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Second Story Press
Our books are sold around the world, have been translated into over 50 languages, won many awards, and have been adapted for film and stage. We publish stories that feature strong female characters and explore themes of social justice, human rights, equality, and ability issues. Our list spans adult fiction and nonfiction; children’s fiction, nonfiction and picture books; and young adult fiction and nonfiction.
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Literature & Literary StudiesJune 2023The politics of male friendship in contemporary American fiction
by Michael Kalisch
How might our friendships shape our politics? This book examines how contemporary American fiction has rediscovered the concept of civic friendship and revived a long tradition of imagining male friendship as interlinked with the promises and paradoxes of democracy in the United States. Bringing into dialogue the work of a wide range of authors - including Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Dinaw Mengestu, and Teju Cole - this innovative study advances a compelling new account of the political and intellectual fabric of the American novel today.
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Children's & YAJanuary 2011The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air
by Abdo Wazen
In his first YA novel, cultural journalist and author Abdo Wazen writes about a blind teenager in Lebanon who finds strength and friendship among an unlikely group. Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited. So at thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write. Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind. At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is also a book about Lebanon and its treatment of people with disabilities. It offers insight into the vital role of strong family support in individual success, the internal functioning of institutions like the Institute, as well as the unique religious and cultural environment of Beirut. Wazen’s lucid language and the linear structure he employs result in a coherent and easy-to-read narrative. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities and shed light on the indispensable roles played by institutions like the Institute.
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Comic strip fiction / graphic novels (Children's/YA)August 2018The Straw Giant and the Crow
by Bosworth-Smith, Jessica
The Straw Giant and The Crow by Jessica Bosworth Smith is a heartfelt and off-the-wall story about a mysterious relationship between a straw giant and a crow. There is a field afar that holds an incredible secret... a giant lives there who is made of straw. One winter, grumpy and miserable with his cold surroundings, the Straw Giant chases away all the other animals in his field. That is, until the Crow arrives and begins to leave him little gifts each morning. A sweet and subtle friendship emerges — but will the Crow be able to last the Winter Solstice? Will their friendship defy the cold clutches of winter and last out?
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Children's & YAI Dream of Being a Concrete Mixer
by Hussain Al Mutawaa
An uplifting tale about the power of friendship, finding your place in the world, and realising your dreams while remaining true to who you are. Tumbledown is a little demolition truck growing up in a loving family. His parents go to work every day demolishing buildings with their big wrecking balls. But soft-hearted Tumbledown doesn’t like to destroy. He’d rather build things. He dreams of being a cement mixer. When Tumbledown cries, his wrecking ball swings out and destroys everything it touches. When Tumbledown laughs, his wrecking ball swings out and destroys everything it touches. His soft heart can’t skip a beat without leaving a trail of destruction. At school other students laugh at him, but still he won’t let go of his dream. When Tumbledown makes friends with a feisty troop of metal springs, they hatch a plan to save him from himself. They fan out over his wrecking ball and every time it swings they do their best to absorb the shock. The day comes when the worn-out springs turn to the Wise Old Crane for help. Tumbledown can never be a cement mixer, but maybe there are other ways, better suited to his nature. After some search, the Wise Old Crane finds a new job for Tumbledown at a construction site using his wrecking ball to smooth out the cement on the ground. It’s hard work but Tumbledown is finally happy, and he grows stronger and more skillful with every passing day.
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Children's & YA2020Momo, The Strange Cat
by Morteza Rokhsatpanah
Momo really wants to find a friend, but it’s not easy for him to do this at all. Because, you know… Momo is a little bit, just a little bit strange. “Momo, the Strange Cat” is a story about friendship. It helps children to understand what it takes to make friends and how they should act on their needs.
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Literature & Literary StudiesJuly 2021The politics of male friendship in contemporary American fiction
by Michael Kalisch, Sharon Monteith, Nahem Yousaf
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Children's & YAI will nerver forget you
by Jean de Dieu Munyurangabo
It is a book story where Benitta help Zoe a child with disabity who was a begger on the street she decided to take her to school hence the friendship...
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March 2020Cousin Arrived
by Qin Wenjun
“Cousin Arrived" is an anthology of short stories. The story involves family love and friendship, as well as the children's little confusion when facing growth. This book contains small stories such as "Mysterious Mascot" full of spiritual inspiration, "Little Brother's Green Manor" that encourages children to choose their own growth path and etc. For children facing their own challenge of growth, this is a good interpretation book of mood and emotions that accompanies children’s growth.
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Children's & YA2018The Chalk Giraffe
by Kirsty Paxton
What if your drawings magically came to life, only to prove rather demanding art critics? Oh, the hassle! In The Chalk Giraffe we follow an artistic child who finds herself drawing a giraffe with chalk… but she is surprised when her creation comes alive and demands changes to his surrounding landscape. What follows is a quirky and humorous tale of creativity and perspective, with the beautiful African landscape as a backdrop to this new and unlikely friendship.
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Children's & YAApril 2016A Long Long Name
by TANG Sulan
Is there a best name in the world? A blue fox always envies others’name. On his trip, he asked Frog, Squirrel and other animals for names. His name became longer and longer, and harder to remember as well. The story tells us, if it suits you most, then it is the best.
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Children's & YA2017The Owl Who Wanted To Become a Lark
by Halyna Vdovychenko (Author), Khrystyna Lukashcuk (Illustrator)
The Owl Who Wanted To Become a Lark tells the story of two birds and their sleeping habits. Each of them has their own lifestyle, one nocturnal, one diurnal. But what would happen if one day owls were to hunt in the morning, and larks were to sing at night? How would they adapt to each other? And would the different lifestyles become a threat to their friendship? This book demonstrates that we are all different but equally beautiful. A lark is no better than an owl, and vice versa; differences like these are not an obstacle to a true friendship. From 3 to 8 years, 1757 words Rightsholders: booksxxi@gmail.com
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March 2020A Music Box
by Qin Wenjun
This book carefully sorts out the latest correspondence between Teacher Qin and young readers and some essay collections from hundreds of thousands of words. In this book, Mrs. Qin as a friend answers the doubts encountered by young readers during their growth, showing Mrs. Qin’s class book with the same theme. This "A Music Box" is different from other volumes in style. The script presents the delicate sincerity of a female writer, about friendship, about happiness, about time, about how to deal with life... They all exemplify the life reflection of the writer from self-experience and the concern for the growth of young people. The sincere words, like the beautiful music, are rippling in the hearts of young readers; they also are like little orange lights, illuminating the path of the little reader.
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Children's & YASeptember 2019Eu não tenho medo
by Niccolò Ammaniti
The hottest summer of the century. Four houses lost among the wheat fields. The big ones are locked in the house. Six children, on their bicycles, venture into the burning and abandoned countryside. In the middle of that sea of ears hides a frightening secret, a secret that will change forever the life of one of them, Michele, a 9-year-old boy. The story is set in the torrid summer of 1978, in the countryside of an unidentified southern Italy, but evoked with rare descriptive force. In this landscape dominated by the contrast between the blinding light of the sun and the darkness of the night, Ammaniti alternates, with wise narrative moments, comedy, the world of children's relationships, the language and the burlesque wisdom of children, their tenacity, the strength of friendship and the drama of betrayal. And at the same time he sketches an unforgettable display of adult characters. A novel of self-discovery through the most extreme risk and the need to face it, Io non ho paura becomes a poignant farewell to the age of play and amazement, to the magical energy that makes us fight monsters. And it insinuates itself under the skin of all of us, like a light stab in the chest.
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Children's & YAApril 2016First Trip away from Home
by Tang Sulan
A baby koala was born and rested in pouch of his mother all the day, never walking out. When he grows up, he needs to see the outside world. Could he become a brave boy?
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Children's & YAJanuary 2016Big Dogs Are Scared Of Little Girls
by Sergiy Loskot (Author), Max Dolynny (Illustrator)
What should you do if everybody believes you to be mean and dangerous just because you are big, dark, and have a formidable voice? How can a big dog find friends if nobody gives it the chance? Well, nobody, except for the mischievous little Ruby, the girl living next-door. Ruby strongly believes in kindness, friendship, and in the inner beauty of everyone. She manages to find a path to the big dog’s heart by painting its house bright with her little palms. And when Ruby needs help, her best friend comes to save her. Big Dogs Are Scared Of Little Girls is a story about kindness and friendship, and on overcoming prejudice and fears. From 3 to 5 years, 1308 words Rightsholders: n.miroshnyk@vivat.factor.ua
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Children's & YAApril 2016A House that Holds Us All
by Tang Sulan
A moment ago, sun was smiling in the sky. Why rain all of the sudden? Snail was not afraid of rain, because he had his own little house. An ant, a bunny and a little boy was running close one by one. They asked a same question, "Can I get in your house to get out of the rain?"
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Children's & YAFirst Things First
by Farhad Hasanzadeh
A little mouse who loves watching the sunset comes across a snake on its way one day. Scared for his life, the mouse tries his best to come up with anything that would create a friendship between him and the snake. Would his efforts work? “First Things First” is a sweet story in the appreciation of friendship. It helps children understand that sometimes the unlikeliest friendships could be built with enough effort, passion, and care.
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March 2021Bonbon and Blanket
by Emily House
A new children's picture book by author Emily House (of Earth Takes a Break) brings us the heartwarming tale of Bonbon and Blanket and the lengths we'll go to hold onto those we love. A great pick for a kids' bedtime storybook! Bonbon and Blanket’s friendship is full of fun and adventure, but the pair very soon discover that not every adventure is of their own choosing!
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Children's & YAJune 2020Two Tortoises in the Forest
by Bahar Sener / Gabriela Vagnoli
Regardless of their reactions, all children are beautiful and deserve respect and care. They sometimes misbehave, in fact this may even go as far as peer bullying. In this book, you will see how this kind of behaviours can be transformed and open the way for a good friendship when children are treated with love. Children and adults alike have so much to learn from those intelligent, wise tortoises who are famous for acting slowly but surely.
