-I'm quick and smart as I can be. Try and try, but you can't catch me -

Mouse Deer sings his song as he walks through the forest looking for tasty fruits and roots and shoots. Though he is small, he is not afraid. He knows that many big animals want to eat him -- but first they have to catch him

In these delightful trickster tales from Southeast Asia, find out how Mouse Deer gets the best of his enemies -- Tiger, Crocodile, and the most dangerous animal of all, Farmer

TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS -- A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE...

-One of the books every boy should have on his bookshelf.- -- San Francisco Examiner

No outlaw could draw as fast as Lightning Larry. But what really terrified those bad men was that peculiar gun of his. It didn't shoot bullets. It shot light. And Larry always aimed for the heart.

Can Larry save the town of Brimstone from Evil-Eye McNeevil's outlaw gang? Find out in this rip-roaring original tale of a gunfighter with a huge smile and a hankering for lemonade.

TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS -- A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT OF THIS BOOK IS...

Van Amsterdam the baker was well known for his honesty as well as for his fine Saint Nicholas cookies. He always gave his customers exactly what they paid for -- not more and not less. So, he was not about to give in when a mysterious old woman comes to him on Saint Nicholas Day and insists that a dozen is thirteen

The woman's curse puts an end to the baker's business, and he believes it would take Saint Nicholas to help him. But if he receives that help, will it be exactly what he imagined?

Find out in this inspiring legend from Dutch colonial New York about...

Christmas Day, 1914

My dear sister Janet,

It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts -- yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn't been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France

The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one of...

Fifteen years after publishing -The Business of Writing for Children- -- the all-time online bestseller among guides to children's writing -- award-winning author Aaron Shepard returns with a new collection of articles on the art and business of creating literature for young people.

Topics include managing time in stories, structuring a chapter book, retelling folktales and legends, obtaining permissions, databases and business forms for children's writers, performance tips for author readings, online interaction with young readers, reviving a book with print on demand,...

Gentlemen might be in short supply today, but this little book of wisdom could be a cure. If you're a young man who cares about the quality of his mark on the world -- or if you know such a young man -- the aphorisms of -The Gentleman's Handbook- may prove a helpful guide.

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Aaron Shepard is an author, photographer, publisher, and aspiring gentleman. He lives with his wife and fellow author, Anne L. Watson, in Friday Harbor, Washington.

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"Folktales on Stage" is a collection of reader's theater scripts for young readers, adapted by award-winning children's author Aaron Shepard from his own folktale retellings. A wide variety of countries and cultures is represented, including Native America, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Southeast Asia, and China. While focusing on ages 8 to 15, the collection features a full range of reading levels.

The scripts in this collection are "The Adventures of Mouse Deer" (Indonesia), "The Calabash Kids" (Tanzania), "The Hidden One" (Native America), "The Boy Who Wanted the...

"Stories on Stage" is a collection of reader's theater scripts for young readers, adapted from stories by fifteen different authors, including Louis Sachar, Nancy Farmer, Russell Hoban, Wanda Gag, and Roald Dahl. Coming from such genres as humor, fantasy, and multicultural folktales, stories were selected for their dramatic quality, literary value, and appeal to young people. While focusing on ages 8 to 15, the collection features a wide range of reading levels.

The scripts in this collection are -- "Three Sideways Stories From Wayside School," by Louis Sachar -- "Mr. Twit's...