By selecting only 100 "best books" Anita Silvey distinguishes her guide from all the others and makes it possible to give young readers their literary heritage in the childhood years. The books we hear or read when we are children stay with us all our lives. If we miss them when we are young, we"ll miss them forever: no Hungry Caterpillar, no Winn-Dixie, no Roll of Thunder. As adults we remember a few familiar favorites, but no one but an expert like...

Presents the texts of the stories danced in twelve well-loved ballets, including "Cinderella," "Coppelia," "Don Quixote," "Firebird," "Nutcracker," "Swan Lake," and "La Sylphide."

With the help of a young girl, a nutcracker becomes a handsome prince. Illustrated with photos from a performance by the American Ballet Theatre.

These fascinating, dramatic and child-friendly opera tales are illustrated with flamboyant and breath-taking illustrations. A comprehensive discography (p. 80) is included.

A dollmaker cleverly schemes to pass his most beautiful doll off as a real girl, but he is outwitted by the townspeople he tries to deceive.

The plots of six ballets are accompanied by photographs of performances by the Royal Ballet. Included are "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake," "La Fille Mal Gardee," "Giselle," "Romeo and Juliet," and "The Sleeping Beauty."

"Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect; he hasn't written - let alone published - anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn't need Jake's help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast...

Retells the story of the Mozart opera in which the noble Prince Tamino seeks the fair Pamina against a backdrop of the battle between darkness and light.