Choices. Life offers us plenty. How do you know you chose correctly? From the streets of West Berlin to the lush tropical climes of Bali, from New Delhi to New York - these stories follow characters faced with choices that could send their lives in different and sometimes opposite directions. A daughter who wants more from life, a father who contemplates ending his; a love lost, a love retained, a love forgotten. Regret, retribution and remorse are liberally sprinkled through this diverse and eclectic collection of short stories. In surprising, vivid and thought-provoking journeys across continents, cultures and landscapes, an indubitable truth emerges - human emotions are essentially the same world over. Savour this collection of tales that range from smooth to dark, nutty to silly, and bitter to sweet. Which story would you like to bite into today? ***** Reader reviews: "Truly like a box of chocolates, something for everyone, lovely short stories. There’s dark, light, salty, and sweet, my favorites being the darker stories! I always enjoy the author’s beautifully descriptive prose, takes me away to far flung locales, exactly what we all need these days!" "As per her usual style each story draws you in from the very first sentence. Each story has a completely different narrator and is written in beautifully rich prose. In this book the stories are set in different countries and even ages. But Poornima took care to enter a little commonality into each story, thus connecting the individual stories. Clearly the theme for this book was ‘a story with a twist’. A joy to read!" ​"This was a very enjoyable book with varied themes, different voices and locations - all from one very talented author. I will be adding more of her books to my reading list and would encourage anyone who is not familiar with her to give her a try."

The stories featured in this book come from all over the world. The Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets out the requirement that children be provided with 'positive images that challenge children's thinking and help them embrace differences in gender, ethnicity, language, religion, culture...' Stories are powerful medium that engage and envelop young children, helping them to enter unfamiliar worlds and begin to empathise with characters from different backgrounds. This book provides a range of stories through which young children can explore and learn about other cultures. Each activity page will include: * The story * Adult-led and independent activity ideas to follow up the story * Related songs, poems and rhymes * A list of additional stories, information books and websites * Relevant links with the EYFS Areas of Learning and Development

BROWNIES AND BOGELS is more about brownies, bogels, elves, pixies, fairies and the little people than it is about the stories and tales which the little people tell to each other. It is an excellent volume which gives parents and grandparents background information for those moments when a child asks “Where did the fairies go?” or, “What is a Bogle?” This volume covers aspects of brownie and fairy life, like What Fairies Were And What They Did. Who the Fairy Rulers were and how they went about ruling. It will also tell who the Black Elves and Light Elves were and how the little people were also House-Helpers but how some of them were also Mischief-Makers. So, if you ever find things out of place in your house, now you know who to blame. You will also read about Fairyland and the Water-Folk, Changelings and the eventual Passing Of The Little People plus much, much more. ============ KEYWORDS/TAGS: fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, children’s stories, childrens stories, bygone era, fairydom, fairy kingdom, ethereal, fairy land, classic stories, children’s bedtime stories, happy place, happiness, laughter, Brownies, bogels, , little, fairies, children, elves, people, beautiful, night, sweet, green, love, Fairyland, Robin, changeling, Welsh, mortals, England, Puck, Ireland, gentle, play, Kobold, German, Scots, human, goblins, gentlemen, Dwarves, Isle, Cornwall, Mab, Scotland, creature, dance, Pisky, pixie, poets, Troll, Shakespeare, Goodfellow, Cluricaune, Denmark, Indian, Queen, Black, King, Nixy, fairy-folk, Brittainy, Korrigans, Piskies, Tylwyth, sprites, Boggart, naughty, Kelpie, Breton, magic, trick, charm, Rügen, barn, Fir-Darrig, whimsical, moonlight, enchant, Shetland, Gobelin, Thomas, bottom, Molly, Alan, water-sprites, fairy-mother, dark-skinned, Skillywidden, frolicsome, Devonshire, Friesland, Hobgoblin, Spriggans, air-elves, vanish, mountains, Strömkarl, egg-shell, mythology, Lyktgubhe, Wildbeam, Goldemar, Edenhall, Coblynau, mermaids, Ellydan, Drayton, Hobhole, bagpipe, Celtic, Ainsel, Robert, golden, Cauld, Lutin, Tomte, Gitto, Pooka, Gwyn, Lyly, knob, Puk, Mop, Hob, Will-o'-the-Wisp, Northumberland, Heinzelmänchen, tintinnabulis, Wag-at-the-Wa, philosopher, honeysuckle, red-capped, Longfellow, pestilence, Ghibelline, Karkapaha, Kirkegrim, coloribus, Badfellow, malignant, petticoat, Rulers, Black Elves, Light Elves, House-Helper, Water-Folk, Mischief-Makers, Puck, Poets, Passing

This book is for all little boys and girls who love fairies and pixies. Hewe we have a story about a boy named Wendell, who lives in Boston and likes fairy stories and baseball MUCH more than he likes fractions – but he does like reading and can be found in the children’s section of the library on most days. He even checked fairytale books out of the library and took them home with him. At night his parents had to take the books away from him as he was quite often found in the early hours of the morning reading a book under his covers with a torch. Then Wendell reads about the Wishing Stone. On making enquiries he finds it is no longer where his book said it would be and he starts to make enquiries as to its current whereabouts – and so starts Wendell’s adventure across Boston and into the land of Fairydom. This volume is sure to keep you and your young ones enchanted for hours, if not because of the quantity, then their quality. They will have you coming back for more time and again. ============ KEYWORDS/TAGS: fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, children’s stories, childrens stories, bygone era, fairydom, fairy kingdom, ethereal, fairy land, classic stories, children’s bedtime stories, happy place, happiness, laughter, Wishing Stone, Pixie Starts It, First Task, Wendell, Unexpected, Ally, Frog, Out Of The Common, extraordinary, Enchanted Maiden, Midnight Spell, Cousin Virginia, Caller, Break, Charm, spell, Giant, House, Cloak Of Darkness, invisibility, Blind Man’s Buff, bluff, Cap Of Thought, Magic Book, Choice, Happy Family, Sammy, Tries His Hand, Acorn, Beacon, Beauteous, Beautiful, Boston, Cap, Cousin, electric, freckle-faced, Kobold, library, magic, Maiden, Mummer, Park, Pixie, riddle, Sammy, school, shape, squirrel, stepmother, Stepsister, telephone, Virginia, Wendell, young

Every family is unique. Loyal and Katherine Nash raised their four children to be honest, fair, and proud of their origins. Born during a Vermont blizzard, Beatrice was welcomed by her older brothers and nine cows. But as would happen several times in her childhood, her family soon moved, packing up and heading for the Northwest. In a fascinating memoir accompanied by original photographs, Beatrice chronicles her childhood from birth through her varied experiences as her family eventually traveled from the Northwest to an isolated farm in Maine shortly after the Second World War. As she details how she contended with her older brothers and explored as far as her curiosity and legs would take her, Beatrice shares a glimpse into her coming-of-age journey as she played heated games of cowboys and Indians, ran through the sprinkler, built imaginary cities in the hay, and knelt in school bathroom stalls to protect herself from the Communists. But it was not until she turned thirteen and enrolled in boarding school that Beatrice finally saw a world beyond that of her parents’ dreams. Some Stories is the memoir of a girl’s mid-twentieth century New England childhood as she learned lessons, found happiness in the simple gifts, and ultimately attained independence.