Children of the Magic Pen, published by Ratna Sagar, is the result of a collaborative exercise by members of AWIC, the Indian section of IBBY. It was penned under the guidance of noted theatre personality Feisal Alkazi, who subsequently directed four successful performances of the play by his theatre group. This lively and humorous play is suitable for the middle school stage. Its theme of the immortality of books is greatly relevant, especially in times of distracting and addictive social media. The play brings together some of the most memorable and lovable characters from literature and media - the clever and sreet smart Aladdin who lives on his wits; Long John Silver from Treasure Island singing his trademark 'Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum'; the cackling witch from Hansel and Gretel who evokes fear in children; and the endearing pair of the bandar (monkey) and the magarmach (crocodile) from the Indian classic Panchatantra. These characters come face-to-face with P L Travers' Mary Poppins, the perennial friendly, singing nanny, who always carry an umbrella and a carpetbag; Satyajit Ray's creation, the detective Feluda; the 'Off with their heads' Queen of Hearts and the scared White Rabbit of Alice in Wonderland; and finally the robot R2D2 from Star Wars. As they travel together with the protagonist, a young girl, in search of the Magic Castle, they face many challenges. Disunity and greed break the travellers into two groups, with the rebellion led by Long John Silver. Although the group reunite, they face new hurdles. First, they meet Rangeela Raja and Rangeen Rani, symbolic of the distraction offered by the glamorous world of cinema and television, which threaten the habit of book reading. In spite of every difficulty, the Girl and her storybook friends march on. The characters fall into the Pit of Oblivion, symbolic of their erasure from our memory and our lives. On the girl's earnest request, Rangeen Raja jumps in the pit to save them. Soon after, they are attacked by Termites, which later transform into Computer Viruses, but are destroyed by the eponymous hero of the Prince of Persia video game. Finally, as they reach their destination, they realize that the Magic Castle is actually a library, a haven for books. The girl is awarded a lifetime membership of the library and a magic Gold Card that will transport her to the library any time she wishes, for escorting all the characters to their destination safely and thus giving them the treasure of immortality. The unique and symbolic play is a reminder of the importance of books in our lives and what we may do to preserve them. The journey of the girl and the fictional characters towards immortality and perennial readership is a metaphor of this need to keep books alive.

Everything about Mr Big is big. And ordinary pens just won't do; every time he tries to write, Mr Big's ordinary sized pens break. So Mr Big drives to the shop in his big car to buy a big pen. But size is not the only suprising thing about Mr Big's new pen.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood. Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them. As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true. This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times. "This is a wonderful read for younger students that will also provide insight and encourage discussion about the wider world. ... The simplicity of Yousafzai's writing and the powerful message she sends, make this book inspirational for all." -- School Library Journal

Acclaimed cartoonist Dylan Horrocks returns with a long-awaited new graphic novel, the first since his perennial classic, 1998’s Hicksville. Cartoonist Sam Zabel hasn’t drawn a comic in years. Stuck in a nightmare of creative block and despair, Sam spends his days writing superhero stories for a large American comics publisher and staring at a blank piece of paper, unable to draw a single line. Then one day he finds a mysterious old comic book set on Mars and is suddenly thrown headlong into a wild, fantastic journey through centuries of comics, stories, and imaginary worlds. Accompanied by a young webcomic creator named Alice and an enigmatic schoolgirl with rocket boots and a bag full of comics, Sam goes in search of the Magic Pen, encountering sex-crazed aliens, medieval monks, pirates, pixies and ― of course ― cartoonists. Funny, erotic, and thoughtful, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen explores the pleasures, dangers, and moral consequences of fantasy.

A pen that tells the future? Summer vacation is here, and Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and their friends have just arrived at sleep-away camp! On a hike through a dark, eerie cave, Elizabeth finds something incredible -- a glowing pen! She can't wait to use it to write an article for the camp newspaper. But as she writes, Elizabeth is astonished to find herself composing a mystery full of scary twists and turns. And to her horror, little by little the mystery seems to be coming true! This isn't just an ordinary pen. Could it be haunted? Don't Miss Any Of The Books In This Fabulous Series!

Everything about Mr Big is big. And ordinary pens just won’t do; every time he tries to write, Mr Big’s ordinary sized pens break. So Mr Big drives to the shop in his big car to buy a big pen. But size is not the only suprising thing about Mr Big’s new pen. •Blue/ Band 4 books offer longer, repeated patterns with sequential events and integrated literary and natural language. •Text type - A fantasy story. •A storyboard on pages 22 and 23 provides a pictorial summary of the story in eight frames, an ideal cue for further discussion and activity. •Curriculum links - Numeracy: Shape, space and measure.

Heaven wants many things, Mom tells her to write them down.Heaven soon learns the magic of writing down all that she wants and desires; when she's gifted a magical pen from a magical Genie. It turns out mom was right all along.