the unhappy pine tree

a german folk tale retold.

Lilu's Bright Diwali

LILU’S HOUSE WAS bustling. It was Diwali, the Indian New Year and Festival of Lights, and her family was throwing a big party.

My Log Cabin Home

I LIVE IN a log cabin in Fairbanks, Alaska. In the winter it is cold and dark outside. My dad brings in wood for the stove and he lets my sister Rose help him snap the kindling to get her wiggles out. My mom is melting snow on the stove, for water to wash the dishes. 

Why Alligator Hates Dog

M’SU COCODRIE, THE ALLIGATOR, was once king of all the swamps and the bayous.

Monroe Pelly Can

GO, ROE, GO! Splish-splash-groove.”

Fern The Mighty

PARROT:WELCOME, OH WELCOME, ye land-lubbers all, To our fabulous pirate ship, The Terrible! I’m PARROT, your tour guide and expert narrator— if you like the show, I’m accepting tips later.

Hide and Glow Seek

MAKE YOUR OWN glowing fireflies, then go on a firefly hunt!

Ants In Their Pants

IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY sat on an anthill, and little black ants started to crawl all over you, would you stay there? Of course not!

The Last Bicycle

JACQUES COULDN’T KEEP from grinning as he rode his bicycle along the cobblestone road, past the old castle, and down to the town square. From a mile away he could hear singing and cheering as the townsfolk celebrated the end of Hitler’s war. That day, August 26, 1944, Charles de Gaulle marched triumphantly into Paris, and the proud French national anthem song La Marseillaise lifted millions of hearts.

Too Many Dragons

Too Many Dragons

Career Cat

Career Cat

The Day The Sea Split

The Day The Sea Split

Doodlebug & Dandelion

The Moment of Truth

Monkey See, Monkey Do

A ZIMI AND DAUD sat in the sunshine teaching their pet monkey, Hitam, to do tricks.

Venus's Vanishing Vase

MAN, I LOVE being an Ippy!” Tommy Lutsinger flashed a badge he’d made from cardboard and tin foil. “Freeze!”

Malaysian Bottle Caps

Stack all the caps in your palm.

Who?

Who is it walking down in the wood? (snap of a twig, crackle of leaves)

Book Chompers

ARE YOU ALWAYS losing your place when you put a book down?

Poultrygeist

The Amazing Case of the Haunted Henhouse.

The Noisy Chicken

USE THIS TRICK to make your friends think they’re hearing a real, live laughing chicken.

Sweet Potato Sweetheart Crackers

ENJOY THESE SWEET potato crackers with your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day.

Counting In Swedish

THE SCHOOL SWARMED with kids, all speaking Swedish too fast for Kelsi to understand. Everyone took their shoes off outside the classroom, so Kelsi did, too.

The Boy Who Drew Cats

Based on a Japanese Folktale

The Dark Past of the Polar Bear

THE SUN RISES above the Arctic Ocean, spreading a fiery glow over the pale ice. Across the frozen sea, a white bear lumbers.

Doodlebug & Dandelion - Bike Dreams

“THIS WAS A great idea, Tomiko!” Dandelion Pinkley said to her best friend. “But I’m not good at it. In fact, I’m terrible!”

The Path To Kindness - A Story From Myanmar

WHEN I RAISE my head, it feels cooler than it did a few minutes ago. My hand touches my newly bare scalp—perfectly smooth and round. Father, standing nearby, folds the cloth that caught my hair. I shake my head. I feel different, but I’m still Sen.

I Won't Sneeze

An Indonesian Folk Tale

Boogers At Work

IF YOU’VE EVER blown a snot rocket, had a cold, or picked your nose, you know that your nose is capable of amazing things. What you may not know is that the snot in your nose, whether it’s green and slimy or yellow and clumpy, serves an important purpose.

Doodlebug & Dandelion

When Turkeys Fly.

Mercury's Missing Mutt

An IPPI Mystery Story.