Books like Once a Mouse
By Marcia Brown
For the kid fascinated by transformations and big cats, this is a fable that turns a tiny mouse into something roaring and dangerous — and asks whether power changes who you really are. Ancient, hushed, and a little solemn — a fable told with the weight of woodcut shadows and jungle stillness.
A rich king who prizes gold above all else is granted his wish that everything he touches turns to gold — until he accidentally touches his own daughter.
After spotting three dazzling mermaids on the subway, a boy transforms his home into a lagoon of imagination, fashioning his own mermaid costume from a curtain and some ferns.
A witch famous throughout Russia for eating children is secretly a lonely old woman who longs for a grandchild, so she disguises herself as a village babushka to find one.
A curious fox sets out just to watch a mysterious parade of animals heading somewhere unknown, freeing a caged pair of doves along the way, until he finds his reason for joining them waiting by a great wooden ship.
A janitor and his loyal dog, cramped and weary of their crowded one-room life, accept a mysterious bird's offer of paradise on a floating island — only to discover the price of that easy life.
Cursed bald at birth by the wicked fairy Malevola, a princess grows up and wishes for golden hair — only to find that too much hair brings its own troubles.
A small boy is invited to tea at the palace and always asks the same question — may he bring a friend? — and each time, a surprising animal guest shows up beautifully behaved.
Voted the most beautiful bird in the forest, a glossy blackbird is begged by the red, yellow, blue, and green birds to paint markings of black onto their feathers so they can be beautiful too.
After a long night delivering presents to every child in the world, Santa comes home to the North Pole — where his elves decide it's finally his turn to have a Christmas morning of his own.
A young reindeer with a glowing red nose is teased and left out by the other reindeer, until a foggy Christmas Eve gives Santa a reason to need him most.
A fish and his best friend, a tadpole, grow up together in a pond until the tadpole becomes a frog and hops off to explore dry land, leaving the fish desperate to follow.
A young girl with skin the color of midnight longs to be lighter like her mother and sister, until a shooting star's story about the sisters Night and Day changes how she sees herself.
