Books like One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale
By Demi
For the kid who loves a sneaky, brainy solution more than a sword fight, Rani's rice request is the ultimate quiet triumph. Clever, calm, and quietly triumphant, with a folktale's steady unfolding.
Three traveling monks arrive in a war-weary village where suspicious neighbors hide their food and shutter their windows — until the monks offer to make soup from nothing but stones.
During hard times in a Florida forest, a girl named Calpurnia sets off with her little dog to find enough fish to feed her hungry family and neighbors, guided by a mysterious tip from the forest's wisest old woman.
A boy strolls down Market Street from A to Z, buying a gift from each shopkeeper — who are dressed head-to-toe in exactly what they sell, from gloves to oranges to wigs.
A father is proud of both his daughters, but when the Great King summons the most worthy young women in the land to appear before him, only one can become queen.
When every girl at the Paris boarding school falls sick on Christmas Eve, the smallest and bravest one stays well enough to take charge — and finds unexpected help from a magical rug-selling merchant.
A dragon-like creature called the Funny Thing has a habit of eating children's dolls, until a kindly old man named Bobo invents a strange new treat to change its appetite for good.
Scarred from tending the fire, a girl and her two beautiful but cruel sisters all try to win the hand of a rich, powerful Invisible Being — but only his sister's watchful gaze can tell who has truly seen him.
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.
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 girl finds a box of yarn that never runs out and knits sweaters for everyone and everything in her gray town — until a greedy archduke decides he wants the box for himself.
A little girl moves to a new town and finds a park named for butterflies — except none live there, so she rallies neighbors to help bring them home.
A jealous queen orders a princess killed for being more beautiful than her, but a hunter spares the girl, who finds refuge with seven dwarfs — until a poisoned apple nearly finishes what the queen started.
