers in 1843, packing up your covered wagon to travel the 2,000 miles of the Oregon Trail? Meet twins Liz and Lenny and their unique grandmother, who, with the help of her magic hat, can transport the twins to any time in history. In their first journey, the twins spend eight months crossing the country on foot and by covered wagon, braving the mountain ranges and river valleys, battling floods and droughts, and cooking slam johns and sowbellies over buffalo chips. Diane Stanley’s spirited, humorous, and historically accurate depiction of day to day life on the Oregon Trail is brought to life with Holly Berry’s energetic illustrations. Overflowing with fun, informative details, and word balloons that capture each piece of dialogue, young readers will be transported into an exciting page in American history alongside the adventurous Time Traveling Twins. Children’s Pick of the Lists 2000ABA and Children’s Books 2000 NY Public Lib.

Joining the Boston Tea Party

Liz, Lenny, and Grandma are back for another time traveling adventure. With the Fourth of July fast approaching, there’s only one thing for them to do…
Join the Boston Tea Party!With the help of Grandma’s magic hat, the twins journey back to Boston in 1773. From powdered wigs and petticoats to Indian pudding and chamber pots, Liz and Lenny get a firsthand look at life in colonial America. But best of all they actually join the ‘Mohawks’ as they dump tea into Boston Harbor and help begin the American Revolution. Diane Stanley once again blends humor and historical detail in this exciting second installment of the Time Traveling Twins series. Featuring word balloons packed with comedy and lots of information, and Holly Berry’s inviting illustrations, this book will make readers jump at the chance to join the twins as they learn about history by living it!

Saving Sweetness

When Sweetness, the ittiest bittiest orphan in Ms. Sump’s orphanage, runs away, it’s up to the sheriff to find her and bring her back. The only problem is, Sweetness doesn’t want to be saved. She’d rather take her chances with Coyote Pete, the nastiest desperado in the Wild West, than face going back to Ms. Sump. So each time the sheriff catches up to her, she runs away again! How the sheriff finally finds a way to save Sweetness for good makes for a hilariously heartwarming story that’s sure to please.

‘Very funny indeed.’ The Horn Book, starred review

Raising Sweetness

Ever since the kindhearted sheriff done adopted little Sweetness and all them other precious orphans, things has been darn near perfect out in Possum Trot. Only problem is, the meals is just a mite too interestin’ such as pickle and banana pie and the housekeepin’ is downright peculiar. Ever so often, them young ‘uns start to wishin’ their sweet pa would go and get hisself married. When a mysterious letter arrives one day, Sweetness figures it might be the solution to all their problems if only they can learn how to read it! But don’t worry. She’s done it afore; she can do it again. Leave it to Sweetness to save the day! Diane Stanley and Brian Karas’ Saving Sweetness was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in School Library Journal, Booklist and American Bookseller, and reviewers praised the ‘rollicking telling…
that begs to be enjoyed aloud.’ Booklist

The Silver Bowl

Unwanted at home, Molly goes to work for the king of Westria as a humble scullery maid. She arrives at the castle with no education, no manners, and a very disturbing secret: She sees visions, and those visions always come true. One day, while she’s working in the king’s great hall, young Prince Alaric pas*ses by. Molly finds him unbearably handsome but also unbearably rude. But what does it really matter? She’ll probably never see him again. In time Molly is promoted to polishing silver and is given a priceless royal treasure to work on: the king’s great ceremonial hand basin. But there’s something odd about it. The silver warms to her touch, a voice commands her to watch and listen, and then the visions appear. They tell the story of a dreaded curse that has stalked the royal family for years. There have already been deaths; soon there will be more. As tragedy after tragedy strikes the royal family, Molly can’t help but wonder: Will the beautiful Alaric be next? Together with her friends Tobias and Winifred, Molly must protect the prince and destroy the curse. Could a less likely champion be found to save the kingdom of Westria?

The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine

Strange things have been happening at Franny’s new school. First it was the Jelly Worm Fad. Then came the exploding headaches that kept students home for days. When the latest creepy phenomenon lands her sister in the hospital, Franny and her new friend, Beamer, try to get to the bottom of it. Following a hunch, Franny discovers the one link that all these kids share they’re rabid fans of I. M. Fine, author of the mega popular Chillers series. But I. M. Fine is nowhere to be found…
or is heAdmirers of Diane Stanley’s celebrated nonfiction picture book biographies and her critically acclaimed novel, A TIME APART, are in for a treat as she shows her playful side in this quirky, fast paced, and humorous mystery.

Bella At Midnight

In the little village of Castle Down, in a kingdom plagued by war, lives a peasant girl called Bella. Blessed with a kind family and a loving friend, she manages to create her own small patch of sunlight in a dark and dangerous world. Bella is a blacksmith’s daughter; her friend Julian is a prince yet neither seems to notice the great gulf that divides his world from hers. Suddenly Bella’s world collapses. First Julian betrays her. Then it is revealed that she is not the peasant she believed herself to be: She is Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. Now he wants her back, so Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and sent to live with her deranged father and his resentful new wife. Soon Bella is caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life and the kingdom forever. With the help of her godmother and three enchanted gifts, she sets out on a journey in disguise that will lead her to a destiny far greater than any she could have imagined.

The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy

Franny is thrilled when she’s accepted by the Allbright Academy, an elite private boarding school designed to train leaders. But she knows she’s not as smart as the other kids there or as beautiful, accomplished, confident, or mature. The fact is, the Allbright students from their shining teeth and flawless complexions to their sky high test scores and long lists of honors are absolutely perfect. Then the Allbright magic begins to rub off on Franny, too. The question is: Is this a good thing?

Can Franny and her friends Cal, Brooklyn, and Prescott un ravel the Allbright Academy’s secret, or will they, too, succumb to its eerie perfection?

Saving Sky

The country is at war, terrorists strike at random, widespread rationing is in effect, and the power grid is down. But thirteen year old Sky Brightman is remarkably untouched by it all. She lives off the grid on sixty acres of rural New Mexico ranch land with chores to do and horses to ride and no television or internet to bring disturbing news into her family’s adobe house. Sky’s schoolmates think she’s a little weird. Then a string of mysterious arrests begins, and her new friend, Kareem, becomes a target. Sky is finally forced to confront the world in all its complexity. Summoning her considerable courage and ingenuity, she takes a stand against injustice. With humor, hope, and fierce determination, she proves that even a child can change the world.

Mozart

Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart was only three years old not much bigger than his name on the day his life changed forever.

So begins this vivid biography about one of the most legendary prodigies in history. Award winning author and illustrator Diane Stanley engagingly tells the story of a brilliant boy who grew up to be a complex and often troubled young man a man who composed some of the most beautiful music of all time.

With stunning and expressive illustrations, she portrays Mozart‘s turbulent life as a marionette show, inspired by the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre, using an innovative artistic approach to present the life of a renowned musical genius. In concise and lyrical prose, Stanley presents an honest and sympathetic portrait of the boyhood and tragically short adulthood of a composer whose music has lived on for more than two hundred years.

Peter the Great

Peter the Great, crowned tsar of Russia at the age of ten, believed that whatever he wanted he should have and the sooner the better. What he wanted most was to bring his beloved country into the modem world. He traveled to the West to learn European ways the first tsar ever to leave Russia disguised as a common soldier. He explored the West with excitement and curiosity and returned home ready to undertake a series of momentous social reforms. And to satisfy his boyhood dream of a Russian naval port, he began to build, on a freezing swamp, a glittering new capital to be named St. Petersburg. In this welcome reissue of Diane Stanley’s acclaimed picturebook biography, her meticulously researched text and sumptuous illustrations capture the fabulous world of seventeenth and eighteenth century tsarist Russia and the greatness of its larger than life leader a man of huge stature and tremendous spirit whose impatience and vision, insatiable curiosity and boundless energy transformed half a continent.

Captain Whiz-bang

Captain Whiz Bang was the fastest, strongest, most fearless cat in the neighborhood, and what fun he and Annie had playing together. But as Annie grew up, Whiz Bang grew old and lonely until another little girl came to visit. Full color illustrations.

Shaka

In a picture book biography acclaimed for both its accuracy and beauty, Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema describe how Shaka, a brilliant military strategist, rose from humble beginnings to lead a mighty people nearly two centuries ago. It is an unforgettable story.’Stanley presents the life story of Shaka, a Zulu military genius who became king of his people in the eighteenth century…
. The illustrations are full color paintings that convey a quiet intensity in their portrayal of Shaka and his people.’ Booklist

Good Queen Bess

She was a queen whose strong will, shrewd diplomacy, religious tolerance and great love for her subjects won the hearts of her people and the admiration of her enemies. Elizabeth was born into an age of religious strife, in which plots and factions were everywhere and private beliefs could be punished by death. When she became queen, her counselors urged her to marry quickly and turn the responsibilities of governing over to her husband, But she outwitted them by stalling, changing her mind; and playing one side against another, as she steered her country to the glorious era of peace and security that would be called the Elizabethan Age. Elizabeth’s forceful personality, colorful court, and devoted subjects come vividly to life in this stellar picture book biography. When it was first published, Good Queen Bess was named a Notable Book in the Field of Social Studies, an American Library Association Notable Book, a Booklist Editors’ Choice, an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, a Boston Globe Horn Book Honor Book, and an IRA Teachers’ Choice. In this welcome reissue, celebrated author and illustrator Diane Stanley and her husband, Peter Vennema, paint an impressive portrait of the remarkable queen who loved her people so dearly and ruled them so well.

Bard of Avon

William Shakespeare was the son of a glovemaker, a small town boy with a grammar school education. Yet he grew up to become the greatest English speaking playwright in the world. Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare is both his story and that of a great art rediscovered in the modern world. Drama had been forgotten since the days of ancient Greece, but it reemerged in Elizabethan London with the building of the first modern theater. Its impact can still be imagined today. There were the theaters, open to the weather and featuring neither sets nor curtains, but equipped with dramatic special effects. There were the companies of actors the leading men, the comedians, the boys who played women’s roles and the playwrights who gave them all lines to say. Best of all, there was William Shakespeare, who rubbed shoulders with noblemen and royalty as well as with the rowdy crowds at the foot of the stage. He was suspected of involvement in a treasonous rebellion, and his last play literally brought down the house when cannon effects set fire to the famous Globe theater and it burned to the ground. Award winning collaborators Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema have once again created a feast of words and pictures to celebrate the life of a remarkable person from the pages of history: William Shakespeare, a man for all time.’

Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise

What do you do when you have a week off in blustery January but you can’t afford to go to the beach? If you’re Moe the Dog, you bring the beach up north! ‘The perfect cure for the winter doldrums, with two expressively rendered characters that kids wouldn’t mind meeting again.’ Booklist ‘This blithesome tale of canine ingenuity offers midwinter warmth to those who begin thinking of island getaways even before the first snowflakes fall.’ Publishers Weekly starred review

The True Adventure of Daniel Hall

For anyone who loves adventure tales, historical stories, or both, here is the incredible true story of a boy who left home at the age of 14 on a whaling voyage and found more excitement and danger on his trip than most people see in a lifetime. From a bustling New Bedford port to the bleak Siberian wilderness, Diane Stanley traces the path of a young adventurer in a vanished world. Full color illustrations.

Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter

0nce upon a time a miller’s daughter was given an impossible task by a cruel and greedy king. She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin. According to tradition, the gold bedazzled king and the miller’s daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there’s someone else who is a hardworking guy who’s supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch. Why not marry Rumpelstiltskin?In Diane Stanley’s merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller’s daughter are wed…
and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She’s been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy tale hero*ine has some canny plans of her own. How Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley’s wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale. Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom. 2000 2001 Georgia’s Picture Storybook Award & Georgia’s Children’s Book Award Masterlist01 02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist Gr. 3 6 99 00 Children’s Book Award

Joan of Arc

She was a child of wartime, for her country had long suffered under the twin horrors of invasion and civil war. At thirteen she began to hear the voices of saints. At seventeen she rode into battle and was proclaimed the savior of France. By nineteen she was dead burned at the stake as a heretic. Almost five hundred years later she was declared a saint. This is her story, the story of Joan of Arc. She was an illiterate peasant girl barely in her teens when the voices commanded her to leave her village, take up arms, and go to the aid of the young prince of France. Terrified, she protested she was ‘Just a poor girl, who did not know how to ride or lead in war!’ Still, she accepted her impossible mission and, during her brief and stunning career, faced hardship and danger, fought with unparalleled bravery, was twice wounded, and became a legend. The English, who began by mocking her as a foolish ‘cowgirl,’ soon came to fear her awesome power. The French were so inspired by this miraculous child that the tide of the dreadful war began to turn. In the latest of her acclaimed series of picture book biographies, Diane Stanley brings history to life through carefully researched, vivid narrative and sumptuous, gilded illustrations inspired by the illuminated manuscripts of the time. She takes readers to Joan’s humble village of Domremy, to the splendid chambers where she first met the timid prince for whom she would sacrifice everything, to the battlefields where Joan fought so bravely, and to the dark and terrifying halls where she was condemned to die. In this magnificent portrait of Joan of Arc, award winner Diane Stanley once again reveals to young readers the richness and excitement of history. Joan of Arc grew up during a time of invasion and civil war. At thirteen, she began to hear the voices of saints. At seventeen, she rode into battle. And by nineteen, she was burned at the stake as a heretic. Almost five hundred years later, she was declared a saint. In the latest of her acclaimed series of picture book biographies, Diane Stanley tells Joan’s story with a lively, carefully researched text and sumptuous, gilded illustrations inspired by the illuminated manuscripts of that time. In this glittering portrait of the illiterate peasant girl who became the savior of France, an award winning author once again reveals to young readers the richness and excitement of history. 00 01 South Carolina Book Award Nomination Masterlist Grds 3 8

Michelangelo

When he was born, Michelangelo Buonarroti was put into the care of a stonecutter’s family. He often said it was from them that he got his love of sculpture. It certainly didn’t come from his own father, a respectable magistrate who beat his son when he asked to become an artists apprentice.

But Michelangelo persevered. His early sculptures caught the attention of Florence’s great ruler, Lorenzo de’ Medici, who invited the boy to be educated with his own sons. Soon after, Michelangelo was astonishing people with the lifelike creations he wrested from marble from the heartbreaking Pieta he sculpted when he was only twenty five to the majestic David that brought him acclaim as the greatest sculptor in Italy.

Michelangelo had a turbulent, quarrelsome life. He was obsessed with perfection and felt that everyone from family members to his demanding patrons took advantage and let him down. His long and difficult association with Pope Julius II yielded his greatest masterpiece, the radiant paintings in the Sistine Chapel, and his most disastrous undertaking, the monumental tomb that caused the artist frustration and heartache for forty years.

With her thoroughly researched, lively narrative and superbly detailed illustrations, Diane Stanley has captured the life of an artist who towered above the late Renaissance and whose brilliance in architecture, painting, and sculpture amazes and moves us to this day.

Children’s Books 2000 NY Public Lib., Books for Youth Editor’s Choice 2000 Booklist, Lasting Connections 2000 Book Links, Best Books 2000 School Library Journal, Top 10 Youth Art Books 2000 Booklist, and Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2001, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council

Saladin

Forty years before the boy was born, a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians thundered out of the west and conquered his native land. They had succeeded because his people, ever at war with one another, had not fought together to defend their cities. In time the boy was destined to become the very leader that was needed, a man with the courage and vision to unite his people and face the most fearsome and brilliant warrior of the age. The time was the twelfth century; the barbarian horde was the armies of the First Crusade; the great warrior was Richard the Lionhearted; and the leader was Saladin. This is more than the other side of a familiar Western story, the Crusades. It is the tale of an extraordinary man, remarkable for his generous and chivalrous ways, a warrior who longed for peace. Courageous in battle and merciful in victory, he would be revered even by his enemies as the ‘marvel of his time.’In her vibrant narrative and magnificently detailed illustrations inspired by the Islamic art of the time, Diane Stanley presents a hero whose compassion, piety, tolerance, and wisdom made him a model for his time and for ours.

Goldie and the Three Bears

In this spirited new version of ‘Goldilocks,’ we meet a determined hero*ine with a mind of her own. Goldie knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn’t. Can she help it if everyone she invites over is too bossy or too boring or too snobby or too rough? What she desperately wants is a friend who is just right someone she can love with all her heart. Then one day, Goldie gets off the bus at the wrong stop, walks to a nearby cottage to find help, and opens the door…
Diane Stanley, author and illustrator of Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter, once again takes an old tale and gives it a fresh spin that is funny as well as perceptive. Readers will love accompanying Goldie on her up to date adventure and discovering the clever, heartwarming surprise at its end.

The Giant and the Beanstalk

For a giant, Otto is embarrassingly polite. While all the other giants are studying Cursing, Growling, and Stomping, Otto just wants to play with his pet hen, Clara. Then one terrible day a wily human named Jack climbs up a magic beanstalk and steals her away! Knowing only the thief’s name, Otto must find Clara and rescue her from the land of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The only problem is, there seem to be an awful lot of Jacks down there…
. Diane Stanley, author and illustrator of goldie and the three bears and rumpelstiltskin’s daughter, once again brings a fresh vision to a beloved story. Readers will delight in recognizing their favorite Jacks as Otto travels throughout the kingdom to find Clara. With great humor and beautiful illustrations, Diane Stanley creates a satisfying tale in which Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, and Otto all live happily ever after.

Thanksgiving On Plymouth Plantation

Wouldn’t it be great to be part of that famous Thanksgiving feast at Plymouth Plantation back in 1621? Then join the Time Traveling Twins as they sit down to an enormous FOUR DAY feast, complete with puddings, pompions, pottages, and, of course, turkeys. Meet Squanto and the other Native Americans. Help with the harvest. Find out what it was like to be a Pilgrim. Once again, historian Diane Stanley’s fun and impeccably researched text is brought to life by Holly Berry’s accessible illustrations. Word balloons, engaging characters, and all sorts of wonderful details about the beginning of this American tradition await the lucky adventurer who journeys back with the Time Traveling Twins.

The Trouble with Wishes

A sculptor named Pyg carves a statue of a goddess so beautiful, so perfect, that he falls head over heels in love with her. He buys her gifts, tells her stories, and wishes with all his heart she were a real, live woman. The Trouble with Wishes is…
sometimes they come true!

Diane Stanley’s lively prose and vivid illustrations bring this funny and warm tale of misguided love to life as Pyg learns what a true companion is really made of.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is one of the world’s greatest and best loved writers. To read Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, or Nicholas Nickleby is to be drawn into a society that still seems fresh and real today: nineteenth century London with its extraordinary extremes of wealth, progress, poverty, and despair. Dickens captures it all in plots that are by turns wildly comical, wonderfully melodramatic, and tragic to the point of tears. In his writing and later, in his dramatic readings, Charles Dickens was a master showman, mesmerizing the whole world. His novels are stuffed to bursting with unforgettable characters like Mr. Micawber, Ebineezer Scrooge, and Little Nell. Most affecting are his portraits of children abused and abandoned by the Industrial Age. David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Tiny Tim are mirrors that reflect the twisted values of their time. The twists of Dickens’s own life encompassed childhood suffering as well as international acclaim. When he was twelve, his father was consigned to debtors’ prison and Charles to working in a blacking factory. Not twelve years later The Pickwick Papers would propel him toward literary stardom. In their lovingly researched, incisively written biography, illustrated with a lushness and attention to period detail of which Dickens would have approved, Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema illuminate his inspirations, his impact on nations of readers, and his gleaming genius that has only brightened with time.A ‘handsome book on the beloved novelist. Dickens’s troubled, well documented life has plenty to interest children…
. Lucid, accessible…
.A lively, entertaining story for children who enjoy A Christmas Carol in its various guises…
.A must.’ Kirkus Reviews. Bibliography.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment