"Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review) This bold collection of novellas by Daniel Nayeri features four modern riffs on classic genres that explore universally compelling themes such as identity and belonging, betrayal and friendship, love and mortality. Included are:Straw House: A Western sizzling with suspense, set in a land where a rancher grows soulless humans and a farmer grows living toys.Wood House: A science-fiction tale set in a future where reality and technology blend imperceptibly, and a teenage girl must save the world from a nano-revolution.Brick House: A detective story set in modern New York City, featuring a squad of "wish police" and a team of unlikely detectives.Blow: A comedic love story told by none other than Death himself, portrayed...

The unforgettable voice of a young refugee gives this groundbreaking autobiographical its beating heart. Capturing the essence of A Thousand and One Nights, from middle school humiliations to wondrous Persian myths, you will find one powerful narrative, united by hope for a world that ought to be.At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much.But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy...and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the...

The dashing knight Latouche wants to compete in a tournament, but he’s afraid to lose. What he needs is a potion that will make him brave enough to enter! Can Sasha and Puck help Latouche find his courage?

A new all-ages adventure tale from Printz Medal Winner, Daniel NayeriThis is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called "Seller of Dreams". The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir— furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life—as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he'll be a free man...but will they all survive that long?For fans of The Little Prince and Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

When Basil Gentry asks for a cordial cordial, Sasha thinks he wants it for his spoiled sister Sisal. A boarding school headmistress is coming to meet Sisal, but Sisal would rather throw a party for her horse. Can Sasha and Puck convince Sisal to be friendly for one whole day?

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish—only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city's most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor's extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up—reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty—they start to suffer the side-effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

This compelling and cutting-edge novella is a hard-boiled detective drama about the wish police in modern New York City. To prevent murder, the special forces of the Imaginary Crimes Unit must unravel and apprehend the secret deadly impulses held by a resentful boy against his parents. If you enjoy reading "Brick House," check out Daniel Nayeri's three other whimsical riffs on classic genres, all available in the collection Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow.Review[The] novellas riff on influences as varied as The Wizard of Oz, Mad Max, and the sardonic Death of Pratchett's Discworld...Strong and assured, these stories seamlessly merge different styles, teasing out and playing with readers' assumptions about how westerns, fantasy and fairy tales work...provocative and deeply satisfying.*  * --Kirkus Reviews"With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--*National Book Award nominee and two-time Newbery honoree* Gary D. Schmidt"I'm so impressed by the ingenuity of the project as a whole, and Brick House / Wish Policeis sheer genius. I can't remember the last time I've read such a clever and successful plotline."-- *Newbery medalist* Linda Sue ParkNayeri's voice is chameleon-like, easily adapting to the conventions and expectations of each genre without losing a bit of its edge or its wit....Straw House is a delightful amalgam of the high and the low, the silly and the sublime.  --BookPageFour stylistically brilliant novellas offer readers a range of exquisite reading experiences in this collection... Nayeri's storytelling finesse is on full display here, as he creates characters and spins plots out of breathtakingly vivid wordsmithery; each story features language uniquely suited to its ambience and desired emotional effects, whether it be through clever wordplay in chapter titles, futuristic technojargon, a deliciously turned phrase, or a particularly apt metaphor. Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)Overall, provocative and deeply satisfying.—Kirkus Reviews From the Back Cover"Whenever we invoke this title -- Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow -- let us breathe this word soon after: virtuosity. In a remarkable collection of four novellas, Daniel Nayeri plays a modern Lewis Carroll, pulling us down rabbit holes where the world is cockeyed -- disturbingly cockeyed -- and anything at all can happen. In one, toys planted by an absent creator are left to fend for themselves when evil arrives; in another, the very air we breathe has been infected with a technology that allows us to create our own reality--or others to create it for us; in another, the narrator Death is moved to play the jerk by powerful love.With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--Two-time Newbery honoree and Printz honoree Gary D. Schmidt

This grimly humorous and cutting-edge novella delivers a Shakespearean love story that brings together two feuding artisan families, narrated by none other than Death himself -- a hero who may steal your heart in more ways than one. If you enjoy reading "Blow," check out Daniel Nayeri's three other whimsical riffs on classic genres, all available in the collection Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow.Review[The] novellas riff on influences as varied as The Wizard of Oz, Mad Max, and the sardonic Death of Pratchett's Discworld...Strong and assured, these stories seamlessly merge different styles, teasing out and playing with readers' assumptions about how westerns, fantasy and fairy tales work...provocative and deeply satisfying.*  * --Kirkus Reviews"With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--*National Book Award nominee and two-time Newbery honoree* Gary D. Schmidt"I'm so impressed by the ingenuity of the project as a whole, and Brick House / Wish Policeis sheer genius. I can't remember the last time I've read such a clever and successful plotline."-- *Newbery medalist* Linda Sue ParkNayeri's voice is chameleon-like, easily adapting to the conventions and expectations of each genre without losing a bit of its edge or its wit....Straw House is a delightful amalgam of the high and the low, the silly and the sublime.  --BookPageFour stylistically brilliant novellas offer readers a range of exquisite reading experiences in this collection... Nayeri's storytelling finesse is on full display here, as he creates characters and spins plots out of breathtakingly vivid wordsmithery; each story features language uniquely suited to its ambience and desired emotional effects, whether it be through clever wordplay in chapter titles, futuristic technojargon, a deliciously turned phrase, or a particularly apt metaphor. Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)Overall, provocative and deeply satisfying.—Kirkus Reviews From the Back Cover"Whenever we invoke this title -- Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow -- let us breathe this word soon after: virtuosity. In a remarkable collection of four novellas, Daniel Nayeri plays a modern Lewis Carroll, pulling us down rabbit holes where the world is cockeyed -- disturbingly cockeyed -- and anything at all can happen. In one, toys planted by an absent creator are left to fend for themselves when evil arrives; in another, the very air we breathe has been infected with a technology that allows us to create our own reality--or others to create it for us; in another, the narrator Death is moved to play the jerk by powerful love.With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--Two-time Newbery honoree and Printz honoree Gary D. Schmidt

In this profoundly allegorical cutting-edge novella, a sizzling Western set on a farm filled with living toys, readers meet a young straw man who must lay his life on the line to defend his master's home, who loves a basil-eyed girl, and who searches for manhood through the fiery confusion of adolescence. If you enjoy reading "Straw House," check out Daniel Nayeri's three other whimsical riffs on classic genres, all available in the collection Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow.Review[The] novellas riff on influences as varied as The Wizard of Oz, Mad Max, and the sardonic Death of Pratchett's Discworld...Strong and assured, these stories seamlessly merge different styles, teasing out and playing with readers' assumptions about how westerns, fantasy and fairy tales work...provocative and deeply satisfying.*  * --Kirkus Reviews"With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--*National Book Award nominee and two-time Newbery honoree* Gary D. Schmidt"I'm so impressed by the ingenuity of the project as a whole, and Brick House / Wish Policeis sheer genius. I can't remember the last time I've read such a clever and successful plotline."-- *Newbery medalist* Linda Sue ParkNayeri's voice is chameleon-like, easily adapting to the conventions and expectations of each genre without losing a bit of its edge or its wit....Straw House is a delightful amalgam of the high and the low, the silly and the sublime.  --BookPageFour stylistically brilliant novellas offer readers a range of exquisite reading experiences in this collection... Nayeri's storytelling finesse is on full display here, as he creates characters and spins plots out of breathtakingly vivid wordsmithery; each story features language uniquely suited to its ambience and desired emotional effects, whether it be through clever wordplay in chapter titles, futuristic technojargon, a deliciously turned phrase, or a particularly apt metaphor. Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)Overall, provocative and deeply satisfying.—Kirkus Reviews From the Back Cover"Whenever we invoke this title -- Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow -- let us breathe this word soon after: virtuosity. In a remarkable collection of four novellas, Daniel Nayeri plays a modern Lewis Carroll, pulling us down rabbit holes where the world is cockeyed -- disturbingly cockeyed -- and anything at all can happen. In one, toys planted by an absent creator are left to fend for themselves when evil arrives; in another, the very air we breathe has been infected with a technology that allows us to create our own reality--or others to create it for us; in another, the narrator Death is moved to play the jerk by powerful love.With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."--Two-time Newbery honoree and Printz honoree Gary D. Schmidt

An elusive stalker is targeting Marlowe kids - and something unearthly has gotten into its wealthiest student - as the Another series builds up to a fiendish finale. When his billionaire father marries French governess Nicola Vileroy, high society is all abuzz - but Thomas, the most popular student at Marlowe, is just plain high. Ever since his girlfriend Belle dumped him, he's been spending less time with old friends and more time getting wasted at clubs. But after someone slips him a designer drug one night - and his stepmother seems to know way too much about his private life - things really start to get scary. As Thomas's blackouts give way to a sinister voice inside his head, and as news of a vicious hate crime has students on edge, Thomas comes to the sickening realization that Madame Vileroy has involved him in a horrifying supernatural plan. How can he muster the strength and will to stop it? The pulse-quickening climax revisits Jekyll and Hyde as a current-day...