"From the author and illustrator of Shy Willow comes the adorable Little Toymaker, who makes wonderful toys. not for children, but for their grandparents and other older folk. (People often forget that they, too, like toys!) But it isn't always easy. One morning, an old woman brings the Little Toymaker a candy tin she played with as a girl. The Little Toymaker takes the tin and ta-da! comes back with a sparkling new toy for the old lady. But it seems...

"Bubba Brayna makes the best latkes in the village, and on the first night of Hanukkah, the scent of her cooking wakes a hungry, adorable bear from his hibernation. He lumbers into town to investigate, and Bubba Brayna--who does not see or hear very well--mistakes him for her rabbi. She welcomes the bear inside to play the dreidel game, light the menorah, and enjoy a scrumptious meal. However, after her well-fed guest leaves, there's a knock at the...

"Old Misery comes by her name honestly. She has just two possessions that are worth anything to her: her cat, Rutterkin, and her apple tree. The apple tree would be something, if it weren't for the stealing. Her miserable days are spent hobbling up and down the hill, to shoo away the apple thieves. So when one day a lowly gentleman knocks at the door, asking for a meal in exchange for a wish, Old Misery is quick to accept. She wishes that whoever...

As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful--and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all.