The year is 1942, and Chaim and Gittel, Polish twins, are forced from their beautiful home and made to live in the Lodz Ghetto. Their family's cramped quarters are awful, but when even those dire circumstances become too dangerous, their parents decide to make for the nearby Lagiewniki Forest, where partisan fighters are trying to shepherd Jews to freedom in Russia. The partisans take Chaim and Gittel, with promises that their parents will catch up -- but soon, everything goes wrong. Their small band of fighters is caught and killed. Chaim, Gittel, and their two friends are left alive, only to be sent off to Sobanek concentration camp. Chaim is quiet, a poet, and the twins often communicate through wordless exchanges of shared looks and their own invented sign language. But when they reach Sobanek, with its squalid conditions, rampant disease, and a building with a belching chimney that everyone is scared to so much as look at, the bond between Chaim and Gittel, once a source of strength, becomes a burden. For there is a doctor there looking to experiment on twins, and what he has in store for them is a horror they dare not imagine.

One night during the Perseid meteor shower, Arianne thinks she sees a shooting star land in the fields surrounding her family's horse farm. About a year later, one of their horses gives birth to a baby centaur. The family has enough attention already as Arianne's six-year-old brother was born with birth defects caused by an experimental drug—the last thing they need is more scrutiny. But their clients soon start growing suspicious. Just how long is it possible to keep a secret? And what will happen if the world finds out? At a time when so many novels are set in other worlds, Jane Yolen imagines what it would be like if a creature from another world came to ours in this thoughtfully written, imaginative novel, Centaur Rising. A Christy Ottaviano Book

In a land of magic, the great warrior Queen known as White Jenna has found a frail, one-armed child on the battlefield. She adopts the child and names her Scillia. As is custom with the Hames of the Dales, Scillia will be next in line for the throne. A great honor. But Jem—Jenna's natural-born son—covets the throne for himself. Will he risk open rebellion to claim what he believes is rightfully his? Can Scillia stop him?

Gog is just your average teenager. Sure, he's a troll, but he's got typical teen problems: an irritating little brother, a best friend who's nothing but trouble, and no tickets to his favorite band's sold-out concert. There just might be a way to get into that concert, though. Magic. Now that's a sure way to get into trouble. . . .

Five original stories with the flavor of classic folk literature focus on the themes of love, truth, fear, and kindness.

Welcome to Scotland, where magic runs through the land like the stripes in the colorful Scottish tartans. Everyone and everything here, it seems, has some wizardry--old folks at rest homes, dusty old card games, even cowardly dogs. The only ones without magic are American twins Jennifer and Peter, and they're the ones who need it most.

Under the fountain in Washington Square Park, there lives an incompetent wizard . . . David has just moved to New York City from Connecticut, and he’s a bit lonely. He hasn’t made any friends yet, and the city is so big. But one Saturday afternoon in Washington Square Park, David and his dog, D. Dog, meet a girl named Leilah. Leilah tells David that there’s a wizard in the park—a wizard who lives under the Washington Square fountain. At first, David thinks Leilah is just making things up—until he encounters the real live wizard! Unfortunately, the wizard’s spells work at the most inconvenient times, and he accidentally turns David’s dog into a marble statue. Before the wizard can change D. Dog back, a sneaky antiques dealer grabs the statue and races uptown to sell it. Can David’s new friends help him get D. Dog back? This ebook features a personal history by Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection, as well as a note from the author about the making of the book.

An alien civilization is forever changed by the incursion of human social scientists—and an ancient prophecy—in this award-winning novel. The year is 2132 when members of the Anthropologist’s Guild set down on the planet Henderson’s IV, or L’Lal’lor as it is known to the native population. Charged with the nonintrusive study of alien cultures, the crew discovers a society containing no love or laughter. It is, instead, centered around death—a world of aristocratic and common folk in which grieving is an art and the cornerstone of life. But the alien civilization stands on the brink of astonishing change, heralded by the discovery of Linni, the Gray Wanderer, a young woman from the countryside whose arrival has been foretold for centuries. And for Anthropologist First Class Aaron Spenser, L’Lal’lor is a place of destructive temptations, seducing him with its mysterious, sad beauty, and leading him into an unthinkable criminal act. Told from the shifting viewpoints of characters both alien and human, and through records of local lore and transcripts of court martial proceedings, Cards of Grief is a thoughtful, lyrical, and spellbinding tale of first contact. It is a true masterwork of world building from Jane Yolen, a premier crafter of speculative fiction and fantasy. This ebook features a personal history by Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection, as well as a note from the author about the making of the book.

Jakkin risks everything -- freedom, dragon Heart's Blood, even his life -- to rescue beloved Akki who vanished months ago in rebel cell on former prison planet Austar IV. He must become rebel spy Three for mysterious Senator Golden and carry an explosive satchel to the dragon pits. In this game he will lose no matter how well he plays.

Jane Yolen breathes new life into the timeless Camelot legend with a revamped history of King Arthur’s powerful mentor: the great magician Merlin There is perhaps no more beloved and enduring myth in the Western canon than the story of King Arthur, his knights, Queen Guinevere, and of course, his mysterious tutor and magical advisor, Merlin. A sorcerer, sage, prophet, and teacher, Merlin’s mysterious life has inspired a vast array of classic works while giving rise to numerous conflicting legends. Here, award-winning author Jane Yolen, one of the most acclaimed fantasy writers of our time, retells Merlin’s tales as never before. Through a series of stories and poems ranging across centuries—from the days of Merlin’s childhood as a feral boy to the possible discovery of his bones in a much later era—Yolen reimagines both the glory and grimness of Camelot, recalling characters and events from Arthurian legend, while ingeniously inventing new myths and dark fables. Merlin’s Booke is a brilliant patchwork, made up of tales that explore the mysteries of King Arthur’s world and the terrible magic that pervaded it. This ebook features a personal history by Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection, as well as a note from the author about the making of the book.

Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga. Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.

With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin, Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden. And her life in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale; her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on her, and she is about to get a new baby brother. But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim. Things get even worse when her father marries a woman who brings poisons and magical mirrors into Summer's world. Stepmama puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good - and is afraid she's powerless to stop her. This Snow White tale filled with magic and intrigue during the early twentieth century in Appalachia will be hard to forget.

Young James, the duke's son, asks too many questions. At least that's what everyone at Callendar Castle thinks after all but the last of James’ tutors quits and his uncle ships him off to be educated at Cranford Abbey. Unfortunately, the once-beautiful abbey has problems of its own, including cracked walls, a leaking roof, and shattered windows. Not to mention the pesky herd of unicorns that continue to enter the abby's orchards and claim them as their own. The only hope to save the abbey is money raised by Abbot Aelian's golden apple cider. But that means getting rid of the orchard's unwelcome visitors. And, as everyone knows, unicorns have very sharp horns. Monks do not. James has an idea that could help defeat these hungry beasts, but first he must find someone to listen to him. For once, he might be the only one asking the right questions. And the only one who knows the perfect hero for the job.

Enter the Emerald Circus and be astonished by the transformations of your favorite tales. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics in tales that go well beyond Wonderland and Oz, down the rabbit hole and back again. Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course! It’s time to go back to—and beyond—the treasured tales you thought you knew: The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and many more. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics for delighted readers. A girl blown away from Kansas returns as a sophisticate with unusual gymnastic abilities. A talented apprentice, forging her first sword, is suddenly left to the mercies of Merlin. Alice’s infamous nemesis has jaws and claws, but also lacks the essential: a sense of humor. Witty and bold, and unexpected, these tales go well beyond the rabbit hole and back again. Table of Contents Andersen’s Witch Lost Girls Tough Alice Blown Away A Knot of Toads The Quiet Monk The Bird Belle Bloody Merciless Dame Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown A Gift of Magicians Rabbit Hole Our Lady of the Greenwood The Confession of Brother Blaise Wonder Land Evian Steel Sister Emily’s Lightship