New Releases by Donna Jo Napoli

A NEW YORK TIMES/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN''S BOOK • A stunning picture book for young nature lovers about starlings and the fascinating phenomenon of murmurations. Illustrated by the award-winning artist Marc Martin, this book about the natural world vividly explores how such an enigma is even possible. Sweeping, diving, twisting, turning. To look up at a murmuration of starlings is an experience like no other. Hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of starlings fly together as one flock. The group ripples, whirls, and waves as each bird stays close to its neighbors in a harmonious synchronicity of movement. The story is told from the point of view of the flock, which gives the reader an inside look at what is happening, and the breathtaking illustrations perfectly capture the ebb and flow of a murmuration. Young readers will witness and fully appreciate the extraordinary communication and collaboration abilities of these birds and may be able to apply these lessons to their own lives.

A NEW YORK TIMES/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN''S BOOK • This picture book is for the littlest nature aficionado. Bursting with vibrant illustrations, it offers an inviting look into the secret world of how nature goes BERSERK at night! As night falls. The earth cools. Waters calm. Winds hush… But outside, night time is action time for some. Silly action. Hungry action. Wild action. From microscopic organisms to giant cats, it''s surprising who you''ll find awake in the middle of the night! Dinoflagellates guzzle floating bacteria, bumblebee bats loop and swoop, racer snakes slither, weasels sneak and circle, and spot-bellied eagle owls leap and sweep. One by one, the animals of the food chain find their next scrumptious treat. For children whose curiosity abounds, and restless sleepers greedy for one more story or one more goodnight kiss, this distinctive picture book with a science focus gives a peek at the animals that come alive at night. The striking words of Donna Jo Napoli join the electric and wild illustrations of acclaimed artist Felicita Sala to make this the perfect picture book to help young readers get out all their wiggles and giggles before bed.

Harriet the tortoise likes to do things slowly. She explores her home on the Galápagos Islands—slowly. She eats—slowly. And when the sun goes down, she slumbers deeply all night long. When Harriet’s friends tell her to pick up the pace, Harriet decides to journey to a neighboring island to see what there is to see. She parades with penguins and rides with dolphins, encountering adventure at every turn. But is life in the fast lane right for a tortoise who loves to take her time?

A serious job for a little angel The Little Angel of Responsibility has a hard time finishing what she starts. She?s been working on the same knitting project for weeks. But something more interesting always seems to come up. This time, it?s helping a little girl with a big problem. Danielle is old enough to take care of herself. So when her mother starts working again, she leaves a lot of responsibility in Danielle?s hands -- like making sure to get her homework done on time. But when the choice is left up to Danielle, she?d rather practice running for the track team than do schoolwork. Is the Little Angel of Responsibility ready to lend a hand? Be responsible!

Other people''s feelings mattter Molly is angry and embarassed that her big sister, Amanda, has a baby. Now some of Molly''s friends won''t play with her, and they talk about her behind her back. Molly doesn''t want anything to do with them, either. She''s left out, and it''s all Amanda''s fault! The Little Angel of Compassion wants to earn her wings, but she knows she has a tough task ahead of her. Molly is pushing her sister away, just when she needs all the friends she can get. Can the Little Angel of Compassion help Molly get over her anger before she ends up all alone? Have compassion

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. The Little Angel of Friendship is the most popular angel around. He''s pretty sure it won''t take much for him to earn a few more feathers and get his flying wings. But there''s a tough task ahead of him. He has to help a girl named Patricia make new friends. There''s nothing wrong with Patricia. It''s just that she has a different way of talking than most children. Plus, she''s just moved to a new town. The girl down the hall wants nothing to do with her -- she thinks Patricia is a baby. If Patricia doesn''t speak up soon, there''ll be one unhappy Little Angel of Friendship -- he needs those wings to fly! Have you made a friend today?

The Little Angel of Generosity loves giving gifts to his friends, especially when he gets a gift in return. And he loves helping children, as long as he earns another feather for his wings. He''s still learning what giving is all about when he meets a little girl named Dinah who needs his help. Dinah likes to give gifts, too. And she really likes to get nice things for herself. But her family doesn''t have a lot of money, and she wants things they can''t afford -- sometimes she even wants those things badly enough to take what doesn''t belong to her. It''s up to the Little Angel of Generosity to show her that it''s not what you have, but what you give that counts.

Everyone''s good at something. Stanley can''t seem to do anything right. He doesn''t draw well, he''s not good at sports, and sometimes it feels like his parakeet, Casper, is the only one who listens to him. What''s the point of trying new things if he knows he''ll never succeed? It will take the Little Angel of Persistence, and some help from a new friend, to make Stanley realize what his special talents really are. Be persistent.

Set in medieval Venice, this captivating fairy tale retelling by award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli explores belonging, beauty, and the transformative power of love through the eyes of a teenage girl. Dolce has grown up hidden away on an island in a lagoon. She is a giant, a freak, tormented by everyone but her loving mother. She spends her time learning the valuable secret of making mirrors. Following a tragedy, Dolce swims away and lands on an island where people see her as normal, even beautiful. Marin, a kind widower, and his little daughter bring Dolce to live with them in their grand palazzo. Eventually, Dolce and Marin marry. She secretly continues to make mirrors, not realizing that quicksilver endangers her . . . and so evil begins in innocence.

The story of a teenage Mary Magdalene -- here called Miriam -- is finally told.... When the world goes dark and her mind explodes within her, Miriam''s future is shattered. In ancient Israel such seizures make her unclean. If anyone finds out about them, she will be an outcast. Only Abraham -- the son of Hannah, her caretaker -- shares her secret. Abraham, too, is afflicted -- a perfect mind in an imperfect body -- and to the villagers he is an idiot. To Miriam he is a savior....

Illustrated stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters come to life in this collection of Norse myths, including those of the thunder god Thor, the one-eyed god and Allfather Odin, and the trickster god Loki.

An Irish princess is kidnapped and sold into slavery in this powerful retelling of an Icelandic legend from award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli, a companion to Hidden. Melkorka was a princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom in medieval Ireland—but all of this is lost the day she is kidnapped and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Thrown into a world that she has never known, alongside people that her former country’s laws regarded as less than human, Melkorka is forced to learn quickly how to survive. Taking a vow of silence, however, she finds herself an object of fascination to her captors and masters, and soon realizes that any power, no matter how little, can make a difference.

Having lost her family in a massive flood, sixteen-year-old Sebah finds her way onto a gigantic ark, where she must conceal herself from Noah and his family until it is safe for her and another stowaway to slip away.

Is Ebonics really a dialect or simply bad English? Do women and men speak differently? Will computers ever really learn human language? Does offensive language harm children? These are only a few of the issues surrounding language that crop up every day. Most of us have very definite opinions on these questions one way or another. Yet as linguists Donna Jo Napoli and Vera Lee-Schoenfeld point out in this short and thoroughly readable volume, many of our most deeply held ideas about the nature of language and its role in our lives are either misconceived or influenced by myths and stereotypes. Language Matters provides a highly informative tour of the world of language, examining these and other vexing and controversial language-related questions. Throughout, Napoli and Lee-Schoenfeld encourage and lead the reader to use common-sense and everyday experience rather than preconceived notions or technical linguistic expertise. Both their questions and their conclusions are surprising, sometimes provocative, and always entertaining. This thoroughly revised second edition updates the book with a new co-author, and includes new chapters on language and power, language extinction, and what it is linguists actually do. Language Matters is sure to engage both general readers and students of language and linguistics at any level.

Talullah, Louisiana. 1899. Calogero, his uncles, and cousins are six Sicilian men living in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana. They work hard, growing vegetables and selling them at their stand and in their grocery store. To 14-year-old Calogero, newly arrived from Sicily, Tallulah is a lush world full of contradictions, hidden rules, and tension between the Negro and white communities. He’s startled and thrilled by the danger of a ’gator hunt in the midnight bayou, and by his powerful feelings for Patricia, a sharpwitted, sweet-natured Negro girl. Some people welcome the Sicilians. Most do not. Calogero’s family is caught in the middle: the whites don’t see them as equal, but befriending Negroes is dangerous. Every day brings Calogero and his family closer to a a terrifying, violent confrontation.

One woman. One seed. One hope for the future. Thayu nyumba -- Peace, my people. Wangari grew up in the shadow of Mount Kenya listening to the stories about the people and land around her. Though the trees towered over her, she had loved them for as long as she could remember. So strong, so beautiful, how the trees made her smile. Wangari planted trees one by one to refresh her spirit. When the women came to her for help with their families, she told them to do the same. Soon the countryside was filled with trees. Kenya was strong once more. Wangari had changed her country, tree by tree. Donna Jo Napoli tells a story inspired by the life of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai that will touch the hearts and spirits of all who read it. Kadir Nelson''s stunning collage illustrations honor the spirit of a land and of the woman who saved it.

It?s been two years since fifteen-year-old Roberto was kidnapped and forced to work in a German labor camp. After finally escaping, he?s made his way back to Italy. Roberto is desperate to return to the safety of his family, but how can he turn his back on the war while so many people are suffering? Roberto joins the resistance movement, and smuggles guns and secret information to rebel fighters. Every mission takes him closer to home, but every mission is even more dangerous than the last. Will Roberto survive and make his way home?

YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND. Bound to her father''s second wife and daughter after Xing Xing''s father has passed away. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where the life of a woman is valued less than that of livestock. Bound to be alone and unmarried, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Dubbed "Lazy One" by her stepmother, Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful but compulsory tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content, for now, to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, to tend to the mysterious but beautiful carp in her garden, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society. But all of this is about to change as the time for the village''s annual festival draws near, and Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the family''s money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future. In this searing story, Donna Jo Napoli, acclaimed author of Beast and Breath, delves into the roots of the Cinderella myth and unearths a tale as powerful as it is familiar.

In this charming blend of storytelling and math, four siblings use their fraction skills to get their dearest wish. Full color.

Annie Freeman''s Fabulous Traveling Funeral

One day when Albert is at his window, two cardinals come to build a nest in his hand, an event that changes his life.

In 1892, nine-year-old Dom’s mother puts him on a ship leaving Italy, bound for America. He is a stowaway, traveling alone and with nothing of value except for a new pair of shoes from his mother. In the turbulent world of homeless children in Manhattan’s Five Points, Dom learns street smarts, and not only survives, but thrives by starting his own business. A vivid, fascinating story of an exceptional boy, based in part on the author’s grandfather.

Elaborates on the tale of "Beauty and the Beast," told from the point of view of the beast and set in Persia.

While driving in the Italian countryside, eleven-year-old Jackie''s father suddenly collapses at the wheel. Fear for her father''s life quickly turns to terror when two Italian men kidnap her and drive to their remote home in the countryside. Jackie soon discovers that her captors are actually a family, plagued by a mysterious secret. Award-winning novelist Donna Jo Napoli has created a haunting thriller that gives life to Jackie''s utter desperation and determination to escape.

In 1592, Donata is a noble girl living in a palazzo on the Grand Canal. Girls of her class receive no education and rarely leave the palazzo. In a noble family, only one daughter and one son will be allowed to marry; Donata, like all younger daughters, will be sent to a convent. Donata longs to be tutored like her brothers and to see the Venice she has glimpsed only on the map. What is the world beyond her balcony, beyond what she sees when she glides, veiled, in a gondola down the canal? She dresses as a boy and escapes the palazzo on the Grand Canal to see the world before she is shut away, and to try to find a way to escape her fate. Donata risks everything; she changes her life, and her family’s life, forever when she walks through the door and encounters a Venice she never knew existed.

When Roberto sneaks off to see a movie in his Italian village, he has no idea that life as he knows it is over. German soldiers raid the theater, round up the boys in the audience, and pack them onto a train. After a terrifying journey, Roberto and his best friend Samuele find themselves in a brutal work camp, where food is scarce and horror is everywhere. The boys vow to stay together no matter what. But Samuele has a dangerous secret, which, if discovered, could get them both killed. Lovers of historical fiction will be captivated by this tragic, triumphant, and deeply moving novel.

The Little Angel of Honesty hopes to understand why Celine continually twists the truth so that she can help her and earn her wings.

The little Angel of Imagination is assigned to Louie, a boy who has forgottenhow to use his imagination, and tries to help Louie rediscover how to open uphis mind as he plays with his dog and his younger brother.