Gullwick, the Island That Shares
A small island with a lighthouse, a bakery on one side, the flour mill on the other, and a wooden bridge between them that the storm took.
- The Bridge That Went Out with the Tide Ages 6-8 · Sprout · Grower · Reader
The Green
A town green with an anvil on it that nobody remembers putting there.
In these books nobody solves the problem alone. Each character knows one idea, and the story only works when the right one steps up at the right time. Pick a door.
The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.
Open doors
The Lantern Walk
The lantern path across the Green, from Bà Tư's door to Tí's bed, at dusk.
- The Lantern Makes a Giant Ages 3-5 · The five-night book
The Slow Lake Academy
A village at the edge of the Slow Lake with one library (Sir Pinwell's) and Captain Castle's chess academy, whose hall has a long board at the front and a stool to one side.
- The Opera Game Ages 9-14 · Chapter book · The annotated game · For grown-ups
The children of the Green
Six children who live around the Green and follow the spark. Each has a way of thinking, and a habit that sometimes gets in the way. They grow older as the books go on.
-
Tí · 4 Notices small things; says "again" Sometimes: won't let go of the lantern -
Lan · 7 Goes first; makes a friend in a minute Sometimes: promises before she counts -
Inkling · 8 Names what she notices Sometimes: names things too soon -
Beto · 9 Takes things apart Sometimes: forgets to put people back together -
Danya · 12 Asks "how do we know?" Sometimes: sure he's the fair one - Tara · 15 Listens longest, speaks last Sometimes: waits too long to speak
How every book ends
- Back on the Green. A child uses the idea once, at home, in an ordinary way.
- The Honest Page. Which parts were true, which were stretched, and which were made up.
- Across the Table. One question and one thing to do together, for a grown-up and a child.
The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.
Every number, move and trade in these books is checked by code before it is published. Stories: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. No ads, no account, nothing recorded.