New Releases by Giselle Potter

From celebrated illustrator Giselle Potter, a beautiful and memorable story about the special bond between a grandparent and a grandchild. Whenever I visit my grandmother Alice, we love sitting together and telling each other stories. My favorite part is when she takes out her box of special things and we pass them back and forth. Each object—a doll, a sketchbook, shells and stones, and more—is a clue to a bigger story: the story of her life before she was my grandmother. Before she was my grandmother, she too was a young girl, with a life very different from my own. Little by little, the stories she tells and the objects she shares from her memory box reveal the many facets of her life, along with her great spirit, with its many colors and tones. Written and illustrated by the award-winning picture book maker Giselle Potter, Before She Was My Grandmother celebrates strong and loving family connections, as well as the little moments and mementos of childhood that we carry with us all our lives—and pass on to the next generation. It’s also a touching reminder of how every life is so much richer and more multifaceted than any single identity or role.

Synopsis: "With all her might, the orphan forced herself forward, leaving one of her shoes behind." Once upon a time in Greece, fate left a young girl an orphan. Her stepmother was so hateful that she counted every drop of water the orphan drank! But with the help of Nature''s blessings, the orphan was showered with gifts: brilliance from the Sun, beauty from the Moon, gracefulness from the Dawn-and even a tiny pair of blue shoes from the Sea. When the prince comes to visit their village, he only has eyes for the mysterious beauty. Children will love this fanciful folk retelling of the Cinderella story, accompanied by luminous watercolor illustrations by Giselle Potter. Autobiography: Anthony L. Manna has worked with children in drama and storytelling, has been an actor and a janitor, and has taught at universities in Turkey, Greece, and the United States. He divides his time between Ohio and Arizona. Soula Mitakidou grew up in northern Greece, and storytelling was an important part of her family''s traditions. She lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, where she is a retired professor at Aristotle University.

Nine year old only child Janessa Miller lost her mother when she was five years old. When her father announced that he had placed a newspaper advertisement for a mail order bride, she balked at the idea. Who was this strange woman? Why was she here? And most of all, would she love Janessa for who she was?

A playful look at sibling love that celebrates the special bond of sisters A little sister envies her big sister: for being so tall, for having all her grown-up teeth, for swinging so high at the playground. But it turns out her big sister admires her just as much: for being so funny, for doing her famous wiggle dance, for being her little sister! In this heartwarming and playful story of mutual sibling appreciation, Giselle Potter perfectly reflects how we all want to be someone else sometimes—but that at the end of the day, it’s best to be exactly who we are!

A girl makes her own dollhouse in this picture book that celebrates creativity and imagination! A little girl proudly walks the reader through her handmade dollhouse, pointing out the bricks she painted on the outside, the wallpaper she drew on the inside, the fancy clothes she made for her dolls, and the little elevator she made out of a paper cup. She’s proud of her house and has lots of fun using her imagination to play with it—until she discovers her friend Sophie’s “perfect” storebought house. Sophie thinks her house, with everything matching and even a toilet seat that goes up and down, is pretty perfect too, until both girls discover that the narrator’s handmade dollhouse is really a lot more fun. "Celebrates the best of free play, capturing what it''s like to be fully engaged and inspired." —The New York Times "Readers will feel right at home with this cozy tribute to imagination." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred "The realization that creative, outside-the-box artistry can be more inspiring than anything manufactured makes for a wonderful story." —Publishers Weekly, Starred

These are the best things that happened to me the year I didn''t go to school: Traveled around Italy with my family''s theatre troupe. Performed in a theatre outside. (I was a monkey, a panda, and a lion!) Ate spaghetti with fried egg on top. Slept in a truck. Wove cowboy boots. Ciao! (I spoke Italian.) Kept a journal to remember everything that happened.

Journey with two sisters into the world of dreams in this delightfully offbeat read-aloud bedtime story. Little sister asks big sister to tell her what to dream about at bedtime, and big sister presents her with possibilities, such as eating a meal of teeny-tiny waffles with teeny-tiny animals, living in a furry world, and residing in a tree-house town. Little sister is wary of each idea, until together the girls hit upon the perfect dream. Full of fantastic dreamscapes from each girl''s point of view and quirky details that children will want to investigate again and again, this beautiful, irreverant title will inspire the imaginations of readers young and old.

With playful illustrations, childlike text, and real photos and journal entries from Giselle''s summer in France, this charming companion to "The Year I Didn''t Go to School" finds Giselle becoming jealous of little sister Ch]le. Includes a free birthday card. Full color.

Relates the experiences of children''s author Giselle Potter when, at the age of seven, she toured Italy with her family''s tiny theater company, The Mystic Paper Beasts.

Un album d''une extrême délicatesse qui, au travers des rites de la culture mexicaine, évoque le souvenir d''une grand-mère disparue et nous rappelle que ceux que l''on aime ne nous quittent jamais tout à fait.

Eingesperrt in eine Kiste, fristen 3 Geschwister ihr Dasein in einem materiellen Kinderparadies. Einmal in der Woche kommen die Eltern und verwöhnen sie mit Geschenken, doch die Kinder träumen von der Freiheit.

In this magical retelling of the lives of thirteen saints, we meet Lucy, Margaret, and eleven other courageous young girls who chose purity as a shield against devils, dragons, and devious suitors and earned their halos the hard way. Wonderfully told and illustrated, this lovely gift book is a potent tribute to female strength throughout time and a beautiful book to read and share. 90 full-color illustrations.

The poem about two eyes and a head--Wynken, Blynken, and Nod--is illustrated in blues and half-tones.