Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children gives the reader over 40 essays that examine specific types of children's books and offer suggestions in each category. Among the topics covered are: imagination, faith, classic literature, middle school books, race, fantasy, contemporary children's books, Shakespeare, art history, Newbery books, young adult novels, poetry, and more. Curated and edited by Leslie and Carey Bustard with Théa Rosenburg (a mother-daughter team and a children's books blogger), Wild Things and Castles in the Sky will encourage and envision parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends--to know the power of a good story and to share it with a child they love.

In this companion to the bestselling Picture a Tree, Barbara Reid has us look up . . . way up Wherever we may be, we share the same sky. But every hour, every day, every season, whether in the city or the forest, it is different. The sky tells many stories: in the weather, in the clouds, in the stars, in the imagination. Renowned artist Barbara Reid brings her unique vision to a new topic - the sky around us. In brilliant Plasticine illustrations, she envisions the sky above and around us in all its moods. Picture the sky. How do you feel?

This personal growth book is a guide on how to make your dreams come true. Packed full of tips & techniques including metaphysical and spiritual tools to give you that competitive edge in the big, wide world and set you on the path to success. Your dreams are in the palm of your hand Are you ready to make them happen?

In this stunning sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones has again created a large-scale, fast-paced fantasy in which people and things are never quite what they seem. There are good and bad djinns, a genie in a bottle, wizards, witches, cats and dogs (but are they cats and dogs?), and a mysterious floating castle filled with kidnapped princesses, as well as two puzzling prophecies. The story speeds along with tantalizing twists and turns until the prophecies are fulfilled, true identities are revealed, and all is resolved in a totally satisfying, breathtaking, surprise-filled ending. Abdullah was a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer. His father, who had been disappointed in him, had left him only enough money to open a modest booth in the Bazaar. When he was not selling carpets, Abdullah spent his time daydreaming. In his dreams he was not the son of his father, but the long-lost son of a prince. There was also a princess who had been betrothed to him at birth. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet. All fans of classic fantasy books deserve the pleasure of reading those by Diana Wynne Jones, whose acclaim included the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. As Neil Gaiman stated, she was "quite simply the best writer for children of her generation." The three books in the World of Howl are: Howl's Moving Castle Castle in the Air House of Many Ways Other beloved series from Dianna Wynne Jones include the Chronicles of Chrestomanci and the Dalemark Quartet.

Poetry. East Asia Studies. Finalist for the 2011 Best Translated Book Award in Poetry. Translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu. Cover art by Mauro Zamora. TIME OF SKY & CASTLES IN THE AIR is the first full-length translation of Ayane Kawata's poetry to be published in English. This single volume contains Kawata's first book of poems, Time of Sky (first published in Japanese by Kumo Publishers, 1969), and her sixth, Castles in the Air: A Dream Journal (first published in Japanese by Shoshi Yamada, 1991). "In TIME OF SKY we find terse lines that are unresolved--the tension is neither built nor released, but exists as if in its natural state, a note of music forever in suspension. It never arrives--it is and never was home.... Its poems are derived from a notebook the author kept for 15 years, in which she recorded her dreams every morning upon waking...The logic in these prose poems may feel familiar to us as dream logic, but we also find in them the complexity and anxiety attendant to of a lifetime spent living in a culture not one's own, an ongoing reckoning with one's dangers and desires, and the difficulty (and absurdity) of trying to communicate with others."--Sawako Nakayasu from the Afterword "In Japan, Kawata's work is noted primarily for its stark, vivid depictions of life--not so much life as lived by a specific person, but more the sense of 'living-ness.' To the Japanese eye and ear, Kawata's poetry cuts through to the 'overwhelming mysteries' that lie beneath everyday activities, and it does so with necessity. Hers are aggressive poems that look frankly at what it means to be a Japanese woman both inside Japan and away."--Melinda Markham

When Anita discovered that her mother had kept a secret from her for her entire life, it changed everything. Castles in the Sky is a journey through the past as Anita searches for answers in her memories and the stories she was told. Part memoir and part retelling of her parents' experiences, including their harrowing time in Auschwitz, Anita reflects on the nature of identity and what it means to be a Jew born in Poland or a Polish Jew. It is about an only child, who grew up with parents who were both Holocaust survivors. The narrative spans the lives of Anita and her parents, from her time as a child in communist Poland, entranced by her magical storytelling mother, to finding her own way in the USA. Castles in the Sky explores Anita's changing relationship with a mother who created her own world to deal with her trauma and a father who was resilient and happy on the surface, but wracked by nightmares and guilt beneath. The deeper Anita delves into her past, the more she realizes that her search is intertwined with the breakdown of her relationship with her mother and her mother's inner conflicts. As her obsession with the secret becomes more intense, Anita comes to realizations that have implications far beyond herself and her family.

The definitive examination of the art and animation of Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece of fantasy and flight, Castle in the Sky! The latest in the perennially popular line of Studio Ghibli art books, which include interviews, concept sketches and finished animation cels from classics such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky was the first feature film produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli. Sheeta, a girl who has the power to defy gravity, is on the run from pirates when she meets the young inventor Pazu. Together they explore the secrets of Laputa, a flying city constructed by a long-lost race of people. All of Miyazaki’s major themes—the power of flight, the bravery of young women, and a world wrecked by change—are captured with beautiful animation and joyous storytelling.