A girl picks up her colored pencils and starts drawing a story, with frequent input from the narrator, of a Hero and Heroine rescuing the townsfolk of Our Setting, who have been imprisoned in the Dungeon of the Evil Overlord.

Peat is on the run - forced to flee for her life when she's blamed for bringing bad luck to her village. She heads for the endless marshes, where she's caught by an old healer-woman who makes Peat her apprentice and teaches her the skill of storytelling. But a story can be a dangerous thing. It can take you out of one world and leave you stranded in another - and Peat finds herself trapped in an eerie place beyond the Silver River where time stands...

"Snappsy's ordinary day is interrupted by a meddling narrator"--

As a group of refugees huddles together in a rubber dinghy in the middle of the sea at night, one of them uses his violin to tell a story of how the instrument was invented and of a white stallion that ran like the wind, weaving their stories together and giving them hope for freedom in the future.

"In this contemporary retelling of The Canterbury Tales, a group of teens on a bus ride to Washington, DC, each tell a story--some fantastical, some realistic, some downright scandalous--in pursuit of the ultimate prize: an automatic A in civics class"--

An old storyteller travels the streets of Damascus with a wonder chest full of images to delight children, but as time passes, the images fade and are replaced by glossy advertisements, changing the stories.

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

"A young girl hears stories from her aunties and then begins to imagine all the possibilities for her future"--

Returning to her post on a bench in front of the burned-out remains of a beloved library, a dedicated librarian reads out loud from books that have survived until her persistence helps bolster her community's recovery, in a story inspired by the Bosnian War bombing of the National Library of Sarajevo.

Santa is ready to leave on Christmas Eve, but he can't find the reindeer anywhere. Dasher is busy dashing, Donner is dozing, and Cupid is crooning. It isn't until Santa remembers their annual tradition--reading a Christmas story together--that the reindeer are ready. Reindeer merriment abounds in this charming yuletide tale about honoring the celebration of holiday customs with those you love.